BTEC Unit 9 IT Project Management - Assignment 2 2023 | National Diploma in Information Technology

BTEC Unit 9 IT Project Management - Assignment 2 2023 | National Diploma in Information Technology. Unit 9 – IT Project Management (Learning Aim B&C) Learning Aim B – Carry out a project initiation for an IT project Unit Introduction: In this assignment, I will be initiating the project by researching a problem by using my creative skills to generate a range of solutions. I will investigate two solutions to my web development problem. I will also undertake a feasibility study to select an appropriate solution and outline the requirements of the project. Furthermore, I will be planning and executing to undertake a major project as part of my BTEC course. Finally, I will be carrying out the plans that I have made by using an appropriate methodology to explain and analyse the useful contents and by investigating the benefits and drawbacks of this methodology. Initiating the Project: Scenario/User Requirements: Performance Indicators for measuring the success of Hot Beans Web New Innovative website: • A profile of the company itself - A subpage stating all of the company’s awards received - A short paragraph stating the company’s history - A short paragraph stating what are the company’s key values - An insight into what the development process would look like for a potential customer • Profiles of existing trainee web developers - Personal Statement from each trainee web developers - Comments from CEO on each trainee web developer • Job Specification and all required qualifications Unit 9: IT Project Management 5 - Paragraph containing the expected work ethic of a new potential web developer for Hot Beans - Fact File which easily shows at a glance the overall job description - The required qualifications or substitutes (where applicable) - Advertise the courses offered by Hot Beans and what qualification would be awarded • An online application form - Hyperlinks which opens a Google Forms Application Form for the user to fill in and automatically be sent off for processing by recruitment officer • Links to web development courses - Links to Google Forms for each online course Hot Beans offer and the application form should all the user to select the relevant course they wish to partake in - Clear instructions for payment method and the terms and conditions for how payment should be completed The Scenario to Initiate the Project will include: o Each subpage will have their own navigation button at the top of the main menu o The main menu will contain the buttons for each subpage and also a button navigating the user back the ‘home’ page o Google Forms will be created and hyperlinked into the website allowing users to apply for these courses from the comfort of their own home o The staff profiles being added into the website is the make the audience feel more included and like they have the ability to get to know the staff they may be working with as employees or as customers if they wish to avail of Hot Beans services of web development in the future. Scope of the Project: The scope of this project will cover the requirements which are stated above, allowing the user to navigate easily around the website, being able to read about the history of the company, while also being able to register a place at one of Hot Beans prestigious courses. There will be hyperlinks allowing the user to open the Google Forms which allows them to Unit 9: IT Project Management 6 complete the booking, however payment will be taken over the phone once Hot Beans staff call the applicant to confirm their booking of the relevant course Input of the Project: The input of this project will be the individuals applying for course, the form will collect their Title, Full Name, Date of Birth, Current Occupation and also and Telephone Number and Email Address – this will allow the admin staff at Hot Beans to prioritise users on a ‘first come first serve basis’ meaning that if you want to book a place at Hot Beans, you have to get your place booked quickly, other users records are stored on the responses of the form because if someone who has secured a place, and pulls out of the course, the next person in line can then be contacted to offer them a place on the course Process of the Project: The process of this project includes; the input information is collected and then stored in the response section of the Google Form created for the course. This allows the Hot Beans Admin staff to view who submitted their form first to fulfil their ‘first come first serve’ system and allow them to contact customers accordingly. Output of the Project: The output of this project would be the retrieval of the information provided via the Google Form response section and then the admin staff then email or telephone the relevant people to confirm their booking – the list shows the order that the people have applied in order to keep the ‘first come first serve’ policy Storage of the Project: Google Forms are stored on a cloud-based storage system through your Google Account, in the event of the forms becoming deleted they are stored in your ‘bin’ for 30days, giving the company plenty of time to restore the forms should this occur. The website however should be stored on a centrally based server, which has regular backups taken should the main Unit 9: IT Project Management 7 server become damaged, the backup (stored offsite) will have the website stored with a relatively recent version (if not the latest version) meaning little to no data will be lost User Interface of the Project: The interface that I have chosen for this website is Graphical User Interface (GUI) as this type of interface is visually instinctive/intuitive to use and suitable for this type of project. This type of interface allows users to utilise the facilities available with ease using icons and buttons and also not having to already acquired training on using other text-based interfaces such as Command Line Interfaces (CLI) which provides a simple text based layout. This kind of interface would need user to manually enter the commands and names of folders etc. they wish to open, meaning they would need to be very IT savvy to navigate the website. Also, it is very plain and simple and has no ability to be modified to look appealing, leaving the company no ability to make the business shine in a good light through use of colourful images or banners, making GUI the most suitable interface for this project. Project completion duration When creating my project, there will be a Gantt chart created showing a more detailed version of the