ICT Department: DiDA Unit D204 – Enterprise

Introduction

An enterprise is a new venture for a particular purpose. Many enterprises are started by people who see an opportunity to make money and are brave enough to pursue it. ICT is an important feature of a successful enterprise.

The aim of this unit is to give you hands-on experience of how ICT can improve the efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises. You will investigate possible enterprise opportunities and conduct market research to see which ones are likely to be successful. You will use spreadsheet models to find out the effects of different plans such as changing the price of the product, increasing the number of customers, etc. You will use ICT to communicate your enterprise proposals to an audience with the aim of winning their support. For example, you may be looking for sponsorship or permission to implement your plans. You will design document templates and marketing materials that give your enterprise a unique and instantly recognizable identity. Success in an enterprise is rarely achieved by someone working alone.

This unit will give you an opportunity to practise and develop skills in working with others cooperatively. You will learn how to use digital applications to communicate and to help your team solve problems and make decisions. You will demonstrate your ability to work collaboratively with others to research and plan for the launch of an enterprise through your work on a major project set by Edexcel. Your e-portfolio will be a presentation of your enterprise proposals and supporting evidence.

What you need to learn

1.1 Identifying an Enterprise Opportunity

Identifying an enterprise opportunity for a new product or service is a highly creative process. It takes time to come up with a good idea. One way to generate and explore ideas is to brainstorm, using mind maps to organise your thoughts and ideas visually. By working in a group you can bounce ideas off one another and come to an agreement about the best option. You will learn how to use mind mapping software to support this process.

Once you have come up with an idea for a new product or service, you need to investigate its chance of succeeding. You will use ICT to explore factors such as:

• If there is a demand for the proposed product/service
• Who your customers will be (gender, age, etc)
• Where they are located
• How much they are prepared to pay
• The level of quality/service they require
• Similar products/services that already exist
• When and how you can offer your product/service
• Changing trends and fashions
• What materials and supplies you will need and where you can get them.

The more detailed your market research, the more likely your enterprise is to succeed. You will learn how to use ICT to help you collect, collate and analyse market information from both primary and secondary sources in order to inform your decision making.

1.2 Financial Planning

If an enterprise is to be successful it needs to cover its costs and, if appropriate, make a profit. You will learn how to use spreadsheet models to calculate break-even and to predict profits. A well-constructed model can be used to find answers to ‘what if?’ questions:

• How much you need to sell in order to break even
• How much stock or raw materials to purchase
• How much to charge.

In order to produce a useful spreadsheet model, you must first decide:

• What information you want from the model
• What data needs to be entered
• What calculations need to be performed
• What output is required.

You will ensure that your models are easy to understand by making effective use of the presentation and formatting features of the software, such as:

• Font size and style
• Colours, borders and shading
• Conditional formatting
• Charts and graphs.

The information provided by a spreadsheet is only as good as the data that it contains. You will learn how to reduce errors using techniques such as validation and cell protection. You will learn how to test spreadsheet models to ensure that their underlying logic is correct and that all formulae are properly constructed.

1.3 Creating a Corporate Identity

An enterprise needs a corporate identity that reflects its values and objectives and portrays an appropriate image, e.g. Trendy, efficient, high-tech. You will learn how to design and produce a brand for an enterprise that is instantly recognisable, taking feedback from others into account, including:

• Logo
• Strap line, to communicate to people who don’t know what the enterprise is about
• Colour scheme
• Format and style.

1.4 Formal Communications

Effective communication between team members and with other people, such as customers or sponsors, is essential for a successful enterprise. You will learn how to use ICT to produce a set of document templates for an enterprise including:

• Letter/letterhead
• Agenda
• Minutes
• Invoice/receipt
• Business card
• Compliments slip.

You will need to consider:

• Audience and purpose
• Consistent use of the brand
• Content and structure:
  • Position on page of key items
  • House style.

