Aqa info 3 - 12/06/2012

There is a really good practice paper done by zigzag for June 2012 based on the pre release with the mark scheme it is a fantastic resource however i only have the first paper, does anyone have the second. This would be so beneficial for all of us !

Thanks thairshan!! What do you mean by hope and endurance?

Here is the first paper, does anyone have the second?

Thanks thairshan!! What do you mean by hope and endurance?

I got a feeling they might make us decide which team to choose and why for one of the big mark questions, because that would be an overall summary.

Yh i have developed an answer for that i think this might help please let me know what you think of it



Which team do you think will win?

Reasons for team endurance to win

Firstly, one reason for team endurance to win is that they have clearly followed and listened the clients requirement, as they have produced a clear ICT strategy. this strategy will allow the company to reach the overall mission statement/corporate objective for the company.

Secondly, they have researched the appropriate forms of technology via ICT/technology websites which allows the company to develop and create an effective system for the client. For example they met the requirement of keeping data secure by introducing a off site data facility for the company. These forms of technology are relevant too what the client was asking for so i think this will enable endurance team to win.

In addition, the edurance had more interaction with the potential customers of the youth service, this enables the company to maximise and increase customer base as a result. BY having a strong customer base the company can promote future events which enables them to have publicity through services like text messages and social sites.

Thirdly, endurance uses a phased conversion implementation method. This change over happens in stages which is appropriate in the case of the youth service system as procedures be broken down into a separate sections and developed one after the other. This reduces the need for the company to waste time and fix errors but allow the project to continue and run according to timescale set while assessing the business objectives.

Lastly, by team endurance using bespoked software they can create a program to the exact requirements of the client and as a result develop a system which will help the company to generate efficiency and productivity in the long run. This specialized software will enable the company to win the competition because they have met the requirements and objectives of the client.

However, on the other and there are some limitations which could cause the company to loose this competition and they are the following:

Firstly, they failed to interview the right users within the focus group. in this case they interviewed university professors and colleagues which were not what the client requested.they wasted a lot of time as a result causing them to not to interview the business administration team which was vital if they wanted success.

Secondly, They did not consider any finances or even create any budget plans unlike team hope. this was vital as they had to know whether the technology and ICT strategies they were going to introduce would be feasible for the company. This could jeopardize the companies cash-flow position and as a result cause scarlet and price to stop offering services to youths.

In addition, Bespoke software is highly expensive to develop as the right staff and expertise is required to program the system to the exact requirements of the client. Also system may need to need to be regularly updated for example during the processes of different events, so as a result the company may need to hire additional staff which they may not be willing to do especially if the companies financials are limiting them to do so.


Lastly, endurance did not take into consideration the different functions opinions and views within scarlet and price which was specifically requested by the client. This lack of communication may cause problems when designing an effective system for the company.


Reasons for hope to win

Firstly, is that they had clarified the business goals. By identifying the objectives set they had a clear sense of direction on how to approach this task and deliver an effective ICT strategy.

Secondly. they were able to obtain information of available finances which means that they could apprirporaitly choose the right type of systems which are affordable for the company to implement at this current period of time for example packaged software/off the shelf. This rectification of finance allowed them to meet one of the client requirements.

Thirdly, they interviewed the business administration function this allowed team hope to take notice of other people opinions allowing them to formulate an ICT strategy. It was vital to do this because they needed to develop a system which would be suitable for their targeted potential users of the system.

Lastly, hope will be able to improve the business interaction with customer in the long run efficiency. Customer relational management software allows the business to collect update and maintain all of its customer data in one centralized location. The information is accessible to everyone in the company who needs to customers information. By sharing up to date information in this way, improved customer serve levels can be achieved. In this way scarlet and price can build and maintain a strong and loyal customer base. This collection of information will allow them easily market an attract future potential consumers of the service in which they provide.

On the other hand here are some reasons why i think hope will not win the competition;

Firstly, they did not research much on future emerging technologies which they could implement within the ICT strategy. this was vital because it was one of the client requirements which they didnt manage meet which means that team endurance would have a compeititve advantage due to knowledge which they have gained.

Secondly, team hope lacks interaction with customers this may cause scarlet and price to loose out on potential when marketing future events for the company. This gives team endurance an advantage because they have developed a CRM system which enables scarelet and price to build a large customer base. The use of social netowrking site exponitionally growing which means it is important as it means scarlet price can be marketed easily and attract a large amount of potential consumers. This was not done by team hope so these factors may contribute to the failure of them winning them task.

In addition, i think team hope is wasting finance and not investing appropriatly for example in securing data as they are investiing in technologies such as giving internet to the whole building which can be a waste of time and money considering espeically taking into consideration what the mission and corporate objective of the business is. So therfore as a result i think team hope are just not using resources wisley and will evidentally fail and loose the copmetition.
Thirdly, another problem is that team hope havnt consider what will happen afterwards. they did not have any plans after the 5 year contract expires, this could cause problems as it does not meet the need of the user in terms of the scarlets price future growth within the market/industry.

Lastly, by implementing bulk printing and mailing shots scarlet price may have large amounts of consumables which may cause the company to spend high amounts just in maintaining the equipment. for example bulk printinng, lots of ink catridges would need to purchased as well as paper this adds to overall costs for the company. in addition, mail shots waste money as people consider these advertisments to be junk mail so its just unecessoryly wasted and chucked into the bin. This as a result could affect the enviroment as bulk printing emits a lot of co2 via electricity and lots of trees are cut down just to accommodate the demand for paper. These factors could contribute to negative corporate image so as a result team hope may loose because they havnt considered the enviromental impacts which may be caused when intorudcing this form of technology into the business.

To conclude, i believe that endurance will win because they have met all of client requirements and also because the disadvantages of team HOPE outweigh the advantages so as a result team endurance will win the overall competition.

Rated

Thanks do you think its need to be developed more or is it fine??

OH yh completely forgot about the workforce elements such as outsorcing was thinking of it then completely forgot also btw i am currently working on some more questions so will post some more answers up soon

Have you not read the pre-release?

Possible markers for outsourcing (hope) and in-house (indurance)

Outsourcing means contracting a business to carry out a particular service, such as
developing new software, telemarketing and manufacturing.
In-house means all required resources are developed using the expertise from the staff that the
organisation employs (1)
With regard to outsourcing SP can concentrate on what they do best and gain expertise from external
companies to cover unfamiliar areas (1) The business knowledge of the developers is an important
factor (1). The external software supplier is likely to have far more permanent resources at its disposal
(1). Future maintenance is another consideration (1) the external software supplier staff will be working
on other projects so staff with understanding won’t always be on hand (1).
With regard to in-house development SP could save initial costs by using the internal staff. They inhouse
developers are likely to have greater knowledge of the internal workings of the organisation (1)
Although the in-house developers may be able to engage contractor staff to boost their resources (1).
The expertise may be limited and the staff might not be able to do what they want because the
developers are also on site (1) it also means that any updates will be able to be carried out quite quickly
and effectively (1).