Capstone Project Activity – Unit 1

Question description

There are multiple steps and tasks necessary for this particular Unit 1 IP assignment:

  1. Review the Information provided in Part 1 and Part 2.
  2. You must meet with your team to identify the IT disciplines (specializations) that they represent and begin to form your team and plan your project. Note that each member may be viewed as the expert for their discipline.
  3. You will need to research and analyze (on an individual basis) the requirements specified in the section “New Content for Week 1: Planning and System Requirements”. Develop your own individual paper defining the necessary requirements from your perspective. Submit your individual paper to the Unit 1 IP area. Further details can be found in Part 3 below.
  4. Collaborate with your multidisciplinary team to reach consensus on the requirements for the capstone project. Capture the agreed-upon set of requirements in the capstone project template. The first draft must include DRAFT as part of the file name. Submit the first draft to the group area so that all team members have access and the instructor may view the team’s progress. Refer to Part 2 below for further details. Note, the capstone project will build and evolve over the upcoming weeks. The final capstone project will be submitted as a Group Project in Unit 4.

Part 1: Capstone Exam – Informational

There will be a Capstone Exam in Unit 2, but you can take it any time before the end of Unit 4. This proctored exam requires a Webcam and microphone. A microphone is a required device for AIU IT students. If you do not have a Webcam, you may purchase one online, from a local retailer, or contact AIU Tech Support as soon as possible. For more information about the exam and proctoring, check the Individual Project in Unit 2.

Note: The exam must be completed and exam files uploaded to the Unit 2 Individual Project assignment area no later than the end of Unit 4.

Part 2: Capstone Project – Informational

This part of the assignment is NOT FOR GRADING this week. This part of the assignment is to contribute to the capstone project and also to show the instructor that progress is being made on the capstone project.

Use the template provided in the section found below entitled “Description of Capstone Project.” Submit your capstone project related work to the group submission area. Include the word “DRAFT” in the document title. Your first draft will then be available to share with your team. The first draft will also be available for your instructor to view team progress.

You will be developing a comprehensive Systems Implementation Plan as your capstone project (Unit 4 Group Project) in this course. As a capstone project, you and your team will be expected to demonstrate project management abilities, communication skills within a multidisciplinary team, problem analysis, and the application of information technology and related best practices toward the creation of a comprehensive and cohesive solution meeting organizational and user requirements. As IT projects typically involve people with diverse IT skill sets and backgrounds, this project should mirror that real-world environment.

This capstone project involves numerous IT areas including hardware and software, application development, networking, and security. Your team may be comprised of members that represent one or more of these IT areas. You will create and submit individual documents that propose your individual analysis during the different phases of the project. You will also need to collaborate with your team on a weekly basis to develop an overall solution that the entire team deems appropriate given the identified requirements. Typical project management methodology and skills should be employed.

Description of Capstone Project

Use the company profile and scenario found here as the subject of your Systems Implementation Plan.

Capstone Project Activity – Unit 1

The first task for the team is to create the Systems Implementation Plan document shell that includes the sections denoted below. As you progress through each project phase, you will add the necessary content to each section of the capstone project document. Appropriate research and collaboration between team members should be conducted to support the multi-disciplinary solution.

Download the template found here for this project. This will serve as the basis for the capstone project for the course. Throughout the course, you and your team will develop and add content to this template. In other words, the team will add different information to this template each week. Like all projects, information will be gathered and added to the final deliverable on a weekly process. The final deliverable will evolve throughout the course as the team works together on various elements. Submittal to the group area resulting from the team effort will occur in Unit 4.

New Content for Week 1: Planning and System Requirements

For this week’s contribution to the overall capstone project, the team will specify the following:

  • The pertinent requirements
  • Propose the necessary solution elements (related to the IT disciplines)
  • Develop a high-level plan for implementing the solution

This first section of the Systems Implementation Plan should answer the following questions:

  • What specific and detailed requirements are addressed in the solution, and how?
  • What does Verbania need from an IT perspective to set up the needed infrastructure?
  • What is included in the solution’s hardware and software infrastructure?

Include a high-level network diagram that illustrates the required hardware and software infrastructure on the company’s premise. Explain access from the perspective of employee (internal and external access) and end user (remote access).

Within the template, prepare 5–7 pages of content describing Planning and System Requirements within Section 1.

Part 3 – Individual Project – Submit to the Unit 1 IP Area

Individual Project Submission

This part of the assignment is FOR GRADING for this week. This assignment is a document describing the requirements based upon your own individual views. Your individual work should be submitted to the week’s individual drop box.

Research and analyze the stated requirements. What unstated requirements are there and what method(s) would you use to collect a more comprehensive set of requirements? Develop a Word document that describes all the requirements and explains how they would be met using hardware, software, networking and security. In other words, summarize the necessary elements of the solution necessary to address the requirements. Support your proposal.

Submit a 3-5-page Word document that includes a title page and contents explaining and illustrating your requirements analysis. The document should be APA-formatted.