Information System
Assignment: Case Write-ups
Due Date: Midnight of the day the caseisdiscussed in class
Case write-ups should be short and professional
Format: Professional memo format(this means “from, to, date, subject, and body” fields, just like a memo)
noting critical assessments and making any suitable recommendations. If there is a specific either/or in the case,
make a recommendation to that either/or, even if you note those aren’t the only options
Length: 1 page(really, only one page, there will be a significant grade penalty for going over one page)
Layout: Standard conventions (reasonable border, reasonable font, reasonable line spacing – You should know
what this is as a matter of course, but as a hint, it does not mean ½” margins, 9 point fonts, no headings, no
white space)
Notes: I will ask one or more individuals who write up a case to come to the front and explain the case to the
class along with your recommendations. You should be able to do this without notes, and are not allowed to
usePowerPoint.
Whenever you are writing up a case, you should be thinking about the questions below. In your write-up you should
address an appropriate subset of these topics you believe are appropriate for the case at hand, arrainged in a
logical order. If there is a question to be answered by the case, or a dilemma the company is facing, make an
explicit recommendation. When writing up a case, assume your audience is familiar with the company and the
situation. Any discussion of the company and their situation should have a ‘value-add’, in other words, if you are
restating facts from the case, there needs to be a point to it which you get to very rapidly (you only have one
page!). You will have to make tough decisions about what to include and exclude from your write-up. Focus on the
key points that drive any recommendation you are making or that exclude alternatives.
Submit your write-up to BlackBoard, to the Case 1 or Case 2 assignment. Please be aware I may forward some cases to
the rest of the class for peer sharing.
Things to Think About when Analyzing a Case
I. What is the company in the business of doing?
• What is the Core Business? This is harder than it sounds!!!But, what does the company do that creates or
adds value that can then be monetized (transformed into $$$$)? What does it take to be successful?
• What is the Business Strategy? Specifically, how is the company positioning itself and its products or
services versus competitive offerings? This would include strategic options such as a low cost strategy versus a
differentiation strategy, etc.
• What is the Organizational Strategy? How is the business positioning its inner workings to achieve its
business strategy? How is the organization structured, owned, operated? What size organization is it?
• What is going on in the Environment? These are influences from outside the industry, and can include
regulation (privacy laws, legal work weeks, HIPPA, etc.) economic conditions (recession, boom, bubbles) social
considerations, labor, etc.
• What is going on in the Industry? What is the ‘norm’ in the industry? What are competitors doing?
II. How can/should Information Systems and IT departments support the business?
• What should the IT strategy be? In a perfect world, what should IT do in order to support the core business
and the business strategy? This includes things like organization (centralized vs decentralized) funding (Corporate
Overhead vs Allocation vs Chargeback) spending allocations (Infrastructure vs Transactional vs Informational vs
Strategic).
• What are the alternatives, do they fit? Generate a list of possible alternatives that the company could
use. Remember that doing nothing is a viable alternative.Do all the alternatives fit within the organization
strategy? Think about staffing, funding, stakeholders, culture, etc.
• What are the constraints that influence IT options? Think about the answers to the questions in Part I, as
well as financial constraints, and organizational constraints, such as the capabilities of the IT department, the
needs of the user base, the values of the corporation, who will own and manage the solution you are proposing.
• Is the solution reasonable? Are the IT solutions – or is the IT solution you recommend – reasonable in this
environment, industry, company?
Last Modified: 11-15-2013