SSE674Project4-Main

=Project 4 Introduction = = Created By: Les Laurell & Steven Vaughn =

Our initial thought on this project was to take a process that I work with and apply the techniques in the book to it. After discussing the concept over with Steven we came to two conclusions. The first was that the details of the process expose the working of how the military manages its missile systems. While this information can be found on the web and is not in itself classified, the idea of putting it in one location didn’t feel right. The second consideration was that we would be focusing on the direct process of the task and not the entire scope of the project. So, we decided to come up with a fictional company and apply the steps of the process we discussed to this company. This gave us a pattern to use and explore a potential business venture.

The concept we came up with is a third party product repair company. The idea is to pitch this concept to a small component device company (i.e. Apple Computer) for a maintenance contract for their various products. We chose to use Apple as our concept product, however, we changed their name (to Dapple) to avoid any kind of copyright or other legal problems. The repair centers will be located at strategic areas across the country to maximize quick repair turn around. If a customer has a product that needs repair they will use our company’s web site and fill out a maintenance form to start the repair process. Once the item is verified it will be assigned a repair center and an address to ship to. Once the product is received, the following actions are completed:

> 1. Model type is identified and sent to the correct section.

> 2. The software currently installed is backed up (user data) if possible.

> 3. Maintenance is identified on the product (i.e.,  warranty determination).

> 4. Once the item is evaluated the appropriate repair action is executed.

> 5. Once the repair is completed the latest software is installed and backup is recovered.

> 6. The item is prepared for shipment.

> 7. The item’s maintenance history is documented and item is shipped.

Our initial requirements are:

> 1. Have a single centralized database to track maintenance actions, software updates, and item history.

> 2. Database will have a web base access so it can be accessed from all maintenance sites.

> 3. Web application will provide backup software.

> 4. Web app will have the latest system software for each device.

> 5. Application will need to be completed by July 2011.

> 6. Each system to be repaired will have a technical guide to make maintenance standardized and help train new technicians.

We will assemble a team consisting of a project manager, system engineers, software engineers, and management personnel. The project manager will be responsible for getting the project organized and everyone on task. The systems engineers will have a lead engineer and a team of engineers to create the technical guides for the repair actions. The software engineer will have a team of developers to create and implement the web based software for the repair technicians to use. The management personnel will manage the technicians and oversee that items are repaired in a timely manner.

This is the initial idea we came up with. As we started progressing and creating various documents we realized that the artifacts we were developing had no relevant scope. They were just documents, so we took the concept a step further. We decided to develop a risk manager’s journal that discusses the project as it is happening and identified the various documents the project needs during the venture.

So what follows is the journey of this company’s project to repair small component devices. We will start off by  discussing the company's Statement of Work (SOW)...

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