Thisassessmentitemrelatestotheunitlearningoutcomesasintheunitdescriptor. This assessment is designed to improve student learning skills andto give students experience in researching the literature on a topic relevant to the Unit of Study subjectmatter,criticallyanalysingcurrentacademicpapersthenpresentingideaor questionsandexpectedoutcomeswithclarityanddefinitioninareferenced

written report.

Overview:

This assignment challenges you to apply the design thinking methodology to develop an Information Systems (IS) strategy that addresses a real business problemprovidedina casestudy.Your goalisto demonstrate howstrategicuseof information systems can lead to innovative solutions and support the organization's transformation and renewal.

Objectives:

Toenhanceyourabilitytoanalyzecomplexbusinessscenarios.

Todeveloppracticalsolutionsusingdesignthinkingandinformationsystems.

TocriticallyevaluatethestrategicimpactofISinnovationsonbusinessoperations. Assignment Details:

CaseStudyAnalysis:

You will be provided with a case study that describes a business problem in an organizational context. Carefully read and analyze the case to understand the underlying issues.

DesignThinkingApplication:

Empathize:Gatherinsightsabouttheorganization’sneeds,challenges, and

StrategicAppraisal:

Assess the potential of the proposed IS solutions to align with and propel the organization's strategic objectives. Discuss the expected impacts, benefits, and possible challenges of implementing your solutions.

Studentscanchoosetowriteaboutthe samecasestudy,buttheapproachandthe thrust of each paper must be different.

Herearesomeproposed topics:

1. Netflix'sCloudMigration
2. Walmart'sRetailTechnologyTransformation
3. Blockbuster'sFailuretoInnovate
4. FordMotorCompany’sDigitalTransformation
5. Zara’sFast-FashionIT Strategy
6. DBSBank’sDigital Transformation
7. GeneralElectric’sPredixPlatform
8. Healthcare.gov’sImplementationChallenges
9. Airbnb’sDataScienceApplications
10. Toyota’sJust-In-TimeSystem

TheKeyelementsoftheresearchproposal

Thefollowingelementsmustbeincludedinyourresearchproposal:

1. Introductionorbackgroundtotheresearchproblemorissue,includingan identification of the gap in the current research
2. Research question and, if possible, a thesis statement answering the question
3. Justificationfortheproposalresearch,i.e.,whytheresearchisneeded.
4. Preliminaryliteraturereviewcoveringwhatothershavealreadydoneinthe area.
5. Theoreticalframeworktobeusedintheproposedresearch.
6. Statementofthecontributionoftheresearchtothegeneralarea
7. Proposedresearchmethodology
8. Researchplanandoutline.
9. Timetableofproposedresearch

1. Introduction
   • The introduction should be as brief as possible (a paragraph or two). Whateveryoudo,don’trambleonforpages;youneedtomakethispartof the proposal clear and crisp. In the introduction, you need to give a sense ofthegeneralfieldofresearchofwhichyourareaisapart.Youthenneed tonarrowtothespecificareaofyourconcern.Thisshouldleadlogicallyto thegapintheresearchthatyouintendtofill.Whenthegapisidentified,a researchquestioncanthenberaised.Theanswertothisquestioniscalled the thesis statement.
2. Theresearchquestions.
   • The research question may not be a question as such, but rather a statement of a problem to be investigated.
3. Justificationfortheproposedresearch
   • one page is usually sufficient for this. You need to tell the reader that the research can justified along four main criteria: (1) The size of the industry/area involved; (2) The gaps in the literature that demand attention; (3) The unusual or improved methodology being used; (4) The benefits in terms of policy and practice
4. Preliminaryliteraturereview

   • Thisiswhereyouprovidemoredetailaboutwhatothers havedone inthe area, and what you propose to do. You need to write around 2-3 pages in which you cover the following: (1) The major issues or schools of thought

     (2) Gaps in the literature (in more detail than is provided in the introduction) (3) Research questions and/or hypotheses which are connected carefully to the literature being reviewed (4) Definitions of key terms,providedeitherwhenyouintroduceeachidea,orinadefinitionsub- section (5) Questions arising from the gaps that can be the focus of data collection or analysis.

