Stage 1: Background and Organizational Analysis

Before you begin work on this assignment, be sure you have read the Case Study on Chesapeake IT Consultants (CIC). Refer to the Business Analysis and System Recommendation (BA&SR) Table of Contents below to see where you are in the process of developing this report.

Overview

As a business analyst in the Chief Information Officer's (CIO's) department of Chesapeake IT Consulting (CIC), you have been assigned to conduct an analysis, develop a set of system requirements and propose an IT solution to improve the hiring process for CIC. This work will be completed in four stages, and each of these four stages will focus on one section of an overall Business Analysis and System Recommendation (BA&SR) report to be delivered to the CIO.

The graphic below outlines the Table of Contents for this report:

Section I: Background and Organizational Analysis (Stage 1) - The first stepis to look at the organization and explain how an IT system could benefit CIC by improving its hiring processes.

Section II: Strategic Use of Technology (Stage 2) - Next you will explain, in general, how CIC can use IT for strategic purposes.

Section III: Strategic and Operational Outcomes (Stage 3) - Then you will analyze CIC's strategy and processes to determine how technology solutions can be used to support the organizational processes and enable CIC's strategic and operational outcomes, and develop a set of requirements for the new hiring system.

Section IV: System Recommendation (Stage 4) - Finally, you will identify an enterprise hiring system for CIC, and explain how it meets the requirements, and what needs to be done to implement the system within CIC.

The sections of the BA&SR will be developed and submitted as four staged assignments. In stages 2, 3 and 4, you will also incorporate any feedback received when the previous stage is graded to improve the effectiveness of your overall report and then add the new section to your report. At the end of the course, you will submit a complete BA&SR document that includes all the sections and changes that resulted from previous feedback.

Business Analysis and System Recommendation (BA&SR)

Table of Contents

I. Background and Organizational Analysis (Stage 1)
 A. Introduction
 B. Organizational Strategy
 C. Components of an Information System
   1. People and Technology
   2. Processes
   3. Data

II. Strategic Use of Technology (Stage 2)
 A. Decision-Making
 B. Communication
 C. Collaboration
 D. Relationships
 E. Structure
 F. Competitive Advantage

III. Strategic and Operational Outcomes (Stage 3)
 A. Strategic Outcomes
 B. Process Analysis
 C. Requirements

IV. System Recommendation (Stage 4)
 A. Benefits of an Enterprise Solution
 B. Proposed IT solution
 C. How the Proposed IT Solution Meets the Requirements
 D. Implementation Steps
 E. Conclusion

Background and Organizational Analysis (Stage 1)

Section I of the BA&SR document contains an organizational analysis and identifies ways in which information systems can help the organization in the case study (CIC) to meet its strategic goals and meet the information needs of various levels of management. This analysis lays the ground work for the next section of the BA&SR which will explain how technology can be used to support specific strategic activities of the organization.

Using the case study, assignment instructions, Course Content readings, and external resources, develop your Section I: Background and Organizational Analysis. Recommended lengths for each section are providedand be sure to includeall pertinent information. A key to successful business writing is quality and conciseness rather than quantity.

To start, review the Business Perspectives Module (week 1 content), particularly the sections that describe the example of Booz Allen Hamilton, a services company with a business model similar to that of CIC in the case study. The case study tells you that the executives and employees at CIC have identified a need for an effective and efficient hiring system. As you review the case study, use the outline below to help you take notes to assist in your analysis; in particular, list the needs of the individuals expressed in the "interviews."

Report Format:

- In Stage 1, you are preparing the first part of a 4-stage report. Use the structure, headings, and outline format provided here for your report. Doublespace the information (except singlespace table entries).
- Create a title page that includes: The company name, title of report, your name, Course and Section # and date.
- Begin a Reference Page for resources required for this assignment. Additional research in next stages will be added to this as you build the report.

I. Background and Organizational Analysis

A. Introduction - Your introduction should set the context for the entire BA&SR report - with a brief overview of CIC and its challenges based on the case study information. In addition, describe why you're writing and what's to come in this full report--not just Stage 1 (one paragraph). Remember you are writing this as a business analyst in the CIO's department, and while the CIO is your immediate audience for this report, it should be written to the organizational perspective-what is relevant for CIC.

B. Organizational Strategy- Using the Business Strategy statement and information from the Case Study, explain how a new hiring system would support that strategy.(Use two to three strong sentences that explain how the system would support the strategy and justify your position with specifics from the Case Study.)

C. Components of an Information System - Explain each of the following in relationship to an information system to support the hiring process at CIC:

1. People and Technology - Identify the interest or objectives for the new hiring system for each stakeholder listed below based on his or her organizational role. Include how the technology will improve how the job is done; that is, identify what each of the stakeholders needs the system to do.Use information from the stakeholder interviews and describe what they need, what challenges they have related to the hiring process, and do not define what that position does in general or specifics of how a system could address their requirements.(Provide an introductory sentence for this section, followed by 1-2 sentences for each role.)
i. CEO
ii. CFO
iii. CIO
iv. Director of Human Resources
v. Manager of Recruiting
vi. Recruiters
vii. Administrative Assistant
viii. Hiring Manager

2. Processes- To understand what the new hiring system needs to do for CIC, you will first analyze the current hiring process (often referred to as the "as/is process"). The Interviews in the CIC Case Study provide some information you need about how the process is currently conducted, but you may need to make some additional assumptions. You will need to combine the steps that each interviewee discusses and organize them into a logical sequence showing the high-level start to finish process. First, insert an introductory opening sentence for this section. Then, complete the table below by inserting the steps that are missing and entering the position title of the person who would perform each step. The beginning and ending steps have been provided for you. Each process step should be concise and include an action verb. (Provide an introductory sentence and copy the table and insert information within.)

3. Data- To support CIC's hiring process, the new system will need to collect, store and process data.That data can then be aggregated, processed, and turned into useful information to support the hiring process. Ch. 1 What is an Information System, defines data on page. 7. The case study providesinsight into the kinds of data that will be needed.An example of a needed data element is "Name of Hiring Manager." An application or resume will contain many data elements; be specific in identifying examples of those. First, insert an introductory opening sentence for this section. Then identify ten (10) critical data elementsforthishiring information system solution. Note: a complete hiring system would have many more elements-this provides 10 representative data elements.(Provide an introductory sentence and copy the table and insert information within.)