INFO395 Individual Analysis Essay

2000 words (+/-10%), excluding references and captions;

Due: 11:59 pm, Friday 14^th of August (week 5)

Analytics at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks: Custom-Built Data Tools for a Unique Small Manufacturer

Note that you should:

• State any assumptions you make, and,
• Integrate case examples into your discussion. Generic responses (speaking broadly about the question area) won’t achieve high marks.

Questions:

Standing outside the factory:

1. LNT is a family-owned small to medium sized enterprise (SME) business dedicated to staying “stubbornly local”. Many of the usual measures and tools we use to think about strategy and systems design are predicated on large scale and corporate configuration (typical terms in the corporate rhetoric include: ROI, returns to shareholders, growth, market dominance etc.).
   1. How do the values and drivers of a business such as LNT differ from a corporate growth strategy?
   2. As an IS consultant, how would you tailor your approach to understanding and analysing an SME such as LNT?

Standing inside the factory:

2. On Page 82 the case describes: “…Tom has to become directly involved in solving problems on the shop floor…” He must do this in order to understand what is not working and to direct work activity.
   1. With this in mind, firstly describe a systems approach that would address Sharoon’s initial process-oriented workflow approach. (You might like to show us a mock-up user interface to help your explanation).
   2. Secondly, describe a “dashboard” approach to support flexible decision making. (Again, you might like to show us a mock-up or paper-prototype. Captions and annotations to this won’t be included in the word-count)
   3. Discuss the risks and benefits of hybridising these two approaches. Would you recommend a hybrid approach for LNT? Why?

Sitting with Tom

3. Comment on Tom’s involvement in development of an IS solution. Should Tom become an active participant in the development, or should he stand back and do more valuable work? Explain your reasoning to Tom.