Suppose your boss asks you to evaluate the current state of technology
at your company - computers, printers, scanners, digital cameras, copiers,
fax machines, etc., along with software - and decide what and how the
company needs to upgrade.
You write a 20-page report, and break the evaluation into 4 categories:
computer hardware; computer peripherals; office equipment, and software.
The questions your boss might ask include:
- What equipment/software do we currently have?
- How much do we have to spend to bring the company up to date?
- How much do we have to spend now, and how much can wait until
later?
- Where are the biggest gaps?
- Where are we ok?
- What people or divisions need the most help?
- How do we compare to our competitors?
- How much are we losing by not being "on the cutting edge"
with our technology? I.e. what's the cost of not upgrading in each
area?
- How is the report organized?
- What specific items do we need to buy? Why?
- Who should we buy from?
- What items do we need to buy now? Why?
- What items can we buy over time?
Of these questions, the most important are probably 2, 3, 4, 5, and
to some extent 9. As a result, your summary might say something like:
This report evaluates our the current state of our company technology
in four major areas: computer hardware (computers and monitors), computer
peripherals, computer software, and other office equipment. In general,
we have successfully kept pace with changes in computers and monitors,
as well as software, in all departments except Widgets. However, most
of our office equipment, including copy machines, is significantly
out of date.
Bringing our technology up to date in every area will cost approximately
$650,000. To meet our most pressing needs in each area, we should
purchase equipment and software totaling $125,000 by Sept. 2001, allocated
as follows: $60,000 for the Widgets Deparment, $40,000 for office
equipment, and $25,000 for other essential items. We can spread the
remaining purchases over the next two years as we watch for new developments.
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