Department of Computer Science
CS 494 - Spring 1999
Assignment 2
(Due to the nature of this assignment all dates are tentative and subject
to change)
Initial Meeting with Agency (Both Groups):
Discussion:
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Group 1: March 23
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Group 2: March 30
Rough cut:
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Group 1: April 6
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Group 2: April 13
Final review:
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Group 1: April 20
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Group 2: April 27
Presentations to Agency (Both Groups):
Real World Challenge: Habitat for Humanity
Two years we did a project for the Chicago United Way/Crusade of Mercy, Inc.
and last year we did a technical redesign of Wishnick Hall here on campus.
Here is a link to last year's Wishnick Hall assignment:
Wishnick.
This year we will be working with the Chicago Habitat for Humanity. Habitat
for Humanity is a community organization dedicated to eliminating substandard
housing and homelessness worldwide and to making adequate, affordable shelter
a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people from all faiths
and walks of life to work together in partnership, building houses with families
in need. Habitat has built some 70,000 houses around the world, providing
more than 350,000 people with safe, decent, affordable shelter. Through volunteer
labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat builds
and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner)
families. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit, financed
with affordable, no-interest loans. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments
are recycled into a revolving Fund for Humanity that is used to build more
houses. See the Habitat for Humanity Web site at
http://www.habitat.org/ for more
information.
The Chicago Habitat for Humanity is an umbrella organization intended to
coordinate the activities and efforts of thirteen Habitat for Humanity afiliates
in the metropolitan Chicago Area. It is a very new organization that
has not yet entirely defined its goals and mission. This is a perfect
time to start Information Systems planning for an organization as there are
no preconceptions and there is a distinct need for a plan. The critical task
initially is a needs analysis to determine just what assets are available
and what the needs of the organization are. This includes an analysis
of what the needs and assets are at each member affiliate. An overall method
of networking the affiliates should be determined following this stage; finally
an initial Web site will be designed for the Chicago organization.
Some of the local Habitat for Humanity affiliates involved in this effort
include the Pilsen/Little Village HFH
(http://www.iit.edu/~dix/humanity/index.html),
the Chicago South Region HFH
(http://www.lincolnnet.net/habitat/),
the Uptown HFH
(http://www.uptownhabitat.org/),
and the DuPage HFH
(http://www.dupagehabitat.org/).
Of the individual affiliates, we will be working most closely with the
Pilsen/Little Village HFH due to the involvement of IIT MAE faculty member
Dr. Rollin Dix.
Teams will be created based on experience and knowledge; a clear
resume (does not have to be complete or fancy but should clearly show
areas of expertise based on both academic knowledge and actual work experience)
will be required at the first meeting on this project to allow us to
make team assignments. Teams will have specific areas
to investigate so each each team will not be covering the
same material. It may be necessary to reassign people from group to
group to ensure proper team composition.
This is a quest for real -life answers to real-life problems. We will be
seeking practical and implementable solutions that are innovative and creative;
we could find ourselves focusing on any of the following areas:
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Single affiliate system design
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Network design and tool selection
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Database requirements, tool selection and integration
Deliverables will determined based on our discussions; the final presentation
will be a coordinated presentation of all of the teams' recommendations
to Habitat for Humanity.
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