Transcript Chapter 2 Analyzing the Business Case Phase Description   Systems planning is the 1 of 5 phases in the systems development life cycle (SDLC) Systems planning is.

Chapter 2
Analyzing the Business Case
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Phase Description
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Systems planning is the 1 of 5 phases in
the systems development life cycle
(SDLC)
Systems planning is where IT projects
get started and how a systems analyst
evaluates a proposed project and
determines its feasibility
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Chapter Objectives
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Explain the concept of a business case and
how a business case affects an IT project
Describe the strategic planning process and
why it is important to the IT team
Explain the purpose of a mission statement
Describe the SDLC, and explain how it serves
as a framework for systems development and
business modeling
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Chapter Objectives
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List the reasons for information systems
projects and the factors that affect such
projects
Explain the initial review of systems requests
and the role of the systems review committee
Define operational feasibility, technical
feasibility, economic feasibility, and schedule
feasibility
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Chapter Objectives
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Describe the steps in a preliminary
investigation and the end product of an
investigation
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Introduction
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The term business case refers to the
reasons, or justification, for a proposal
A strong business case suggests that
the company should pursue the
alternative, above other options,
because it would be in the firm’s best
interest to do so
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Information Systems Projects
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Project Management Tools
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All IT projects must be managed and
controlled
Begins with a systems request, and
continues until the project is completed or
terminated
Figure 2-11
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Reasons for Systems Projects
Other reasons: Government / customer compliance…
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Drivers for Systems Projects
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User requests
Management directive
Legacy system - no longer supported
IT department – stay up-to-date
Economic demands
Competition
Customer Demand
Suppliers
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Evaluation of Systems
Requests
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Systems Requests Forms
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Use a special form for systems requests
A properly designed form streamlines the
request process and ensures consistency
Must be easy to understand and include
clear instructions
Should include enough space for all required
information and should indicate what
supporting documents are needed
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Evaluation of Systems
Requests
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Systems Review Committees
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Most large companies use a systems
review committee to evaluate systems
requests
Many smaller companies rely on one
person to evaluate system requests instead
of a committee
The goal is to evaluate the requests and
set priorities
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To do or not to do a project.
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1st – project to decide whether or not to
pursue a project
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Decide
Decide
Decide
Decide
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if to do – ROI/feasibility
what to do
when to do
the approach
Build in-house
Buy turn-key
Out-source to a contractor
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Strategic Planning – if to do
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From Strategic
Plans to Business
Results
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A company develops
a mission statement
based on the firm’s
purpose, vision, and
values
Figure 2-3
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Overview of Feasibility – if to do
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Figure 2-13
Overview of Feasibility – if to do
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A systems request must pass several
tests, called a feasibility study, to see
whether it is worthwhile to proceed
further
Operational Feasibility
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A proposed system will be used effectively
after it has been developed
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Overview of Feasibility- if to do
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Technical Feasibility
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Economic Feasibility
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Refers to the technical resources needed
Total cost of ownership (TCO)
Tangible benefits
Intangible benefits
Schedule Feasibility
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Means that a project can be implemented in
an acceptable time frame
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Evaluating Feasibility – if to do
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The first step is to identify and weed out
systems requests that are not feasible
Even if the request is feasible, it might not be
necessary
Feasibility analysis is an ongoing task that
must be performed throughout the systems
development process
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Strategic Planning – what to do
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Strategic Planning
Overview
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SWOT
Examines a companies
strengths,
weaknesses,
opportunities, and
threats
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Figure 2-2
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Setting Priorities – when to do
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Factors that Affect Priority
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Will the systems project result in more
information or produce better results?
How? Are the results measurable?
Will the proposed system reduce costs?
Where? When? How? How much?
Will the system increase revenue for the
company? Where? When? How? How
much?
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Setting Priorities – when to do
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Factors that Affect Priority
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Will the system serve customers better?
Will the system serve the organization
better?
Can the project be implemented in a
reasonable time period? How long will the
results last?
Are the necessary financial, human, and
technical resources available?
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Setting Priorities – when to do
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Factors that Affect Priority
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Whenever possible, the analyst should
evaluate a proposed project based on
tangible costs and benefits that represent
actual (or approximate) dollar values
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Project Charter
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Decision is made to proceed with a
project, the project charter confirms
and defines that decision.
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Set limits or scope
Defines authority
Set time limit
Protects project manager by confirming
CEO buy-in
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Charter or contract
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Goal – objectives are steps for attaining the
goal
Recommended course of action – define what
Scope – boundaries and configuration
management
Plan of Action and Milestones
Roles and Responsibilities
Success criteria
Signatures
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Preliminary Investigation Overview
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Interaction with Managers and Users
Fact-Finding
Figure 2-14
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Planning the Preliminary Investigation
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A systems analyst typically follows a series
of steps
The exact procedure depends on the
nature of the request, the size of the
project and the degree of urgency
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 1: Understand the Problem or
Opportunity
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Determine which departments, users, and
business processes are involved
Understand how the project supports the
mission statement
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 2: Define the Project Scope and
Constraints
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Project scope
Project creep
Constraint
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 2: Define the Project Scope and
Constraints
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Means to define the boundaries, or extent,
of the project
Being as specific as possible
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
Figure 2-18
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding
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Fact-finding involves various techniques
Depending on what information is needed
to investigate the systems request, factfinding might consume several hours, days,
or weeks
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Analyze Organization Charts
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding
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Conduct interviews
Figure 2-20
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding
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Review documentation
Observe operations
Conduct a user survey
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 4: Evaluate Feasibility
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Evaluate the project’s operational,
technical, economic, and schedule
feasibility
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 5: Estimate Project Development
Time and Cost
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What information must you obtain, and
how will you gather and analyze the
information?
What sources of information will you use,
and what difficulties will you encounter in
obtaining information?
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 5: Estimate Project Development Time
and Cost
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Will you conduct interviews? How many people
will you interview, and how much time will you
need to meet with the people and summarize their
responses?
Will you conduct a survey? Who will be involved?
How much time will it take people to complete it?
How much time will it take to prepare it and
tabulate the results?
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 5: Estimate Project Development
Time and Cost
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How much will it cost to analyze the
information gathered and to prepare a
report with findings and recommendations?
You should provide an estimate for the
overall project, so managers can
understand the full cost impact and
timetable
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 6: Present Results and
Recommendations to Management
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The final task in the preliminary
investigation is to prepare a report to
management
The format of the preliminary investigation
report varies from one company to another
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Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Figure 2-21
Preliminary Investigation
Overview
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Step 6: Present Results and
Recommendations to Management
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Introduction
Systems request summary
Findings
Recommendations
Time & cost estimates
Expected benefits
Appendix
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Chapter Summary
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Strategic planning allows a company to
examine its purpose, vision, and values
and develops a mission statement
Systems projects are initiated to improve
performance, provide more information,
reduce costs, strengthen controls, or
provide better service
Various internal and external factors
affect systems
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Chapter Summary
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Analysts evaluate systems requests on the
basis of their expected costs and benefits
The steps in the preliminary investigation are
to understand the problem or opportunity
Report results and recommendations to
management
Chapter 2 Complete
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