BISM1201 Transforming Business with Information Systems

due by Thursday 13/10/2022 at 3 PM (Brisbane time)

Question 1. IS strategy (10 marks)
BISM-Gyms is a Brisbane based and family run business that operates four gyms in the Logan,
Chermside, Indooroopilly, and Wynnum areas. Unlike some of the major gymnasiums, it has a focus
on youth engagement, with each location being conveniently located near high schools that are
renowned for sporting excellence, as well as various elite Netball and Rugby clubs.
BISM-Gyms relies on face-to-face attendance, and it has struggled throughout COVID-19 (2020-
2022). This led to a lost opportunity, while health and wellness focus increased attention during the
pandemic the gyms were unable to grow their memberships, especially with many having to put
memberships on hold during lock-down periods. BISM-Gyms operate all clubs on a 6 AM to 10 AM
and 2 PM to 9 PM schedule. This is to ensure a person is always on-site to open and close the gym
and manage the safety and risk aspects of the facilities.
All BISM-Gyms have a vast range of options available. All gyms offer aerobic classes, weight training
and associated classes, and additionally, they have recently invested in Pilates equipment. They all
have a great team of personal trainers and exercise physiologists. They are even considering offering
massage and physiotherapy services on-site. They are also building relationships with the Brisbane
Netball Association and want to offer strength and conditioning facilities to their representative
teams.
BISM-Gyms has used Porter’s Five Forces model to realise that it faces pressure from competitors
(some are now operating gyms on a 24/7 basis) and is concerned that its customers might move to
online or self-managed alternatives. In response, the firm is considering ways to modernise and
expand.
BISM-Gyms has focused on ‘student’ customers but recently the cohort has demonstrated being
very socially active and it has been seen that some students are actively seeking alternate
engagement with fitness influencers online. BISM-Gyms are keen to leverage this social trend but
also want to find ways to expand their business into elite sports clubs and maybe even rehabilitation
classes for seniors during the quiet part of the day.
BISM-Gyms also recognise that it is not ‘digitally ready’. It has not relied on information systems to
help operate its business beyond basic club memberships with physical cards, email, and keeping
track of finances. The owners are more interested in fitness than in IT. The firm has no centralised
database nor is data captured to learn about customers or to support decision-making regarding
favourite classes, equipment, and use of personal trainers. There is no way to track customer
demographics or behaviour beyond what is learned about customers when using their cards.
These issues are all coming to the forefront as the owners want to expand the business but they
really can’t afford to follow every idea.
BISM-Gyms has recruited you as a business analyst. The owners would like advice on different
information systems strategies that can help the firm modernise itself and make the most of the
demand for its products.
Q1: Select two of the below information systems strategies and explain how each can help BISM-
Gyms grow and be more competitive.
(i) Basic strategy/align IT with business objectives;
(ii) Low-cost leadership;
(iii) Product differentiation;
(iv) Focus on market niche;
(v) Strengthen customer or supplier intimacy.
Provide a real-world example 1 for each information systems strategy you identified to show how it is
applicable to the case of BISM-Gyms (i.e., one real-world example/reference per strategy)
(600 words total) (10 marks).
1 You should reference your examples. Examples should not be from the course textbook (or seminar/tutorial
material). The examples can come from any context, that is they do not have to be about gyms or small
businesses.

Question 2. Enterprise systems (5 marks)
BISM-Uniforms, a medium sized local distributor in Brisbane that manages the design and order of
uniforms. Their main clients are sport associations such as netball and rugby, but they do cater for
businesses, providing design and distribution for many products from trophies, polo shirts, name
badges, etc., BISM-Uniforms has a great customer relationship management system and website,
but they keep track of all their orders through email and excel spreadsheets with their group of
approximately 20 different suppliers. This has worked relatively well in the past but was limited in
terms of understanding when uniforms and products will be delivered, especially with the impact of
COVID on shipping estimates.
The manager who has worked with BISM-Uniforms for thirty (30) years has traditionally used her
experience to decide the best supplier to order with based on frequent phone calls and
understanding their current volume of orders. For example, the manager knows that one supplier in
India can guarantee shipment in two (2) weeks but shipments from India can often get delayed,
while another local Brisbane supplier can vary in their production speed, being anywhere from one
(1) week to ten (10) weeks, but they get the delivery overnight. She captures this data in a
spreadsheet, emails, and notes. All in all, BISM-Uniforms’ supplier relationships worked well enough
for their operations before COVID, but the manager is seeing different patterns of buying from her
customers lately. Many businesses are keen to offer company-branded polo shirts to employees to
create a sense of team – even with some still working remotely. Also, local sport teams are being
reinvigorated and new teams are needing new designs. BISM-Uniforms wants to be able to build her
business but needs to know that she can rely on her key suppliers.
BISM-Uniforms would like to reward suppliers to ensure that they prioritise their orders. At the same
time, the BISM-Uniforms wants to keep track of the deliveries and ensure that customers also have
this information. Recently BISM-Uniforms noticed that its ratings and reviews on social media have
been dropping. The complaints are mainly about shipping delays. BISM-Uniforms really wants to
choose the right manufacturer of a uniform based on the time requirements of the customer.
A customer pulse survey has also indicated that BISM-Uniforms customers are wanting more
transparency about the supply chain and the customers want to know that the product is ethically
sourced, and all parties are socially responsible in their practice.
You have started working at BISM-Uniforms as a business analyst and your manager has asked you
to explain how a Supply Chain Management (SCM) system could help BISM-Uniforms with its
expansion plans and address the limitations of its current approaches to supply chain management.
Q2. Explain to your manager two reasons why BISM-Uniforms would want to implement a Supply
Chain Management (SCM) system. For each of your reasons give a real-world example 2 and apply it
to the case (400 words total) (5 marks).
2 You should reference your examples. Examples should not be from the course textbook (or seminar/tutorial
material). The examples can come from any context, that is they do not have to be about uniforms.

