This is the first of a series of five sequential assignments (the course project) in which you will act as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of a hypothetical, e-commerce start-up company of your design. A venture capital group has funded this innovative start-up.

The CEO has given you 60 days to deliver an information technology project plan in anticipation of the company relocating to a new facility. Since this is a start-up company, currently no building or technology infrastructure exists to support the business. All information technology (hardware and software) must be implemented in a hosted solution, an on-site solution, or a hybrid model. The CEO expects you to integrate different technologies from a variety of partners and incorporate industry best practices to develop the companys technological systems.

Additional background on the hypothetical company

Company Information        Current Status                          Growth Projections (over next two years) 
                               
Facility Type  — New facility is a two-story standalone building
   
Number of Employees              10                                                                          30
                                                                               
Revenue                                  $5 million                                                                    $30 million

This assignment consists of two parts:

Part 1: Project Plan Inception
You will write a 57-page document outlining the project specifics, such as company background information, company business, and an overview of the companys information systems infrastructure.

Part 2: Supporting Gantt Chart
You will use Microsoft Project to create a Gantt chart for your e-commerce company project.

Note:

You are to create or assume all necessary assumptions to successfully complete this assignment.
You must submit both parts as separate files to the assignment area. Label each file name according to the appropriate part.

Instructions

Part 1: Project Plan Inception
In a 57-page project plan inception document, you are to:

Develop your hypothetical e-commerce company’s background information.
Refer to this article: Top 10 Largest Ecommerce Companies in the US in 2020, when developing your companys background information.
This article outlines the major types of e-commerce companies in existence. Use this as a guide when deciding what background information to include about your hypothetical e-commerce company in your project plan inception document.
Document your chosen e-commerce company’s business type, customers, and demographic information.
Describe the key elements of your e-commerce company’s information systems infrastructure.
Develop a high-level block diagram of your e-commerce company’s information systems infrastructure.
Use three sources to support your writing.
Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate.
Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment.
Access the library or review library guides for help with research, writing, and citation.

Part 2: Supporting Gantt Chart
Use Microsoft Project to create a Gantt chart identifying the major and minor tasks, illustrating dependency relationships between activities.