1.5 Promoting an Enterprise

All enterprises need to promote themselves and the products and services they provide. You will learn how to attract the attention of potential customers and how to persuade people to read the
Information available. You will use ICT to produce a range of promotional materials, including:

• Advertisements
• Leaflets
• Posters/flyers
• Mail shots
• Screen-based products such as websites, presentations and movies.

You will need to make these materials grab the viewer’s attention and hold it long enough to draw them in to read the rest. In order to do so, you must consider factors, such as:

• Corporate identity
• Structure
• Balance
• Colour
• Composition
• Message
• Use of promotional words such as special offer, free, BOGOF.

You must also ensure that contact details are clearly displayed. Mail shots are another form of targeted marketing. You will learn how to use mail merge to combine a standard letter with contact data to produce personalised letters. You will have the opportunity to make use of your dida toolkit — all the ICT skills you have. This will depend on which units you have completed. For example, if you have completed Unit 2 you might consider a promotional movie.

1.6 Promotional Website

As more people turn to the internet for information, it becomes increasingly important for an organisation to have a website because it can:

• Reach a wide audience
• Be easily updated
• Communicate information at low cost.

You will learn how to design and build a website to promote an enterprise. You will need to decide:

• How many individual pages there will be
• What content to have on each page
• The visual design
• How customers will navigate around the site
• How visitors to the site can contact you.

Storyboarding is a useful tool for mapping out the layout and features of individual web pages. You should use ICT to produce storyboards and structure charts that show:

• The layout and content of each page
• How each page interacts with the others
• The structure and navigation of the site.

You should get feedback on your initial designs from other test users to ensure that your website will meet the needs of your customers. The next step is to implement the website, turning the design into a working prototype. You will learn how to use web authoring software to develop simple websites. The functionality of the finished website should be thoroughly tested. This includes checking that:

• The layout and presentation of each page is correct and conforms to the corporate style
• All the hyperlinks work correctly with no ‘dead-ends’
• The information is accurate and up-to-date
• Your contact details are displayed prominently
• The site can be viewed using different browsers.

A website makes information available to anyone who chooses to visit. There are many thousands of websites competing for attention. You will learn about ways to encourage people to visit sites that you produce.

1.7 Presenting Enterprise Proposals

You will learn how to make full use of your ICT skills to present convincing enterprise proposals that are designed to win the support of your audience. You will need to think about how best to present this information. Whatever methods you use, you will need to create the right impression and you are likely to need a range of supporting materials such as speaker notes, handouts, promotional materials, sample documents and perhaps even the product itself.

1.8 Creating an e-portfolio

You will present evidence of your achievements and accomplishments in an e-portfolio for your assessor and moderator. It is essential that you include all the necessary information and that your e-portfolio is self-explanatory. You will need to decide on:

• Content:
  • Home page
  • Menu/contents page(s)
  • Evidence with commentary (individual contribution and team contribution)
  • References and copyright information
• Organisation:
  • Structure
  • Links
  • User interface
• Accessibility.

You must use suitable file formats for your content so that people can view it even if they do not have the same software as you. You must test your e-portfolio to ensure that it functions properly. You must check that:

• The content is correct and complete
• The download speeds are acceptable
• Every link goes where it should with no dead-ends
• The e-portfolio displays and works correctly with different browsers
• Other people can use the e-portfolio without help.

You should get other people to test your e-portfolio and give you feedback. You will need to decide whether or not to make modifications work in the light of the comments you receive.

Managing your project

2.1 Collaborative Working

Most enterprises involve a number of people working together as part of a team. You will learn how to work cooperatively with others to achieve shared objectives. You will use ICT to support collaborative working. As a team you will need to identify what has to be done and decide who will do what. Accepting that some of your ideas may be rejected is all part of collaborative working. You will not always agree with others in your team and sometimes you will be outvoted. You must be prepared to help sort out disagreements and respond appropriately to the views
And feelings of others, offering support and encouragement when necessary.

2.2 Project Planning

As you know, all projects have a number of common characteristics:

• Clear objectives
• A definitive outcome
• They run for a fixed period of time
• They can be broken down into a sequence of smaller tasks.

