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Comprehensive Project Plan

Overview

This is the fifth and final course project deliverable in the series of five sequential assignments in this course. You are continuing on in your role as the CTO of a hypothetical e-commerce start-up company of your design. Throughout the course, you have been working on delivering an information technology project plan in anticipation of the company relocating to a new facility.

• In the first course project deliverable, you created a project plan inception document and supporting Gantt chart.
• In the second course project deliverable, you developed the business requirements to be incorporated into the information systems design you are creating. You also updated your original supporting Gantt chart based on major and minor tasks identified in the business requirements document.
• In the third course project deliverable, you created an infrastructure design that considered the key elements of software, hardware, security, and business process flow for your e-commerce startup company. Once again you updated the supporting Gantt chart based on the major and minor tasks identified in the infrastructure design document.
• In the fourth course project deliverable you developed the system implementation document. This document spelled out the EFI technical aspects of your e-commerce company’s information systems infrastructure. Again you updated the supporting Gantt chart to reflect the major and minor tasks identified in the system implementation document.

You are now in the final stage of the project plan development. You will leverage all previous deliverables and integrate them into one document that will serve as the project’s statement of work. Your goal is for the start-up company’s executive team and the venture capital group to approve and fund your project. The detailed project plan is necessary to accomplish the monumental implementation task. The executive team and investors, however, are only interested in an executive summary in the form of a 10–15 slide PowerPoint presentation. As a result, you are required to create a compelling PowerPoint presentation, supported by the detail in your project plan, which convinces the executive group that your solution is optimal.

This assignment consists of three parts:

Part 1: Comprehensive Project Plan

You will create an 8–10 page final comprehensive project plan. This document will distill down the most salient points from each of the four previous course deliverables into one integrated, cohesive comprehensive project plan that persuades investors of the recommended approach. Critical Note: Do NOT simply combine the previous four assignments into one 30–50 page document. Instead, your task is to:

• Review each of the four previous assignments.
• Select the most critical information from each that investors need to know to make an informed investment decision.
• Summarize the information you selected.
• Ensure that the selected information flows from one section to the next in a cohesive and compelling fashion.

Part 2: Executive Presentation

You will create a compelling 10–15 slide executive presentation that convinces the start-up company’s executive team and potential investors to invest in the company. Your recommended solution is the one that can grow this $5 million dollar, e-commerce start-up company into a $30 million dollar company within the next two years.

Part 3: Updated Final Gantt Chart

You will use Microsoft Project to update the supporting project Gantt chart begun in your first course project deliverable.

• You are not creating a new Gantt chart, only updating the one you created in the previous assignment to produce the final project Gantt chart to include all major and minor tasks necessary to execute the project.

Note:

• You are to create or assume all necessary assumptions to successfully complete this assignment.
• You must submit all three parts as separate files to the assignment area. Label each file name according to the appropriate part.

Instructions

Part 1: Comprehensive Project Plan

You are to write a comprehensive 8–10 page comprehensive, final project plan in which you:

1. Describe the project’s goals, objectives, scope, and control measures.
2. Relate the value of the proposed solution to the competitive advantage that information technology will afford the e-commerce company.
3. Provide a rough estimate of the entire project’s cost, including hardware, software, and labor.
   • The work you did to create the bill of materials in the fourth course project deliverable will help you with this.
4. Use three sources to support your writing.
   • Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate.
   • Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment.
   • Access the library or review library guides for help with research, writing, and citation.

Part 2: Executive Presentation

You are to create a 10–15 slide executive PowerPoint presentation to persuade potential investors to invest in your e-commerce start-up company. In your presentation you are to:

1. Illustrate the concepts from your 8–10 page comprehensive project plan in an executive presentation.
2. Create bulleted speaking notes to the executive board in the Notes section of your PowerPoint presentation.

Note:

• Create or assume any fictitious names, data, or scenarios that have not been established in this assignment for a realistic flow of communication.
• Consider including images, graphics, charts, and tables in your presentation to increase audience engagement.

Part 3: Updated Gantt Chart

Use Microsoft Project to:

1. Update the previous Gantt chart to produce the final project Gantt chart to include all major and minor tasks necessary to execute the project.

Formatting

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Note the following:

Comprehensive Project Plan

• The preferred method is for this portion of your assignment to be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
• Include a cover page containing the assignment title, your name, your professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
• Include a source list page. Citations and references must follow SWS format. The source list page is not included in the required page length.

Executive Presentation

• Use a readable size font (24 points or above) on your slides. For your slide notes, the preferred method is to use Times New Roman font (size 12), single-spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
• Include a title slide containing the assignment title, your name, your professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The title slide is not included in the required number of slides.
• Include a source list slide. Citations and references must follow SWS format. The source list slide is not included in the required number of slides.

Learning Outcomes 

The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Create a comprehensive project plan and an executive presentation for potential investors.