information systems
Case Study
(For Assignments)
Note: The case study below may not provide all of the information necessary to complete the assignment.
Students will have to use their personal experiences to complete some aspects of the assignment. Students
may also seek clarification from their tutor during tutorials or office hours.
Sunshine Motors
Sunshine Motors is a large car dealership with 5 branches spread over the Melbourne Metropolitan area,
with the Head Office located in Sunshine, the west of Melbourne. David Da Costa is the CEO of Sunshine
Motors and heads up a team of branch managers, one for each branch. Each branch is organized into two
departments, Sales and Service, and each department is run by a department manager. David plans on
expanding the number of branches in the near future to become one of the states largest car dealership and
service businesses. The servicing side of the business is really beginning to generate a good percentage of the
business, and David plans on streamlining the operations of the servicing areas in all branches by undertaking
a large IT project to computerize all aspects of this area. Currently each branch holds and orders parts for cars
that they service, but David has located a property in North Melbourne that will be central to all branches, and
plans to use this to build a major warehouse to centrally hold and distribute car parts to all branches on a daily
basis or to fill urgent ad-hoc orders for parts fir just-in-time delivery to the branches.
Sunshine Motors has tasked your team to Manage the project to build this software system. The system is to
allow the company to record client information their details (for example name, address, contact details),
vehicle details (for example make, model, colour, registration), and service history (for example service dates
and odometer readings, details of the services performed separated into labour tasks and parts used, the
mechanics involved). The system must also keep records of the mechanics employed by the company their
personal details, their qualifications and special licenses, time sheet information, emergency contact details,
supervisor details. Additionally, the system will also record the inventory in the central warehouse and accept
branch orders on a daily basis for parts to be required the next day, as well as urgent orders from branches for
parts needed to complete a service on an ad-hoc basis.
It is also envisaged that members of the public will be able to buy part directly from the warehouse, either in
person, or on-line via a new web-based ordering system, The system will need to be continually online to all
branches and connect the branches to the central warehouse as well as to each other and head office.
The current system is a manual based system which has served the company well, but is now becoming
outdated and causing bottlenecks due to the increased workload demand.
Description of the New System
Each branch has a pool of mechanics who are entitled to a rostered day off per fortnight and so the system
must be able to produce a roster for the mechanics ensuring that there is always at least five mechanics
working on a day and one mechanic available for an emergency call in, in the event of illness or extra work
demand. Mechanics can also be rostered to different branches if necessary. When working on a vehicle, a
mechanic can enter information into the system at any of the terminals to be placed in the workshop area; front
office staff can enter information at any of two terminals in the front office; and roadway staff can enter details
at an outside terminal on arrival of the client with their vehicle.
Mechanics are assigned to a Work Bay for the day, but may move between work bays for different work
orders. Each workshop at each branch maintains a minimum of 7 Work Bays within the workshop area,
though there are plans to expand this if the company can successfully implement this project and build
expanded workshop facilities.
The company also provides loan cars to clients on request and so must keep information on when loan cars are
available for clients and who has a loan car at any given time and for how long. Not all customers request
loan cars, but when they book in a service they may request one, so the system needs to be able to respond
with the details of when loan cars may be available.
Sunshine Motors needs to manage an inventory of parts and consumables in the central North Melbourne
warehouse that the mechanics use for jobs. As mechanics order parts for jobs they may be allocated the system
should decrement the inventory items as the orders are processed. The purchasing officer for the central
warehouse needs to be able to check inventory levels at any time and order additional stock (typically via
email to a supplier as necessary), though the new system should be able to automatically generate its own
orders once the stock levels fall below a predetermined threshold. However the purchasing officer should also
receive a warning email when this happens. The system should be able to handle up to 100,000 part numbers
(a consumable also has a part number) and the purchasing officer to set the thresholds for the inventory levels
for each part as they require. A part or consumable has a name, a number, a supplier and a minimum order
quantity.