Question 3. Information systems development (20 marks)
You have recently joined a new IT consulting firm called BISM-Digital which will specialise in
providing tailored and cutting-edge information systems to governments, banks, manufacturers, and
other large organisations.
BISM-Digital has been approached by several firms that have indicated they need: (i) new cutting-
edge information systems tailored to their organisation’s needs; (ii) information systems delivered as
quick as possible so as to better compete in the market; (iii) want to actively be involved and engage
with BISM-Digital throughout the information systems development process; and, (iv) that because
of the novelty of their information systems projects the development process must be able to
accommodate change. These firms have also expressed concerns that information systems
development projects are frequently late, have high failure rates and the end product rarely meets
their requirements. With these requirements, BISM-Digital prefers to deliver projects following a
SCRUM methodology.
Your first consulting assignment is as a project manager for a small business that is seeking to
implement Vision 6 as their new marketing tool for emails, newsletters, and SMS communications
with customers. The project should not take any longer than six (6) months from start to finish. You
feel that this project doesn’t really suit an agile delivery model but something more structured.
You are tasked with making a recommendation on whether BISM-Digital should follow either a
Scrum or Waterfall approach for information systems development.
Q3. Provide a recommendation to your manager of BISM-Digital in relation to the most suitable
Information System Development (ISD) methodology that should be used for this project.
Present four reasons why the recommended ISD methodology could lead to a more successful
outcome. Additionally, contrast your reasons with the alternate approach (i.e., if you suggest Scrum
then contrast your answer with Waterfall). (800 words) (20 marks)

PART B: Excel
15 marks
The Excel workbook file for the tasks described below (BISM1201 2022S2 Assignment.xlsx) is
available on the assessment tab on the course Blackboard site.
There are eleven (11) worksheets in the workbook. Only edit the indicated cells (as outlined on the
instructions worksheet). Do not alter/change/move any other cells, nor make any new columns or
rows.
The purple-coloured tabs (scenario, notes, instructions, and data dictionary) provide you with all the
information you need to complete the workbook.
The green-coloured tabs (transactions, line_items, products, students) are all the transaction
worksheets that you must complete your work in.
The orange-coloured tab (locations) is a data tab that is necessary for use in other formulas on other
worksheets.
The light, blue-coloured tabs (dailyReport and monthlyReport) are worksheets to complete report-
type transactions.
Please complete the workbook as outlined in the instructions worksheet. Formulas must be written
in a manner to be easily replicated, using named ranges, absolute references, or cell references.
Marks are given for the correct formula, not the correct numerical answer. Part marks are given for
formulas that are close with only a few errors. A zero mark is given if only a number is written in a
cell where a formula is expected.
You must use functions/features we cover in our Excel tutorials, unless otherwise indicated (see
the notes worksheet). The questions have been designed to test your knowledge of the functions
we cover in tutorials.
Ensure you save your excel file. Submit Part A and Part B as per the instructions above.

"The Student Union has completed a pilot program in which a single StudySupplies vending machine was installed at UQ St Lucia campus. The vending machine was operated for one day at each of thirty-one locations across campus during July, 2022 (moved by Student Union staff each night), in order to determine the most promising locations for future machines, should the project be approved. The vending machine requires a current student card to be swiped in order to purchase discounted study supplies (pens, pencils, USB sticks, earphones, some drinks/snacks, etc.) and allows purchase of up to eight items per transaction. Payment is then made by credit/debit card or NFC/mobile payment. Data for all the transactions is saved to the cloud via a 5G internet connection at the end of each purchase. This data has been downloaded and is included in the transaction worksheet. Student union volunteers keep the machine stocked every day so it never runs out of stock.

