IT Network Problem in Rangitata Hospital

Project Overview

This assessment requires you to project manage improvements to networks in a case study. It draws on the skills you have developed in previous papers in network administration and uses project management skills to manage the project. It consists of three sections:

• Part A – Plan and organise the project
• Part B – Undertake the project, monitoring each phase and task
• Part C – Critically review the project NOTE: there will be differences between the plan for the project and what actually occurs, and this will be monitored as part of the assessment.

Assessment Instructions:

I. You are required to present your work in a word-processed report format using appropriate headings, page and section numbering, indentations, figures and tables, appendices, style (Arial or Times New Roman) and size (font 12, line spacing 1.5) II. This assignment is to be submitted electronically via www.abacusinstitute.ac.nz/moodle by 5:00pm on the due date above OR III. Alternative arrangements can be made for presenting and submitting your work with help of the course instructor/tutor, in case of any special needs IV. The presentation of your work must use appropriate tone, register, vocabulary (including non-sexist language), grammar and syntax

Graduate Profile Outcomes

Analyse and document requirements for routing, switching, and server infrastructure to support IT infrastructure planning. 8 Apply IT service management and change management processes and procedures to comply with organisational requirements. 11 Apply project management tools and techniques to an IT related project, to analyse and solve problems.

Learning Outcomes

1. Apply IT Service Management processes and procedures to comply with organisational requirements.
2. Apply change management processes and procedure to comply with organisational requirements.
3. Plan, initiate, organize and manage network project to support innovation, change and business continuity for an organisation.
4. Analyse and document requirements for routing, switching, and server infrastructure to support a Network Project.
5. Apply project management tools, techniques methodologies, quality assurance and quality management to an IT project.
6. Critically evaluate and apply project estimation, scheduling and budgeting methodologies for an IT project.
7. Monitor and track project progress and manage project change while mitigating project risks.

Rangitata Hospital

Rangitata Hospital is a private hospital which is experiencing growth in patient numbers. This growth has seen a growth in the number of staff, patients and administration staff in the organization. It is based in a building, which it owns, and has recently started using the top floors as patient rooms (previously they were empty). There are several problems with the IT network that have occurred because of the growth. The IT director, Alex, is responsible for network management and is seeking a solution which will meet the requirements of the hospital. He has the following brief which outlines the business requirements of the hospital.

Medical staff prefer to be connected to medical systems by laptops and they require access to the network from any patient room. They need to be able to access patient medical records, x-rays, prescriptions, and the latest patient information.

• Alex has already installed servers and located them in the data centre which is located on the ground floor. Alex reports that users have expressed criticism of the slow speed of the servers.
• The current wireless LAN (WLAN) covers 30 laptops, and 15 others are to be added in six months’ time. The current network cannot cope with this number of laptops.
• Patient rooms are located on floors 6 to 10 of the hospital building. The network should be accessible from any floor.
• Alex recommends there be a single access point in each communication room which can cover all rooms on that floor (there is a communications room on each floor).
• The current network consists of ten segments connected to a single router which serves the Internet as well. The router runs Routing Information Protocol Version 1 (RIPv1).
• Alex has provided a table which contains the current IP addresses. (see table 1, below).
• Alex wants the network enhanced by using fast switches which will make quicker access to the servers.
• The new design must guarantee secure WLAN access on floors 6 to 10.
• An IP addressing outline that cuts the number of Class C networks used by the hospital needs to be included.
• Alex also wishes to cut the number of the networks leased from the Internet service provider (ISP).

IP addresses and current network diagram

Part A

1. As an external service provider for the Rangitata Hospital, it is essential to ensure that the services provided match the needs of the hospital. This is best accomplished through the use of IT Service Management (ITSM). Required: Prepare an overview of how ITSM will be applied for the changes to the network in the following areas: (LO 1)

1. Service Strategy
2. Service Design
3. Service Transition
4. Service Operation
5. Continual Service Improvement

2. Any alteration to systems, processes or even to hardware, results in change. Understanding the effects of change and planning effectively contributes to the likely success of a project. Required: Apply change management processes to the network improvements by: (LO 2)

1. Identifying the main stakeholders of the project, explaining how they are related to the project
2. Identifying the forces of change and forces of stability for this project
3. Designing a change management plan (using either Lewin’s or the ADKAR change management models) to reduce the forces of stability and to increase the forces of change
4. Describing how the change management plan (in c) is robust enough to successfully implement change in the hospital

3. Design appropriate quality assurance processes for this project (LO 5)

4. Plan the project using project management software. In particular, you must:

1. Use a Gantt chart to schedule each phase, sub phase, and milestone of the project (LO 3, LO 5)
2. Prepare Work Breakdown Structures as required (LO 3, LO5)
3. Perform forward and backward pass calculations to: (LO 5) i. Identify the critical path for the project ii. Identify activities with float/slack
4. Identify all areas which may ‘float’ (LO 5)
5. Identify all resources that will be required by the project and assign to the appropriate phase (LO 6) i. This will include (but is not limited to) hardware, software, time, skill sets, finance ii. Ensure that the financial costs associated with each task are calculated.

Part B

This section of the assessment requires you to design and implement the network improvements, while monitoring progress and use of resources. Required:

1. Analyse the current network for Rangitata hospital, identifying the areas which need improving and explaining how they can be improved (LO 4)
2. Review the IP addresses and identify the improvements that can be made to ensure that the system is performing according to best practice (LO 4)
3. Recommend how switching speed can be increased (LO 4)
4. Design a new IP addressing scheme according to the resources and needs of the hospital (LO 4)
5. Recommend appropriate routing protocols to be used (LO 4)
6. Describe an appropriate design for the WLAN access (LO 4)
7. Draw the project network solution using Microsoft Visio (LO 4)
8. Identify the risks which could be anticipated for the implementation of the project (LO 7)
9. Implement the network improvements (LO 4) 10.Monitor the timing and resource use in the project (record actual time and resources used by the project) (LO 2, LO3, LO 5)

Note: The Critical path network and the WBS need to be updated for the actual resources used in each phase of the project

Part C

1. Compare actual progress to planned progress, detailing the variations’ cause, effects and resource implications (LO 5)
2. Describe the corrective actions that you implemented
3. Evaluate: a. Which parts of your network improvements were implemented as planned b. Which parts of your network improvements were not implemented as planned c. Any difference in resource use between what was planned compared to what was actually used d. The quality of the network improvement using recognised quality control methods (which relate to your quality assurance processes) for the purposes of Rangitata hospital (LO 3) e. How you had identified risks, compared to what actually occurred (LO 7)