Proposal Overview

The Proposal Overview section (suggested length of 2–4 pages) introduces the problem and overviews the solution. It contains the “road map” for the organization of the remainder of the paper. Describe the problem the project addresses and then provide an overview of the project and the organization of the paper. Summarize the capstone’s highlights. Include the following in your summary:

Problem Summary

Summaries of the problem should include the context in which this problem exists. Summarize what will and will not be included in the project. Provide sufficient background information so that the reader can appreciate the need for a solution and the approach that will be taken in the project.

IT Solution

Describe the proposed IT solution to the problem. Clearly identify the relationship between the problem and the proposed solution.

Implementation Plan

This section should contain the details of an implementation plan. Provide details on the different phases (if applicable). Explain how the project will be carried out and why it will be carried out in that manner. Discuss the plan for implementing the project.

Review of Other Work

In this section (suggested length of 3–4 pages), review other works done by a third party that are relevant and directly relate to the project. Review at least four other works completed on the chosen topic. Summarize interviews, white papers, research studies, or other types of work by industry professionals. For example, if planning a server upgrade project, summarize articles that describe successful upgrade server solutions in other companies, comparisons of various server hardware and software products that are possible solutions, and any case studies that relate or are similar to the planned server upgrade.

Include the following in your review:

Relation of Artifacts to Project Development

Provide a logical description of how each work reviewed relates to the proposed development of the project. Explain how each of the chosen works contextualize the problem or provide direction to the project.

Project Rationale

Summaries should include the rationale for choosing this project, including what makes this problem interesting or significant. The Project Rationale section (suggested length of 1–2 pages) provides a rationale for the project. It should address the reasons for implementing the project, as described in the Proposal Overview. The rationale may include and expand on both business and technical reasons to support the implementation. Justify the selection of the project.

Current Project Environment

This section (suggested length of 2–3 pages) describes and details the current project environment. It should also address specifically how the current state will set the direction for the definition and implementation of the proposed solution. Other details that support the description should also be included here as needed to support and succinctly define the project environment. Analyze the systems and describe the status of the project environment before the project began.

Methodology

This section (suggested length of 1–2 pages) describes and details the specific methodology. The methodology is the process that the project will follow when it is implemented. Include specific details to adequately describe the steps that will take place to fully execute the project. Explain how a standard methodology (such as PDCA, ADDIE, SDLC, Prototyping or Agile) will be applied for the implementation of the project.

Project Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables

In Project Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables (suggested length of 3–5 pages), provide a detailed explanation of the goals and objectives for the project, and explain what the project will provide. There should be a specific and clear identification of each goal and objective, as well as a clear and logical description with adequate detail of each of the goals and objectives. Address and explain the criteria that will be used to measure the objectives in order to demonstrate how each goal and objective will be measured. The project will include some sort of formal report. It will likely also include a technical IT product and/or a user’s manual or other documentation. Deliverables should provide a detailed logical explanation of what the project will provide to substantiate the work and completion of such. Include the following in the description:

Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables Table

Every project has one or more goals. Each goal is supported by at least one project objective. Each objective is enabled by at least one project deliverable. Fill out this or a similarly organized table:

	Goal	Supporting objectives	Deliverables enabling the project objectives
1	Summarize project goal 1	1.a. Describe project objective 1.a.	1.a.i. Explain project deliverable 1.a.i
1.a.ii. Explain project deliverable 1.a.ii
…
1.b. Describe project objective 1.b.	1.b.i. Explain project deliverable 1.b.i
1.b.ii. Explain project deliverable 1.b.ii
…
…	…
…
…
2	Summarize project goal 2	2.a. Describe project objective 2.a.	2.a.i. Explain project deliverable 2.a.i
2.a.ii. Explain project deliverable 2.a.ii
…
2.b. Describe project objective 2.b.	2.b.i. Explain project deliverable 2.b.i
2.b.ii. Explain project deliverable 2.b.ii
…
…	…
…
…
…	…	…	…
…
…
…	…
…
…
…	…
…
…

Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables Descriptions

Describe each of the project goals. Describe each objective. Explain how the objectives support the goals, and explain how the objectives will be achieved. Explain what types of deliverables the project will provide, and describe the key project deliverables expected by the end of the project. Provide a description of the project goals, objectives, and deliverables that aligns with the Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables Table.

