Acuscan Executive SummaryEssay title: Acuscan Executive SummaryEXECUTIVE SUMMARYCliff O’Connor, CEO AcuScan, Inc.FROM:TOM GRECOSUBJECT:ACUSCAN OPTIMIZATION PROJECTDATE:5/5/2008GEN 480 STUDENTSPurpose and Scope of DocumentThe purpose of this executive summary is to provide an overview of the status of the AcuScan Optimization Project, known as “Operation Optimize.” The objectives of the project are to increase revenues and grow market share by transitioning AcuScan into retail markets. Entry into this target market area is to be accomplished through the development and introduction of a new retinal scanning product suitable for retail environments. Based on existing AcuScan iScanner optical scanner technologies currently used in security applications, the new product will offer the same quality features with minor modifications to support the unique requirements of the new application environment. The company’s entry into this new market requires an integrated effort across several operating divisions including Marketing, Product Development, Engineering, and Organizational Development.
Summary of the SituationThe momentum on this project has stalled primarily due to conflicts between impacted departments within the organization and significant reductions in available resources. Integration and cooperation must be established and maintained across all work groups in order for the company to be successful in this endeavor. To ensure market impact of the magnitude necessary to improve the company’s profitability and effectively position it for future growth, it is imperative that AcuScan bring this new product to market by the end of the year, with a minimal investment outlay.
The “Operation Optimize” progress report on February 17, 2005, provided an optimistic view of the project with Product Development and Marketing collaborating on a product concept that followed past new product trends. The following events occurred:
Developed marketing objectivesContracted with Wilson Marketing for concept tests and focus groupsConcluded that a strong potential exists to use iScanner technology and equipment in a retail setting.Concluded that no competitor has the technology to date to create an application similar to the proposed iScanner retail application.Identified Secur-A Corp. as the competitor with the capability to develop a retail scanning application product within a short time frame.Projected total cost to market budget requirements at $575,000.Defined the lead time to deployment of the first installations at six to eight months in order to gain “first to market” advantage.Recognized that the project appeared to be stalled due to Project Development concerns related to timely completion of the deliverables.Concluded that the product development budget needed to be increased by $250,000, to hire additional programming staff. Requested budget increase approval.
Emails between the department managers in the days following the release of this progress report indicate that important issues need to be resolved before management problems further erode the development effort and sabotage the success of this project.
Key Points Relating to the SituationBudget constraints due to reductions in sales and service revenues have restricted the available project fundingPoor communications between departments – distrust has developed and information sharing is virtually nonexistentTeamwork is not being utilized – each department is functioning independently of the othersDecision-making has been based largely on assumptions and verbal conversations rather than formal information gathering and analysis processesParalysis has occurred due to increased stress and lack of clear directionDeliverables defined by management (February 4) do not match the deliverables identified by the engineering staff.Personal issues and agendas appear to be influencing the behaviors among individuals involved
The Government is also unable to provide a satisfactory response to the challenge received by organizations that rely on data management.
In a recent release, the Government has identified two major challenges with regard to a Data management initiative in the Department of Finance.
1) Financial Accounting has been substantially reduced. This will be particularly problematic in the following areas:
• There are no changes at national level of financial statements, but we expect to see significant improvement to the annual accounts structure, resulting in an estimated $19.5 billion reduction to account balances – we remain in discussions with our colleagues within the government to make this clear
• On the occasion of the last financial statement meeting of our staff before I moved to a new position, most of our staff believe the impact of the new situation is negligible, given that the majority of our new employees are already retired and on short waiting lists. This was a time of significant difficulty and challenges – particularly to staff in low- and mid-management, who have to manage financial results at both a state-by-state or multilevel basis and be able to communicate directly to senior managers in high- and/or mid-management.
2) Most IT resources are not being used for implementing existing IT management approaches.
The Government is aware that the IT management approach is not working for some sectors.
The Government needs to ensure that it is able to implement the technical specifications that the Government deems necessary or important.
The technology is not compatible with all aspects of the system.
2.1. Limitations on our Work
The Government has taken some drastic actions in relation to the data management (Data Management) area. These actions include:
A. The technical specifications that must be included in a request that is subject to the requirement for information submission are no longer required. This will mean that there will not be a ‘clothing code’ that must be provided through the computer application.
B. The Technical specifications that must be included in a request that is subject to the requirement for additional data submission must be implemented manually.
C. All applications that are not provided with information need to be placed through a third-party software.
A.2. Application data are not ready to be processed.
The Government has made several revisions to the IT Management Plan and in our opinion are not needed.
On the one hand, there will be a reduction in the required work time, while there will be a considerable increase in the number of required individuals involved, with those who should be prioritised to assist the IT department in taking these steps. Additionally, as in previous years, the processing of application data is more highly fragmented. The main requirement for processing in bulk should be provided after the data is presented to the client within one to two business days.
A.3. Other Changes
There is no increase in the number of required individuals. In 2015, our personnel increased from 50 members to 100, more than doubled for every member who was in a role where fewer than 100 persons resided.