Assessing The Business Value Of Information Systems Projects And Project Management Essay.

On completion of this week you should be able to:

• Describe the objectives of project management and why they are essential in developing information systems
• Contrast methods that can be used for selecting and evaluating information systems projects and aligning them with the firm’s business goals

Explain how firms can assess the business value of information systems projects

• Describe the principal risk factors in information systems projects
• Contrast strategies that are useful for managing project risk and system implementation

Project management – why?

1) What problems or outcomes from IS projects does proper project management seek to avoid or contain?

2) Define the term project.

3) What is project management and what activities are performed in the process?

4) Describe the five main variables dealt with in project management. Selecting projects

5) Describe the groups associated for managing IS projects.

6) What is the purpose of the information systems plan? What does it contain?

7) What are KPIs and how do they affect the information systems plan?

8) Explain how portfolio analysis can be used to select IS projects.

9) How can scoring models be used to select IS projects? What is the potential flaw or weakness in this approach?

Project Management – Why?

Introduction

It will be necessary to use literature/online resources to complete this assignment, please ensure you cite and reference any such materials using the Harvard format.  

DO NOT copy content directly from either the text or Internet resources:  this assignment is to be in your own words.  You will lose marks if you do not use your own words!

Please complete your assignment using this submission template file, inserting your responses where indicated.

DO NOT delete the marking criteria page – changes are permitted to the formatting of other pages including the headers and footers.

Tasks

There are ten (10) tasks, one for each week:  the tasks are detailed below.  There is a table to complete for each task.  Please fill in the information required.

Note:  Each resource summary should be around 200-300 words.

Week 1

The text discusses how modern CPUs function.  Recently a critical flaw in microprocessor design has been discovered that allows two extremely serious security exploits:  Spectre and Meltdown. Find and summarise ONE resource that describes how either of these exploits work.  The resource (and your summary) should focus on what is occurring in the CPU that allows these exploits to occur.

The main focus point which is related to the topic is that how the meltdown and Spectre basically exploits the security of a system. The above resource is selected due to the aspect that it explains in basic language about the two security vulnerability.

Meltdown can be considered as an isolation which is related to the user application and the operating system. The main focus point of the attack is to allow the program to directly access the memory and thus allow the secret access to the operating system and other programs. If the user’s system has a processor which is vulnerable and the system is unpatched it is not safe to work with the sensitive data due to the factor that the attack which is related to the meltdown can easily access the system.

Spectre on the other hand is a concept of breaking of the isolation which is between different applications. It directly allows the attacker to trick program which are error free which follow the practice into the secret leaking. It can be stated here that the checks of the security relating to the best practices directly increase the surface area of the attack and make the application more susceptible to the attack of the spectre.

What Problems or Outcomes from IS Projects does Proper Project Management Seek to Avoid or Contain?

Spectre can be considered to be harder to exploit than meltdown on the other hand harder to mitigate. Software patches are very much available which would be preventing the system of the user from the exploits which are based on spectre.

Week 2

Prior to 1985, there were very few Operating Systems (OSes) that used Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs).  Find and summarise ONE resource that describes ONE of these GUI operating systems.  The OS must have been release prior to 1985 so cannot be Microsoft Windows.

The main aim of the article is to take into consideration all the GUI (Graphical user interface) operating system. The main selection of the resource is due to the factor that is gives a broad idea of all the GUI based operating system and indulge the aspect with history involved into it.

The Mac OS system 1.0 can be considered as one of the GUI which is operating system based which was basically developed for the Macintosh. Some of the features which are related to the modern day operating system was involved into the concept. This is due to the factor that each of the window is accompanies by the help of an icon. The main functionality which was related to the concept was that each of the window can be moved with the help of the mouse and it was not restricted to the windows but also the folders, files could be copied by a way of simply dragging and placing them in a place which is appropriate for the users. This application was applied by the Apple and it can be considered as one of the options relating to OSX snow leopard. The concept can be stated to be making the concept of the MAC simple if it is compared with other types of GUI and became an operating system claimed to have one of the best GUI system when it is compared to other operating systems. The security aspect of the data is dealt very well in this concept.  

Week 3

Low-Powered Wide-Area Networks (LPWANs) are wireless communication networks that are characterised by linking devices over large distances.  Devices (including simple sensors) typically can only communicate at very low bit rates, however, the communication and associated electronics consume very little power.  As such, LPWAN devices can be battery powered and operate independently for many months or even years.  Find and summarise ONE resource that describes ONE platform or technology that implements a LPWAN.  

Defining Projects and Project Management Activities

The main justification which can be given in regards to the selection of the resource is that it gives a precise overview of the concept of the LPWAN and how it can be implemented in the technology of internet of things. The focus point is how the technology gets its advantage from the LPWAN concept.

LPWAN fuels up the direct connectivity which is related to the internet of things devices. The basic need of the device can be considered to be less bandwidth which is directly applicable to most of the devices which are standard devices. The defining characteristics which are added to the concept of the internet of things are the high speed connectivity rather than being robust and scalable for the devices which are considered to be smart for example lighting, sensor etc. these types of setting are ideally used in industrial setting. The concept of the LPWAN technology is directly devices to be connected with the range of 15miles and due to this aspect it is widely used in the concept of the IoT health care sector, utility sector, building and transportation. LPWAN can be considered to be threatening the licensed, cellular network and has a focus of redefining the IoT sector. The Low power wide area network in the concept of the IoT can be stated to be one of the hottest topic and there are many research being implemented as the technology can be stated to be one of the most cost effective technology which can be easily be implemented and taken advantage.

Week 4

Voice over IP (VoIP) is a group of hardware and software technologies that allow users to communicate via voice and video over the Internet.  VoIP uses a number of different software protocols, depending on the application.  Find and summarise ONE resource that describes ONE of these VoIP protocols.

The main reason for the selection of the resource is that it gives a direct overview of the concept of the protocols which are related to the VoIP. In this aspect the protocol which is taken into consideration is the H. 248.

The main feature which is related to the protocol H.248 is that it provides a basic gateway interface of control between the PGW 2200 and the VXSM gateway. It can be stated that it directly supplements the protocol which is related to the MGCP protocol. The interface is based on the concept of the ITU-SG16/IETF specification of the H.248 which basically defines a decomposed architecture of the gateway. The architecture basically consist of a media gateway controller (MGC) and the media gateways (MGs). On the other hand distributed functionality of the call control between the MGC (an entity which manages the tearing and the establishment of calls) and a MG (a simple entity which responds to the request of the MGC and independently processes the stream of the media).

The Five Main Variables in Project Management

The main functionality which is related to the protocol is that it interfaces the IP telephony network with the PSTN network which basically passes the voice traffic from one section of the network to another network. Although the concept which is related to the H.248 is directly designed for the aspect of the generic support taking into consideration different devices of the media. It can be stated here that the PGW is directly designed for the act which is related to the MGC and considered to be a part of the interwork with the gateway of the trunking.

Week 5

One of the many uses of cryptography has been the development of the blockchain.  Blockchains are commonly used as the basis for maintaining the data integrity of crypto currencies, though have many, many more applications.  Find and summarise ONE resource that describes how blockchains work.  Note that the resource should focus on the blockchain mechanism, NOT crypto currencies.

The concept of the blockchain can be considered as an encrypted, database which is distributed that records data. In simple language it can be stated as a ledger of transaction which is digital in nature and contracts – records which has to be individually recorded.

The main functionality which is related to the blockchain is that the digital ledger is very much accessible across the different platform and application and is not bounded in one area or access point. Due to this functionality the application is being implemented widely in the sector of the finance due to the safeguard of the data. The security aspect of the data is achieved by means of converting the data into hash. A hash can be considered as a letter or number which is produced by a hash function which is a mathematical function that takes a variable number and directly converts it into string which is of fixed number of characters. It can be stated that a small changes in the string would be creating a completely new has. These hash function are not accessible to another person than the intended user. In most of the cases it can be stated that the conversion of the hash can be one of the factors which enhance the security of the data. This data is known as a block and the family of the blocks is known as the blockchain. The blockchain updates itself every ten minutes in an automatic function, no computer or algorithm instructs them to do so.

