Semester project (30 Marks) (revised April 2020)
STEP 1: Process Scoping 10 Marks
Case description
Learning Management System (LMS) is a fully integrated teaching and learning environment which supports online delivery and administration of resources, communication, collaboration and assessment. The LMS used at the UWA Business School is based on Moodle software. Over the years, there is increase complaints from students and staff regarding the use of the LMS for course delivery. The Business School decides to do a review of the LMS system to identify possible areas of improvement. A team has been assembled to examine the LMS system and the processes su
ounding the system. You have been selected to be part of this team.
Task descriptions:
1. Prepare a SIPOC diagram to identify all the relevant elements of the process of delivering a course via LMS. 5 Marks
To facilitate you in this exercise, you may assume that the main activities of delivering a course over LMS include*:
· A request is sent to the LMS support team to create a new course within LMS
· The new course within LMS is set up and customized in accordance to the requirements of the course
· The course material on LMS is made available to the students enrolled in the course
· The lecturer maintains the course material available on LMS throughout the semester (e.g. uploading new material, releasing new information etc.)
Questions for consideration (SIPOC diagram)
· What perspective will you take?
· What is the first and last step for this process?
· What are some of the intermediate steps?
· What are the outputs produced by this process?
· Who receives the output produced this process?
· What inputs are required for this process?
· Who provides the input required for this process?
Reminders:
· Name the process using ve
s/adjectives.
· Name inputs and outputs using nouns.
Supplie
Input
Process
Output
Custome
Unit coordinator (Lecturer)
IT services
Administration support
Computer system
Request for an LMS course
Course requirements
Course material
Results
Course related announcement
Request for course in LMS system
Set up new course
Customize LMS system for the course requirements
Maintain the course material on LMS system
Online material for the specific course
Online announcement
Assessment results
Students enrolled in the course
Course coordinator
Course tutors
Supervisors
STEP 2 AS-IS Process Modelling
Task: Create a BPMN process flow model for the following description. 5 Marks
Process Description:
In order to deliver unit material online, the unit coordinator needs to make a request to the LMS team for an account to be created for the specific unit. Once the account has been created, the unit coordinator is able to customize the unit account with the unit’s material and requirements. When semester begins, the LMS team will grant access to students who are enrolled in the unit so they can access the material online. Throughout the semester, the unit coordinator is responsible for maintaining the online content. When there is changes to the material, the content will be updated. When there is new business arising, announcement will be posted. When there is a completed assessment, the result will be published.
STEP 3: Feasibility Assessment 20 Marks
(Disclaimer: The details of the following case is fictitious. Any resemblance to real world case is entirely coincidental.)
Background:
· The change to Blackboard system is a move that aligns with the University’s strategic Education Futures plan for XXXXXXXXXX.
· As part of the Education Futures Plan, academics are expected to incorporate a greater component of online delivery in their course delivery.
· The decision to transit to Blackboard is a result of extensive consultation with academics and students.
· It is expected that the change to Blackboard would achieve the following benefits:
· Increased market share (i.e. increased number of remote/overseas/local students)
· Increased students’ satisfaction and thus reduce drop-out rates
· Increased productivity for academic staff so they can spend more time on research to
ing in public and private grants, and increase publications.
· The University has the experience of changing from WebCT to Moodle.
Comparison between Moodle and Blackboard
Moodle
Blackboard
Type of system
Open source software - free to download, change, share, improve and customize
Proprietary software ($1 million and yearly license fee of ~$9,000)
Installation & maintenance
Installation controlled and managed by the LMS team, together with the Business Info & Tech Services.
Support can be obtained from community site moodle.org
Blackboard Inc. provides a team of experts to provide consultation for installation and transition, support during operation, and annual review (yearly support agreement ~$10,000)
Specifications
Supports Mac OS X, Novell SUSE Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Windows 2000, Windows 7, Windows NT, Windows Vista, Windows XP.
Supports Mac OS X, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP
Types of features and availability
A range of features suitable for online course delivery available as part of the package (additional features are available as free plug-ins)
A range of basic features suitable for online course delivery available, with advanced features available as add-on (additional costs: ranges from $2,000 to $5000)
Flexibility
Allows for customization according to unique requirements of the university
Standard package with standard features
Organisations who use the system
Various education institutions, government agencies, medical and healthcare institution around the world
Various education institutions and government agencies around the world
Plan for the transition:
· The University aim to complete the transition from Moodle to Blackboard by the end of 2020.
· A team of 7 core members will be assembled to work on the transition from Moodle to Blackboard. These members will represent various groups of stakeholders within the University, ranging from IT department, instructional designers, academics and students.
· The project manager has worked with several learning management systems and has been involved in similar projects in the last 5 years.
Possible concerns with the transition:
· IT Architecture: Moodle and Blackboard have different architectures. In order to install Blackboard, there is need to acquire new hardware and software (Approximate: $10,000 for new hardware, and $5,000 for new software).
· Training: Moodle and Blackboard have different interfaces and navigation system. So users (including admin, unit coordinator, students, LMS team) need to re-learn the new system. (Approximate training needs: 4 hours training per pax for academics and admin staff, 2 hours training per pax for students).
