Competencies
4177.1.1 : Evaluates Technology for Organizational Improvement
The learner evaluates technology for organizational improvement.
Introduction
The ability to evaluate emerging technologies allows IT professionals to recommend solutions that improve an organization's efficiency, scalability, and performance so that technology investments align with organizational goals. Understanding how to analyze costs and benefits and identify risks helps IT professionals justify technology decisions to leadership. In Task 1, you will select one scenario that includes a business problem, and you will identify an emerging or recently updated technology that can address the company's problem. You will use your knowledge of cost-benefit analysis to justify your selected technology, and you will discuss potential risks, challenges, and solutions.
Scenario
Scenario 1:
Endothon Company, a leading consumer electronics retailer, has been facing challenges in providing efficient customer service due to high call volumes and long wait times. Customers have been expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of personalized support and slow response times. As a digital transformation consultant, you are tasked with evaluating the implementation of AI technology to enhance customer service operations at Endothon. Your goal is to identify inefficiencies in the current customer service process, such as repetitive inquiries, delayed responses, and inconsistent information provided to customers. You need to propose how AI-powered chatbots can be used to provide instant and personalized customer support, analyze customer data to offer tailored product recommendations, and implement sentiment analysis to proactively address customer issues. Your task is to select appropriate AI technology solutions based on criteria such as viability, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and overall value to support business improvement in customer service operations.
Scenario 2:
Autojor, a global automotive parts supplier, is experiencing challenges in optimizing its supply chain operations due to inventory inaccuracies, delays in tracking shipments, and inefficient warehouse management. The company is seeking ways to improve operational efficiency and decision-making processes. As a digital transformation consultant, you are assigned to evaluate the use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to enhance supply chain optimization at Autojor. Your objective is to identify opportunities within the supply chain process, such as inventory stockouts, manual dataentry errors, and a lack of real-time visibility into logistics. You need to propose how IoT devices can be deployed to enable real-time tracking of inventory levels, monitor machinery performance for predictive maintenance, and automate data collection for improved decision-making. Your role is to select appropriate IoT solutions based on criteria such as viability, scalability, cost-efficiency, and total value to support business improvement in supply chain optimization.
Requirements
Your submission must represent your original work and understanding of the course material. Most performance assessment submissions are automatically scanned through the WGU similarity checker. Students are strongly encouraged to wait for the similarity report to generate after uploading their work and then review it to ensure Academic Authenticity guidelines are met before submitting the file for evaluation. See Understanding Similarity Reports for more information.
Grammarly Note:
Professional Communication will be automatically assessed through Grammarly for Education in most performance assessments before a student submits work for evaluation. Students are strongly encouraged to review the Grammarly for Education feedback prior to submitting work for evaluation, as the overall submission will not pass without this aspect passing. See Use Grammarly for Education Effectively for more information.
Microsoft Files Note:
Write your paper in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) unless another Microsoft product, or pdf, is specified in the task directions. Tasks may not be submitted as cloud links, such as links to Google Docs, Google Slides, OneDrive, etc. All supporting documentation, such as screenshots and proof of experience, should be collected in a pdf file and submitted separately from the main file. For more information, please see Computer System and Technology Requirements.
Note: Your submission should be in the form of answers to each prompt.
A. Explain how to use emerging technologies to solve the company's problem in the selected scenario by doing the following:
1. Identify an emerging technology (released or updated within the past four years) that will solve the company's problem in your chosen scenario, including a citation to show that the technology has been released or updated within the past four years.
2. Explain how the chosen technology can be effectively used to solve the company's problem.
3. Explain how a cost-benefit analysis could be used to justify the technology selected to solve the problem.
B. Describe one security and one privacy challenge for the selected technology from part A1.
1. Describe two implications of the security challenge from part B for the selected technology.
2. Describe two implications of the privacy challenge from part B for the selected technology.
C. Describe one challenge that could arise during the adaptation of the new technology identified in part A1.
1. Propose a logical solution for the challenge in part C.
D. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
Note: The task scenario provided and attached documents are considered part of the assessment materials and do not require citation. Only external sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized must be cited.
E. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.