Groups Associated with Managing IS Projects

Week 6

One controversial practical application of network traffic management is in the contravention of the principle of “net neutrality”. Find and summarise ONE resource that describes what net neutrality is and how its contravention could impact on individual and business users of the Internet.

Summary: Net Neutrality can be considered as an idea which is related to the internet service providers for example verizon and Comcast should take into consideration the content flow which is thprugh the tables and the cell tower equally. This directly means that the concept should not be able to slide some of the data into the fast lanes while the concept of blocking or the aspect of discriminating against the material. In simple way the concept can be stated as a technology which by which the organizations are able to block the user from the access of the service which are related to the using of the skype or slow down the access of the Netflex or Hulu. This is mainly done to encourage the user to keep the cable package or buy a different video streaming service.

Taking into consideration the future of the net neutrality is now in the direct hands of the congress and the courts. Several organization and business bodies are trying to take up the aspect of the net neutrality. Most of the organization who were located in the state of Washington became the first set of organization to indulge themselves into the right. Most of the broadband providers in the near future are expected to take advantage of the concept and deal with the functionality which is related to the aspect. There would be more opportunity which is related to the net neutrality which would be directly helping the organization to reach to a desired standard.

Week 7

Information Systems have led to greater and greater degrees of automation in the workplace.  There is currently extensive speculation on which jobs will cease to be performed by humans in the near future.  Find and summarise ONE resource that discusses jobs that are likely to not exist in the future due to ICT based automation.  Note that the resource must clearly link the loss of the job(s) to advances in ICT.

The main reason for the selection of the resource is due to the factor that there would be a loss of jobs due to the automation process which is related to the ICT automation and the article provides a brief overview of the concept.

Information Systems Plan and KPIs

In recent times technology is playing a vital role in the sphere of the life of the people and people tend to move to a technology oriented orientation due to the lack of errors involved into the concept. The process of automation can be considered to very much error free process which can be very much beneficial for most of the organization. On the other hand it can be stated that if the automation process is not taken into consideration the process or the working of the organization can involve different types of error subjected to the human intervention. In most of the cases it is seen that the error forms a vital part of the organization and directly hampers the overall working of the organization.

Automation process which is related to the ICT does not include much of human oriented factors which would be very much beneficial for the organization and would be hampering the job of the common people. There can be few advantage related to the concept but on the other hand there are many types of disadvantage related to the concept which would be directly affecting the internal as well as external working related to the organization.

Week 8

With the advent of mass data collection and storage has come the use of these datasets for machine learning. Find and summarise ONE resource that describes what machine learning is and how it is being used.

The main focus point of the selection of the article is that it gives a clear overview of the concept of the machine learning and how it can be used and the main advantage which are related to the concept.

The concept of machine learning can be considered as a method of analysis of the data that basically automates the analytics model of building. It can be considered as a branch relating to artificial intelligence which is based on the idea that the system can directly learn the data, identify the pattern and make direct decision with the human intervention which is minimum.

The use of the machine learning concept are implemented in the concept of the Google self-driving cars, online recommendation offers which is basically in the sector of the Netflix and the amazon. The application and the use of the machine learning can be in any of the sector which is related to the everyday life. The concept of the machine learning can be linked with the concept of linguistic concept which in the near future can be considered to be very much important and would be playing a very vital role which would be helping the technology to advance in the different sectors. In the sector of the fraud detection the concept of machine learning also has s role to play as the concept can directly indulge into the different activity of the security aspect of the data in the recent world. In the near future it can be stated that the concept of the machine learning would be playing a very dominating role.

Portfolio Analysis and Scoring Models for Selecting IS Projects

Week 9

Critical to application development are the languages used to implement the specifications.  Find and summarise ONE resource that describes ONE programming language that has been developed since 2008.  The resource (and your summary) should include information on the principle uses and features of the language.

The pure programming language can be considered one of the computer based programming language which is in existence since 2008. The concept which is applied to the programming language is that it is a modern function based programming language. The main offers which is related to the aspect is that it offers equation definition with the matching of the pattern, dynamic typing, full symbolic rewriting capability and the lazy evaluation concept. The main interpreter in the language is he LLVM which is a backend JIT compiler which can be sued for the aspect of the fast native code.

Pure can be considered as a successor the programming language which is known as the Q language. Taking into consideration the Q programming language it has many new and powerful features which are included in the concept which makes the R programming language faster and reliable than the Q programming language. The pure programming language can also integrate with other computing environments such as the pure data, Faust, Reduce, Octave and the TexXmacs. On the other hand it can also be stated here that it provides a fair extensive collection which is related to the add-on modules. This directly makes the pure programming language easily adoptable for most of the programmer and a huge amount of benefit with fast computation can be achieved from the concept. The system support aspect which is related to the programming language can range in the aspect of Mac OS X, FreeBSD and windows (to name a few).  

Week 10

While information systems and technology deliver many benefits to society, they can also result in negative effects and outcomes.  One recent controversy, the propagation of fake news and its influence on elections, has been linked to a type of software called a “bot”.  Find and summarise ONE resource that describes what bots are and how they can be used for disseminating misinformation and affecting human behaviour.

Bots or internet bots are also known crawlers, spider and web bots. The main functionality which is related to the concept of the bots are in the sector of the utilization to perform repetitive jobs for example indexing a search engine. The bots usually come in the form of a malware. Malware bots are basically used to gain the overall access which is related to the computer of the user.

The Good bots are usually utilized in the sector of information gathering. Bots in general are used in the guises of the web crawlers. Another good aspect which can be related to the concept of the bot is that it automatically interacts with the instant messaging, instant relay chat and assorted interfaces of the web.

The bad sector which is related to the bots are defined as a malware which is self-propagating that directly effects the connections and the host back to the central server. The functions of the server which is related to the aspect of “command and control centre” for the concept of the botnet or a network which is compromised computer and similar devices. The bots which are considered to be malicious have the direct ability to self-propagate”. The aspect which are taken into consideration is the password gathering, obtaining financial information, analyse packets and capture, launch of the DoS attacks, exploit the back door which is related to the opened worms and virus.

The bots are basically used in the concept of infecting system large in number related to the  computers. These computer form a bot network or a bot which is related to the network.

References

Meltdownattack.com. (2018). Meltdown and Spectre. [online] Available at: https://meltdownattack.com/ [Accessed 12 May 2018].

Templates, B. (2018). List of GUI-Based Operating System and Its History. [online] E-techinnews.blogspot.in. Available at: https://e-techinnews.blogspot.in/2012/06/list-of-gui-based-operating-system-and.html [Accessed 12 May 2018].

Bhatia, R. (2018). What is LPWAN and why is it considered critical for IoT?. [online] IoT India Magazine. Available at: https://www.iotindiamag.com/2017/03/lpwan-considered-critical-iot/ [Accessed 13 May 2018].

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Based IP PBX System Design. (2016). International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 5(2), pp.1380-1385.

Happiest Minds. (2018). What is Blockchain Technology | Blockchain Applications. [online] Available at: https://www.happiestminds.com/Insights/blockchain/ [Accessed 13 May 2018].

Finley, K., Hempel, J., Graff, G., Tiku, N., Matsakis, L., Simonite, T. and Lapowsky, I. (2018). Net Neutrality: Here's Everything You Need To Know. [online] WIRED. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/guide-net-neutrality/ [Accessed 14 May 2018]

TechCrunch. (2018). Technology is killing jobs, and only technology can save them. [online] Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/26/technology-is-killing-jobs-and-only-technology-can-save-them/ [Accessed 14 May 2018].

Sas.com. (2018). Machine Learning: What it is and why it matters. [online] Available at: https://www.sas.com/en_in/insights/analytics/machine-learning.html [Accessed 14 May 2018].

Purelang.bitbucket.io. (2018). Pure Programming Language. [online] Available at: https://purelang.bitbucket.io/ [Accessed 14 May 2018].

Us.norton.com. (2018). What Are Bots?. [online] Available at: https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-malware-what-are-bots.html [Accessed 13 May 2018].