Homework Help is Here – Start Your Trial Now!
Business
Operations Management
1. Should BestLine's ordering department have been more involved during the project? 2. Sarah used expert interviews for this project. Were there more effective methods for gathering the requirements? 3. What crucial step(s) did Sarah skip in the requirements process? 4. Which downstream activities would likely be affected by her approach? At what point in the project would the problems likely emerge? 5. Should Sarah have presented the requirements to the ordering manager at this point? Should the ordering manager have signed off on them?

1. Should BestLine's ordering department have been more involved during the project? 2. Sarah used expert interviews for this project. Were there more effective methods for gathering the requirements? 3. What crucial step(s) did Sarah skip in the requirements process? 4. Which downstream activities would likely be affected by her approach? At what point in the project would the problems likely emerge? 5. Should Sarah have presented the requirements to the ordering manager at this point? Should the ordering manager have signed off on them?

Practical Management Science
Practical Management Science
6th Edition
ISBN:9781337406659
Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Publisher:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Chapter2: Introduction To Spreadsheet Modeling
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 20P: Julie James is opening a lemonade stand. She believes the fixed cost per week of running the stand...
See similar textbooks
icon
Related questions
Question

Please answer in one paragraph each question

Mastering Scope and Requirements Management Case BestLine Hardware Study I| In spring of last year, BestLine Hardware undertook an ambitious program to overhaul their supply chain. In early planning, BestLine predicted that they could save over 25% of their entire supply chain costs by streamlining and optimizing their practices. One of the areas that had the most promise for savings and efficiency was that of order communication and fulfillment. In the existing system, Bestline's inventory management department triggered a request to the ordering department. The ordering department then created an order and faxed it out to one of their suppliers. The supplier marked down on the fax what could be fulfilled against the order and would fax it back to BestLine for processing. Over time, this fax-based system proved to be inefficient and error-prone. Faxes were often lost or garbled, and hand-written comments could be very difficult to interpret accurately. As a part of their supply-chain efficiency effort, BestLine decided that they would try to modernize their ordering and fulfillment system by creating an Internet-based system. BestLine believed that the Internet solution would improve the speed, reliability, and accuracy of order placement. A project was commissioned, and Sarah Davis, a senior project manager, was assigned to the effort. Immediately, Sarah went about analyzing the project, understanding the reasons it had been undertaken. She identified the needs and the stakeholders for each need, and she properly identified the project's constraints. As Sarah began to gather the requirements, however, she started experiencing difficulty with the project. Members of senior management expressed a strong idea about the scope of the project, but the Information Technology department had a thorough set of technical requirements that did not completely fit senior management's goals. Additionally, the supplier-relations group commissioned a focus group of suppliers and insisted that this group be allowed to give input on the project. Ultimately, Sarah elected to try and involve as many of the stakeholders as possible. She and her lead Business Analyst set up a series of ninety minute one-on-one expert interviews with the stakeholders. They gathered nearly two hundred pages of documentation as a result of these meetings, and from there, Sarah and the analyst worked to create usability scenarios that represented all of the requirements she had captured. The focus group continued to be involved in the process, and in general they were pleased with what they saw. When the requirements were presented to the ordering department for sign off, however, the manager of the ordering department complained that he had not been adequately involved and that the documented requirements were nearly impossible for a non-technical person to understand. Sarah stated that the requirements had been thoroughly analyzed and pointed out the ordering department had been given the opportunity to be involved. She also noted that two department members had been interviewed, and she stressed that any delay on the signature at this point would almost certainly delay the project. Ultimately, the manager of the ordering department signed off on the requirements, even though he did not feel comfortable with his understanding of the material. Sarah and her team then began designing the new system.
Transcribed Image Text:Mastering Scope and Requirements Management Case BestLine Hardware Study I| In spring of last year, BestLine Hardware undertook an ambitious program to overhaul their supply chain. In early planning, BestLine predicted that they could save over 25% of their entire supply chain costs by streamlining and optimizing their practices. One of the areas that had the most promise for savings and efficiency was that of order communication and fulfillment. In the existing system, Bestline's inventory management department triggered a request to the ordering department. The ordering department then created an order and faxed it out to one of their suppliers. The supplier marked down on the fax what could be fulfilled against the order and would fax it back to BestLine for processing. Over time, this fax-based system proved to be inefficient and error-prone. Faxes were often lost or garbled, and hand-written comments could be very difficult to interpret accurately. As a part of their supply-chain efficiency effort, BestLine decided that they would try to modernize their ordering and fulfillment system by creating an Internet-based system. BestLine believed that the Internet solution would improve the speed, reliability, and accuracy of order placement. A project was commissioned, and Sarah Davis, a senior project manager, was assigned to the effort. Immediately, Sarah went about analyzing the project, understanding the reasons it had been undertaken. She identified the needs and the stakeholders for each need, and she properly identified the project's constraints. As Sarah began to gather the requirements, however, she started experiencing difficulty with the project. Members of senior management expressed a strong idea about the scope of the project, but the Information Technology department had a thorough set of technical requirements that did not completely fit senior management's goals. Additionally, the supplier-relations group commissioned a focus group of suppliers and insisted that this group be allowed to give input on the project. Ultimately, Sarah elected to try and involve as many of the stakeholders as possible. She and her lead Business Analyst set up a series of ninety minute one-on-one expert interviews with the stakeholders. They gathered nearly two hundred pages of documentation as a result of these meetings, and from there, Sarah and the analyst worked to create usability scenarios that represented all of the requirements she had captured. The focus group continued to be involved in the process, and in general they were pleased with what they saw. When the requirements were presented to the ordering department for sign off, however, the manager of the ordering department complained that he had not been adequately involved and that the documented requirements were nearly impossible for a non-technical person to understand. Sarah stated that the requirements had been thoroughly analyzed and pointed out the ordering department had been given the opportunity to be involved. She also noted that two department members had been interviewed, and she stressed that any delay on the signature at this point would almost certainly delay the project. Ultimately, the manager of the ordering department signed off on the requirements, even though he did not feel comfortable with his understanding of the material. Sarah and her team then began designing the new system.
Case Study II Questions BestLine Hardware: 1. Should BestLine's ordering department have been more involved during the project? 2. Sarah used expert interviews for this project. Were there more effective methods for gathering the requirements? 3. What crucial step(s) did Sarah skip in the requirements process? 4. Which downstream activities would likely be affected by her approach? At what point in the project would the problems likely emerge? 5. Should Sarah have presented the requirements to the ordering manager at this point? Should the ordering manager have signed off on them?
Transcribed Image Text:Case Study II Questions BestLine Hardware: 1. Should BestLine's ordering department have been more involved during the project? 2. Sarah used expert interviews for this project. Were there more effective methods for gathering the requirements? 3. What crucial step(s) did Sarah skip in the requirements process? 4. Which downstream activities would likely be affected by her approach? At what point in the project would the problems likely emerge? 5. Should Sarah have presented the requirements to the ordering manager at this point? Should the ordering manager have signed off on them?
Expert Solution
trending now