Project Timeline with Milestones

In this section (suggested length of 1–2 pages), provide a projected timeline with milestones for the project. These may be estimates that will most likely be adjusted, as many times the project will require adjustments during the development and implementation phases. Provide a projected timeline with milestones for the project, including the duration and start and end dates of each milestone. Include the following table:

Milestone or deliverable	Duration (hours or days)	Projected start date	Anticipated end date

Outcome

In this section, describe the anticipated project outcomes and explain how the success of the project will be measured once completed. Explain the expected project outcomes and describe the evaluation framework to be used once the project is completed to assess the project’s success and effectiveness.

References

List all the outside sources that the narrative refers to in text. For information regarding in-text and reference list citations, please refer to the web link or visit the WGU Writing Center.

Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L., & Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas. Journal of Abnormal Eating, 8(3), 120-125. Retrieved from

http://www.articlehomepage.com/full/url/

Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living Web. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 149. Retrieved from http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving

Bell, T., & Phillips, T. (2008, May 6). A solar flare. Science @ NASA Podcast. Podcast retrieved from http://science.nasa.gov/podcast.htm

OLPC Peru/Arahuay. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2011 from the OLPC Wiki: http://wiki.laptop. org/go/OLPC_Peru/Arahuay

Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals. K. V. Kukil (Ed.). New York, NY: Anchor.

Appendix A

Title of Appendix

Put any supporting material in these appendices. Add additional or delete superfluous appendices as needed.

For this task, you will use the attached “IT Capstone Proposal Template.”

This task will consist of a proposal for a major IT project that was approved by a course mentor. The proposal will identify a problem and propose an IT solution to the problem. Your proposal will also explain how you plan to implement your project to successfully resolve the problem, including a methodology for project development.

Your work for task 2 will not be evaluated until the appropriate forms in task 1 have been submitted and evaluated.

REQUIREMENTS

---

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

Note: When using sources to support ideas and elements in an assessment, the submission MUST include APA formatted in-text citations with a corresponding reference list for any direct quotes or paraphrasing. It is not necessary to list sources that were consulted if they have not been quoted or paraphrased in the text of the assessment.

Discuss (suggested length of 15–20 pages) your project in a narrative proposal by doing the following:

A.  Proposal Overview (suggested length of 2–4 pages) : Create an IT proposal and project overview by doing the following:

1.  Identify the problem.

2.  Propose an IT solution.

3.  Explain the plan to implement this proposed project.

B.  Review of Other Work (suggested length of 3–4 pages) : Provide a review of four other works that have been completed on your topic and that you will use as background for this proposed project.

Note: These other works may include interviews, white papers, research studies, or other types of work by industry professionals.

1.  Describe how each  work reviewed relates to the proposed development of this project.

C.  Rationale (suggested length of 1–2 pages) : Provide a rationale showing the need for your proposed project.

D.  Current Project Environment (suggested length of 2–3 pages) : Provide a description of the current state of the project environment or the current state of affairs that makes your proposed project necessary.

E.  Methodology (suggested length of 1–2 pages) : Explain how you will apply a standard methodology (such as ADDIE or SDLC) for the implementation of your project.

F.  Project Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables (suggested length of 3–5 pages) : Explain the goals, objectives, and deliverables for the project, including the following information:

1.  Provide a table showing the relationship between goals and their supporting objectives, including outcomes or deliverables.

2.  Provide a description of project goals, objectives, and deliverables.

G.  Project Timeline with Milestones (suggested length of 1–2 pages) : Provide a projected timeline with milestones for your project, including the duration and start and end dates of each milestone.

H.  Outcome (suggested length of 1–2 pages) : Reflect on how you will measure the success and effectiveness of this project.

I.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. 

File Restrictions

File name may contain only letters, numbers, spaces, and these symbols: ! – _ . * ‘ ( )
File size limit: 200 MB
File types allowed: doc, docx, rtf, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, odt, pdf, txt, qt, mov, mpg, avi, mp3, wav, mp4, wma, flv, asf, mpeg, wmv, m4v, svg, tif, tiff, jpeg, jpg, gif, png, zip, rar, tar, 7z

RUBRIC

---

ARTICULATION OF RESPONSE (CLARITY, ORGANIZATION, MECHANICS):

NOT EVIDENT The candidate provides unsatisfactory articulation of response.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides weak articulation of response.

COMPETENT The candidate provides adequate articulation of response.

TECHNICAL WRITING STYLE:

NOT EVIDENT The writing style is characterized by poor choice of technical terminology, jargon, and style.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE Minor errors in the use of terminology and domain-specific jargon are evident. The writing style impedes the understanding of the work.

