Assignment 1 - Sock Scene
Overview
For this individual assignment, you will use skills acquired through practical laboratory exercises to
automate a business process, and to visualize the impact of the automation.
You should use Microsoft Excel (or equivalent open-source software) for this assessment task.
Important: This assignment specification is generated just for you. Do not distribute this specification. If
your personal specification is made publicly available online, academic misconduct charges may be applied.
Timelines and Expectations
Percentage value of task: 20%
Due: Sunday, Week 7, 16:00 (See Course Description for date)
Learning Outcomes Assessed
The following course learning outcomes are assessed by completing this assessment:
A1. Prepare a basic solution to a business problem;
A2. Select appropriate IT solutions for business functions;
A3. Apply business information software for data visualization and analysis purposes.
S1. Write basic programming logic;
S3. Interpret and construct representations of business data flow and processes;
K8. Outline the basic principles of programming.
Assessment Details
For this assignment, you will complete the following set of tasks using Excel, and build an ePortfolio page to
describe your work.
Task 0 - Setting up
Create an ePortfolio page for your assignment. You will submit this page to Moodle as per the lab tasks.
You may call it whatever you like, for example ITECH1100 Assignment 1 - 30365718.
Scenario details
Sock Scene is a small clothing manufacturer, specializing in creating custom, one-of-a-kind socks. They
exclusively sell their product through their online store.
Sock Scene is run by a team of three staff members: Augusta, Belle, and Charlotte.
Augusta and Belle work together to manufacture socks. Charlotte manages orders, sales and delivery.
Team hours
Most of the time, team members work the following shifts:
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Augusta works 7.5 hours on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays;
Belle works 7.5 hours on Thursdays and Fridays; and
Charlotte works 4.5 hours every weekday.
Additionally, Augusta and Charlotte share responsibility for managing the Sock Scene social media
presence, with Augusta working one extra hour in the evenings on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and
Charlotte doing the same on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Costs
Augusta and Belle, as skilled manufacturing staff, cost $26 per hour to employ.
Charlotte, a part-time employee, costs $24 per hour to employ.
All staff are also entitled to four weeks of paid annual leave, during which a casual replacement is required
at a cost of $39 per hour.
Fixed costs such as rent and insurance are $9100 per year, and utilities costs are $260 per month.
Task 1 - Costs of operating the business
Using Excel, create a spreadsheet called operating_costs.xlsx that calculates the projected annual outgoing
costs of running Sock Scene.
Your spreadsheet should be configured such that the working hours, hourly rates, and fixed and utility costs
can be varied easily.
Document your findings in your ePortfolio page (approximately 100 words).
Manufacturing socks
Sock Scene receive requests through their online store, and Charlotte responds with a quote, after
consulting with a member of the manufacturing team. If the customer confirms their order, Augusta and
Belle manufacture the ordered products, and Charlotte organizes delivery.
Currently, the process for generating a quote is entirely subjective, based on the requested material and
sock size. Staff members quote an amount based on their personal experience.
For several months, staff have been keeping track of the quote date, material, size, quote amount, and
manufacturing cost for each order in a spreadsheet. As each product is hand-made, the manufacturing
cost may vary between similar orders.
If a quote was not accepted by the customer, then manufacturing cost is not included.
This spreadsheet is available for download on Moodle.
Task 2 - Order information
Using Excel, process the history of orders spreadsheet and use appropriate charts to visualize:
How some aspect of quoting or manufacturing has changed over time; and
How the quote amount differed for each staff member.
You will need to find a way to use Excel to associate each quote with a staff member.
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Describe your approach and your findings in your ePortfolio (approximately 250-400 words), and attach the
Excel file to your page.
Task 3 - Price consistency
Using Excel, analyse the historical data you have available, and create a spreadsheet that allows a member
of the Sock Scene team to enter the sock material and size, and gives a quote amount.
Ensure that you include enough text and formatting to make your spreadsheet usable by a member of the
Sock Scene team (or by a University lecturer).
You may base your quote amount either on historical averages, or to ensure that Sock Scene makes a
profit.
Validate your quoting approach by applying your formula to historical data.
Justify your approach in your ePortfolio (approximately 150 words), and attach your Excel file to your
ePortfolio.
Process improvement
The team want to improve their quoting process to reduce time spent waiting for customers to approve
quotes.
They would like to start manufacturing immediately for orders that they might be able to sell in future,
even if the customer does not go ahead with the order.
That is, they would like to change to the processes indicated in the following swimlane diagrams:
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Unpopular item process
Customer
Done
Review quote
Quote unacceptable
Confirm
Quote Order
acceptable
Store
Item is
not popular
Manufacture
Send quote Item Deliver item
Popular item process
Customer
Done
Review quote
Quote unacceptable
Confirm
Quote Order
acceptable
Store
Item is
popular
Manufacture
Item
Send quote Deliver item
Check
Inventory Not in
stock
in stock
Task 4 - Process improvement
Extend your spreadsheet page from task 3 to automate the above processes, allowing a member of the
team to enter the sock material and size, and in addition to the quote amount indicate whether to start
manufacturing immediately.
It is up to you do determine how to determine which items are popular.
Justify your approach in your ePortfolio (approximately 150 words), and attach your Excel file to your
ePortfolio.
Bonus challenge task (optional!)
Disclaimer: This task is 100% optional, and you can receive full marks without attempting or completing it.
It is intended to be a challenge if you are interested in such things, and the marks available do not reflect
the significant research and effort required to implement it correctly. Tutors will not provide significant
assistance for this challenge task.
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Optional task 5
Reimplement Tasks 1, 3 and 4 using either Python or HTML+JavaScript.
Write a brief overview of how to run your solution, and attach a zip file containing your code to your
ePortfolio page.
There are no partial marks awarded for this bonus task - you must complete all features to attain the
bonus marks.
It is possible to attain full marks for this assignment without completing this challenge task.
Further details
Assignment support
This assignment is supported by the first 6 lectures and labs. Work on the assignment should be spread
over several weeks after the relevant lab has been mastered.
Submission
All files should be submitted to Moodle by the due date and time. Check with your tutor as to whether a
hard copy is required in addition to the electronic submission.
Marking Criteria/Rubric
Refer to the attached marking guide.
Feedback
Feedback will be supplied through Moodle. Authoritative marks will be published through fdlMarks
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of the expressed thought or work of another person as though it is one's own
without properly acknowledging that person. You must not allow other students to copy your work and must
take care to safeguard against this happening. More information about the plagiarism policy and procedure
for the university can be found at
http://federation.edu.au/students/learning-and-study/online-help-with/plagiarism.
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Marking Guide: Assignment 1
Feature Criteria Maximum Obtained
Operating costs
Appropriate projection calculation 2
Configurable hours, rates, fixed annual and monthly
costs 2
Description of findings 1
Uses hand-calculated values (-1)
Visualization
Visualization of changes over time 2
Visualization of staff member differences 2
Description of findings 1
Price consistency
Spreadsheet interface for pricing 1
Validation of approach based on historical data 2
Justification of automation 2
Unclear instructions (-1)
Process improvement
Appropriate identification of popular item
combinations 2
Use of formula to indicate whether to start
manufacturing 2
Description of strategy 1
Miscellaneous
penalties
Poor grammar or written English (-2)
Indecipherable file naming scheme (-1)
Bonus optional
challenge task
Faithful reimplementation of tasks 1, 3 and 4 using
Python or HTML+JavaScript (+2)
Total: 20