The Union is considering installing many more machines, pending the outcome of this trial. Follow the instructions on the instructions worksheet as closely as possible in the order you feel is appropriate. If needed, list any assumptions below."

Worksheet Cell Instruction
Reference Item
General instructions On the scenario page: Provide your name, student ID, and details of the tutorial that you are allocated to
Read and understand all assignment documentation, including all instructions in this file and on Blackboard.
Before attempting any tasks, examine the entire workbook and understand definitions of items given in the data dictionary worksheet.
Read and understand the scenario worksheet.
Do not change any cells, rows or columns unless specified in these instructions. Do not move any cells to other locations. If using empty space on a worksheet for planning/formula-building, these items must be deleted before submission.
Familiarise yourself with the transactions, line_items, products, students and locations worksheets. Understand their interrelationships and do not rush this step. Develop a good understanding of the report worksheets and how the previous worksheets will assist you developing formulas for these reports.
Use named ranges where specified. Also, use named ranges where it makes sense. Otherwise choose appropriately between absolute, relative, or mixed referencing.
Ensure no spelling mistakes exist in your work. Labels and other text values must be spelled exactly as written in these instructions. Errors will incur deductions.
Complete the steps in these instructions in an order which makes sense to you (not in the order presented), i.e. one item on a different worksheet might need completion before you can finish a formula on your current worksheet. HINT: You might want to start with the Product and Line_Items Tabs.
transactions A1:H1967 Name this range transactions, and use it in formulas where possible. As you work through the exercises, you may need to create additional named ranges for this worksheet.
F2:F1967 totalValue Create a formula which sums the value of the items purchase for each transactionID. Each transaction may have multiple items, so consult the line_items worksheet.
G2:G1967 itemCount Create a formula which counts the number of items included in each transaction
1:1 Format the first row as bold
1:1 Freeze the first row
A:H Apply filter buttons
A:H Re-size columns appropriately (so that headings are visible)
A:A, C:D, G:G Apply centre cell alignment
F:F Apply accounting format
line_items A:A Name this range li_trans, and use it in formulas where possible.
B:B Name this range li_prodID, and use it in formulas where possible.
C:C Name this range li_price, and use it in formulas where possible.
A:C Name this range line_items, and use it in formulas where possible.
C2:C3088 salesPrice Write a formula to retrieve the sales price for each row's product from the appropriate location
1:1 Format the first row as bold
1:1 Freeze the first row
A:C Apply filter buttons
C:C Apply accounting format
products A1:H24 Name this range products, and use it in formulas where possible.
salesPrice salesPrice: create a formula to calculate the sales price using the following logic: salesPrice = costPrice x (1 + mark-up)
grossProfit Write a formula to calculate the gross profit (i.e. the difference between sales and cost price) for each product
qtySold Write a formula to calculate how many of each product has been sold this month
profit Write a formula to calculate the profit for all sales of this product this month by multiplying qtySold by grossProfit
A1:K1 Format headings as bold (exclude L1 - no bold)
L1 mark-up value Format the mark-up cell as a percentage
1:1 Freeze the first row
Format the first row as bold
A:H Apply filter buttons
D:F, H:H Apply accounting format
A:A, C:C Apply centre cell alignment
students C:C Name this range spend, and use it in formulas where possible.
B:B Name this range freq, and use it in formulas where possible.
A2:A1048576 Name this range students, and use it in formulas where possible.
B2:B948 purchaseCount Write a formula to count the number of transactions completed for each student this month
C2:C948 totalSpend Write a formula to add up how much each student has spent in total this month
D2:D948 averagePurchase Write a formula to calculate the average spend amount (mean average) for each student. If a student has zero transactions, ensure a blank (empty string) is the result. Zero frequency means the student started a transaction and scanned the student card but did not complete it, and has no other completed transactions this month.
1:1 Format the first row as bold
1:1 Freeze the first row
A:D Apply filter buttons
B:B Apply centre cell alignment
C:D Apply accounting format
locations A1:B32 Name this range locations, and use it in formulas where possible.
1:1 Format the first row as bold
1:1 Freeze the first row
A:B Apply filter buttons
A:A Apply centre cell alignment
A:A Sort the table by locationID in ascending order, using the filter buttons
dailyReport A123:A1048576 Name this range hourly, and IF required, use it in formulas where appropriate. Do not edit the formula. It obtains the hour of each sale that day (as selected in B3), and spills these hours down the page as far as is needed. Other formulas use these for statistics about sales frequencies throught the day.