COMPETENT Relevant terminology, acronyms and domain-specific jargon are evident. The submission exhibits appropriate technical writing style.

APA FORMATTING:

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide formatting according to APA style in the report.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides formatting according to some APA style in the report.

COMPETENT The candidate provides formatting according to most APA style in the report.

A1:PROBLEM

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not identify the problem.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE Not applicable.

COMPETENT The candidate identifies the problem.

A2:IT SOLUTION

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide an appropriate proposal of an IT solution.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides an appropriate proposal, with insufficient support, of an IT solution.

COMPETENT The candidate provides an appropriate proposal, with sufficient support, of an IT solution.

A3:PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide a logical explanation of the plan to implement the proposed project.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides a logical explanation, with insufficient detail, of the plan to implement the proposed project.

COMPETENT The candidate provides a logical explanation, with sufficient detail, of the plan to implement the proposed project.

B:REVIEW OF OTHER WORK

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide a review of 4 other works that have been completed on the topic and that will be used as background for the proposed project.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides a review, with insufficient detail, of 4 other works that have been completed on the topic and that will be used as background for the proposed project.

COMPETENT The candidate provides a review, with sufficient detail, of 4 other works that have been completed on the topic and that will be used as background for the proposed project.

B1:RELATION OF ARTIFACT TO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide a logical description of how each work reviewed relates to the proposed development of the project.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides a logical description, with insufficient detail, of how each work reviewed relates to the proposed development of the project.

COMPETENT The candidate provides a logical description, with sufficient detail, of how each work reviewed relates to the proposed development of the project.

C:RATIONALE

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide a rationale showing the need for the proposed project.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides a rationale, with insufficient support, showing the need for the proposed project.

COMPETENT The candidate provides a rationale, with sufficient support, showing the need for the proposed project.

D:CURRENT PROJECT ENVIRONMENT

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide an appropriate description of the current state of the project environment or the current state of affairs that makes the proposed project necessary.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides an appropriate description, with insufficient detail, of the current state of the project environment or the current state of affairs that makes the proposed project necessary.

COMPETENT The candidate provides an appropriate description, with sufficient detail, of the current state of the project environment or the current state of affairs that makes the proposed project necessary.

E:METHODOLOGY

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide a logical explanation of how the candidate will apply a standard methodology for the implementation of the project.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides a logical explanation, with insufficient detail, of how the candidate will apply a standard methodology for the implementation of the project.

COMPETENT The candidate provides a logical explanation, with sufficient detail, of how the candidate will apply a standard methodology for the implementation of the project.

F1:GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND DELIVERABLES TABLE

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide a table showing the relationship between goals and their supporting objectives, including outcomes or deliverables.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides a table, with insufficient detail, showing the relationship between goals and their supporting objectives, including outcomes or deliverables.

COMPETENT The candidate provides a table, with sufficient detail, showing the relationship between goals and their supporting objectives, including outcomes or deliverables.

F2:GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND DELIVERABLES DESCRIPTIONS

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide an appropriate description of project goals, objectives, and deliverables.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides an appropriate description, with insufficient detail, of project goals, objectives, and deliverables.

COMPETENT The candidate provides an appropriate description, with sufficient detail, of project goals, objectives, and deliverables.

G:PROJECT TIMELINE WITH MILESTONES

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide a projected timeline with milestones for the project, including the duration and start and end dates of each milestone.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides a projected timeline with milestones for the project, with insufficient detail, including the duration and start and end dates of each milestone.

COMPETENT The candidate provides a projected timeline with milestones for the project, with sufficient detail, including the duration and start and end dates of each milestone.

H:OUTCOME

NOT EVIDENT The candidate does not provide a relevant reflection on how the success and effectiveness of the project will be measured.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The candidate provides a relevant reflection, with insufficient detail, on how the success and effectiveness of the project will be measured.

COMPETENT The candidate provides a relevant reflection, with sufficient detail, on how the success and effectiveness of the project will be measured.

I: SOURCES

NOT EVIDENT The submission does not include both in-text citations and a reference list for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

APPROACHING COMPETENCE The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, and a reference list; however, the citations and/or reference list is incomplete or inaccurate.

COMPETENT The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are properly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list that accurately identifies the author, date, title, and source location as available.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS