Discussion Question 12

DSS Discussion Question 12: Making SPI-DSS Happen

Initial Response due 12:00 AM May 2, 2004 (Saturday night / Sunday morning)

We have spent a semester "vugraph engineering" SPI-DSS. "Vugraph engineering" or "Powerpoint engineering" are terms I have heard engineers use about informal and poorly documented design processes that never seem to go anywhere. A certain amount of vugraph engineering is necessary in the early stages of a project, but if it goes on too long, the project is probably doomed. We did it for a purpose. However, if the SEOR department was serious about developing SPI-DSS, it would be necessary to move forward in a more structured manner.

We have learned that the SEOR Department is extremely budget limited. One way to build a system like this in a budget-limited environment is to use student projects. All senior undergraduate students take a two-semester project course and all graduate students take a one-semester project course. The objective would be to provide students with an educational experience while at the same time producing something of value to the department. Assume that the SEOR Department has asked you to do an analysis of the feasibility of implementing SPI-DSS as a student project in one of the project courses. Write a 1-2 page memo addressing the following questions:

If a project class was provided with the background materials you were given, along with the materials we have developed this semester (draft operational concept, model description, HCI description, data subsystem description, and draft test plan) and access to a committee of two or three SEOR faculty stakeholder representatives, do you think it is reasonable within the constraints of a project course to design, develop and test an operational prototype system with enough functionality to be useful? Justify your answer.
Assuming the department decides to go ahead with this, what should the composition of the team be? How many students are needed and what kind of skill mix should there be?
What resources must the department provide to enable success of the project?
Students completing a project course graduate and leave the university. If the department decides to implement SPI-DSS as a student project, what should the department do to maximize the maintainability and extensibility of SPI-DSS?
How should the project be managed by the department? How can grading and periodic reviews be structured in to make successful completion more likely?

Your memo should state your recommendations and summarize your justification in the first two paragraphs, and the remainder of the memo should include supporting discussion. You may refer to any of the materials you have been given, and information you have gathered in the course of your research this semester. It is perfectly all right to recommend that the department not move forward on this, but you must still answer the remaining questions on the assumption that the department chooses to move forward. In doing this, if you do not recommend moving forward, your response would naturally include cautions about the pitfalls that you see to successful completion. During the open discussion period, you may compose a draft memo and/or discuss the points that should be included in the memo. Your final submission should be a memo as described above.

Open discussion will be via WebCT. Please post at least one message during the general discussion period. Be prepared to discuss the issues raised in the dialogue in class on April 26. Your final response should address all the questions listed above. Your final response is due by 5:00 PM April 30 by email to the instructor at klaskey@gmu.edu. Final responses should be less than one page in length.