A project is unlikely to succeed unless it is properly planned. However, before you can start to plan, you have to understand what is required. You should read the entire project brief first. There are a number of key questions you need to ask, including:

• What do we have to do as a team?
• What do I have to do?
• What timescale are we working to?
• What resources can we use?
• Which organisations or people might be able to provide help and advice?
• How will the success of the project be judged?
• Who will review my work and when?

You might want to produce a mind map to help you understand what is required. Once you are all clear about your objectives, you can begin to plan your work. Some of this work will involve collaboration with other members of your team and some will require you to work alone. You will need to consult with other team members so that all your plans work together.

Your project plan must identify the main tasks broken down into sub-tasks, clearly showing:

• Collaborative activities:
  • The order in which you will carry them out
  • How much time you will spend on each one
  • Key milestones and checkpoints
  • When you will ask reviewers for feedback.

You need to be realistic about the amount of time you allocate to each task, bearing in mind that resources may not always be available when you need them. Some tasks need to be completed before others can be started and some involve working with others in your team.

You will need to make sure that your plan lists the tasks in a logical order. There is no point in spending time drawing up a plan if you do not use it to help you achieve your objectives and meet the deadline. You will learn the importance of checking progress against the plan at regular intervals and of modifying and updating the plan so that it is always current and gives an accurate picture of what work has been completed, what still needs to be done and what problems or potential problems, if any, need to be addressed. You will have to take other team members’ time into consideration if your plan needs to be modified.

2.3 Review and Evaluation

It is important that you undertake a thorough review of a project once it is completed. You should evaluate:

• Outcomes, for example:
  • To what extent have the project objectives been met?
  • How confident are you that your enterprise is viable?
  • How effective is the corporate identity?
  • How effective are the publications and promotional materials?
  • How well does your e-portfolio present the proposal?
• Process, for example:
  • How well did your planning work?
  • How effective was your time management?
  • How effective was your market research?
  • Did your models allow you to fully explore the possibilities?
  • How well did the team work together?
  • How effective was the team at making decisions?
  • How did you manage conflict?
  • What, if anything, went wrong?
• Your own responsibilities, for example:
  • Did you have appropriate ICT skills?
  • Did you carry all the tasks assigned to you?
  • Did you share information with other team members?
  • Are you proud of your achievements?
  • What have you learned about yourself?
• Your contribution to the team, for example:
  • How well did you work as a team member?
  • Did you let the team down at any time?
  • How would you do things differently if you were involved in a team activity again?

You should incorporate feedback from others, such as:

• Test users
• Other team members
• Your teacher.

Your review could be any combination of:

• A written evaluation
• A verbal evaluation recorded in an appropriate way
• A presentation.

2.4 Standard ways Of working

You will be expected to use ICT efficiently, legally and safely,including:

• File management:
  • Save work regularly
  • Use sensible filenames
  • Set up directory/folder structures to organise files
  • Make regular backups and versions to show progress
  • Choose appropriate file formats
  • Convert files to appropriate formats
  • Limit access to confidential or sensitive files
  • Have an awareness of viruses
  • Create ‘readme’ files where appropriate to provide technical information e.g. System requirements
• Personal effectiveness:
  • Select appropriate ICT tools and techniques
  • Customise settings
  • Create and use shortcuts if appropriate
  • Use available sources of help
  • Use a plan to organise work and meet deadlines
• Quality assurance:
  • Use tools such as spell and grammar check and print preview
  • Proofread
  • Seek views of others
  • Authenticate work
  • Legislation and codes of practice
  • Acknowledge sources
  • Respect copyright
  • Do not plagiarise
  • Protect confidentiality
• Work safely:
  • Correct positioning of hardware, cables, seating
  • Appropriate lighting
  • Take regular breaks
  • Handle and store media correctly.

The ICT skills you will need

3.1 Artwork and Imaging Software

You must be able to:

• Select and capture images:
  • Use a digital camera
  • Use a scanner
  • Download images from the internet
  • Use clipart and library images
• Modify images:
  • Group and ungroup
  • Cut, paste, crop, trim, resize
  • Align, rotate
• Choose appropriate image resolutions and file formats for:
  • Print publications
  • Digital publications.