Trending now

This is a popular solution!

steps

Step by step

Solved in 2 steps

SEE SOLUTIONCheck out a sample Q&A here
Blurred answer
Knowledge Booster
Communication styles
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, operations-management and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
Recommended textbooks for you
Practical Management Science
Practical Management Science
Operations Management
ISBN:
9781337406659
Author:
WINSTON, Wayne L.
Publisher:
Cengage,
Operations Management
Operations Management
Operations Management
ISBN:
9781259667473
Author:
William J Stevenson
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Education
Operations and Supply Chain Management (Mcgraw-hi…
Operations and Supply Chain Management (Mcgraw-hi…
Operations Management
ISBN:
9781259666100
Author:
F. Robert Jacobs, Richard B Chase
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Education
Business in Action
Business in Action
Operations Management
ISBN:
9780135198100
Author:
BOVEE
Publisher:
PEARSON CO
Purchasing and Supply Chain Management
Purchasing and Supply Chain Management
Operations Management
ISBN:
9781285869681
Author:
Robert M. Monczka, Robert B. Handfield, Larry C. Giunipero, James L. Patterson
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Production and Operations Analysis, Seventh Editi…
Production and Operations Analysis, Seventh Editi…
Operations Management
ISBN:
9781478623069
Author:
Steven Nahmias, Tava Lennon Olsen
Publisher:
Waveland Press, Inc.
SEE MORE TEXTBOOKS