Case Study, Stage 3: IT Considerations for Proposed Technology
Solution
Before you begin this assignment, be sure you have read the “UMUC Fitness Center Case Study” and
“UMUC Fitness Center Stage One Project,” and “UMUC Fitness Center Stage Two Project” and the
feedback from previous assignments.
IT Considerations for Proposed Technology Solution
For your Stage 2 Project, you proposed a technology solution to improve a business process at your
UMUC Fitness Center. In evaluating an IT proposal, there are several areas that need to be considered.
These considerations are listed in the table provided with this assignment. Depending on the specific
technology solution you proposed, some of the considerations will be more important than others, or may
need specific consideration prior to implementation. The responses that you enter into the table for each
consideration must be aligned to the specific solution you proposed and appropriate to the UMUC Fitness
Center.
Purpose of this Assignment
This assignment gives you the opportunity to apply your knowledge of the areas to be considered in
planning and implementing a technology solution. This assignment specifically addresses the following
course outcomes to enable you to:
 analyze internal and external business processes to identify information systems requirements
 identify and plan IT solutions that meet business objectives.
Assignment
Using the technology solution you proposed in Stage 2, you should briefly explain it and then copy the
table below and complete the remaining two columns. For each area of consideration, you should rank it
as high, medium or low in importance or relevance for the specific technology solution you proposed for
the UMUC Fitness Center. If that area of consideration is Not Applicable to your proposed solution, enter
N/A. Then, provide a brief explanation, a minimum of two sentences for each, to justify that ranking or
the N/A. Explanations must provide enough information to convey the reasoning behind the ranking.
DO NOT copy the definitions from the textbook or other sources but put into your own words to
demonstrate your understanding of the concept as you provide your explanation for the ranking. Use the
Grading Rubric to be sure you have covered everything. Submit your paper with answers to parts 1 and
2 below via your Assignment Folder as a Microsoft Word document with your last name included in the
filename.
Part 1: Brief explanation of proposed technology solution. Identify what the solution is, what it is
expected to do for the UMUC Fitness Center, summarizing the information you provided for Stage 2.
Part 2: Table of IT Considerations
Area
High/Medium/Low
Importance or
Relevance or Not
Applicable (N/A)
Explanation for Ranking
Accessibility
Availability
Maintainability
Portability
Reliability
Scalability
Usability
Disaster Recovery
Plan
Authentication &
Authorization
Prevention &
Resistance
(Security)
Detection &
Response
(Security)
Grid Computing
Cloud Computing
Virtualized
Computing
Communications
Architecture
Database
Architecture
Decision Support
Artificial
Intelligence
Business-toBusiness
eCommerce
Business-toConsumer
eCommerce
Example: If the technology solution being proposed was to have a kiosk for customers to use to pay
for their membership at the UMUC Fitness Center, then for the area of Accessibility, the following might
be entered. (The definition of Accessibility is provided here for clarification. Definitions are not required
to be entered into the table above.) Note the thorough explanation of the ranking.
Area
High/Medium/Low
Explanation for Ranking
Importance or
Relevance or Not
Applicable (N/A)
Accessibility
Medium
Since the customers will use the kiosk to pay their
membership fees, it must be accessible to everyone.
Customers need a convenient and individual method of
“Accessibility
refers to the
varying levels
that define what
a user can
access, view, or
perform when
operating a
system.”
(Baltzan, 2012.)
logging into the system that enables them to perform the
needed tasks quickly and efficiently. The customers should
have controlled access that prohibits them from entering
any areas or performing any functions not intended for
customer use. It is ranked “Medium” because it is important
for some customers who choose to use the kiosk and the
system cannot be accessed without some type of login so it
is important; however, it is not “High” since there are other
methods of paying membership fees.
The "right" and "wrong" answers have to do with whether or not you correctly ranked each consideration
as it relates to your proposed technology solution and have provided a well-supported explanation for the
ranking you assigned. Your responses will be evaluated on whether they are applicable to the solution,
correctly ranked, adequately explained, and are appropriate to the UMUC Fitness Center. Use the Rubric
below to be sure you have covered all aspects.
