Activities in the System Planning are:

A. Project Initiation (Project Identification)

B. Preliminary Investigation (Feasibility Analysis)
A.
Project Initiation (Project Identification)
It begins when someone in an organization identifies that there is a need to improve
an
existing system or a new system is needed to improve business operations. Most
ideas come
from outside the IT department such as marketing accounting , and the like, as a
form of system
request.
It can be divided into several sub-steps:
1.
Reasons for Systems Projects
❏
Improved services
❏
Support for new products and services
❏
Better performance
❏
More information
❏
Reduced cost
❏
Stronger controls (encryption, biometrics)
2.
Sources of System Projects
❏
Internal factors (strategic plans, higher management, client satisfaction, existing
systems and processes)
❏
A strategic plan that stresses technology tends to create a favorable climate for IT
projects that extends throughout the organization.
❏
Errors or problems in existing systems can trigger requests for systems projects.
❏
External factors (customers, competition, regulatory agencies, technology,
environment, suppliers)
❏
Changing technology is a major force affecting business and society in
general.
❏
Suppliers- Electronic data interchange. Just-in-time inventory systems.
❏
Information systems that interact with customers usually receive top
priority. 24
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3.
Systems Request
It documents the business reasons for building the system and the value that the
system is expected to provide.
It includes the following elements:
❏
Project sponsor. This is the person who initiated the project and who will
serve as the primary point of contact for the system on the business side.
❏
Business needs. It describes why the information system should be built,
in terms of business point of view, and explains to the approval committee
why the organization should fund the project.
❏
Functionality or Feature of the System. It should be described in a
concise language.
❏
Expected value. It describes the value to be gained from the system that
includes both tangible and intangible values.
Reasons for System Request
❏
Reduced cost. The current system is expensive to operate and maintain
as a result technical problems or the changing demands of the business.
❏
More information. The system might produce information that is
insufficient, incomplete, or unable to provide the company's changing
information needs. So, the business needs to keep track of some key
information that cannot be obtained from the current system.
❏
Better performance. The system might be old and hence slow to respond
to data inquiries, have limited flexibility, and unable to support company
growth. So, it needs to increase the system performance by combining
processes, integration of systems, and the like.
❏
Improved Services. It aimed to improve service to suppliers, customers,
or users within the company.
❏
Stronger Controls. A system may not have all security required by the
company for different users. 25
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transmitting in any form or by any
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Essential Question
1.
Why does a systems analyst need to know about strategic planning?
Consider an old story about two stonecutters who were hard at work when a
passerby asked them what they were doing. “I am cutting stones,” said the first worker.
The second worker replied, “I am building a cathedral.” So it is with information
technology:
One analyst might say, “I am using a CASE tool,” whereas another might say, “I am helping
the company succeed in a major new business venture.” Systems analysts should focus
on the larger, strategic role of IT as they carry out their day-to-day responsibilities.
2.
Consider the interaction between time and costs when doing schedule feasibility.
How and
why do you have to consider the cost when doing schedule feasibility?
B. Preliminary Investigation (Feasibility Analysis)
It is an inquiry to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a system to be
proposed. An analyst from the IT department is assigned to perform the preliminary
investigation
through feasibility study.
Feasibility Analysis
The process of confirming that a strategy, plan or design is possible and makes
sense.
This can be used to validate assumptions, constraints, decisions, approaches and
business
cases. Types of feasibility:
1.
Schedule (time)
2.
Operational (business)
3.
Technical (technology)
4.
Economic (monetary)26
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1.
Schedule Feasibility
The probability of a project to be completed within its scheduled time limits. If a
project
has a high probability to be completed on-time, then its schedule feasibility is
appraised as high.
This asks whether a project can be implemented in an acceptable frame. It aims to
answer the
questions:
❏
What conditions must be satisfied during the development of the system?
❏
Will an accelerated schedule pose a risk? If so, are the risks acceptable?
May include the following methods or measurements:
❏
Project Estimation
❏
Gantt and PERT Chart
❏
CPM (Critical Path Method)
❏
Change Management
However, this module will focus on the Gantt chart only.
Gantt Chart
A Gantt chart is a timeline of a project. It is one of the most popular and useful ways
of showing
activities (tasks or events) displayed against time. It is a horizontal bar chart that
represents a set
of tasks that could show planned and actual progress on a project. The position of
the bar shows
the planned starting and ending time of each task, and the length of the bar indicates
its duration.
This allows you to see at a glance:
❏
What are the various activities?
❏
When each activity begins and ends?
❏
How long each activity is scheduled to last?
❏
Where activities overlap with other activities, and by how much?
❏
The start and end date of the whole project?
Example. In the daily project status Gantt chart below, Task 1 will take place from
March 3 to 7
and then March 10 to 14. The due date is Thursday of that week. Each week is color
coded.