Step 1: Choose a Business or Organization To begin, choose a business or organization that you would like to evaluate it can be where you work, a school (UMGC), a place of worship, government entity (e.g., DMV, Secretary of State, courthouse, etc.), or any other type of organization. Since the focus of the analysis will involve information technology, the best type of organization to choose is one where you can envision technology playing a key role in improving products, processes, or services. *From this point on, the instructions focus on the first deliverable, the SWOT Analysis*

Step 2: The SWOT Analysis Now that you have chosen a business or organization for your Class Project, it is time to complete the first deliverable the SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is a framework for identifying and analyzing an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats -- SWOT stands for: Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat. Commonly used by businesses, this tool focuses on factors that are important to strategic decision making. These factors include both internal and external influences on the viability of the organization. For more explanations on a SWOT Analysis, go to: Complete Your SWOT Analysis Forbes: What Is A SWOT Analysis? SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Refer to the SWOT examples on Heineken and Walt Disney World (below) You will use a SWOT analysis to help analyze the current health of your organization, and (in week 8), you will identify possible ways the information technology could be used to make it stronger. The SWOT analysis offers a visual way of identifying both the positive attributes of an organization, and areas that need to be recognized and addressed. Thinking of the organization you chose, start by filling out a simple table listing its internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats: SWOT Table: Task: List 2-3 Strengths and 2-3 Weaknesses Strengths and weaknesses are associated with internal resources and experiences and include: Characteristics of the business that give it an advantage over others in the industry. Positive tangible and intangible attributes, internal to an organization. Human resources - staff, volunteers, board members, target population Physical resources - location, building, equipment Financial products/services, other sources of income Activities and processes programs and processes, online presence Past experiences - building blocks for learning and success, Fyour reputation in the community Task: List 2-3 Opportunities and 2-3 Threats Opportunities and threats are factors outside of business operations that can contribute to either the make the organization stronger or be troublesome. The ability of a business to identify, control, and adapt to these external factors can make it more profitable: Market expansion Complacent/aggressive competition Changing customer needs and tastes Economic swings Changing government deregulations

Step 3: Write the SWOT Analysis Now that you have identified the organization you will analyze and completed a SWOT table listing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the organization, it is time to write the analysis paper that will be submitted to your instructor/classroom. The paper should include all of the following: 1. Title page - the title of paper, company/organization name, your name, course, and date of submission. 2. Purpose briefly describe what the SWOT methodology is and the business/organization you are focusing on. 3. SWOT Analysis include a SWOT Analysis table and describe each quadrant (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) for your organization. Each quadrant should be clearly identified in the analysis and the description should include the importance of the attributes to the organization. 4. Conclusion synthesize the findings from the SWOT analysis. 5. References - cite at least two resources with APA formatted citation and reference