Project Case: Smart Money Bank ABM Infrastructure Upgrade Smart Money Bank from Trinidad is having problems with its core system that supports is Automated Banking Machine (ABM) network. The Head of Retail Banking (Mr Noel Thompson) has received a number of complaints from customers regarding the poor service received from these machines. Additionally the internal ABM monitoring team, in recent times the team has reported increased downtime on the machines. Mr. Thompson has summoned the Chief Information Officer Mr Michael Johns for a meeting to address the issues being encountered in order to improve uptime and as a result customer satisfaction and revenue. Mr. Johnson recommends that the system be upgraded to the latest version of the ABM software. The system is owned and maintained by ABM Software Inc. which is an internationally renowned supplier of ABM middleware. The new software is several versions higher than the current version being used by the bank and there are a number of new features that will be offered to customers and internal users. Internal users will be provided monitoring tools that will allow for the realtime monitoring of ABMs. Additionally, it will provide e-mail notifications to external contractors who are responsible for servicing and replenishing the machines with cash when they are down. ABMs are critical to the bank’s revenue and there is a need to maintain maximum availability to customers. To manage the risks with implementation the project must be rolled out on a phased basis. The project is scheduled to commence in January, 2021 and should last no more than 6 months as the old version of the software will not be supported starting July 1, 2022. The total budget allocated to the project is US$450,000 Scope and Objectives ? Improve the uptime of the ABMs throughout the bank’s network ? Acquire new version of ABM software ? Develop a schedule for a phased implementation of the project ? Arrange for technical and user acceptance testing of the new software ? Engage a focus customer focus group to assess the new features being offered. 3 of 3 In this assignment, you are required to formulate four (4) elements of a Project Management Plan: ? Scope Statement ? Work Breakdown Structure ? Project Schedule, and any one of the following plans: ? Human Resource Management Plan OR a Communications Management Plan Constraints, Assumptions, Risks ? The project must be completed by June 30, 2022. ? Budget of US$450,000. ? The new version of the software will be able to run the existing ABM machines ? The new software cannot run on the existing OS and server infrastructure. ? The old version of the software will not be supported by the vendors starting July 1, 2022. ? Wide cross-section of customers will be available to assist with the testing of the new solution in a timely manner. The local banks are equipped with the technology to allow for the authorization of credit card transactions via a WEB interface ? The internet penetration of the local populace is sufficient to allow for a significant reduction in traffic within the tax offices

An ongoing policy debate concerns whether to legalize the use of drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. Some researchers estimate that legalizing cocaine would cause its price to fall by as much as 95 percent. Proponents of legalization argue that legalizing drug use would lower crime rates by eliminating the main reason for the murderous gang wars that plague many big cities and by reducing the incentive for drug addicts to commit robberies and burglaries. Opponents of legalization argue that lower drug prices would lead more people to use drugs.14$11.44$10.478.148.01$11.47a)Suppose the price elasticity of demand for cocaine is -2. If legalization causes the price of cocaine to fall by 95 percent, what will be the percentage increase in the quantity of cocaine demanded?EpDemand = % change Qd or , 2 = % change Qd= 190% change P95The percentage increase in the quantity demanded for cocaine would be 190%. In this scenario, you know that the price elasticity of demand for cocaine is elastic because of its coefficient of 2.You are asked to calculate the % change in quantity demanded knowing the other two variables (elasticity and % change in price). A 95% decrease in the price of cocaine would then lead to an increase in the quantity demanded for cocaine of 190%. b)If the price elasticity is -0.02, what will be the percentage increase in the quantity demanded?EpDemand = % change Qd or , .02 = % change Qd= 1.90% change P95Clearly, the higher the absolute value of the price elasticity of demand for cocaine, the greater the increase in cocaine use that would result from legalization. If the price elasticity is as high as in question A, legalization will lead to a large increase in use. If, however, the price elasticity is as low as in question B, legalization will lead to only a small increase in use. 36. In summer 2007, Sony decided to cut the price of its Playstation 3 video game console from $600 to $500. One industry analyst forecast that the price cut would increase sales from 80,000 units per monthto 120,000 units per month. Assuming the analystâs forecast is correct, calculate the price elasticity of demand for Playstation 3.$500 / $600 -1 = 17% cut in price; 120,000 / 80,000 = 50% increase in salesEpDemand = % change Qd or , = 50%= 2.94% change P17%The coefficient for the price elasticity of demand is 2.94, meaning that the cut in price of Playstation 3 is very elastic as is also evidenced by the 50% increase in quantity demanded from a lesser percentage decrease in the price of the video game console.