Written Discussion Board Assignments
All discussion board assignments, in addition to being posted as a draft to the discussion board for Designated Devil's Advocate (DDA) interaction and general feedback, will have a final version submitted through an assignment tool link in their respective bi-weekly assignment folder. The assignment tool link will take the submission through the SafeAssign process, to check for problematic overlap, and also provide for a more consistent submission and grading process. Grading for these assignments begins on the day after the last day of the bi-weekly period, so the final versions of the Weeks 8 and 9 written assignments are due to the assignment tool link on the last day of Week 9, and grading will begin the day after that. Feedback will be given before the next set of bi-weekly assignments are due (so, in the example above, Weeks 8 and 9 feedback will be given before Weeks 10 and 11 final versions are due); please refer to your professor's grading policy for more precise information.
Weighty Posting
In order to keep discussions lively please choose at least ONE of the weighty questions below and post your draft to the discussion board no later than the start of Week 9
Compose and submit to the Weeks 8 and 9 Discussion Board, as a reply to the appropriate Weighty Post Option thread, a structured post (a structured post has an introduction, a conclusion, and a developed body that flows well - generally at least a few paragraphs - at least 250 words), using your own words, on at least one of these weighty questions:
Background (from Weeks 1/2 and 3/4 and 5/6): You are working for a large hospital, Winterfell Health Systems, in the American Southwest. At Winterfell, expensive equipment is often shared between units and moved throughout the hospital facilities. One of the concerns expressed by medical professionals and managers in the organization is the difficulty of tracking specific pieces of equipment. As a result more units are purchased to make sure that at least one of them is always available when needed. From efficiency perspective there is no data to track usage of specific equipment. The machinery is also becoming more wirelessly connected and some security concerns have been raised. The BI team you are a part of is working with the technology infrastructure team on a system that will track the location and daily usage of every individual piece of equipment, including the new "smart" machinery devices that fall into the Internet of Things (IoT) category and communicate independently with other machines in the facility and patients' electronic health records (EHR). Two patients with identical names and birthdates but different medical profiles and needs checked into Winterfell at the same time. It was only through the diligence of a nurse that Patient A was not given Patient B's treatment as specified by one of the new smart machines that had gotten its information from EHRs. About a month ago Winterfell had to rely on its backup generators for critical operations after a cyberattack against the city's power grid was successful. Although power was restored after an hour, the culprits are still at large so it's likely the attacks happens again. At your last status meeting it was brought up, again, that during the blackout several pieces of equipment failed to upload their data completely and when the power came back on the machines restarted their uploading procedure from the beginning, resulting in partially duplicate data. New Information: The worst security concerns regarding the "smart" machines have come to fruition: Winterfell's equipment were implicated in an enormous IoT DDoS attack against the website of a noted security researcher. You are also now dealing with a type of Bird Flu that rivals the Spanish Flu of 1918/191 and, to make matters worse, Zika is spreading in the community. The group working on the meta data repository has unfortunately contracted the Bird Flu2 and is unable to complete the next step, which is developing the meta data design. Task: Your group will thus have to develop the meta data design as well as the physical data design for the system - incorporating any relevant information security considerations - and figure out whether meta data is one word or two.
1Spanish Flu is the stuff that killed the wealthy young woman in Downton Abbey who was going to marry Matthew. If you wanted Lady Mary and Matthew to get together you probably appreciated the Spanish Flu...
2They're not dead, don't worry - they're just really sick and can't work.
