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