BIS 310 Week 4 BIS 310 Structured Analysis

BIS 310: Week 4 BIS 310: Structured Analysis and Design Feasibility Study and Business Requirements Statement -Selecting the Best Alternative Design Strategies - Interpersonal Skills and Communications

BIS 310: Week 4 Feasibility analysis • Feasibility is the measure of how beneficial or practical the development of an information system will be to an organization • Feasibility analysis is the process by which feasibility is measured.

BIS 310: Week 4 Analysis Phase Checkpoint • Alternative solutions are defined in terms of their IS building blocks (hardware, software, data, network, etc. ). • After defining these options, each option is analyzed for operational, technical, schedule, and economic feasibility.

BIS 310: Week 4 Four Tests for Feasibility • Operational feasibility • Technical feasibility • Schedule feasibility • Economic feasibility (cost-benefit analysis)

BIS 310: Week 4 Operational Feasibility • Is the problem worth solving, or will the solution to the problem work? • How well would the candidate solution be received from management, system users, and organization perspective? (political) • Is the solution compliant with laws and regulations? (legal)

BIS 310: Week 4 Technical Feasibility • Is the proposed technology or solution practical? • Do we currently possess the necessary technology? • Do we possess the necessary technical expertise, and is the schedule reasonable?

BIS 310: Week 4 Schedule Feasibility • Given our technical expertise, are the project deadlines reasonable?

BIS 310: Week 4 Economic Feasibility • How Much Will the System Cost? • What Benefits Will the System Provide? – Tangible benefits – Intangible benefits • Is the Proposed System Cost-Effective?

BIS 310: Week 4 Cost-Benefit Analysis Techniques • • • Brake-Even Analysis Payback Period Analysis Cash-Flow Analysis Net Present Value (NPV) Return-on-Investment (ROI) Analysis

BIS 310: Week 4 Financial Analysis Tools Guidelines to select the method for comparing alternatives: – Use Break-Even Analysis if the project needs to be justified in terms of cost, not benefits. – Use Payback Period Analysis when the improved tangible benefits form a convincing argument for the proposed system.

BIS 310: Week 4 Financial Analysis Tools (cont. ) Guidelines to select the method for comparing alternatives (continued) – Use Cash-Flow Analysis when the project is expensive, relative to the size of the company. – Use Net Present Value (or ROI) when the payback period is long or when the cost of borrowing money is high.

BIS 310: Week 4

BIS 310: Week 4

BIS 310: Week 4 Selecting the Best Alternative Design Strategy • Generate a comprehensive set of alternative design strategies -- Candidate Systems Matrix • Select the one design strategy that is most likely to result in the desired information system – Feasibility Matrix

BIS 310: Week 4 Business Requirements Statement < A consolidation of all system models, discovery prototypes, and supporting documentation is sometimes called a requirements statement. 8 All elements of the requirements statement are stored in the repository, but most systems analysts find it useful to keep a printed copy of that documentation for reference and reporting.

BIS 310: Week 4 Systems Analysis Reports • The Analysis phase results in a business requirements statement. – This specification document is often large and complex and is rarely written up as a single report to system users and owners. – It is best reviewed in walkthroughs (in small pieces) with users and maintained as a reference for analysts and programmers.

BIS 310: Week 4 Interpersonal Skills and Communications • Written Reports – The business and technical report is the primary method used by analysts to communicate information about a systems development project. • The purpose of the report is to either inform or persuade, possibly both.

BIS 310: Week 4 Organizing the Written Report – Every report consists of both primary and secondary elements. • Primary elements present the actual information that the report is intended to convey. Examples include the introduction and the conclusion. • Secondary elements package the report so the reader can easily identify the report and its primary elements. Secondary elements also add a professional polish to the report.

BIS 310: Week 4

BIS 310: Week 4 – The abstract or executive summary is a one- or two-page summary of the entire report. – The introduction should include four components: purpose of the report, statement of the problem, scope of the project, and a narrative explanation of the contents of the report. – The methods and procedures section should briefly explain how the information contained in the report was developed — for example, how the study was performed or how the new system will be designed. – The bulk of the report will be in the facts section. » This section should be named to describe the type of factual data to be presented (e. g. , “Existing Systems Description, ” “Analysis of Alternative Solutions, ” or “Design Specifications”). – The conclusion should briefly summarize the report, verifying the problem statement, findings, and recommendations.

BIS 310: Week 4 Sample Outline for a Requirements Statement • • Executive Summary Introduction (What’s going on now) Background (How are we doing? ) Business requirements (What’s needed? ) Feasibility Study (Can we do it? ) Proposed design phase plan and schedule Appendix

BIS 310: Week 4 Formal Presentations – In order to communicate information to the many different people involved in a systems development project, a systems analyst is frequently required to make a formal presentation. • Formal presentations are special meetings used to sell new ideas and gain approval for new systems. They may also be used for any of the purposes in the margin. In many cases, a formal presentation may set up or supplement a more detailed written report.

BIS 310: Week 4 Preparing for the Formal Presentation – Step 1: Define your expectations of the presentation — for instance, that you are seeking approval to continue the project, that you are trying to confirm facts, and so forth. • A presentation is a summary of your ideas and proposals that is directed toward your expectations. – Step 2: Organize your presentation around the allotted time (usually 30 to 60 minutes).

BIS 310: Week 4 Preparing for the Formal Presentation (cont. ) – Step 3: Prepare visual aids such as predrawn flip charts, overhead slides, Microsoft Powerpoint slides and the like — to support your position. – Step 4: Practice the presentation in front of the most critical audience you can assemble.

BIS 310: Week 4