1. Statement of Course Objectives The objective of the Directed Readings is to provide an organized and systematic study and research arrangement. This arrangement is expected to facilitate completion of course goals, and to add valuable experience for the student's career. The main focus of the research will be … some introduction, motivation. In this project, I will analyze … I will also analyze … At the end of this project, I hope to better understand … I am a … major, and I am interested in a career in … Accordingly, I think acquiring an understanding of these issues would be valuable in the future because … 2. Bibliography For the study, the student will use various sources including media coverage, prior published research articles and books, case studies, as well as financial data. Media coverage The use of business media coverage should help to give a 'current-event' type feel to the research. These media include WSJ, NYT, Forbes among others. Research articles and books Case studies Financial data The student may use different online resources such as academic journals and industry databases to further the research. Macroeconomic data Institutional data 3. Methodology Depending upon the nature of the proposed topic, the student is expected to … (how you will go about conducting research on the topics you proposed, is it qualitative vs. quantitative, where will you draw your sources of information, how will you structure/draft your reports ….) 4. Evaluation Evaluation for course grade will be based on the following considerations: · Importance of identified topics. · Breadth and depth of review of existing and concurrent studies. · Analyzing the topics: method, rigor, depth. · Positioning this research in broader perspective and convey the findings effectively. Case Study objective and instructions: Objective: This assessment relates to the unit learning outcomes as in the unit descriptor. This assessment is designed to evaluate student’s ability to identify the key phases of projects and to successfully manage the projects by using various IT project management tools and techniques. The following ULOs are assessed in this assessment. LO1 Demonstrate ability to skillfully manage projects by putting to effective use various IT project management tools and techniques. LO2 Critically analyze project parameters and identify the key processes from the available project management book of knowledge in practical case scenarios. INSTRUCTIONS In this assignment you will use the IT project management knowledge area and the tools used in project initiation and planning to prepare a project charter for the Case Studybelow. Make sure to analyse the project management parameters and identify the actors relevant to the case study and mention the project scope, constraints and assumptions. For this assessment, you will prepare a project charter based on the business case given below. Your report should be limited to approx. 1.

1. 1. Statement of Course Objectives
The objective of the Directed Readings is to provide an
organized and systematic study and research arrangement. This
arrangement is expected to facilitate completion of course
goals, and to add valuable experience for the student's career.
The main focus of the research will be … some introduction,
motivation.
In this project, I will analyze … I will also analyze …
At the end of this project, I hope to better understand … I am a
… major, and I am interested in a career in … Accordingly, I
think acquiring an understanding of these issues would be
valuable in the future because …
2. Bibliography
For the study, the student will use various sources including
media coverage, prior published research articles and books,
case studies, as well as financial data.
Media coverage
The use of business media coverage should help to give a
'current-event' type feel to the research. These media include
WSJ, NYT, Forbes among others.
Research articles and books
Case studies
Financial data
The student may use different online resources such as
academic journals and industry databases to further the
research.
Macroeconomic data
Institutional data

2. 3. Methodology
Depending upon the nature of the proposed topic, the student is
expected to … (how you will go about conducting research on
the topics you proposed, is it qualitative vs. quantitative, where
will you draw your sources of information, how will you
structure/draft your reports ….)
4. Evaluation
Evaluation for course grade will be based on the following
considerations:
· Importance of identified topics.
· Breadth and depth of review of existing and concurrent
studies.
· Analyzing the topics: method, rigor, depth.
· Positioning this research in broader perspective and convey
the findings effectively.
Case Study objective and instructions:
Objective:
This assessment relates to the unit learning outcomes as in the
unit descriptor. This assessment is designed to evaluate
student’s ability to identify the key phases of projects and to
successfully manage the projects by using various IT project
management tools and techniques.
The following ULOs are assessed in this assessment.
LO1 Demonstrate ability to skillfully manage projects by
putting to effective use various IT project management tools
and techniques.
LO2 Critically analyze project parameters and identify the key
processes from the available project management book of
knowledge in practical case scenarios.
INSTRUCTIONS
In this assignment you will use the IT project management
knowledge area and the tools used in project initiation and