timeline planned for the duration of the development of Hot Beans new website and associated online application forms, should any of the stages go on longer than expected, this will be documented as part of an attached diary log. Project Lifecycle: Phases Input Output Initiation User Requirements User Constraints Feasibility Report Legislation Implications Phase review and next steps Planning Feasibility Report Legislation Implications Next Steps Project and test plans Constraint’s list Phase review Unit 9: IT Project Management 8 Execution Project and test plans Constrains list Deliverable product Test results Phase review Evaluation Deliverable product Test results Release of deliverable product User documentation Final evaluation report In the first assignment I studied methodologies in detail and I learned that it is important to choose a methodology based on the requirements of my project. As Hot Beans has asked me to set up a website as part of my training I am going to use the Waterfall methodology. I am working on this project on my own with input from other departments in Hot Beans. I am constrained with time as I have a tight hand in date, I will have a discussion with the client at the start of the project but I don’t want to be going back for continuous direction. I intend to get my ideas documented early on and then be free to implement the prototyping and design stages. I will test my website near the end of the project. My research also showed me that waterfall methodology is recommended for software development and website development. Introduction to Proposal 1: Microsoft Expression Web The first proposal I am going to be considering becoming part of my final solution is to use Microsoft Expression Web to be the main design programme for Hot Beans Web new website. Using a programme such as this allows for the raw code to be edited in order to add additional features such as scrolling images or accessibility features such as the ability to increase or decrease the font to suit the user. Also from a design perspective, it allows the developer to have free reign with how they want the new website to work (buttons, hyperlinks etc.), and how the pages will look. In addition to this, any bugs can be identified and fixed, just by looking at the code Introduction to Proposal 2: Google Sites The second proposal I’ll be considering using Google Sites. This software comes free with a Google Account – meaning anyone with a Google Account can access Sites to develop and alter their own website, this package comes with a range of different templates meaning Unit 9: IT Project Management 9 the developer doesn’t have to spend time developing an entire new interface. This may save the developer time during the design process, however it means that the client may be quite restricted when choosing the design of their website, and they may not be suitable when fulfilling the user requirements, if there is not a feature on Sites, the raw code cannot be altered to implement additional features Unit 9: IT Project Management 10 The Two Proposals: Proposal 1: Microsoft Expression Web Description Technical Specification: To start using Microsoft Expression Web, the software would need to be installed on each developer’s computer that they are going to use when developing the website. The software is available to download online – this means that an internet connection would also be required for the package to be downloaded onto the necessary devices. There also needs to be a consideration made for where the development company are going to store the website while they are working on it, and also where the client (Hot Beans) is also going to store it once the development is finished and it has been launched. The best storage solution may be on a centrally sorted file server, to maintain version control as more than one person may be working on the site at one time. Also, for the client a centrally stored location with file permission implemented, so that only certain members can access the original site if any alterations need to be made after the development company sign off the final version. Unit 9: IT Project Management 11 Economic Assessment: The economic assessment as part of this proposal is all about the cost of any software or subscriptions purchased either online or purchased in-store. This may include start-up costs or also maintenance fees – both of which would be ideally kept to an absolute minimum as clients wouldn’t really want to pay for software that once the task is complete, would be useless to them. The same goes for maintenance fees, the client will only want to pay for them for as long as they need to The advantage of using Microsoft Expression Web is that once the program has been purchased, there will be no more additional costs for needed for the program – keeping costs minimal Usability: This part involves the overall user experience of the program and if Microsoft Expression Web is the most suitable program to use and if to is able to meet the client’s needs (does it do what they need in order to have all necessary features on their website). The usability of Microsoft Expression Web has been known to be rather tricky to get to grips with when first starting out, Unit 9: IT Project Management 12 however once the user familiarises themselves with the program, they are able to utilise all of the features that the program has to offer and create a clean and professional website to meet a set of user requirements Training: Users may need to spend some time experimenting with the program to familiarise themselves with all the features it has to offer, and how to effectively navigate around the interface, enough so that they can produce a website against a set of user requirements. This would really need to be taking place on the developers own time as a client is not going to want to pay for a service that involves time for a developer be trained in using the software/equipment Success/Reviews: Microsoft Expression Web has been given a 4 Star rating on several different popular programmer and developer forums, making it a known favourite when looking to deliver a functional and simplistic website due to its functionality, and wide range of colours and features available Unit 9: IT Project Management 13 Proposal 2: Google Sites Description Technical Specification: Google Sites is accessed through a person’s Gmail account, so the user would only need to have an @ email address to access Google Sites. In regard to storing the site when being developed, Google uses cloud-based storage systems so the data would be managed by a third party