Each morning, the Service Manager will review the booked services for the next day. From this review a
standard order of required parts will be sent to the warehouse for delivery that afternoon, or early next
morning. In this way, mechanics can begin work on vehicles as soon as the owner drops them off using the
standards parts delivered. If further parts are needed on an ad-hoc basis, this is handled by the mechanics using
the parts ordering system associated with the particular service being undertaken.
When a Customer brings a car in for a service, they either come to the counter where a Service writer prepares
the Work Order, or they can drop the car off and meed a roadway staff member outside with a portable entry
device. The Service Writer and the Customer arrange for a time for the work to be completed and then the
customer signs the Work Order and leaves. The Work Orders are arranged within the system in order of
expected completion times.
When a Mechanic is free, they access the system and get assigned to the next Work Order available in the
system. As soon as a Mechanic is assigned a Work Order, they indicate the available Work Bay they will be
using, the Work Bay is then booked for the expected duration of the service, and a notification is sent to a
Service assistant who retrieves the vehicle and drives it to the assigned Work Bay. The Mechanic then begins
work on the vehicle. The Work Order will contain a number of standard Work Items corresponding to the
particular service being undertaken, along with any specific faults noted by the customer. As each Work Item
is completed the Mechanic checks these off on the system, so the system can keep track of the progress of the
Work Order in case the Customer rings for an update on expected completion time.
As the Mechanic is servicing the vehicle, new parts may be needed for a particular Work Item. The Mechanic
will log these parts in the system against the Work Item, and the system will also check the Inventory
Database for availability. If the part is in stock then the System will adjust the quantity of these parts in the
Inventory database and a notification is sent to a Service assistant to retrieve the part and deliver it to the
required Work Bay. If the part is not stored locally then an urgent order will be sent to the parts warehouse,
and a notice is sent to the Service Manager who will try and urgently get the part from the warehouse, or if
necessary a supplier. If the part is unavailable then the Service Manager will notify the Customer about the
delay and may have to arrange for a replacement car until the part arrives. The Service Manager will also
notify the Mechanic who is servicing the vehicle of the outcome. This may require the Mechanic to be
assigned to another Work Order until the Part arrives.
When a Mechanic finishes the items on the Work Order, this is entered into the System as complete. The
Work Order is closed and a notification is sent to a Service Assistant who then retrieves the vehicle from the
Work Bay, takes it to a Detailing Bay where it is washed and cleaned, then driven to parking bays to be picked
up by the customer. When the vehicle is returned to the parking bays, the Service assistant enters this against
the Work Order, and the Customer is notified that their vehicle is ready for collection. When the Work Order
is closed, the Mechanic can then retrieve another Work Order from the System.
When the Work Order is closed, it is flagged as complete and the System automatically prepares an Invoice
for the Work Order. The Invoice contains the standard costs for each of the Work Items, as well as the price of
any new parts needed as the Work Items were being performed. It will additionally include labour costs. A
total cost for the invoice is then generated and the Invoice is printed out.
A copy of the invoice is also sent to the accounts department.
Payment
When the Customer arrives to pick up their vehicle, they are given the Invoice which they can check, then
payment is received and entered into the system against the Invoice. When an Invoice is fully paid, it is
flagged as closed. In some cases, Sunshine Motors may allow an Invoice to be partly paid, in which case the
Invoice remains Open until full payment is received. This may be for a term of up to seven days.
Some Customers (for example companies which maintain fleets of vehicles) have accounts with Sunshine
Motors, and will receive a monthly statement through the post. These customers have longer terms, such as the
end of the month in which the statement is issued.
When a customer payment is received, a copy of the payment is sent to the accounts department, where the
payment is matched against the invoice and a receipt will be issued through the post, or via text message if the
Customer has registered a mobile telephone number. Payment can be by cash, credit card or PayPal.
Regular reports need to be generated to list those invoices over their due dates that have not been paid.
Issues
A number of issues have arisen that have prompted Sunshine Motors to contract you to look into the
develppment of this new system.
It is difficult to keep track of the Work Orders during the day and thus it is difficult to answer customer
phone queries on the progress of their service
Work orders were not collated till the end of the day, thus it was difficult to keep track of the
consumption or inventory on a day to day basis
Manual checks had to be kept on inventory levels to make sure stock was available. If stock ran out
this could be costly in terms of supplying the customer with replacement vehicles.
