We begin surveying the use of Information Systems technology and ERP systems to improve business processes in Sales, Procurement and other functional and cross-functional areas. The project assignment in ISYS 250 is to use this knowledge to assemble a white-paper for a fictional process in a fictional company of your choosing. You will take on the role of a "technology champion" for implementing a new information system supported process change and imagine that you have been asked to outline the change and assemble materials from ERP vendors, Business Intelligence vendors, Security vendors or any other technology change that would improve a business process. This is NOT a research paper - it is an internal company "white paper" where you can use supporting material from relevant web and library research sources. Assemble and summarize for people who don't understand the technology.
Think about a narrow topic or application by selecting a specific real or fictional company and a specific business process within that company or even a specific aspect of the information system or ERP solution. Your technology will eventually need to have at least three alternative or process vendors to choose from. Small or medium sized applications are preferred to larger ones.
Your white paper (2000 - 2400 words) should include:
1. Cover Page
2. An introduction with a summary of the technology.
3. A BPMN diagram modeling some aspect of the as-is process and supporting text describing the process.
4. Explanation of how the technology meets one of the strategic objectives of your company and how it will improve the business process. Use pictures, tables or smart-art to enhance your paper.
5. Brief descriptions of the offerings of each of your three vendors or alternatives summarizing their features and advantages. Feel free to include links and a screen shot of your vendor's site, pictures and graphics to support your vendor information.
6. Brief comparison of the vendor choices and recommendations of a vendor. Justification of the reasons you chose that option over the others.
7. Close with a summary including the next steps and a recommended timeline for research, acquisition and implementation.
8. Use and include references as needed.