Group Members:
Kleinhans D.V. 200620944
Baichan N. 200581946
Balaram F. 200580988
Website: http://merger.awardspace.com

The Goal
After discussing the fact that all businesses need to compete in the online market, we have realized that that a lot of known gyms have yet to emerge in this field.
Our goal is to open up a new area of expertise and maximizing the potential of the powerful World Wide Web which can only be of an advantage to them.
The main goal is to automate the process which one has to go through to apply and become a member at a gym. This will save the customer valuable time and effort of physically going to the gym and filling in application forms. Many people do not have the opportunity to go through this timely process during working hours.
Other functions like working out a training schedule and bookings for special sessions, like spinning or using the squash courts, can also be managed online.
This project will add value to the gym and lure more customers due to the convenience of many features.
The Core Team
The team consists of three people who will all contribute in all the aspects that will be needed to do the project. If various other information is needed like information on how gyms work, personnel of gyms will be consulted.
While we still need to decide on a group manager, it will not be to rely him doing the big tasks, but rather to keep the project organized and make sure that the project is kept on schedule and goals are met.
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Measurable Organizational Value (MOV)
One of the most important things that matters to the company which the project is for, is how it will benefit them and add value to their business. Here we will state how our project can be beneficial to you and add measurable value.
Firstly we will state the potential areas of impact of this project:
» Strategic: ○The penetration of new markets will occur by being able to achieve processes online.
○This will place the company ahead in terms of competition within the market.
○The company will increase their market share.
» Customer: ○The customers will have more choices of dealing with related matters.
○Customers are presented with a better service.
○The application process is done more efficient and effectively
» Financial: ○An increase in membership will result in increased revenue.
» Operational: ○Lower costs due to streamlined operations.
○Increased operational effectiveness.
I think we can see that this is a viable project and it will definitely add value to the company. The project will not only benefit customers, but will also be of great advantage to the company in several different areas.
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Alternatives
Seeing that this is quite a unique development (online application) we can not really identify real alternatives except for getting an application form via email or postal office which does not make the process any simpler really.
Feasibility and Risk
Feasibility
 Economic feasibility o Alternatives do not match the economic feasibility that is shown with the project. Resources to fund the project are available and the return on investment is will show positive results.
 Technical feasibility o The infrastructure is already there. This project will expand the current technical infrastructure. No new technology will be needed. The current IT staff should have sufficient skills to deal with the new system although a new position could be implemented to deal with the new system if it need be.
 Organizational feasibility o The impacts of this project on the company will not cause any major organizational change. Only some of the people dealing with applications will be affected and not in an irritating way. No business processes will be disrupted during the implementation of this project.
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Risks
A poorly developed user friendly interface could cause havoc among customers and could cause a bad reputation. Therefore extensive testing will be done on the user interface.
If the expected market to use this functionality is much less than expected. The World Wide Web is still pretty young and has tremendous potential. The general public of South Africa is only starting to realize the benefits. Therefore we can not imagine a company who does not want a share of the online market.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Although this project is our first industry standard project, we have no knowledge on the specific costs, but we will try to give our general perspective of the TCO.
Direct/Upfront costs:
This is purely a software based system and therefore no initial costs for specific equipment will be needed.
Ongoing costs:
Ongoing costs will include the salaries of the project’s team. There are no supplies or maintenance costs involved.
Indirect costs:
Again, there will not be any loss of productivity or system downtime during the development, because this is a new system and it will not interfere with any current systems.
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Total Benefits of Ownership (TBO)
The major benefit of ownership of this project will be to improve the customer service. This will be a big benefit to the company, because they rely on their customers for income and thus improving customer satisfaction is vital.
Recommendation
We think that this project is truly feasible and that it would add value to the company. A SWOT analysis will follow, summarizing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, which will also show the value of the project.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths

Already market leaders.

Awareness is great.

Quality is known

There are sufficient financial reserves to await the returns.
Weaknesses

Online penetration is poor.

Not sufficient IT staff.

No trial has been done yet.
Opportunities

Get share in new market development.
 Will expose competitors’ vulnerabilities.

Lifestyle trends of people tend to become internet dependant.
Threats

New IT developments may arise, changing the WWW.

The target market may change.
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