3. planning to prepare a project charter for the Case Studybelow.
Make sure to analyse the project management parameters and
identify the actors relevant to the case study and mention the
project scope, constraints and assumptions.
For this assessment, you will prepare a project charter based on
the business case given below. Your report should be limited to
approx. 1000 words. Use 1.5 spacing with a 12 point Times New
Roman font. You can use other sources to support your claims.
Citation of sources is mandatory and must be in the IEEE style.
The project charter must include: (VERY IMP) Please follow
this charter
• Project Title.
• Background (Why is the project is undertaken? Describe an
opportunity or problem that the project is to address.)
• Project Goal/s (Not more than 3)
• Project Scope (What will be the end result of the project?)
• Key Stakeholders
• Project Milestones (Identify/assume the significant project
milestones)
• Constraints and Assumptions
CASE STUDY
SIGMA Consulting’s Business Case:
Introduction/Background
SIGMA Consulting’s core business goal is to provide world-
class project management consulting services to various
organizations. The CEO, Joe Fleming, believes the firm can
streamline operations and increase business by providing
information related to project management on its intranet site,
making some information and services accessible to current and
potential clients.
Business Objective
SIGMA Consulting’s strategic goals include continuing growth
and profitability. The Project Management Intranet Site Project
will support these goals by increasing visibility of the firm’s
expertise to current and potential clients by allowing client and

4. public access to some sections of the intranet. It will also
improve profitability by reducing internal costs by providing
standard tools, techniques, templates, and project management
knowledge to all internal consultants. Since SIGMA Consulting
focuses on identifying profitable projects and measuring their
value after completion, this project must meet those criteria.
Current Situation and Problem/Opportunity Statement
SIGMA Consulting has a corporate Web site as well as an
intranet. The firm currently uses the Web site for marketing
information. The primary use of the intranet is for human
resource information, such as where consultants enter their
hours on various projects, change and view their benefits
information, access an online directory and Web-based e-mail
system, and so on. The firm also uses an enterprisewide project
management system to track all project information, focusing on
the status of deliverables and meeting scope, time, and cost
goals. There is an opportunity to provide a new section on the
intranet dedicated to sharing consultants project management
knowledge across the organization. SIGMA Consulting only
hires experienced consultants and gives them freedom to
manage projects as they see fit. However, as the business grows
and projects become more complex, even experienced project
managers are looking for suggestions on how to work more
effectively.
Critical Assumption and Constraints
The proposed intranet site must be a valuable asset for SIGMA
Consulting. Current consultants and clients must actively
support the project, and it must pay for itself within one year by
reducing internal operating costs and generating new business.
The Project Management Office manager must lead the effort,
and the project team must include participants from several
parts of the company, as well as current client organizations.
The new system must run on existing hardware and software,
and it should require minimal technical support. It must be
easily accessible by consultants and clients and be secure from
unauthorized users.

5. Analysis of Options and Recommendation
There are three options for addressing this opportunity:
1. Do nothing. The business is doing well, and we can continue
to operate without this new project.
2. Purchase access to specialized software to support this new
capability with little in-house development.
3. Design and implement the new intranet capabilities in-house
using mostly existing hardware and software.
Based on discussions with stakeholders, we believe that option
2 is the best option.
Du 1
Reading Report 1 (QL: Please have a proper title)
An epidemic virus is an enemy not unfamiliar to humans. Their
invisible existence poses a potential threat to humanity, and
every outbreak of them causes the world's living beings to be
damaged. During 2003, the outbreak of SARS brought great
panic to the people of the world. Especially in China, atypical
pneumonia affects not only the lives of local residents, but also
China's economy.
After China's reform and opening up, the level of national
consumption and the gross national product have improved
significantly. The huge population not only gives China's
manufacturing industry powerful human resources, but also
creates a highly competitive and low-paying job environment.
Under such conditions, China has a strong competitive
advantage in the international market. During the SARS period
in 2003, the impact of the virus epidemic on the Chinese
economy was undoubtedly huge. Because almost everyone will
require self-isolation to prevent unpredictable mutual
transmission. Various commercial organizations, companies,

6. and factories have had to delay construction to protect
themselves and their employees. According to Ren Ruoen's
statistical analysis, SARS has seriously affected Beijing,
Guangdong and other cities, and they have up to 22% of China's
GDP. China's retail industry and service industry are the biggest
victims. During the epidemic, sales in the severely affected
cities fell by almost 37% in May. (QL: Sources for this
number?) In other provinces less affected by the epidemic,
retailer industry sales have also dropped by an average of 20%
(Rawski). Prolonged self-isolation and avoiding viruses have
caused manufacturing to reduce production capacity. Because of
the lack of human resources, many manufacturers have been
unable to operate normally or complete their construction
deadlines.
At the same time, because people have increased awareness of
self-management and defense, they have reduced travel and
driving. This has reduced demand for oil. Because China has a
large population, its energy consumption is also huge. The
simultaneous existence of these two conditions has led to a
reduction in oil production. (QL: Please be more specific. Oil
consumption in China? Oil Production in China? Global oil
production? I do not see the link between the two preceding
sentences clearly.) According to the literature, the growth rate
of the petroleum industry before the outbreak of disasters is
usually 9%, but during the epidemic the growth rate became
negative 10% (Rawski). It is not just the oil industry that has
been affected by SARS. China's domestic tourism industry has
also shrunk significantly. When travel becomes a panic, tourism
has to be hit hard. From 1999 to 2002. China's tourism industry
has been on the rise. (QL: Can you provide a figure
characterizing the growth of the tourism industry over the years
and how SARs affected it?) During the outbreak of the SARS
virus, people's increased awareness of self-protection led to
their desire to travel less. Therefore, from 2002 to 2004, 2003
was the lowest period in China's tourism industry, with a loss of
more than US $ 3 billion (Keogh-Brown; Smith). In 2003, the

