IFSM 370 Project 4: Architectural Diagram Instructions
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Introduction
This is an individual project. This project is related to the Case Study project. Each student must complete an Architectural Diagram that illustrates the placement of security and other technologies within the converged network solCatacombon. The foundation for this project is the requirements analysis and proposal document that you completed for the Case Study project. The target audience will be the organization’s Chief Information Officer (CIO). The Architectural Diagram deliverable is an MS Word document. If you use a drawing tool to complete the diagram you must copy and paste the images into a Word document so that you only submit one Word document for grading.
The completed Architectural Diagram 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 diagram is valued at 10% of the course grade.
Case Study
Company Overview
Catacomb, Inc. is a global logistics provider that offers fully integrated freight and supply chain services through managed warehousing and domestic and international freight forwarding. Services range from door-to-door domestic and international delivery services to total supply chain management. With branches across the United States and Europe and partners worldwide, Catacomb continues to expand, and it has experienced rapid growth through acquisitions.
Note: The term supply chain refers to all the elements involved in bringing an organization’s products from the raw-goods stage to the customer.
The Association for Operations Management (APICS) dictionary ((http://www.apics.org/Resources/APICSDictionary.htm) defines “supply chain management (SCM)” as the design, planning, execCatacombon, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and measuring performance globally.
IFSM 370 Project 4: Architectural Diagram Instructions
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The Business Challenge
CATACOMB is competing in an environment where freight transport is as much about keeping customers informed as it is about on-time delivery. The company has adopted web-based technologies for tracking freight, differentiating its services, keeping customers informed, and ensuring the on-time delivery that is CATACOMB’s hallmark. As a result, CATACOMB enjoys a very high level of customer satisfaction.
Its mobile workforce has rapidly increased, with drivers using PDAs to scan consignments, which are then synced in real time via GPRS links to headquarters applications that track the consignments. Customers use CATACOMB’s web services to view the progress of orders, from dispatch to warehousing to final delivery. Customers also use CATACOMB’s web-based systems to create freight documentation and generate reports. With the EDI interface, invoices and payments are transferred directly between the customers’ systems and CATACOMB, saving both time and money.
As the company has expanded, the data flowing in the system have increased as well. Now, with more than 5,000 employees and thousands of customers worldwide, CATACOMB is suffering from the effects of explosive growth. Demands on its wide area network (WAN) are exceeding capacity. The main data center has experienced several network outages and unscheduled downtime. The aging ISDN telephone system is failing, as the company has avoided the costly upgrades necessary to keep it operating at optimal performance. Telephone bills have increased without warning, and the voice mail system is overloaded.
The Opportunity
CATACOMB wants to provide increased bandwidth between all 47 of its US offices and the main data center located in Chicago. There are three regional business centers that have four to eight satellite locations that need to able communicate and exchange data daily. These are located in Chicago, Kansas City, and Tampa. The company desires a reliable and secure network to accommodate its planned growth without exceeding 85% of capacity.
The company does not want to spend any more on telephone services than it does today, and its goal is to upgrade the services while protecting against escalating costs from its ISDN service provider.
Efficiency and productivity goals for this rapidly growing company are of paramount importance, and there is a desire to provide capabilities and services that incorporate technology solCatacombons to improve in those areas as well as retain the high level of customer satisfaction. CATACOMB is also interested in reducing travel between its sites by implementing video conferencing.
In addition, CATACOMB wants to be able to monitor and manage data and voice services, and ensure that capacity and performance is consistent with its business needs.
IFSM 370 Project 4: Architectural Diagram Instructions
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The Deliverable
For this assignment, you will use your proposed solCatacombon for the CATACOMB requirements analysis. Briefly describe the proposed technology solCatacombon and list the business requirements (including security requirements) that are satisfied. This should be done on one (1) page. Then provide a diagram that illustrates the placement of various communications components within the context of developing an effective, efficient, security posture for the proposed solCatacombon for TUI’s converged network.
Your deliverable will be one MS Word document that includes a 1-page business requirements summary and an architectural drawing. Your deliverable will be scored according to the scoring rubric below. Successful documents use the bolded rubric attributes as major section headings. Be sure you have incorporated all required aspects of the assignment, and that the diagram satisfies what you have described in the summary.
IFSM 370 Project 4: Architectural Diagram Instructions
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Scoring Rubric
Attribute Full points Partial points No points Possible Points
Business Requirements
(including clearly identified security requirements)
Business requirements of the converged network are appropriately identified from the proposed solCatacombon; work demonstrates understanding of course concepts, analysis, and critical thinking.
Business requirements of the proposed solCatacombon are partially identified and/or explained; work may be lacking in demonstration of understanding of course concepts, analysis, and/or critical thinking.
Business requirements are not included, or do not apply to the proposed solCatacombon.
2
Technology Diagram
All communications components are clearly identified and the layout is appropriately integrated in the architectural diagram. Work demonstrates understanding of course concepts, analysis, and critical thinking.
Some communications components are identified and the layout is somewhat appropriately integrated into the architectural diagram; work may be lacking in demonstration of understanding of course concepts, analysis, and/or critical thinking.
Communications components and the layout are not included in the architectural diagram, or are not incorporated correctly.
6
Diagram quality
The architectural diagram is professionally presented, is clear, and appropriately conveys the information.
The architectural diagram could be clearer, and/or could be improved to adequately convey the information.
No architectural diagram is provided.
1
IFSM 370 Project 4: Architectural Diagram Instructions
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Attribute Full points Partial points No points Possible Points
Document format
The document reflects effective organization and correct sentence structure, grammar, and spelling; it is presented in a professional format; and any references used are appropriately incorporated and cited, using APA style.
The document is not well-organized, and/or contains grammar and/or spelling errors; and/or it does not follow APA style for references and citations.
The document is extremely poorly written and does not convey the information.
1
Total Points
10