One of the most important skills a young business professional needs to develop is the ability to quickly and efficiently analyze a situation, understand the situation, and be able to explain the situation in clear and concise terms. Flash research assignments will help you develop this skill in the context of analyzing, understanding, and explaining digital products and services. Each flash research assignment will require the creation of a paper. The intended audience of this paper is the CIO of a company. Assume that the CIO understands technology at a very, very high level. Assume that the primary focus of the CIO is leveraging technology to create business value for their organization, not the technology itself. Executives are very busy people; time is precious for your typical CIO. Learning how to articulate your ideas in a clear and concise manner is essential. As such, the body of each flash research paper will be no more than 1 page in length. This limitation on the length of the body of the paper will be strictly enforced. Each paper may have additional pages for diagrams as well as references. Each paper must have at least three references. It is absolutely essential that you list all works that have been referenced in the creation of the flash research paper. Failure to do this will result in a failing grade for the flash research paper! The body of the text for each flash research assignment will include the following components:

1. The Hook – Tell me why I just have to read the rest of this paper!
2. Tech Summary – What are the key capabilities of this technology that make it so compelling?
3. Business Case – What is the core premise of the business case you would use to justify investing in this technology?