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