WEEK 6: IDENTIFYING AND SELECTING SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Systems Development Project (SDP)

• is the process of defining, designing, testing and implementing a new software application of program.

• Refers to the iterative process of implementing and extending approaches to meet specific constraints, which involves code design, implementation, testing, and deployment of software components or objects. This process also includes analyzing tests, training users, system migration, and the operational process.

Project

• Is defined as a sequence of tasks that must be completed to attain a certain outcome.

• According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the term —- refers to ” to any temporary endeavor with a definite beginning and end”.

• Depending on its complexity, it can be managed by a single person or hundreds. is proposed by an individual who identifies a project-worthy need or opportunity.

Project Identification

• Is the process of brainstorming, analyzing, and selecting a project to initiate as a preliminary step before the first phase of the project life cycle begins.

• In many cases, the individual responsible for identifying and pursuing a new project is also responsible for creating the project proposal. This proposal generally contains a final goal, cost and time estimates, and a list of tasks and activities that are contained within the project.

• The —— phase of the IT Project Management Framework involves evaluating and deciding if a proposed project should be undertaken, based on the studying of factors like costs, benefits, risks, and etc.

Steps on how to conduct project identification

1. Brainstorm ideas for your next project

2. Initiate your project

3. Perform feasibility and viability studies

4. Complete the project schedule

5. Perform a project risk analysis

6. Estimate resources

7. Submit for approval

Brainstorm ideas for your next project

Starts as soon as the project identification process does. For best results, try to include as many team members as possible.

Initiate your project

Involves outlining the general activities, milestones, and goals, before sharing it with your teammates.

Perform feasibility and viability studies

To ensure that your project is doable. Ensure that the individual project activities all lead to the project’s ultimate goal and that your current staff is equipped to handle their responsibilities.

Complete the project schedule

The need to create a roadmap for the allocation of resources and detail the tasks that must be completed before the project can be considered complete.

Perform a project risk analysis

This is where these different methods are used:

1. Qualitative risk analysis

2. Quantitative risk analysis

3. SWOT analysis

4. Root cause analysis (RCA)

5. Failure Mode Engineering Analysis (FMEA)

Estimate resources

Double-check any cost estimates, workforce estimates, and material estimates to ensure their validity

Submit for approval

Submit your final project proposal and get the approval of key project stakeholders.

Project Selection

• Is the evaluation of project ideas to help decide which project has the highest priority. It's an important part of project portfolio management (PPM), which is a process used by project management organizations (PMOs) and project managers to analyze the potential return on undertaking a project.

• Is an integral part of a company's process for choosing a project with the highest priority to accomplish

• Is the process of selecting a promising project idea form a list of various project ideas based on certain condition that are set by the entrepreneur or the firm

• Is the second step after project identification in the project planning cycle

How to select a project

1. Make sure the project fits the company's strategy

2. Understand your company environment

3. Consider and analyze historical data

4. Decide who will be the project champion

Make sure the project fits the company's strategy

Discuss with stakeholders whether the project aligns with the company's business strategy by identifying how it supports one or more organizational goals, whether short-term or long-term.

Understand your company environment

It's important to be you're aware of your organizational environment and understand your company thoroughly. Consider asking yourself the following questions:

• What are the company's key business drivers?

• What are the company's strengths and weaknesses?

• Does the company have limited resources?

• If the company has resource limitations, where is it lacking?

Consider and analyze historical data

When conducting analysis, refer to historical data and previous experiences, as environmental and organizational factors that influenced past outcomes may still be relevant. Identify any changes to these factors and discuss them with executives or stakeholders.

Decide who will be the project champion

A project champion is a high-level employee or executive responsible for ensuring the project stays on track and moves efficiently to completion, using their communication skills to coordinate with all stakeholders.

Project Champion

Is a high-level employee or executive responsible for ensuring the project stays on track and moves efficiently to completion, using their communication skills to coordinate with all stakeholders.

Project selection methods

1. Cost-benefit analysis

2. Payback period

3. Discounted cash flow

4. Opportunity costs

5. Ranking method

6. Scoring model

7. Analytic hierarchy process

Cost-benefit analysis

• Involves estimating the total costs and potential profits of a project by evaluating different solutions.

• It starts by identifying possible solutions based on the project description, business need, and objectives, and then assessing the costs and benefits of each solution.

Payback period

• Determine the time to recover the cost of an investment.

• For instance, if you project you will spend $300,000 to execute a project and expect it will generate revenue at the rate of $30,000 per year, your payback period would be 10 years.

Discounted cash flow

• Estimates the future cash inflows from an investment or project, adjusted for the time value of money, which assumes that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future because it can be invested.

• For instance, with a 5% annual interest rate, $1 in a savings account will be worth $2.12 after a year. Likewise, if you delay a $1 payment for a year, its present value is 95 cents, as you can't transfer it to your savings account to earn interest.

Opportunity costs

Represent the potential benefits a company forgoes when choosing one option over another. Considering opportunity costs in decision-making enables a more comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, allowing the company to assess not only the current choice but also the missed alternatives, leading to better-informed decisions.

Ranking method

• A straightforward method that assigns a priority scale to projects based on their importance.

• Its main advantage is its speed, making it useful when there are few criteria to assess and the factors are simple to evaluate.

Scoring model

• Evaluates projects based on multiple selection criteria, such as risk, ROI, and benefits. Each criterion is assigned a rating and weighted according to its importance.

• The final project score is calculated by multiplying ratings by their respective weights and summing the results. This method is useful for comparing diverse projects.

Analytic hierarchy process

• Combines subjective elements with mathematical models for a holistic approach.

• It compares criteria in pairs, reducing biases and errors, then normalizes and computes weighted scores. Its strength lies in its quantitative strategy, converting abstract problems into numbers, providing transparency to decision-making.

Corporate Strategic Planning

• Is a company wide approach at the business unit and corporate level for developing strategic plans to achieve a longer-term vision.

• The process includes defining the corporate strategic goals and intentions at the top and cascading them through each level of the organization.

Why is Corporate Strategy Important

• It aligns employees and resources with company goals, improves efficiency, and helps avoid costly mistakes.

• It enhances competitiveness by refining processes. The strategic planning process begins by clarifying the organization's vision, mission, and market position.

Information Systems Planning (ISP)

Remains an essential ailment of corporate sectors and business planning roadmaps in today's world. Because information is transferred to and from systems with different requirements for different groups, it is necessary that the purposes of the systems must be clearly defined from the initial phase.

Four sequential phases of Information systems planning

1. Defining business strategy

2. Identifying information system mission

3. Identifying information system components

4. Information systems initiating and budgeting

E-Commerce

The use of an electronic medium for commercial transactions, but it is commonly used to refer to selling products and services over the Internet to consumers or other businesses.

Three Classes of E-Commerce

1. Business-to-Business

2. Business-to-Consumer

3. Consumer-to-Consumer

Business-to-Business

• Encompasses all electronic transactions of goods or services conducted between companies. Producers and traditional commerce wholesalers typically operate with this type of electronic commerce.

• Ex: Alibaba, Salesforce, Amazon Business

Business-to-Consumer

• Involves electronic business relationships between businesses and individual consumers, similar to traditional retail. It has grown significantly with the rise of online stores, offering a wide range of products. Consumers often benefit from more information, lower prices, personalized service, and faster order processing and delivery

• Ex: Amazon, Walmart, Netflix

Consumer-to-Consumer

• Encompasses all electronic transactions of goods or services conducted between consumers. Generally, these transactions are conducted through a third party, which provides the online platform where the transactions are actually carried out

• Ex: eBay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace