Gantt Chart,

Feasibility
Study,
Preliminary
Investigation
M A RYA M K H A L I D
D E PA RT M E N T O F C O M P U T E R S C I E N C E ,
B A H R I A U N I V E R S I T Y, I S L A M A B A D
What is Gantt Chart?

A Gantt chart is a useful graphical tool which shows activities or tasks

performed against time. It is also known as visual presentation of a

project where the activities are broken down and displayed on a chart

which makes it is easy to understand and interpret.

 What is Gantt Chart?

A Gantt chart, commonly used in project management, is one of the most

popular and useful ways of showing activities (tasks or events) displayed
against time. On the left of the chart is a list of the activities and along the
top is a suitable time scale. Each activity is represented by a bar; the position
and length of the bar reflects the start date, duration and end date of the
activity.
History
Henry Gantt, an American engineer and project management consultant,
devised his own version of the chart and it was this that became widely
known and popular in western countries. Consequently, it was Henry
Gantt whose name was to become associated with charts of this type.
Use of Gantt Chart
Gantt charts are most commonly used for tracking project schedules.
For this it is useful to be able to show additional information about the
various tasks or phases of the project, for example how the tasks relate
to each other, how far each task has progressed, what resources are
being used for each task and so on.
Example
Activity Predecessor Duration(days)
A - 2
B A 3
C B 4
D C 3
 Example

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Duration(days) Column1
Gantt Chart with Predecessor Finish to
Start relationship
Activity Predecessor Duration
A - 3
B A 4
C B(FS2) 3
Gantt Chart with Predecessor Start-Start
relationship
Activity Predecessor Duration
A - 2
B A(SS) 3
C B 4
D C(SS2) 3
Gantt Chart with Predecessor Finish-Finish
relationship
Activity Predecessor Duration
A - 3
B A(FF) 2
C B(FF2) 3
D C 3
Gantt Chart with Predecessor Start to
Finish relationship
Activity Predecessor Duration
A - 3
B A(SF5) 3
C B 4
Lead Time and Lag time

When you add lead time to a task, work on that task overlaps work on its
predecessor. When you add lag time, you delay the start time of the
successor task.

If lag is associated with delay, “lead” is the amount of time by which a

successor task can be advanced with regard to its predecessor. If adding lag
will result in delaying a project, adding lead to dependent tasks on critical
path may reduce the time required to complete the project. Lead can be
applied to the FS dependency. In this case though, the dependency has to be
“flexible”, which means that even if the 2 tasks are dependent, the
predecessor doesn’t necessarily have to finish before the successor can
start.
Feasibility
Study

13
Overview of Feasibility
A systems request must pass several tests, called a feasibility study,
to see whether it is worthwhile to proceed further
Overview of
Feasibility
Evaluating Feasibility
The first step in evaluating feasibility 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
Evaluation of Systems Requests

Operational feasibility
◦ Is the system a practical and effective approach?

Operational feasibility depends on:

◦ Management and user support
◦ User involvement in planning
◦ Impact on performance, customers, and company image
◦ Reasonable schedules
Evaluation of Systems Requests
Technical feasibility
◦ Does the organization have resources to develop/purchase and operate the system?

Technical feasibility depends on:

◦ Technical expertise within the organization
◦ Availability of necessary equipment
◦ Hardware and software reliability
◦ Adequate performance that will meet specifications

◦ Capacity for future needs/projected growth

Evaluation of Systems Requests
Economic feasibility
◦ Do the projected benefits outweigh the estimated costs of development,
installation, and operation?

Economic feasibility depends on:

◦ Costs — one time and continuing costs
◦ Benefits — tangible and intangible benefits
◦ Timing of various costs and benefits
◦ Cost of not developing the system
 Evaluation of Systems Requests

SCHEDULE FEASIBILITY?
Preliminary Investigation P R E L I M I N A RY
I N V E S T I G AT I O N

Overview INTERACTION WITH

S TA K E H O L D E R S
 Preliminary Investigation Overview
Planning the Preliminary Investigation
◦ During a preliminary investigation, 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
 Step 1: Understand the Problem or
Opportunity

Preliminary ◦ Identify the true nature of the problem

Investigation and the reason for the systems request
Overview ◦ Stated problem may not be the real
problem
◦ Clear statement defines the
investigation scope
Preliminary
Investigation
Overview
Step 1: Understand the
Problem or Opportunity
◦ Determine which
departments, users, and
business processes are
involved
◦ A popular technique for
investigating causes and
effects is called a fishbone
diagram, or Ishikawa
diagram
 The Ishikawa diagram: graphical tool to identify,

Ishikawa Diagram explore, and depict problems, causes and effects of

those problems. (Also called a cause-and-effect
diagram or a fishbone diagram.)
Ishikawa Diagram …
Four • Materials, Machines,
M’s: Manpower, and Methods

• Places, Procedures,
Four P’s: Policies, and People

• Surroundings, Suppliers,
Four S’s: Systems, and Skills
 Step 2: Define the Project Scope and Constraints
◦ Project scope
◦ Define the range or extent of the project
◦ Set project boundaries

Preliminary ◦ Project creep

◦ Constraint
Investigation ◦ Identify conditions, restrictions, or requirements
Overview ◦ Present vs. future
◦ Internal vs. external
◦ Mandatory vs. desirable
◦ Regardless of the type, all constraints should
be identified as early as possible to avoid
future problems and surprises
 Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding
◦ Fact-finding involves various techniques
◦ Analyze organization charts/Review
Documentation

Preliminary ◦ Conduct interviews

◦ Observe operations
Investigation ◦ Carry out a user survey

Overview ◦ Depending on what information is needed to

investigate the systems request, fact-finding
might consume several hours, days, or weeks
◦ Analyze Organization Charts
◦ Obtain organization charts to understand
how the department functions
Preliminary Investigation Overview
Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding
◦ Conduct interviews
◦ Determine the people to interview
◦ Establish objectives for the interview
◦ Develop interview questions
◦ Prepare for the interview
◦ Conduct the interview
◦ Document the interview
◦ Evaluate the interview
Preliminary Step 4: Evaluate Feasibility
◦ Evaluate the project’s technical,
Investigation operational, economic, and
Overview schedule feasibility
Preliminary Investigation
Overview
Technical Feasibility

Operational Feasibility

Total cost of ownership (TCO)

Economic Feasibility Tangible benefits
Intangible benefits

Schedule Feasibility
Feasibility
Matrix
 Step 5: Estimate Project Development Time and Cost

◦ What information must you obtain, and how will you

gather and analyze the information?
◦ What sources of information will you use, and what
Preliminary difficulties will you encounter in obtaining information?
◦ Estimate the cost of gathering, analyzing, and reporting
Investigation the information to management
◦ Will you conduct interviews? How many people will
Overview 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?
Preliminary
Investigation Overview
Step 6: Present Results and
Recommendations to Management
◦ The final task in the preliminary investigation
is to prepare a report to management
◦ Key elements
◦ Evaluation of systems request
◦ Estimate of costs and benefits
◦ Recommendations
◦ The format of the preliminary investigation
report varies from one company to another
 Preliminary Investigation Overview
Step 6: Present Results and Recommendations to Management
◦ Introduction
◦ Systems request summary
◦ Findings
◦ Recommendations
◦ Project roles
◦ Time and cost estimates
◦ Expected benefits
◦ Appendix
Questions?