3.2 Collaborative Software

You must be able to:

• Communicate with members of a team
• Share files with other members of a team
• Create and use shared folders
• Work collaboratively on a document
• Set up a collaborative working environment
• Maintain a team diary.

3.3 Email

You must be able to:

• Receive an email
• Send an email:
  • To an individual
  • To a group of people
  • With an attachment
  • With carbon copies
  • Reply to individuals
  • Reply to all
• Use folders to store/organise emails and attachments
• Set up and use distribution lists
• Set the priority of email messages
• Set up and use an email address book.

3.4 Internet and Intranets

You must be able to:

• Use features of browser software
• Home, refresh/reload
• Forward, back, go
• History
• Bookmarks and favourites
• Hyperlinks within sites
• Copy and save
• Select and print
• Use search engines
• Single criterion
• Multiple criteria
• Refine searches.

3.5 Presentation Software

You must be able to:

• Use colour schemes
• Use master slides
• Use slide formatting features:
  • Frames
  • Alignment
  • Line spacing
  • Bullets
• Create, select and insert components:
  • Text
  • Images
  • Sound
  • Lines and simple shapes
  • Hyperlinks
• Use images/objects:
  • Position
  • Crop
  • Resize
  • Group and ungroup
  • Text wrapping
  • Borders
  • Animate
• Create slide transitions
• Produce handouts and speaker notes.

3.6 Project planning Software

You must be able to create and modify:

• Mind maps
• Project plans.

3.7 Spreadsheet Software

You must be able to:

• Enter, cut, copy, paste and move data
• Format cells to match data types
• Insert/delete rows and columns
• Enter formulae:
  • Use operators
  • Replicate formulae
  • Use simple functions
  • Use absolute and relative cell references
• Sort data
• Produce fully customised charts/graphs:
  • Titles
  • Axis and data labels
  • Legend
• Use headers and footers
• Print selected areas
• Insert comments
• Filter data
• Link sheets.

3.8 Web authoring Software

You must be able to:

• Use colour schemes
• Use page formatting features:
  • Tables
  • Fonts
  • Alignment
  • Colour
  • Line spacing
  • Bullets
• Produce content:
  • Text
  • Images
  • Sound
  • Lines and simple shapes
  • Animation
  • Hyperlinks
• Use images/objects:
  • Position
  • Size
  • Orientation
  • Text wrapping
  • Resolution.

3.9 Word processing software

You must be able to:

• Enter, cut, copy, paste and move text
• Use page formatting features:
  • Headers and footers
  • Margins
  • Page breaks
  • Page numbering
  • Alignment
  • Line spacing
  • Tables
  • Text boxes
  • Columns
• Use paragraph formatting features:
  • Alignment
  • Bullets and numbering
  • Tabs
  • Indents
• Format text:
  • Font type and size
  • Bold, underline, italic
  • Colour
• Create, select and insert components:
  • Images
  • Lines and simple shapes
  • Tick boxes
  • Comments
  • Hyperlinks
• Use images/objects:
  • Position
  • Crop
  • Resize
  • Group and ungroup
  • Text wrapping
  • Borders
• Use spelling and grammar checkers
• Use mail merge.

What you must produce as evidence

You will be given a project brief for this unit which will require you to use ICT to explore and plan for a business activity. It should take you approximately 30 hours to complete. You will be expected to:

• Plan and manage the project (5 marks)
• Investigate an enterprise opportunity (9 marks)
• Create a corporate image (7 marks)
• Promote a product or service (9 marks)
• Use an eportfolio to present an enterprise proposal (7 marks)
• Carry out an end-of-project review (5 marks)

How your Work Is Assessed

Plan and manage the project (maximum 5 marks)

