Determining when to develop a system in-house or to purchase a COTS system is not always clear. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis brings the strengths and opportunities to a focus point and highlights the threats and weaknesses so an informed decision can be made. This analysis is often completed by the stakeholders, including the business analyst.

Perform a SWOT analysis of buy versus build for your chosen system using the knowledge gained from the Week 5 discussion, Purchasing Software Applications. You may use any Microsoft® program to create the SWOT analysis similar to the one featured in Ch. 12 of Information Technology for Management.

Use your SWOT analysis to create a guide for managers at Phoenix Fine Electronics to help determine if the business should build or buy a system. Incorporate feedback from the sourcing plan you created last week. Support your guide with at least 2 references. As a guideline, this type of guide should be 4 to 5 pages in length with written descriptions, charts, and outlines.

Include the following in your guide:

Various steps needed to purchase or develop a system in-house

Budget considerations

Staffing considerations

Time considerations

Risks

Maintenance plan

References