File Restrictions
File name may contain only letters, numbers, spaces, and these symbols: ! - _ . * ' ( ) File size limit: 200 MB File types allowed: doc, docx, rtf, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, odt, pdf, csv, txt, qt, mov, mpg, avi, mp3, wav, mp4, wma, flv, asf, mpeg, wmv, m4v, svg, tif, tiff, jpeg, jpg, gif, png, zip, rar, tar, 7z
Rubric
A1:EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
Not Evident An emerging technology that will solve the company's problem is not identified. | Approaching Competence The identified emerging technology is not appropriate for solving the company's problem in the scenario, or it does not include a citation showing that the technology was released or updated in the last 4 years. | Competent The identified emerging technology is appropriate for solving the company's problem in the scenario, and it includes a citation showing that the technology was released or updated in the last 4 years. |
A2:EFFECTIVE USE OF THE TECHNOLOGY
Not Evident An explanation of how the chosen technology effectively leverages its application to solve the problem is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation does not specifically or accurately address how the chosen technology solves the company's problem, or it is inconsistent with the scenario. | Competent The explanation specifically and accurately addresses how the chosen technology solves the company's problem, and it is consistent with the scenario. |
A3:COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS EXPLANATION
Not Evident An explanation of how a cost-benefit analysis could be used to justify the choice of technology to solve the problem is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation does not specifically or accurately address how a cost-benefit analysis could be used to justify the choice of technology to solve the problem, or it is not consistent with the scenario. | Competent The explanation specifically and accurately addresses how a cost-benefit analysis could be used to justify the choice of technology to solve the problem, and it is consistent with the scenario. |
B:SECURITY AND PRIVACY CHALLENGES
Not Evident A description of security and privacy challenges for the chosen technology from part A1 is not provided. | Approaching Competence The description does not specifically or accurately address 1 security and 1 privacy challenge of the chosen technology from part A1, or the description is inconsistent with the scenario. | Competent The description specifically and accurately addresses 1 security and 1 privacy challenge of the chosen technology from part A1, and the description is consistent with the scenario. |
B1:IMPLICATIONS OF SECURITY CHALLENGE
Not Evident A description of the implications of the security challenge from part B is not provided. | Approaching Competence The description includes fewer than 2 implications for the security challenge from part B, or the implications are not accurate or consistent with the scenario. | Competent The description accurately addresses 2 implications of the security challenge from part B, and those implications are consistent with the scenario. |
B2:IMPLICATIONS OF PRIVACY CHALLENGE
Not Evident A description of the implications of the privacy challenge from part B is not provided. | Approaching Competence The description includes fewer than 2 implications for the privacy challenge from part B, or the implications are not accurate or consistent with the scenario. | Competent The description accurately addresses 2 implications of the privacy challenge from part B, and those implications are consistent with the scenario. |
C:ADAPTATION CHALLENGE
Not Evident A description of 1 challenge that could arise during the adaptation of the new technology identified in part A1 is not provided. | Approaching Competence The description of 1 challenge is vague, not relevant to the adaptation of the technology identified in part A1, or not consistent with the scenario. | Competent The description of 1 challenge is specific and relevant to the adaptation of the technology identified in part A1, and it is relevant to the scenario. |
C1:SOLUTIONS
Not Evident A proposed solution for the adaptation challenge in part C is not provided. | Approaching Competence The proposed solution for the adaptation challenge in part C is not logical or not appropriate for addressing the identified challenge. | Competent The proposed solution for the adaptation challenge in part C is logical and appropriate for addressing the identified challenge. |
D:SOURCES
Not Evident The submission does not include both in-text citations and a reference list for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. | Approaching Competence The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list; however, the citations or reference list is incomplete or inaccurate. | Competent The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are properly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list that accurately identifies the author, date, title, and source location as available. |
E:PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Not Evident This submission includes pervasive errors in professional communication related to grammar, sentence fluency, contextual spelling, or punctuation, negatively impacting the professional quality and clarity of the writing. Specific errors have been identified by Grammarly for Education under the Correctness category. | Approaching Competence This submission includes substantial errors in professional communication related to grammar, sentence fluency, contextual spelling, and/or punctuation. Specific errors have been identified by Grammarly for Education under the Correctness category. | Competent This submission includes satisfactory use of grammar, sentence fluency, contextual spelling, and punctuation, which promote accurate interpretation and understanding. |