7. fear that SARS brought to people kept people's strong sense of
self-protection. At the same time, it has brought harm to China's
tourism industry.
Although the SARS virus has affected China's various industries
to some extent, it has not produced significant losses in its
long-term development capacity. After the epidemic was
brought under control, China's economy quickly returned to its
original level. According to the data displayed by world bank
open dates, China's export volume is still on the rise from 2002
to 2003 (Beutels; Jia; Zhou). This shows that the virus epidemic
has not had a long-term impact on China's export economy.
(QL: I have seen enough evidence. It is unclear what the
Chinese economy would have been, had SARs not occurred.)
In general, SARS poses more than a health threat to China.
There will also be short-term but serious injuries financially.
The delayed start of the production industry and the people's
self-protection consciousness have caused frustrations in the
production, tourism, and retail industries. We can also know
that infectious viral diseases will have a long-term impact on
the service industry. In other words, viruses can affect the third
type of industry for a long time. These include transportation,
services, entertainment, etc. The first and second industries will
only be affected in the short term, and they can recover quickly
after the epidemic is under control.
In 2019, a new coronavirus broke out in Wuhan, China. This
undoubtedly reminds us of the SARS period in 2003. The
outbreak of the virus has also seen large-scale human-to-human
transmission, which also forced the Wuhan government to block
the entire city to prevent the large-scale spread of the epidemic.
Residents in other provinces and cities have also implemented
self-isolation to reduce the chance of infection. The economic
impact of the Wuhan epidemic may be different from that of the
SARS epidemic. First of all, China's logistics industry has
increased with the times, and online shopping has become the
mainstream consumption method. (QL: Again, please look for
numbers and show them in tables and/or figures.) Most retailers

8. consider both physical and online sales, which may make them
less vulnerable than they were in 2003. Although most people
have experience during the SARS period, I believe that the
tourism industry is still relatively affected. At the same time, it
means that the transportation industry will also receive a certain
blow. According to the data released by the National Bureau of
Statistics of China, the air passenger traffic as of January 1,
2020 has dropped by almost 10% compared to November 2019.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, the tertiary industry's GDP grew
by almost 7% year-on-year. Therefore, this outbreak is likely to
cause some long-term damage to the national GDP (NBSC) .
China is a large production country. Although WTO has not
listed China as an epidemic country, the delay in resumption of
work has caused many countries to fail to provide outsourced
products on time. This has led to many difficult times for large
multinational companies facing product line suspensions and
production cuts. Companies such as Hyundai in South Korea
and Apple in the United States have had to suffer from a
shortage of parts. Apple has stated that due to the impact of the
Chinese epidemic, Apple products in the global market will be
temporarily restricted, and Apple store hours in China will be
significantly reduced. Therefore, Apple will most likely fail to
meet its March revenue target (Apple Inc). At the same time,
this has led these large companies to consider giving
outsourcing and manufacturing orders to neighboring China.
This is undoubtedly a big threat to Chinese manufacturers.
(QL: You have discussed the impacts on (1) tourism industry;
(2) impact on the overall economy. Can you provide a more
extensive coverage? For example, some argue that SARs really
help e-commerce companies such as JD.com and Alibaba. How
did the epidemic affect the society beyond the Chinese
economy? What about the 2019 Coronavirus epidemic?)
(QL: Will you turn in a total of 2 reports? If so, what topic
would you cover in the second report?)
Work Cited

9. Investor update on quarterly guidance. (2020, February 17).
Retrieved February 20, 2020, from
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/02/investor-update-on-
quarterly-guidance/
Beutels, P., Jia, N., Zhou, Q. Y., Smith, R., Cao, W. C., & De
Vlas, S. J. (2009). The economic impact of SARS in Beijing,
China. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 14, 85-91.
Keogh-Brown, M. R., & Smith, R. D. (2008). The economic
impact of SARS: how does the reality match the
predictions? Health policy, 88(1), 110-120.
Rawski, T. G. (2005). SARS and China’s Economy. SARS in
China: Prelude to Pandemic, 105-121.
Tang, C. (2006). Perspectives in supply chain risk management.
International Journal of Production Economics, 103(2), 451-
488.