Who is using remote data capture, and how does it work? Do you think it’s an important feature to provide for banking customers? Why or why not? How much do you think customers would be willing to pay for this service?

REMOTE DEPOSIT CAPTURE PROJECT

(Modified from the website for our textbook)

Recently, several banks have started offering customers remote deposit capture. With this new service, customers do not have to physically go to banks or ATM machines to deposit checks. Instead, they can send checks as a scanned image through an Internet portal provided by the bank. This technology can save banks and customers time and money making the transactions. Trustworthy Bank is considering implementing this new service. To use it, customers need a remote capture account with Trustworthy Bank and a scanner/camers to get the necessary images to make the electronic deposit. Once the account is established in the system, customers will be able to scan all of their checks anytime and anywhere by accessing the Trustworthy Bank service through the Internet, logging in, and scanning the checks. The service should be as easy as sending an attachment in an email. Of course, this new application has to be very reliable, secure, and easy to use. It must be integrated into the current Trustworthy Bank Web site. Trustworthy Bank is not sure yet what to charge for the service. The Web site will also provide online technical support and instructions showing customers how to set up and use the new service. Support will be provided 24/7 via the Web site and telephone.

Assume the project will take 6 months to complete and cost about $500,000. Assume that the project sponsor will be the new VP of  IT, Harold Johnson. The VP of Marketing, Tricia Young, is also a key stakeholder in the project and head of a project steering committee formed to oversee this project.

Things to consider

1. Who is using remote data capture, and how does it work? Do you think it’s an important feature to provide for banking customers? Why or why not? How much do you think customers would be willing to pay for this service?
2. Several managers at Trustworthy Bank are not sure that they should invest in remote deposit capture. The bank prides itself on being customer-oriented, having several large bank buildings, ATMs and remote bank sites in many grocery stores, primarily throughout the Midwest. Many of its customers have banked with Trustworthy Bank their whole lives, but less than half of them use any of its current Internet banking services. The new VP of IT was hired to prepare Trustworthy Bank for the future and to reduce the loss of younger customers who have moved to banks that are more progressive.
3. Assume the project will take 6 months to complete and cost about $500,000 (year 0 costs). Annual operating costs would be about $150,000 per year for three years. Estimated benefits are about $400,000 per year for three years, primarily due to a reduction in the number of employees processing deposits. Assume a 6.5 percent discount rate.
4. You know that people will be requesting changes to the project and want to make sure you have a good integrated change control process in place. You also know that you want to address change requests as quickly as possible.

You will need the services from Code Corp., the software company that has developed the entire Trustworthy Bank Web site. Code Corp. has people working in several different countries, mostly in a virtual environment. The main contact with that company is Christian Jones. An initial estimate suggests that one half of the budget will go to outsourced software and consulting services.

Don’t forget that you have only six months to complete the project and a budget of $500,000. Harold Johnson, the project sponsor, has told you that it is important to finish on time and within budget, but it is even more important to provide a high-quality service and avoid any potential technical or user problems after implementation. Trustworthy Bank wants to attract new customers with remote deposit capture and avoid losing current customers, so quality and customer service is key.

Harold Johnson is worried about the cost, so he has asked you to review the existing cost estimate to get a solid cost baseline to evaluate performance. Recall that your budget goal is $500,000 for the six-month project. Also know from previous project documentation that even though Code Corp. is a very reliable company, you need to work closely with them to ensure all requirements are being integrated into the software and that the project is kept on track.

You want to be sure that the project will please key stakeholders, in particular Johnson, the project sponsor, and Young, the VP of Marketing. Both of these senior managers are very aware of customers’ needs, so it is important that the new service is stable, secure, and easy to use. They both want the remote deposit capture capability to be ready as soon as possible so the company can start promoting this new service

You want to make sure that the final testing of the remote capture software goes well. You will have people from your project team and the supplier involved in the testing. You need to clarify who needs to do what, and you need to provide proper motivation for everyone involved, including the testers. Recall that the team members include one of your team members as project manager, your other  (Franklin) team members from the IT department, Carlos Carerra and Young from Marketing, John Smyth from the purchasing department, and  Jones (Code Corp.). You also have 20 customers who will be involved in the final testing of the software, with five of them on-site and the rest testing remotely from their home or work Internet connections.

Your team will need to plan for the support required in the first year for the remote capture system after the project is completed. Assume that there will be two phone service people working 24-7 all year, one person providing online support 24-7 all year, four marketing people working on promotions full-time during the six months of the project, creating a new integrated marketing plan that highlights ALL of the internet capabilities of Trustworthy Bank customers, two marketing people working on promotions the next six months, and one internal IT person providing technical support half-time all year. Calculate how many employees it takes to provide 24/7 coverage.

(Dilts, G., editor. 2014. Remote Deposit Capture Project. Course Technonogy, Cengage Learning.)