1 Mark	A project plan for a complex project, produced with guidance, that: identifies most main tasks in a logical order allocates time to each task within the given timescale demonstrates some understanding of the project objectives. Evidence of some use of the plan to track progress.
3 Marks	A project plan for a complex project, that: identifies all main tasks and some sub-tasks in a logical order allocates a sensible amount of time to most tasks within the given timescale demonstrates some understanding of the project objectives communicates progress through the project. Evidence of some use of the plan to track and monitor progress. Evidence of reasonable time management.
5 Marks	A project plan for a complex project, that: identifies all main tasks and most sub-tasks in a logical order allocates a sensible amount of time to each task within the given timescale, allowing for contingencies demonstrates a clear understanding of the project objectives clearly communicates progress through the project. Evidence of effective use of the plan to track and monitor progress and maximise efficiency. Evidence of good time management.

Select and capture information from a variety of sources (maximum 7 marks)

1 Mark	Evidence of gathering information, with guidance, that demonstrates some awareness of intended purpose through: use of appropriate secondary sources and selection of some relevant information capture of some relevant data from primary sources using appropriate methods.
3 Marks	Evidence of gathering information that demonstrates an awareness of intended purpose through: identification and use of appropriate secondary sources and selection of some relevant information identification and capture of some relevant data from selected primary sources using appropriate methods, with some testing of data capture mechanism(s).
5 Marks	Evidence of gathering information that demonstrates a sound awareness of intended purpose through: identification and use of a range of appropriate secondary sources and selection of relevant information identification and capture of relevant data from a range of selected primary sources using appropriate methods, with some testing of data capture mechanism(s).
7 Marks	Evidence of gathering information that demonstrates an astute awareness of intended purpose through: identification and use of a range of appropriate secondary sources and discerning selection of relevant information identification and capture of relevant data from a range of selected primary sources, using appropriate methods, with testing of data capture mechanism(s) and the validity of the data captured.

Collate and analyse data to produce information (maximum 7 marks)

1 Mark	Evidence of data handling, with guidance, that demonstrates some awareness of intended purpose through: creation of a flat file database structure to store a given data set from a secondary source use of database tools to retrieve some appropriate information from a flat file database creation and use of a spreadsheet to collate data captured from primary sources and carry out simple analysis some use of prototyping and testing.
3 Marks	Evidence of data handling that demonstrates an awareness of intended purpose through: design and creation of a flat file database structure to store a given data set from a secondary source, making limited use of appropriate validation use of database tools to import the data set, facilitate accurate data entry and retrieve some appropriate information creation and use of a spreadsheet to collate data captured from primary sources, carry out analysis and communicate findings use of prototyping and testing.
5 Marks	Evidence of data handling that demonstrates a sound awareness of intended purpose through: design and creation of a flat file database structure to store a given data set from a secondary source, making use of appropriate validation use of database tools to import the data set, facilitate accurate data entry and retrieve appropriate information creation and use of a spreadsheet to collate data captured from primary sources, carry out more complex analysis and communicate findings clearly use of prototyping and testing, taking account of feedback from others.
7 Marks	Evidence of data handling that demonstrates an astute awareness of intended purpose through: design and creation of a flat file database structure optimised to store a given data set from a secondary source, making full use of appropriate validation use of database tools to import the data set, facilitate accurate data entry and retrieve appropriate information efficiently creation and use of a spreadsheet to collate data captured from primary sources, carry out complex analysis and communicate findings effectively effective use of prototyping and testing, taking full account of feedback from others.

Present and communicate information (maximum 9 marks)