Background (from Weeks 1/2 and 3/4 and 5/6): You are working for a large national supermarket chain, MacLeod's Market, with nearly 200 stores countrywide and a history stretching back decades. MacLeod's has multiple global supplier relationships. The chain offers a customer loyalty club and the ability to create shopping lists accessible through both a Web site and a mobile app. A recent market research study indicated customers would like to have online ordering and home delivery and more sustainable products. MacLeod's as a whole has a lot of data but it's not organized nor being used to make decisions on a consistent and reliable basis. It wants the ability to provide details drilled down to store, department, and even individual product level, so that each manager or supplier could see just the information relevant to him or her. It needs to know more about its customers. You are on the team in charge of making business intelligence happen. MacLeod's has continued testing autonomous delivery vehicles and delivery drones and is moving forward with plans to connect with its customers' "smart" refrigerators to offer coupons and recipe ideas. New information: No more drones have been shot down by privacy-conscious customers but several communities are up in arms at MacLeod's plans to purchase autonomous delivery vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, because of a recent announcement that the vehicles will prioritize vehicle occupants over pedestrians. Also, many of the "smart" refrigerators were implicated in an enormous IoT DDoS attack against the website of a noted security researcher. Last, a major food poisoning outbreak is wreaking havoc nationwide, both in the grocery industry and in individuals. Many of your coworkers on the project have been hospitalized. The former Kurgan's employees, having weathered the salmonella incident, are valuable resources. Task: It is now up to your remaining team to write up a recommendation for a BI implementation strategy (e.g. data mart, data warehouse, etc.). Explain why you've chosen that strategy, making sure to include relevant information security information.
Background (from Weeks 1/2 and 3/4 and 5/6): Your financial services company, Issor, located on the Texas Gulf Coast, has merged with another, larger financial services company, Arkanis, located in Oklahoma. The merger - Issorkanis is the new entity - is proceeding in a more organized fashion than originally feared. Issor had been successful with mining social media data, so there is a lot of that. Top management, after realizing there are too many employees in redundant positions and the merger's expenses are steep, have started replacing dozens of employees with "smart" kiosks that customers can interact with (an evolution of an ATM, they explain) and are continuing the testing of Aldebaran robot receptionists that are capable of communicating in a variety of languages. These new "employees" are generating massive amounts of data that Issorkanis hopes to use to grow and make more money, but that right now the data is so much, so fast, and of so many different types (remember that social media data), some of which is new and potentially sketchy. On top of all this new data, Arkanis' legacy data is structured completely differently than Issor's was - practically nothing maps over predictably. New information: The new mechanical "employees" were implicated in an enormous IoT DDoS attack against the website of a noted security researcher. On top of that, the integrated physical data center in Scarif, Oklahoma was recently destroyed by an epic F5 tornado*. No one was hurt but many employees have had to take time off to deal with the aftermath. Everyone was thankful that [DR/BC system you put into place earlier] was there. Task: write up a recommendation for an ETL implementation plan, including a meta data design. Explain why you've chosen that plan. Are there any relevant information security considerations? Also, decide whether you want to spell meta data as one word or two.
*If they're really lucky maybe next time it will be a drilling-induced earthquake...
You need to support your Weighty Posts with references to worthy* sources in addition to your book/book resource site and the Gartner article or video or cartoon you're discussing. The BRUIN library is a great place to start. Feel free to use worthy* news articles as sources (remembering that they always have a bias, that is), making sure to list those and all other sources at the bottom of the post (please use more than a URL!). Quotations by famous people are allowed, as well - you only have to identify the speaker, not the specific work, in the case of well-known quotations, e.g. "Experts often possess more data than judgment." - Colin Powell
*Worthy means the author or the publisher of the source has authority and credibility on the topic, the source has been QAed through editors or a peer review system, the source is recent or has historical value, the source is factual and accurate, if the source is an opinion piece, the arguments are backed up with evidence and reasoning ("only a Sith deals in absolutes"), and any facts or stories in the source can be corroborated through another unrelated source. Determining what is and isn't a good source is an art - it's something you develop over time. You can also check the Written Assignment rubric in the Syllabus section for more information.
The CARS checklist is very handy for evaluating sources:
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Credibility |
trustworthy source, author's credentials, evidence of quality control, known or respected authority, organizational support. Goal: an authoritative source, a source that supplies some good evidence that allows you to trust it. |
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Accuracy |
up to date, factual, detailed, exact, comprehensive, audience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy. Goal: a source that is correct today (not yesterday), a source that gives the whole truth. |
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Reasonableness |
fair, balanced, objective, reasoned, no conflict of interest, absence of fallacies or slanted tone. Goal: a source that engages the subject thoughtfully and reasonably, concerned with the truth. |
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Support |
listed sources, contact information, available corroboration, claims supported, documentation supplied. Goal: a source that provides convincing evidence for the claims made, a source you can triangulate (find at least two other sources that support it). |
