Aug 1997 IM218: Information Management (Question 3) Suggested Solutions

3.	You have been made responsible for hardware acquisition within your organisation.
	(a) The hardware acquisition process begins with a determination of needs. How can these needs be determined?		[2]
	The determination of needs in the hardware acquisition process should be based upon interviews with users		[1]
	or upon information from the Information Systems area of the organisation.		[1]
	[2 marks]

	(b) Once identified, hardware needs can be split into two separate categories: mandatory attributes and desirable attributes. Explain these two categories, and give at least two examples for each category.		[6]
	*Mandatory attributes are those that must* be possessed by the piece of equipment:**		[1]
	examples of possible mandatory needs include: hardware compatibility; purchase price; speed; documentation; availability of training; operation costs; installation time; maintenance contract; software compatibility; footprint; capacity; delivery date; waste heat; guarantees and warranty; financing alternatives; power requirements (1 mark for each of two examples)
	Desirable attributes increase the attractiveness of the system under consideration, but are not considered essential.		[1]
	Examples include: capacity; maintenance contract; operating costs; field upgradeability; available training; cabling constraints; purchase price; waste heat; speed; free trial period; power requirements; delivery date; available financing. (1 mark for each of two examples).
	This is an easy part of the question; since almost any need could be considered mandatory or desirable depending upon the circumstances.
	[6 marks]

	(c) What is a Request For Proposal? Is it a legal contract?		[2]
	A Request For Proposal is a request to all interested parties to submit a formal bids to satisfy hardware needs.		[1]
	It is not a legal contract (although it may have legal implications).		[1]
	[2 marks]

	(d) How might a Request For Proposal be formulated so that it can appears to be objective but actually guarantees the selection of a particular product?		[2]
	A desirable (or trivial) attribute		[1]
	that is unique to one product or vendor could be included as mandatory;		[1]
	this would give the appearance of objectivity while actually forcing the choice of that product or vendor.
	[2 marks]

	(e) Outline the form and content of a Request For Proposal, explaining the contents of each section.		[8]
	A Request for Proposal should contain
		introduction:	[1]
		reason for RFP; organisation name; contact names and addresses; important dates	[1]
		organisations background information;	[1]
		history; future expectations; description of existing systems	[1]
		requirements:	[1]
		mandatory and desirable attributes of equipment	[1]
		form of proposal:	[1]
		format in which the proposal should be submitted	[1]
	In each case, 1 mark for the section, 1 mark for a suitable explanation of the contents. If the candidates supplies evaluation criteria in addition to the above, this is correct but no extra marks should be awarded. If a candidate supplies evaluation criteria in place of requirements, marks should be awarded for this section instead.
	[8 marks]