Please do use the template and write according to it.
Assignment Case Study 3410ICT & 7101ICT Professional Issues in Computing Case Studies 2021 Using the Templates provided, complete all sections for Parts 1 and 2 (i.e 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 2.1, 2.2, 2.3) Part 1 (due Friday Week 8 – use the template supplied and submit via Turnitin) 1.1 Kelvin, the Full Stack Developer Ajax Trucking Co is a family-owned logistics company, which is to say they run a fleet of trucks that pick-up shipping containers from the Port of Brisbane and deliver these to destinations all over Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Ajax are advertising for a full stack developer to work on the front and back ends of their web-enabled logistics platform. Fuel costs are rising, and Ajax want to reduce or eliminate the practice of trucks returning empty to Base. Instead, the truck will be redirected to pick up nearby goods in need of transport. In future, the truck will return to Base via up to five intermediary locations. To accomplish this Ajax will need its upgraded logistics system to integrate with that of a major logistics company (for example FedEx) with whom Ajax has entered a sub-contracting arrangement. Along comes Kelvin, a recent IT graduate from Griffith University in search of his first full time job. Kelvin has most but not all the skills needed for this job. He really wants it and is sure he can learn what he doesn’t already know as he goes along. So, he exaggerates his skill set at the interview and gets the job. Determining the requirements. Kelvin sets about determining the exact user requirements, then begins the analysis. His boss, the Ajax IT manager thinks Kelvin is spending too much time on the requirements and puts pressure on Kelvin to get going on the upgrade. Kelvin is still not clear what is needed but is told to “get on with the job”. Kelvin was told to keep out of a certain partition of the system, which he notices has strong security. Partly out of curiosity and because he needs to be sure that it was not affecting the upgrades he is tasked to perform; he goes in to have a look around. He gets in because he knows where the IT manager keeps the passwords written down and kept in the top drawer of his desk. To cut a long story short, Kelvin discovers that this otherwise legitimate trucking business is also engaged in the transport of black-market goods at significant scale. What these goods are he does not know. Could be drugs, firearms, tobacco, who knows? The point is, it is illegal. Income not declared for tax. Furthermore, the income generated is apparently not being routed through the company’s main accounts. It is not being declared as income to the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Kelvin is scared. He is the Dev that knows too much for his own good. What should he do? Discuss his options. 1.2 Vanessa, the Database Security Specialist Vanessa has built a prosperous consulting business from nothing. Her good reputation is based on integrity and professionalism. She has built the business and now employs several people and has more clients than she can handle. Vanessa’s services include advising on the customised design and implementation of secure database management systems. Presently she is designing a DBMS for the personnel department of a large organisation. Vanessa has involved the client in the design process, keeping the CEO, the Chief Technology Officer, and the HR Director fully informed about the progress of the system. It is now time to make decisions about the security measures to be built into the system. Vanessa has described several options to the client. Because the system is going to cost more than they planned, the client has decided to opt for a less secure system. The information they will be storing is highly sensitive. It will include performance evaluations, medical records for filing insurance claims, salaries, and so forth. With weak security, employees working on client machines may be able to devise ways to access this data. It also creates the possibility of on-line access from hackers. Vanessa feels strongly that the system should be more secure. She has tried several times to explain the risks and justify the expense, but the CEO, director of computing and director of personnel all agree that the lower level security will be enough. They have formed the opinion that Vanessa is recommending the more expensive option to maximise her profits. What should Vanessa do? Should she refuse to build the system as they request? 1.3 James, the Human-Computer Interaction Consultant The multi-disciplinary field of HCI focusses on the design of computer technology for optimal human interaction. Here we have James, an HCI consultant with experience in designing optimised web user interfaces. James has entered a design contract for a new accounting product made by Company A, mainly on the strength of his earlier work designing e-commerce platforms. The current work involves assessing the training requirements and the usability of the system, then developing an improved design. When James is setting up the design environment, he realizes that that the software he is to evaluate contains a Graphical User Interface already being used and owned by a rival Company B. James knows this from previous work with B. Under the terms of his contract with Company A, James is not allowed to discuss anything with anyone outside of the contract arrangements. This prohibits him from discussing the situation with Company B or anyone else without Company A’s written approval. Can James continue in good conscience with the evaluation? If he cannot continue how does he inform Company A of the patent infringement? Does he have an obligation to let company B know Company A has copied their GUI? Does any of this matter if James alters the current design substantially? Part 2 (due Friday Week 11 – use the template supplied and submit via Turnitin) 2.1 Toby Toby is another full-stack web developer working in the Brisbane IT industry. He has recently begun work at an ecommerce company with work locations at main office to several client sites. Toby is upgrading the company’s web-based order-entry improve the user experience and incorporate certain tax changes. He is well qualified to do this. Alec Smith Quits. Several months after Toby arrived, his boss Alec leaves suddenly - no explanation except that schedule slippage had become an issue. Alec’s departure creates a management vacuum that Toby sees himself filling. He volunteers and the big boss agrees to have Toby do Alec’s job until the directors either confirm Toby or put the job out to the market. After several weeks of competent job performance, Toby is confirmed in the management position. It is not long before Toby notices that two of his three developers, Dev A and Dev B – both hired by Alec and both highly paid contractors, were not competent to perform the work. Dev A and Alec were buddies from having previously worked together. Dev B is technically competent, but he is recently arrived from the United Kingdom and is having problems settling into his new environment (i.e. homesick). Dev A does not get his Contract Renewed. This unsatisfactory situation persists for a few more weeks until schedule slippage becomes critical. Senior management has told Toby to get back on schedule “or else”. Toby decides to replace Dev A with a proven performer. Dev A is angry and confrontational that his contract will not be renewed. Toby does things “by the book” and organises a Performance Review with independent assessors’ present. Pressure to cancel the Review. Alec (Toby’s former boss who left suddenly) contacts Toby soon after and in a closed meeting, asked Toby to retract his proposed performance review, as he, Alec, might want to re-hire Dev A for future projects. He asks Toby to cancel the performance review for Dev A and send a memo to senior management that there were no issues with his performance. Toby refuses both requests. Not long after this the project was surprisingly placed on hold. The project scope had crept alarmingly to the point where it was thought that delivery by the required date would be impossible. An internal audit was conducted to investigate the reasons for the project slippage. 2.2 Lunch at the Club Payback Time. When the project was halted and ultimately cancelled the development team was released. Toby was approached by another senior development manager, Ben, to come work for him. A job interview was arranged but the day before Ben rang Toby to say that the interview was cancelled. Toby would not be considered due to a bad report. Ben didn't say who, but Toby later found out from a reliable source that it was Alec calling in a favour. Time passes and Toby eventually finds another job, though the rumour about him being incompetent started by Alec took some time to live down. He goes to work for a competitor of the original ecommerce company. Lunch at the Club. A month into his new job, the CEO invites him to lunch. No ordinary lunch, he is taken to an exclusive men’s club in the city, the kind that is very selective about who is allowed to join, and which is known to be of great use to senior business and government figures wishing to do the informal, behind closed doors networking where deals are done while reclining in leather armchairs, sipping brandy Toby is treated to an expensive meal with fine wine in a wood panelled dining room. “This is the good life; I could get used to this!” Over desert, the CEO compliments Toby on his performance and hints that he might have a promising career ahead, including nomination for club membership. The boss then casually suggests that a detailed insider report on his earlier employer’s pricing strategy on IT projects might be of ‘some use’ when bidding in future tenders. ‘You’ll do that