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Diploma in Information Technology
ITS D003 Communications and Networks
January 2025, Term 2506
CA003 Group Assignment (40%)
(Written Report 30%,Group Presentation 10%)
Overview of the Assignment:
The objective of this assignment is to allow student groups to apply the concepts taught in class and further their knowledge on IT and networking. When doing research beyond lesson materials, students are encouraged to check the validity of the sources before using it in the assignment.
Rationale of Group Assignment
The rationale of the group assignment is to enable collaborative learning with your peers and learning to work as a team, which is common in workplace environment. Students learn to apply theories taught in class and in textbooks, to real world situations. In line with this objective, students are not allowed to reuse old assignments or submit projects from previous semesters or copy largely from sources, particularly from the internet.
Forming Group
Students are to form groups of 4-5 members per group. As this is a group assignment, each member is expected to put in his/her fair share of effort into the assignment. It is essential that groups manage their group effectively to complete this assignment.
Students should try to resolve group dynamics issues within the group, and may seek the mediation through the lecturer as early as possible. Last minute mediation will not be entertained. Students may request for peer evaluation as a final resort if all mediation fails.
Finally, the lecturer reserves the right to assign a mark to an individual student different from the rest of the group if that student is deemed not to have put in his/her fair share of effort into the assignment.
This assignment will make use of what you have learnt in:
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• Lesson 3 Internet Networking |
• Lesson 9 Wired Media |
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• Lesson 4 Internet Protocols |
• Lesson 10 Wireless Media |
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• Lesson 5 Internet Applications |
• Lesson 15 Interconnection Technologies |
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• Lesson 6 Domain Name System |
• Lesson 16 Packet and Circuit Switching |
Read the following articles on Singapore’s digital push to adapt and drive digital transformation within the Retail Industry sector:
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Article (1): |
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Article (2): |
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Article (3): |
Retail Industry Digital Plan | Go Business and IMDA Retail-idp.pdf |
Herbs & Harvest Supermarket Pte Ltd (HHS), founded in 1995, is one of the largest chain of supermarkets in Singapore. From its humble beginnings starting as a small fresh produce shop, HHS has grown to become one of Singapore’s top retailers, with over 50 stores island-wide today.
HHS’s retail stores are designed to provide their customers with both “wet and dry” shopping options. These include a wide variety of live, fresh and chilled produce, in addition to processed, packaged and preserved food products as well as general household products. In 2020, HHS started an online shopping platform for groceries. With this, HHS embarked on a omni- channel retail to become not only a preferred brick-and-mortar supermarket, but also one of the best online supermarkets.
To prepare for the future, HHS intends to grow digitally and use digital solutions to improve operations and generate new revenue by participating in SMEs Go Digital Programme initiated by IMDA Singapore. HHS is looking to hire Project Management Consultant to acquire and setup necessary digital infrastructure at one of their new supermarkets, appropriately named “ Herbs & Harvest digital”.
To qualify for this role, your team must demonstrate how you would go about setting up a robust, secure and efficient IT infrastructure to support various operations including point-of-sale (POS) systems, inventory management, customer Wi-Fi, and staff communication.
Your task is to write a report that explains IT and networking concepts and a brief proposal to meet their current and future needs.
Task Instructions
1. Make sure your report is related to HHS and Articles (1), (2) and (3).
2. Please make use of definitions and concepts taught in ITS D003. You are allowed to use external sources to further support the concepts but not replace the definitions.
3. You are advised to read and follow the Report Instructions in Annex A. Failure to do so will result in deduction of up to 20% of the total marks.
4. The marking rubric for the assignment is provided in Annex B.
PART A (30%)
(i) Write a summary, in at least 500 words, for Articles (1), (2) and (3). In your summary, describe, with examples, Retail ITM 2025, Retail Industry Digital Plan, its importance, and impact, and how the Small and Medium-sized Retail Businesses (SMBs) in Singapore can strategize to see further growth and transformation.
(ii) List, describe and discuss, in at least 500 words, what are the essential digital solutions which the retail SMBs should consider at different stages of the Digital Solutions Roadmap and how each of the solutions will benefit the supermarkets in digital transformation.
PART B (40%)
Herbs & Harvest Supermarket (“HHS”) prides itself in providing services beyond the highest level of excellence to all its customers. It highly values all its customers and to ensure that they get the best yet economical services, it depends on its executive leadership team including Mr. Heng, and thirty (30) staff in administrative and customer service roles at EACH supermarket.
Figure 1 below shows the floor plan of the new “ Herbs & Harvest digital” premises. Mr. Heng has decided to setup all the IT systems and Network infrastructure appropriate to fully implement the Digital Roadmap as discussed in PART A , and reduce the manpower needs to only twenty (20) staff to fully exploit the benefits of digitalization.
Your team’s task as their Project Management Consultant would be to propose, design and deploy the IT systems and the network infrastructure for their new supermarket located in one of the Singapore’s heartlands.
Figure 1: Floor Plan of Herbs & Harvest digital
Propose and justify, in at least 1500 words, the appropriate set of IT systems and network infrastructure that will support HHS to streamline its operations to improve productivity and maximize value to its customers.
Your proposal should include, with justification:
I. an itemized list of computing hardware such as the servers for various applications, desktops / laptops, smartphones / tablets, and printers based on the staff working at the digital supermarket,
II. an itemized list of media and security devices/systems such as smart televisions and security cameras,
III. an itemized list of network interconnection devices such as routers, switches, hubs, access points, nodes etc.), and
IV. a simple network topology diagram that shows:
a. the type of internet source (e.g. fibre broadband),
b. how the devices listed above are linked together through interconnection devices, and
c. the wired / wireless media selected to provide network access to the
devices above, and the advantages / disadvantages of each media.
References:
1. What is a network topology diagram:
(What Is a Network Diagram? Definition, Types, and Examples (figma.com)) 2 . Draw Network Diagram using draw.io or PowerPoint icons from this link:
(https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/ac50/ac47/icon-library-production- oct2016.zip)
PART C (20%)
While discussing and evaluating your team’s project proposal as prepared in PART B, Mr. Heng referred you to sections 5 and 6 of Retail IDP which describes the “AI for Retail” and “Cybersecurity and Data Protection roadmap” to support the digitalization journey for Herbs & Harvest.
To ensure that HHS is well prepared to reap the benefits of digital transformation, Mr. Heng requested your team to propose an “AI for Retail” solution to help elevate customer experience, operational efficiency & business growth, and a roadmap for “Cybersecurity and Data protection” .
In this proposal:
(i) List and justify, in at least 500 words, AI solutions for Retail which can be used by HHS, and the benefits of these solutions.
(ii) List and justify, in at least 500 words, Cybersecurity measures and Data protection practices that HHS should put in place to achieve necessary cybersecurity certification and compliance with PDPA.
Report Instructions
Format
1. The report should have a cover page, content page, introduction, write-up on the task, conclusion, references, and appendices (if any).
2. The cover page should include:
i. Institution name and institution logo of this programme
ii. Module name, term, and year
iii. Date of submission
iv. Each team members name and student ID number
3. Start each section on a separate page. Task write-up must be in paragraph form. Bulleted points and tables may only be used to support the answer.
4. The references and citations should be presented in Harvard style. Reference list should include at least FIVE (5) references.
Report Word Limit
4000 words including introduction, conclusions, and references.
Report Font and Spacing
Font: Calibri, Black
Font size: 12 with 1½ or double spacing
Penalty Marks for Late Submission
Late by one day: 20% of the total marks will be deducted.
Late by more than one day: submission will NOT be graded.