Introduction to Projects and System Analysis Project Feasibility

Introduction to Projects and System Analysis

Project Feasibility For a project to be feasible, consider the following: 1. Operational feasibility 2. Technical feasibility 3. Economic feasibility 4. Schedule feasibility

Project Feasibility q Operational Feasibility A proposed system will be used effectively after it has been developed. Consider the following questions: 1. Do the management and users support the project? Is the current system well liked and effectively used? Do users see the need for change?

Project Feasibility q Operational Feasibility 2. Will the new system result in a work force reduction? If so, what will happen to affected employees? 3. Will the new system require training for users? If so, is the company prepared to provide the necessary resources for training current employees? 4. Will users be involved in planning the system right from the start?

Project Feasibility q Operational Feasibility 5. With the new system, will performance decline in any way? If so, will an overall gain to the organization outweigh individual losses? 6. Will customers experience adverse effects in any way, either temporarily or permanently? 7. Will any risk to the company’s image or goodwill result?

Project Feasibility q Operational Feasibility 8. Does the development schedule conflict with other company priorities? 9. Do legal or ethical issues need to be considered?

Project Feasibility q Technical Feasibility - refers to the technical resources needed to develop, purchase, install, or operate the system. Consider the following questions: 1. Does the company have the necessary hardware, software and network resources? If not, can those resources be acquired without difficulty?

Project Feasibility q Technical Feasibility 2. Does the company have the needed technical expertise? If not, can it be acquired? 3. Does the proposed platform have sufficient capacity for future needs? If not, can it be expanded? 4. Will a prototype be required?

Project Feasibility q Technical Feasibility 5. Will the hardware and software environment be reliable? Will it integrate with other company information systems, both now and in the future? 6. Will the system be able to handle future transaction volume and company growth?

Project Feasibility q Economic Feasibility Ø The projected benefits of the proposed system outweigh the estimated costs usually considered the total cost of ownership (TCO). To determine TCO, the analyst must estimate cost in each of the following areas: 1. People, including IT staff and users 2. Hardware and equipment

Project Feasibility q Economic Feasibility 3. Software, including in-house development as well as purchases from vendors 4. Licenses and fees 5. Consulting expenses 6. Facility costs 7. The estimated cost of not developing the system or postponing the project

Project Feasibility q Economic Feasibility Ø You also need to assess tangible and intangible benefits to the company. Tangible benefits can be measured in dollars or pesos. These result from decrease in expenses, increase in revenues, or both.

Project Feasibility q Economic Feasibility Intangible benefits are advantages that are difficult to measure in dollars or pesos but are important to the company, like: - a user-friendly system - a new website that enhances company image

Project Feasibility q Schedule Feasibility Ø The project can be implemented in an acceptable time frame. Issues that relate to schedule feasibility include the following: 1. Can the company or the IT team control the factors that affect schedule feasibility? 2. Has management established a firm time table for the project?

Project Feasibility q Schedule Feasibility 3. What conditions must be satisfied during the development of the system? 4. Will project management techniques be available to coordinate and control the project? 5. Will a project manager be available?

Setting Priorities Discretionary and Nondiscretionary Projects ØProjects where management has a choice in implementing them are called discretionary projects. ØProjects where no choice exists are called nondiscretionary projects.

Preliminary Investigation This is done by the analyst to study the systems request and recommend specific action. Project Scope and Constraints Problem or Opportunity F Fact-Finding Development Time and Cost Project Benefits Report to Management

Preliminary Investigation Interaction with Managers and Users Analyst should meet with key managers, users, and IT staff to describe the project, explain your responsibilities, answer questions, and invite comments.

Planning the Preliminary Investigation 1. Understand the problem or opportunity 2. Define the project scope and constraints 3. Perform fact-finding 4. Analyze project usability, cost, benefit, and schedule data 5. Evaluate feasibility 6. Present results and recommendations to management

Preliminary Investigation 1. Understand the problem or opportunity Analyst should understand how modifications will affect business and other information systems. He needs to investigate the causes and effect of the opportunity.

Preliminary Investigation environment manpower insufficient air conditioning too hot training Unhappy Workers old management machines A Fishbone Diagram or Ishikawa is an analysis tool that represents the possible causes of a problem as a graphical outline.

Preliminary Investigation In a fishbone diagram, Four-M’s categories are typically used as a starting point: Materials, Machines, Manpower, and Methods. The key is to have three to six categories.

Preliminary Investigation Pareto Chart is a tool for visualizing and prioritizing issues that need attention. The bars from the vertical bar graph represent various causes of the problem and are arranged in descending order according to importance.

Preliminary Investigation 2. Define the project scope and constraints Project scope means defining the specific boundaries and extent of the project. A project creep is one with very general scope and definition and is at risk of expanding gradually without specific authorization.

Preliminary Investigation A constraint is a requirement or condition that the system must satisfy or an outcome that the system must achieve. Consider the following constraints: present versus future internal versus external mandatory versus desirable

Preliminary Investigation 3. Perform fact-finding Ø Analyze organization chart Ø Conduct interviews o Determine the people to interview o Establish objectives for the interview o Develop interview questions o Prepare for the interview o Conduct the interview o Document the interview o Evaluate the interview

Preliminary Investigation 5. Evaluate feasibility ØEvaluate the project’s operational, technical, economic, and schedule feasibility

Preliminary Investigation 6. Present results and recommendations to management ØThe final task in the preliminary investigation is to prepare a report to management

Preliminary Investigation The format of the preliminary investigation report varies from one company to another • • Introduction Systems request summary Findings Recommendations Project Roles Time & cost estimates Expected benefits Appendix

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ?