Identifying and Selecting
Systems Development Projects
(Pre-Project Planning)
Learning Objectives
Describe the project identification and
selection process.
Explain the need for and the contents of a
project scope statement and baseline
project plan
List and describe various methods for
assessing project feasibility
2
Business Analysis Roles
• business systems analyst,
• data analyst,
• enterprise analyst,
• management consultant,
• process analyst,
• product manager,
• product/process owner,
• requirements engineer, and
• systems/business analyst
Pre-Project
Project Planning
The systems analyst transforms
a vague systems request into a
tangible project description during
project initiation and planning
Types of Activities Performed
during Project Initiation
Activities Performed during
Project Planning
The Process of Identifying and
Selecting IS Development Projects
Top-down source are projects identified
by top management or by a diverse
steering committee.
Bottom-up source are project initiatives
stemming from managers, business
units, or the development group.
The process varies substantially across
organizations.
8
The Process of Identifying and Selecting
IS Development Projects (Cont.)
9
The Process of Identifying and Selecting IS
Development Projects (Cont.)
Classifying and ranking IS development projects
Using value chain analysis or other evaluation criteria
Value chain analysis: the process of analyzing an
organization’s activities for making products and/or
services to determine where value is added and costs
are incurred
10
The Process of Identifying and Selecting IS
Development Projects (Cont.)
11
The Process of Identifying and Selecting IS
Development Projects (Cont.)
12
The Process of Identifying and Selecting IS
Development Projects (Cont.)
One method for deciding among different
projects or alternative designs is:
For each requirement or constraint:
Score = weight X rating
Each alternative: sum scores across
requirements/constraints.
Alternative with highest score wins.
13
The Process of Identifying and Selecting IS
Development Projects (Cont.)
14
Deliverables and Outcomes
Incremental commitment: a strategy in
systems analysis and design in which the
project is reviewed after each phase and
continuation of the project is rejustified.
15
Project Planning
The objective of the project planning
process is to produce two documents:
a baseline project plan (BPP):becomes
the foundation for the remainder of the
development project
the project scope statement (PSS): clearly
outlines the objectives of the project
Client Study
Statement of
Corporate
Objectives
(Pine Valley
Furniture)
17
Client Study
Competitive strategy: the method by
which an organization attempts to achieve
its mission and objectives
Main types:
Low-cost producer
Product differentiation
Product focus or niche
18
Assessing Project Feasibility
Economic
Operational
Technical
Schedule
Legal and contractual
System service request (Client specific)
Determining Project Benefits
Cost reduction and avoidance
Error reduction
Increased flexibility
Increased speed of activity
Improvement of management planning
and control
Opening new markets and increasing
sales opportunities
Tangible benefits worksheet
Intangible benefits
Competitive necessity
Increased organizational flexibility
Increased employee morale
Promotion of organizational learning and
understanding
More timely information
Determining Project Costs
System development
New hardware and software purchases
User training
Site preparation
Data or system conversion
One-time costs worksheet
Recurring costs worksheet
The Time Value of Money
Suppose you want to buy a used car from an
acquaintance, and she asks that you make
three payments of $1,500 for three years,
beginning next year, for a total of $4,500.
A simple formula can be used when figuring
out the present value of the three $1,500
payments: PVn = Y * (1/(1 + i))^n
where PVn is the present value of Y dollars n
years from now, when i is the discount rate.
Cost-Benefit Analysis Techniques
Project Benefits and Costs
Assessing Other Feasibility
Concerns
Operational feasibility The process of
assessing the degree to which a proposed
system solves business problems or takes
advantage of business opportunities
Technical feasibility The process of
assessing the development organization’s
ability to construct a proposed system
Assessing Other Feasibility Concerns
Schedule feasibility The process of
assessing the degree to which the
potential time frame and completion dates
for all major activities within a project meet
organizational deadlines and constraints
for effecting change
Legal and contractual feasibility The
process of assessing potential legal and
contractual ramifications due to the
construction of a system
Feasibility Concerns
Building the Baseline Project Plan
1. Introduction
2. System description
3. Feasibility assessment
4. Management issues
Baseline Project Plan
Project Scope
Project scope statement A document
prepared for the customer that describes
what the project will deliver and outlines
generally at a high level all work required
to complete the project
Project Scope Statement
Project Scope: Context Diagram
Task-responsibility matrix
The Project Communication Matrix
Information Systems Planning
(Cont.)
Parallel activities of
corporate strategic
planning and
information
systems planning
40
Business Functions, Data Entities,
and Information Systems of PVF
Information systems planning information
(Pine Valley Furniture)
41
Information Systems Planning of
Pine Valley Furniture (PVF)
Functional Decomposition: breaking
high-level abstract information into smaller
units for more detailed planning
WBS for task allocation to resources with
task dependencies
42
Information Systems Planning of
Pine Valley Furniture (PVF)
Functional
decomposition of
information
systems planning
information (Pine
Valley Furniture)
43
Information Systems Planning of
Pine Valley Furniture (PVF)
Data Entity-to-Function matrix (Pine Valley Furniture)
44
IS Plan Components (Cont.)
Describe primary role IS will play in
the organization to transform
enterprise from current to future state.
Describe limitations imposed by
technology and current levels of
financial, technical, and personnel
resources.
45
IS Plan Components (Cont.)
Describe unknown but likely events
that can affect the plan, presently
known business change elements
and their impact on the plan.
Prepare Business Case
46
Design Aspects
Pre-Project phase deliverables
The solution scope is finalized.
The business case and justification are in place.
The high-level business analysis approach has
been built.
Business analysis governance is defined and in
place.
Business analysis information management is
ready to go.
Business analysis stakeholders are identified
and engaged.
Business analysis performance measures are
agreed on.
