IFSM 370 Project 3: Case Study Instructions
IFSM 370 Project 3: Case Study Instructions
IFSM 370 Project 3: Case Study Instructions
Introduction
This is an individual project. The target audience will be the organization’s senior leadership, the founders. The Case Study deliverable is an MS Word document. The completed Case Study deliverable is due by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the due date shown in the Course Schedule. See the Additional Information section of the syllabus for the penalty for late or missed assignments and projects.
The Case Study is valued at 16% of the course grade.
Case Study
Company Overview
FractalApps is a software development start-up. It was founded by three friends who went to undergrad school together at the University of Maryland. They founded their startup recently and set up headquarters at the condo of the two founders in Washington, DC. They have focused their attention on mobile app development and have developed and successfully marketed a popular app for job seekers. Now they are expanding their company into a full-fledged software development house.
They have recently received a cash infusion from an angel investor in Silicon Valley and are ready to build out their business. Their plan is to have three locations:
1. a small headquarters in DC where the founders and senior staff reside
2. a sales office based in NYC (Brooklyn),
3 a development house in San Francisco where the bulk of the developers live and work.
They are looking for your team to develop standardized and secure network design for their business and they need guidance on what the hardware/software requirements are at the different locations. In your plan and diagram(s) you don’t need to specify the number of workers or workstations in each location, but you need to address the number of locations and type of network connections and support they need. The number of employees working at or remotely for any location is not known but they do require a secure way for mobile workers to remote into the network and participate as if they were in the office. Many of the sales staff are in the field, while many of the development staff want to be able to work from practically anywhere.
Once again, you are preparing a higher-level functional proposal for the Senior leadership of the firm. They are NOT technologists interested in make, model, part number or a detailed vendor pricing. DO NOT get lost in the weeds (In other words, do not submit cut-and -past-vendor specific sales pitch materials that you will find on the web from vendors )
Your Deliverable:
A written document describing the functional-based Network diagram(s) depicting the 3-site connected company network design that includes site-specific networks and considers any unique needs based on their size and functions.
Your plan must cover the four main topics below. Please provide descriptive headings for each. Designs should be constructed using fundamental network devices (devices, switches, routers, cables, servers, etc.) at each location. A design submitted that simply depicts connections to and from cloud-based service services will be graded as zero.
1 Identification of a minimum of five specific business requirements that relate to the design and implementation of the network. (You need to show the business and technical audience that will be funding and managing these three locations a design that they will support both functionally and financially)
2 Definition of the most appropriate cabling for the local area network(s); define the network components in the local area network and explain your reasoning for selecting each of these
.
3 Definition of the wide area network infrastructure (technology); including the network components in the wide area network and explain your reasoning for selecting each of these.
4 Definition of the VPN components (hardware/software) for the organization. Explain what components go where, and what is required on the mobile devices. Justify your recommendation.
Your deliverable will be a 4 – 5-page Microsoft Word document. The page count includes the diagram(s) but does not count the cover page and references page. At least two (2) external industry sources (other than the assigned readings, and vendor propaganda) must be used, and citations and references must be in APA format.
Scoring Rubric
Attribute | Full points | Partial points | No points | Possible Points |
Business Requirements Analysis | Analysis covers five requirements, defining them and providing explanations of each; and demonstrates understanding of course concepts, analysis, and critical thinking. | Analysis covers one to four requirements, and/or lacks definitions and/or explanations for each; and may be lacking in demonstration of understanding of course concepts, analysis, and/or critical thinking. | Analysis is not included or does not identify any requirements. | 3 |
LAN Technology solution | An appropriate technology solution is provided, including cabling and all network components in the local area network(s). Thorough explanation of the reasoning for selecting each of the LAN components and all identified requirements are addressed. | A technology solution is partially provided for the local area network(s). An explanation of the reasoning for selecting each of the LAN components and all identified requirements may be included. | No technology solution is provided. | 4 |
WAN Technology solution | An appropriate technology solution is provided, including infrastructure and all network components in the wide area network(s). Thorough explanation of the reasoning for selecting each of the WAN components and all identified requirements are addressed. | A technology solution is partially provided for the wide area network(s). An explanation of the reasoning for selecting each of the WAN components and all identified requirements may be included. | No technology solution is provided. | 4 |
Attribute | Full points | Partial points | No points | Possible Points |
VPN Technology | An appropriate technology solution, including VPN components (hardware/software) is provided and thoroughly explained/justified. It addresses all identified requirements. | A technology solution is partially appropriate and/or partially explained. It may only partially address the requirements. | No technology solution is provided. | 3 |
External research | More than two sources other than assigned course readings or materials are incorporated and used effectively. | One or two sources other than the assigned readings and course materials may be used but are not properly incorporated or used and/or are not effective or appropriate. | No external research is incorporated. | 1 |
Document format | The document reflects effective organization and correct sentence structure, grammar, and spelling; it is presented in a professional format; it incorporates illustrations or diagrams; and references are appropriately incorporated and cited, using APA style. At least one network diagram is incorporated to illustrate the proposed solution. | The document is not well-organized, and/or contains grammar and/or spelling errors; it does not contain appropriate illustrations or diagrams; and/or it does not follow APA style for references and citations. At least one network diagram may be incorporated to illustrate the proposed solution. | The document is extremely poorly written and does not convey the information. No network diagram is incorporated to illustrate the proposed solution. | 1 |
Total Points: | 16 |
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