1 Mark	Production, with guidance, of a range* of digital and print publications that demonstrate some awareness of audience and purpose through: some use of appropriate ICT tools some use of appropriate styles of presentation to communicate information some use of prototyping and testing acknowledgement of main sources, both primary and secondary, using standard conventions adherence to legal requirements.
3 Marks	Production of a range* of digital and print publications that demonstrate some awareness of audience and purpose through: use of appropriate ICT tools use of appropriate styles of presentation to communicate information use of prototyping and testing, taking some account of feedback from others acknowledgement of most sources, both primary and secondary, using standard conventions adherence to legal requirements.
5 Marks	Production of a range* of suitable digital and print publications that demonstrate sound awareness of audience and purpose and of the nature of the information to be conveyed through: selection and use of appropriate ICT tools good use of appropriate and consistent styles of presentation to communicate information clearly use of prototyping and testing, taking account of feedback from others full and accurate acknowledgement of most sources, both primary and secondary, using standard conventions adherence to legal requirements.
7 Marks	Production of a range* of suitable digital and print publications that demonstrate sound awareness of audience and purpose and of the nature of the information to be conveyed through: selection and use of appropriate ICT tools effective use of appropriate and consistent styles of presentation to communicate information effective use of prototyping and testing, taking account of feedback from others full and accurate acknowledgement of all sources, both primary and secondary, using standard conventions adherence to legal requirements.
7 Marks	Production of a range* of suitable digital and print publications that demonstrate astute awareness of audience and purpose and of the nature of the information to be conveyed through: selection and effective use of appropriate ICT tools effective use of appropriate and consistent styles of presentation to communicate information creatively extensive use of prototyping and testing, taking full account of feedback from others full and accurate acknowledgement of all sources, both primary and secondary, using standard conventions adherence to legal requirements.

Present evidence in an e-Portfolio (maximum 9 marks)

1 Mark	Construction of an eportfolio, with guidance, that conforms to the technical specification* and demonstrates some awareness of audience and purpose through: use of appropriate directory/folder structures and filenames inclusion of appropriate content comments introducing some of the evidence a simple user interface that aids navigation and location of evidence some use of prototyping and testing.
3 Marks	Construction of an eportfolio that conforms to the technical specification* and demonstrates some awareness of audience and purpose through: creation and use of appropriate directory/folder structures and filenames preparation and inclusion of appropriate content descriptive comments introducing the evidence some use of an appropriate style of presentation a user interface that aids navigation and location of evidence some use of the medium to present achievements use of prototyping and testing, taking some account of feedback from others.
5 Marks	Construction of an eportfolio that conforms to the technical specification* and demonstrates an awareness of audience and purpose through: creation and use of appropriate directory/folder structures and filenames selection, preparation and inclusion of appropriate content, organised in a logical manner commentaries introducing the evidence use of an appropriate style of presentation a user interface that facilitates navigation and location of evidence use of the medium to present achievements use of prototyping and testing, taking account of feedback from others.
7 Marks	Construction of an eportfolio that conforms to the technical specification* and demonstrates sound awareness of audience and purpose through: creation and use of appropriate directory/folder structures and filenames that aid efficiency careful selection, preparation and inclusion of content, organised in a logical manner commentaries contextualising the evidence consistent use of an appropriate style of presentation an intuitive user interface that facilitates efficient navigation and location of evidence effective use of the medium to showcase achievements effective use of prototyping and testing, taking account of feedback from others.
9 Marks	Construction of an eportfolio that conforms to the technical specification* and demonstrates astute awareness of audience and purpose through: creation and use of appropriate directory/folder structures and filenames that aid efficiency careful selection, preparation and inclusion of content, organised in a logical manner concise commentaries contextualising the evidence consistent use of an appropriate style of presentation an intuitive user interface that facilitates efficient navigation and location of evidence effective use of the medium to showcase achievements and enhance the user experience extensive use of prototyping and testing, taking full account of feedback from others.

*The technical requirements for the eportfolio are specified in each Summative Project Brief (SPB). The technical specification stipulates the acceptable file formats for content and the maximum uncompressed size of the eportfolio as a whole. Each SPB will have its own technical specification reflecting the nature of the tasks students must carry out.

Review the project (maximum 5 marks)

1 Mark	Some relevant comments, produced with guidance, covering: the project process the publications student’s own performance.
3 Marks	Evaluative comments, including feedback from others, covering: the project process the publications student’s own performance suggestions for improvement.
5 Marks	A comprehensive evaluation, incorporating feedback from others, covering: the project process the publications student’s own performance valid suggestions for improvement.