As the number of customers has grown (and is expected to grow in future) it was sometimes difficult to
keep track of the fleet or loan cars, and answer customer queries on when one would be available so
they could book their service.
Additionally, we need to keep better track of kilometers in our loan fleet so these can also be serviced
in a timely manner.
Delays in sending paperwork to our suppliers can cause delays in inventory processing and result in
longer delivery times of stock.
The level of paperwork is increasing and the accounts department is having trouble keeping up with
the timely production of monthly statements, processing of payments and general financial reporting.
With customers beginning to ask for different methods of payment such as email, PayPal etc, we need
to look at incorporating this into our business processes somehow
Other Information
Sunshine Motors has a finance manager who must be able to extract information related to car services and
bills paid (clients pay the front office staff on completion of a job) as well as invoices paid to suppliers, for
parts ordered by the purchasing officer. The finance manager prefers to use Microsoft Excel and MYOB
for accounting activities.
Sunshine Motors has a marketing manager who needs to be able to set up mail out reminders to clients when
their car might be coming due for a service and any special offers. The marketing manager would like to know
if this could be incorporated into the new system.
There has been some consideration to giving mechanics a tablet computing device so that they can enter
information more freely as they move around the workshop but there are concerns about the robustness of
such devices (mechanics like to drop things) and the need for a local wireless area network if possible this is
desirable, but not mandatory.
Sunshine Motors needs an IT administrator to maintain the system, perform backups and set access
permissions, for example.
The team, apart from the IT administrator, finance manager and marketing manager are generally fairly IT
illiterate and so need very simple user interfaces.
Sunshine Motors has a client base of 300 clients but is hoping to grow this by 10%.
This project is quite large and will require a significant investment from the company. There is some
opposition within the company from some stakeholders, particularly the sales managers at the various
branches, however most of the service managers see the project as providing significant advantages. HS2061 Assignment 1
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HS2061 IT Project Management
Individual Assignment – 20% (Due session 7)
Objective(s)
This assessment item relates to the unit learning outcomes as in the Unit of Study Guide. This
assessment is designed to give students skills in the initial stage of Project Management,
particularly in the Initiating process group, and the first part of the Planning process group as
defined by the Project Management Institutes Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
guide.
Instructions
This assignment is based on the semester Case Study. The case Study is located in the document
HIS2061-CaseStudy. You need to first read this case study carefully. Both Assignment 1 (this
assignment) and Assignment 2 (which is a group assignment) will be based on this case study.
Once you read the case study Your task is to create the following documents
Project Charter
Assumption log
Stakeholder Register
Change request form
Scope Management Plan
Requirements Document
Preliminary Financial Analysis
These documents are discussed in detail throughout the first 5 weeks of lectures and tutorials.
Submission Guidelines
Your submission document should be a single word or pdf document containing your report.
All submissions are to be submitted through the safeAssign facility in Blackboard. Submission
boxes linked to SafeAssign will be set up in the Units Blackboard Shell. Assignments not submitted
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HS2061 Assignment 1
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through these submission links will not be considered.
Submissions must be made by the due date and time (which will be in the session detailed above)
and determined by your Unit coordinator. Submissions made after the due date and time will be
penalized per day late (including weekend days) according to Holmes Institute policies.
The SafeAssign similarity score will be used in determining the level, if any, of plagiarism.
SafeAssign will check conference web-sites, Journal articles, the Web and your own class
members submissions for plagiarism. You can see your SafeAssign similarity score (or match)
when you submit your assignment to the appropriate drop-box. If this is a concern you will have a
chance to change your assignment and resubmit. However, resubmission is only allowed prior to the
submission due date and time. After the due date and time have elapsed your assignment will be
graded as late. Submitted assignments that indicate a high level of plagiarism will be penalized
according to the Holmes Academic Misconduct policy, there will be no exceptions. Thus, plan
early and submit early to take advantage of the resubmission feature. You can make multiple
submissions, but please remember we only see the last submission, and the date and time you
submitted will be taken from that submission.
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