CRITICAL BUSINESS THINKING 1. Selecting a Systems Development Methodology Exus Incorporated is an intemational billing outsourcing company. Exus currently has revenues of $5 billion, more than 3,500 employees, and operations on every continent. You have recently been hired as the CIO. Your first task is to increase the software development project success rate which is currently at 20 percent. To ensure that future software development projects are success- ful, you want to standardize the systems development methodology across the entire enterprise Currently, each project determines which methodology it uses to develop software. Create a report detailing three system development methodologies that were covered in this text Compare each of these methodologies to the traditional waterfall approach. Finally, recommend which methodology you want to implement as your organizational standard. Be sure to highlight any potential roadblocks you might encounter when implementing the new standard methodology. 2. Understanding Project Failure You are the director of project management for Stello, a global manufacturer of high-end writing instruments. The company sells to primarily high-end customers, and the average price for one of its fine writing instruments is about $350. You are currently implementing a new customer relation- ship management system, and you want to do everything you can to ensure a successful systems development effort. Create a document summarizing the primary reasons this project could fail, along with your strategy to eliminate the possibility of system development failure on your project. 3. Missing Phases in the Systems Development Life Cycle Hello Inc. is a large concierge service for executives operating in Chicago, San Francisco, and New York. The company performs all kinds of services from dog walking to airport tansportation. Your manager, Dan Martello, wants to skip the testing phase during the company's financial ERP implementation. He feels that because the system came from a vendor, it should work correctly. Draft a memo explaining the importance of following the SDLC and the ramifications to the business if the financial system is not tested. 4. Refusing to Sign Off You are the primary client on a large extranet development project. After carefully reviewing the requirements definition document, you are positive that there are missing, ambiguous, inaccurate, and unclear requirements. The project manager is pressuring you for your sign-off because he has already received sign-off from five of your co-workers. If you fail to sign off on the requirements, you are going to put the entire project at risk because the time frame is nonnegotiable.What would you do? Why? 5. Saving Failing Systems Crik Candle Company manufactures low-end candles for restaurants. The company generates more than $40 million in annual revenues and has more than 300 employees. You are in the middle of a large multimillion-dollar supply chain management implementation. Your project man- ager has just come to you with the information that the project might fail for the following reasons: Several business requirements were incorrect and the scope has to be doubled. Three developers recentily quit. The deadline has been moved up a month. Develop a list of options that your company can follow to ensure that the project remains on schedule and within budget. 6. Explaining Project Management Prime Time Inc. is a large consulting company that specializes in outsourcing people with project management capabilities and skills. You are in the middle of an interview for a job with Prime Time. The manager performing the interview asks you to explain why managing a proj- ect plan is critical to a project's success. The manager also wants you to explain scope creep and feature creep and your tactics for managing them on a project. Finally, the manager wants you to elaborate on your strategies for delivering successful projects and reducing risks. 7. Applying Project Management Techniques You have been hired by a medium-sized airline company, Sun Best.Sun Best currently flies more than 300 routes in the East. The company is experiencing tremendous issues coordinating its 3,500 pilots, 7,000 flight attendants, and 2,000 daily flights. Determine how Sun Best could use a Gantt chart to help it coordinate pilots, flight attendants, and daily flights. Using Excel, create a sample Gantt chart highlighting the different types of activities and resources Sun Best could track with the tool