5. Theoreticalframework
   • The theoretical framework usually forms the final part of the literature review section. It describes the concept/theory/model that you are using in the thesis to demonstrate your point.
6. Contributionoftheresearch
   • Inthissection,yououtlinehowyourresearchwillmakeachangetoanarea of study. This is different from the justification of your research. The justification explains why the research should be done. The contribution section explains how what you will do will lead to certain outcomes. You need to outline: (1) The importance of the research outcome(s); (2) The practical or theoretical nature of the outcome(s).
7. Proposedresearchmethodology
   • Youdonothavetodescribethemethodologytobeusedingreatdetail,but youshouldjustifyitsuseoverothermethodologies.Forexample,youcould explain the reasons for using: (1) a certain paradigm or theory (2) qualitative or quantitative research (3) a case study of a specific kind (4) surveys, correlational experiments, field studies, specific statistical measurements, etc. (5) certain dependent or independent or moderating variables (6) a particular sampling frame and the size of a sample.
8. Researchplan

• The research plan or outline can be discussed in conjunction with a researchtimetable.However,beawarethattheyhaveadifferentfunction. A research plan helps you as well as the reader as: (1) it gives you a frameworkforthedirectionyourresearchwilltake(2)itshowsthereader the project is well-organized and achievable in the time available (3) it shows your detailed research activities.

1. Researchtimetable
   • The timetable should indicate the weighting of each part of the proposed thesisinpercentageterms,thetopicscovered,approximatewordlimitand,  importantly,theapproximatelengthoftimeitwilltaketocompletethem. You might consider providing a graph for convenience.
2. Listofreferences

   • This must be provided in the usual scholarly fashion. It helps to convince your reader that your proposal is worth pursuing if you can identify literature in the field and demonstrate that you understand it. It makes a very strong impact if you can identify where there is a research gap in the literature that your proposal hopes to fill. This is your contribution to the scholarlyconversation.Youshoulduseacademicreferences(peerreviewed

     articles),ratherthanwebarticles.

The final version of your paper is the polished version. You should not use a lot of small sections and bullet points in the final version. Your research proposal should present the state of current knowledge in a specific area and as such, should have a narrative that flows from one paragraph to another. You cannot achieve thiswith bullet points and small disjoint sections. All references included with your paper must be cited within the paper and be appropriate to the context of the citation.

• YouarerequiredtoaddressElements1-10inyourfinalproposal.
• Youarerequiredtoprovideatleast10references.
• Wordlimit: 2500

Holmes Institute is committed to ensuring and upholding academic integrity. All assessmentmustcomplywithacademicintegrityguidelines.Importantacademic integritybreachesincludeplagiarism,collusion,copying,impersonation,contract cheating,datafabricationandfalsification.Pleaselearnaboutacademicintegrity

and consult your teachers with any questions. Violating academic integrity is seriousandpunishablebypenaltiesthatrangefromdeductionofmarks,failureof

theassessmenttaskorunitinvolved,suspensionofcourseenrolment,or cancellation of course enrolment.

• MostassessmentsmustbeinMSWordformatwithnospacing,11-ptCalibri font and at least 2cm margins on all four sides with appropriate section headings and page numbers.
• YoumustnameyourfilewiththeUnitCodeandStudentID(e.g.“HI5003- GWA1995”).
• Checkthatyousubmitthecorrectdocumentasspecialconsiderationisnot granted if you make a mistake.
• StudentIDneedstobeindicatedonthecoverpage.

• AllworkmustbesubmittedonBlackboardbytheduedateandtimealong with a completed Assessment Cover Page. Late penalties apply.

• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriatelyattheendinareferencelistusingHolmesInstituteAdapted Harvard Referencing. Penalties are associated with incorrect citation and

  referencing.

Harvard

Referencestyle(25%)

Sometimes

clearreferencingstyle

Planand/ortimelinearepresent

butnotadequatetosupportthe project.

Planand/ortimelinearepresent

butnotverywelldefined,not easy to understand.

Planandtimelineareadequatetosupportthe

projectactivities,costsarereasonableinrelation tothe