A1 Edit the existing heading formula to conform to the following example: Daily sales report for [newline] Friday, the 1st of July, 2022 [newline] (Colin Clark building) [note that CHAR(10) creates a new line/line break, and the date and location will change depending on cell B3]
B4 Day type Write a formula to output "OFF-PEAK" if the date selected in B3 is either a weekend or earlier than the 25th of July (first day of semester two). Otherwise, the output should be "STANDARD".
B4 Use conditional formatting to apply a red fill and bold white text if the text contained in it is "OFF-PEAK"
B14 Sales by hour [count] In B14, write a formula to count the number of occurrences of the hour of the day listed in A14, contained in the named range hourly (created earlier). Copy it down for all hours of the day in the table.
D3 Insert a line chart using data from B14:B37 - make sure that you have only a single line showing the trend of sales. Position its top left corner in D3 and resize it as you feel appropriate.
Apply a chart title: Sales frequency by hour
Apply primary horizontal axis (x-axis) label: Hour of day
Apply primary vertical axis (y-axis) label: Frequency
Experiment with different dates using the date selector to see if the remainder of the worksheet changes as desired.
B3 Before submission, set the date selector (cell B3) to 1/7/2022 using the drop-down list
B7:B10 Apply accounting format
A6:B6 Apply light grey fill, and apply centre cell alignment
A12:B12 Apply light grey fill, and merge & centre both cells into one
A13:B13 Apply italic format and centre cell alignment
A14:B37 Apply centre cell alignment
A1:K1 Merge and Centre the Heading. Ensure you select Wrap Text. Apply font format Calibri 16pt bold
monthlyReport A4:C35 Name this range transactionSummary, and use it in formulas where possible.
A1:O1 Merge cells A1 to O1 into a single cell
A1 Write a heading to conform to the following example: Sales summary for 07/2022 - ensure that single digit months (e.g. July) are preceded by a zero. Ensure you use the date in A5 in the appropriate functions to extract the month and year for the heading, so it can be re-used with different data for the next month's sales. Do not move the StudySupplies logo
B5:B35 Write a formula to lookup the correct location name, and remove the word "building" at the end, as it is redundant in this instance (it is already in the table heading for this column).
C5:C35 Write a formula to add all sales for the date listed in the A column
C5:C35 Conditionally format the sales values in column C with blue data bars
D5:D35 Write a formula to count all the sales for the date listed in the A column
G5:G20 Conditionally format the frequency values with orange data bars
Insert a pie chart for transaction size frequency data in F5:G13 (leaving out any zero values at the bottom of the table). Position the chart's top left corner in I3 and resize the chart so that its bottom right corner is in O17
Add the title Transaction size to the chart
Add labels (showing percentage values) for the chart's data using the corresponding values in the F column ($0 to $40 only). Also show a legend (containing dollar amounts) to the right of the chart
H24 Write a formula to show the busiest location by frequency, and the appropriate date in brackets, conforming to the following example: Michie (16/07/2022)
H25 Write a formula to show the busiest location by dollar value, and the appropriate date in brackets, conforming to the following example: Hartley Teakle (18/07/2022)
G29:G31 Write a formula to list the usernames of the top three student customers, who have spent the most for the month in total. A username is "s" followed by the first 7 digits of the student number. Use the concatenation operator in your formula.
G36:G39 Write formulas using the appropriate functions to provide the required statistics for purchase count data from the students worksheet.
H36:H39 Write formulas using the appropriate functions to provide the required statistics for total spend data from the students worksheet.
G43:G51 Write a formula to provide a count of transactions grouped by the number of items in the transaction (including those that were incomplete). Refer to the transactions tab for the data.
G52 Write a formula to add the item counts above this cell together to show the total number of transactions
G53 Write a formula to add the item counts above this cell together to show the total number of completed transactions
A1 Format this cell as Calibri 18 pt bold, centre alignment, with wrapped text.
A3:D3 Merge cells, apply light grey fill, bold text, centre alignment.
A4:D4 Apply italic font, centre alignment, and apply a bottom border
A5:A35 Format the date serial numbers using short date format (dd/mm/yyyy).
F3:G3 Merge cells, apply light grey fill, bold text, centre alignment.
F4:G4 Apply italic font, centre alignment, and apply a bottom border
F23:K23 Merge cells, apply light grey fill, bold text, centre alignment.
F27:G27 Merge cells, apply light grey fill, bold text, centre alignment.
F28:G28 Apply italic font, centre alignment, and apply a bottom border
F34:H34 Merge cells, apply light grey fill, bold text, centre alignment.
G35:H35 Apply italic font, centre alignment, bottom border
H36:39 Apply accounting format
F5:F20 Apply accounting format
F29:G31 Apply centre cell alignment
F41:G41 Merge cells, apply light grey fill, bold text, centre alignment.
F42:G42 Apply italic font, centre alignment, and apply a bottom border
F43:F51 Apply centre cell alignment
F52:G53 Apply top and double bottom border and wrap text