11079: ACME Systems Is An International Organization Providing Production: Analytical Thinking And Decision Making Course Work, NUI, Ireland

Research Decision Making Case Study

ACME Systems is an international organization providing production equipment and services to the manufacturing industry. As the integration of software applications into business functions has become increasingly prominent within multiple industries, ACME’s business has expanded dramatically. While based within the UK, the organization now has customers and operations across the globe and offers a range of products.

To support the release of a new production system, ACME is looking to provide customers with a new integrated software application.   This software will support existing ACME products and provide businesses with the ability to assess and monitor their production and logistics efficiency. Since ACME does not have the necessary research and programming capabilities to develop this software directly, ACME will subcontract the project to an independent software design firm.

Following an initial consultation phase, ACME has identified two software design firms capable of developing the software application. Both firms have been approached to provide a proposal for the project. ACME will award the contract to the design firm with the best technical plan and proposed software capability. Following a successful proposal, ACME has offered a fixed fee for the development of a fully operational software application.

After receiving the invitation to tender, research is interested in putting forward a proposal for the ACME project. iResearch is a design firm specializing in the development of software applications for production and engineering management companies. However, the management team of iResearch has some concerns over the project and whether a proposal should be submitted.

As research will be competing with a single rival firm for the contract, there is a 50-50 chance of being awarded the contract. ACME has specified that the software application could be developed for either a web-based platform or a mobile platform. Recognizing this, iResearch is considering both platforms within the project. A meeting is arranged between research management and engineers to discuss the project.

In the meeting, iResearch engineers outline four possible software packages. These software packages could be applied across both web-based and mobile platforms. The engineers highlight that both web-based and mobile platforms have their own associated costs. Web-based software packages have a development cost of £24,000. Mobile platforms are less demanding and have a lower cost of £19,000. Once a platform is selected, only this platform can be used within the project. Following a review of the specification within the invitation to tender from ACME, the iResearch engineers are also concerned that they may not be able to develop a working software package. As a result, each software package has its own estimated likelihood of success. Within the meeting, iResearch engineers present the four possible software packages for the project.

The first package is Software A. Using this software package the engineers are 100% certain that they will be able to develop a suitable software application for either web-based or mobile platforms. The software package is based on existing research software that could be adapted for the ACME project. However, given the programming and computer storage required, Software A has a high development cost of £145,000 associated with it.

The second software package is Software B. This software package has lower development costs but the likelihood of success for both platforms is also lower. The development of Software B will cost £80,000. For the web-based platform, the iResearch engineers estimate that there is a 65% chance that the software will function as intended. Across the mobile platform, there is a 45% chance that the software will operate correctly.

The third software package is Software C which has a higher development cost associated with it. Software C will cost £102,000 in development. Using either the web-based platform or the mobile platform there is a 75% chance that the software will function without issue.

The final software package is Software D. This software package has a development cost of £92,000. Using the web-based platform, the iResearch engineers estimate that there is a 45% chance of success and a 65% chance of success across the mobile platform.

Research must decide whether to prepare a proposal for ACME. If the proposal is accepted, in order to maximize potential profit, research must select the option that offers the best possible return. research must decide which platform (web-based or mobile) and software package (A, B, C, or D) is the most suitable for the project. If the proposal is accepted by ACME, research must deliver a working software package. research can only work on one software package at a time and given the time and financial constraints of the project, engineers can only develop two software packages. This means that if a software package fails, the second choice must be Software A as this package has a guaranteed chance of success across both platforms.

In addition, once a platform is selected, that platform must be used. This means for example, if the mobile platform is used and Software B is selected as the most suitable option but fails, research will have to use the mobile platform for Software A within the project. However, this will reduce the potential return for the project given the additional development costs associated with Software A.