· Data Conversion: Moodle and Blackboard have different file organisation structure, so there is a possibility of previous year’s content being lost when converting from Moodle to Blackboard.
· Compatibility: The range of features of the two systems are similar but not directly compatible, so there is a possibility that certain features from Moodle may not be available in Blackboard.
· Integration: The cu
ent Moodle system is integrated with other systems to support online delivery, eg. Lecture Capture Systems, Turnitin, OLCR. The integration of these various systems need to be examined.
TASKS: 20 marks
Complete the following using the templates provided:
1. The Technical Feasibility Assessment
2. Operational Feasibility Assessment
3. Economic Feasibility Assessment including completing the spreadsheet provided to calculate
a. Total Benefits
. PV Total benefits
c. Installation Costs
d. Operating Costs
e. Total Costs
f. PV Total Costs
g. NPV
h. Net Total Costs
i. Cumulative Cash Flow
j. ROI
k. BEP
Task: Technical Feasibility Assessment 5 Marks
Risk Level
Familiarity with LMS application
Familiarity with Blackboard technology
Project size
Compatibility with existing infrastructure
Recommendation regarding technical feasibility assessment:
Task: Organizational Feasibility Assessment 5 Marks
Risk Level
Alignment with business objectives
Stakeholder analysis (eg, management, user groups, IT groups)
Recommendation regarding organizational feasibility:
Task: Economic Feasibility Assessment 10 Marks
Categories
Details
Estimates
Tangible Benefits
Intangible benefit
Installation costs
Operational costs
Overall recommendation regarding the feasibility of the project:
2020
Innovation Trajectories : An event analysis
Process Analysis & Feasibility Assessment
Workshop 5
Enterprise Systems MGMT XXXXXXXXXX
The University of Western Australia
Main tasks for assignment
Conduct analysis on the selected business process
Identify and recommend areas of improvement to the business process (which will form the organization's requirements)
Assess the feasibility of an ERP system implementation based on the recommended improvements
The University of Western Australia
Main tasks for assignment
Conduct analysis on the selected business process
Identify and recommend areas of improvement to the business process (which will form the organization's requirements)
Assess the feasibility of an ERP system implementation based on the recommended improvements
The University of Western Australia
Process analysis
The University of Western Australia
Process Analysis
Process Flow Problems
Day-to-day Management Problems
Input and Output Problems
Problems with Controls
Problems with Enablers
Harmon, P. Business Process Change: A Guide for Business Managers and BPM and Six Sigma Professionals. Elsevier Science. (Chapter 8 pp XXXXXXXXXXnote: Available as ebook in UWA li
ary)
Useful Resource
The University of Western Australia
Generic Types of Process Problems
1. Process Flow Problems
Problems with logical completeness
- xxx
- Inputs or Outputs xxx
Problems with sequencing and duplications
Activities performed xxx
Sequential activities that could xxx
Activities performed more xxxxx?
Lack of rules to prioritize xxx
Problems with decision making process
Decisions are made with lack of xxx?
Decisions are made without xxx?
The University of Western Australia
Generic Types of Process Problems
Harmon, P. Business Process Change: A Guide for Business Managers and BPM and Six Sigma Professionals. Elsevier Science. (Chapter 8 pp XXXXXXXXXXnote: Available as ebook in UWA li
ary)
2. Day-to-day management problems
Planning and Resource Allocation Problems
- Lack of data to anticipate work, plans, schedule?
Monitoring, Feedback and Control Problems
No employees xxx?
Are employees xxx?
Are employees given adequate xxx
Are employees punished xxx?
Manager’s Goals and Incentive Conflicted
Manager is trying achieve xxx
Manager does not have authority, xxx
The University of Western Australia
Generic Types of Process Problems
Harmon, P. Business Process Change: A Guide for Business Managers and BPM and Six Sigma Professionals. Elsevier Science. (Chapter 8 pp XXXXXXXXXXnote: Available as ebook in UWA li
ary)
3. Input and Output Problems
Quality of input or output
Quantity of input or output
Timeliness of input or output
4. Control Problems
Process is pursuing a strategy that is incompatible with xxx
Process ignores one or more organizational xxx
Employees ignore one or more specific xxx
Process is tasked to implement incompatible xxx
Documentation is incomplete, xxx
Documentation is unavailable to xxx
The University of Western Australia
Generic Types of Process Problems
Harmon, P. Business Process Change: A Guide for Business Managers and BPM and Six Sigma Professionals. Elsevier Science. (Chapter 8 pp XXXXXXXXXXnote: Available as ebook in UWA li
ary)
5. Enabler Problems
Process is understaffed
Employees lack skills xxx
Xxx
Xxxx
Xxxx
Xxxx
Xxxxx
Xxxxx
The University of Western Australia
Main model After Review of Quality
Input problem -xxx
The University of Western Australia
Check Completion of Application Form Sub Process
Possible improvement:
The University of Western Australia
Main model After Review of Quality
Process flow problem
The University of Western Australia
Collect Payment Sub Process
Possible improvement:
The University of Western Australia
Additional