GRADING RUBRIC:
Attribute
Full Points
Partial Points
No points
Explanation of
Proposed
Solution
Brief explanation
of solution
effectively sets
stage for
rankings.
No explanation
of proposed
solution
provided.
High/Medium/
Low Rankings
Rankings
demonstrate
understanding of
course concepts,
sophisticated
analysis and
critical thinking.
Explanations
Explanations
justify rankings
and demonstrate
understanding of
course concepts,
sophisticated
analysis, and
critical thinking.
Table Format
Information is
professionally
presented using
sophisticated
writing; uses
Explanation of
solution is not
completely
adequate to set
stage for
rankings.
Rankings are
adequate or may
be lacking in
demonstration of
understanding of
course concepts,
analysis, and/or
critical thinking.
Explanations are
adequate, or
(some) do not
adequately
justify rankings;
may be lacking
in demonstration
of understanding
of course
concepts,
analysis, and/or
critical thinking.
Information is
adequately
presented, or
may not be
professionally
Possible
Points
10
No rankings
provided.
40
(2 points
each)
No explanations
provided.
40
(2 points
each)
Information is
extremely poorly
written and does
not convey the
information.
10
Points
Earned
correct sentence
structure,
grammar, and
spelling.
presented,
and/or contains
grammar and/or
spelling errors.
100 points
=13% of final
course grade
TOTAL Points
Points
Recorded
(total points x
.13)
100
Concepts:
Accessibility: Baltzan textbook, page 175, “refers to the varying levels that define what a user can
access, view, or perform when operating a system”
Availability: Baltzan textbook, page 175, 176, “refers to the time frames when the system is
operational”
Maintainability: Baltzan textbook, page 176 – 177, “refers to how quickly a system can transform to
support environmental changes”. Examples are multi-currency acceptance, acceptance of credit cards,
multiple languages, etc.
Portability: Baltzan textbook, page 177, “the ability of an application to operate on different devices or
software platforms such as different operating systems”
Reliability: Baltzan textbook, page 177, “ensures a system is functioning correctly and providing
accurate information”
Scalability: Baltzan textbook, page 177, “how well a system can scale up, or adapt to the increased
demands of growth”
Usability: Baltzan textbook, page 178, “the degree to which a system is easy to learn and efficient and
satisfying to use”
Disaster Recovery Plan: Baltzan textbook, pages 172 – 173, “detailed process for recovering
information or a system in the event of a catastrophic disaster”
Authentication & Authorization (Security): Baltzan textbook, pages 149 – 151, examples include
user id/password, smart card/token, biometric technology
Prevention & Resistance (Security): Baltzan textbook, pages 151 – 153, examples include content
filtering, encryption, firewall, antivirus software
Detection & Response (Security): Baltzan textbook, pages 153 – 154, example includes intrusion
detection software
Grid Computing: Baltzan textbook, pages 181 – 183, “a collection of computers, often geographically
dispersed, that are coordinated to solve a common problem”
Cloud Computing: Baltzan textbook, pages 182 – 187, “the use of resources and applications hosted
remotely on the Internet”
Virtualized Computing: Baltzan textbook, pages 187 – 190, “creates multiple ‘virtual’ machines on a
single computing device”
Communications Architecture: Baltzan textbook, Appendix B
Database Architecture: Baltzan textbook, Appendix C
Decision Support: Baltzan textbook, pages 52 – 57, “model information using online analytical
processing, which provides assistance in evaluating the choosing among different courses of action”
Artificial Intelligence: Baltzan textbook, pages 57 – 61, “simulates human thinking and behavior, such
as the ability to reason and learn”
Business-to-Business eCommerce: Baltzan textbook, page 98, “applies to businesses buying from
and selling to each other over the Internet”
Business-to-Consumer eCommerce: Baltzan textbook, pages 98 - 99, “applies to any business that
sells its products or services directly to consumers online”
Resources:
Walmart Case Example, in Course Content