OMIS 640-Dr.

Nancy Russo Midterm Exam

Exam #1

Due: 8 July 2010

Hardcopy in class OR –anytime prior to 3 pm on 8 July – by e-mail

1. Answer the following questions regarding the London Ambulance Service Case:

a. What is the problem facing the LAS or the process/decision/person/situation that you
will evaluate?

b. Identify the cause(s) and evidence or evaluation criteria, measures and evidence.

c. What should Martin Gorham do next? Provide an action plan for the LAS.

2. Read the following and answer the questions below. This e-mail was sent in response to a
request by one of the largest clients of XYZ Data Corp. to learn whether an extension to a
project could be done by XYZ and, if so, by what date. [This is an example of a real e-mail, with
identifying information removed. Source withheld.]

Dear Jack:

After some discussions with our IT department, it has been decided that I need to submit a formal “Business
Request” (BR).

What this means to us is that IT will need to size the change and submit a price and time estimate. It also
means that the process has been taken out of my control and therefore I can no longer guarantee that I can
get as timely a response.

The normal process for our IT department is to meet once per month and gather the BRs they have received
and talk through the pricing estimate. If the business unit decides that they are willing to pay the price IT has
given us, then the work goes into the queue to be scheduled.

The project is placed in the queue based on a point system, which weighs importance, level of complexity,
and the resources required to work on the project and their availability.

At this time I cannot guarantee that I can meet your timeline.

John Smith
Director - Customer Analytics and Reporting
XYZ Data Corp.

a. Does it appear that XYZ uses a chargeback method of allocating IT expenses?

Explain your reasoning.

b. This e-mail resulted in the loss of an important client. What would you recommend
to XYZ (regarding IT) to avoid similar situations in the future? Justify your
response.