System in-house or to purchase a COTS system

 

Determining when to develop a system in-house or to purchase a COTS system is not always clear. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis brings the strengths and opportunities to a focus point and highlights the threats and weaknesses so an informed decision can be made. This analysis is often completed by the stakeholders, including the business analyst.

Perform a SWOT analysis of buy versus build for your chosen system using the knowledge gained from the Wk 5 discussion, Purchasing Software Applications. You may use any Microsoft® program to create the SWOT analysis similar to the one featured in Ch. 12 of Information Technology for Management.

Use your SWOT analysis to create a guide for managers at Phoenix Fine Electronics to help determine if the business should build or buy a system. Incorporate feedback from the sourcing plan you created last week. As a guideline, this type of guide should be 4 to 5 pages in length with written descriptions, charts, and outlines.

Your guide should do the following:

· List various steps needed to purchase or develop a system in-house.

· Discuss budget considerations.

· Discuss staffing considerations.

· Discuss time considerations.

· Identify risks.

· Contain a maintenance plan.

· Contain at least 2 references.

· Contain charts or outlines.

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