Week3-Planning

Nottingham Trent University Course Overview

• Course Focus: Planning Phase in System Analysis and Design

• Instructor: Dr. Azi Meskaran

Coursework Tasks

• Weeks for Completion: 1-2

• Breakdown of Tasks:

  • 1. Summary & Introduction: 15%

  • 2. Project Planning: 10%

  • 3. Requirements Analysis: 10%

  • 4. Functional Analysis: 10%

  • 5. Structural Analysis: 20%

  • 6. Database Design: 20%

  • 7. User Interface Design: 15%

  • 8. Individual Reflection: affects the individual mark (12%)

Today's Topics

• Activities in the planning phase

• Project initiation

• Feasibility and risk study

• Project scheduling and work plan

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

• Planning Phase Includes:

  • Project initiation

  • Feasibility/risk study

  • Scheduling/management

  • Design

  • Analysis

The Planning Phase

• Objectives:

  • Identify and initiate a project

  • Perform a feasibility analysis

  • Approve or decline the project based on business needs or opportunities

• Outcome: A system request based on real business needs

Project Identification

• Driving Factors:

  • Projects are initiated to meet business needs

  • Collaboration between business and IT is preferable for project identification

• Project Sponsor: Typically a business person who believes in the system and has the authority to push it forward.

Business Values

• Tangible Value: Quantifiable and measurable directly

  • Example: 2% reduction in operating costs

• Intangible Value: Known to add value and save time, but not easily quantifiable

  • Example: Improved customer service

Business Process Categories

• Business Process Automation (BPA):

  • Improves efficiency using IT without changing the basic operations of the organization

  • Requires understanding of the current system before implementation

• Business Process Improvement (BPI):

  • Makes moderate changes to optimize operations using technology

  • Focuses on efficiency and effectiveness

• Business Process Reengineering (BPR):

  • Makes fundamental changes to alter how the organization operates

  • Emphasizes innovation and new technology

The System Request Document

• Purpose: Describes the necessity and value of building a new system

• Elements of the System Request:

  • Project Sponsor: Primary contact for the project

  • Business Need: Reason behind the project

  • Business Requirements: Expected functions of the system

  • Business Value: Benefits to the organization

  • Special Issues: Constraints or additional considerations

  • Attachment: Feasibility and risk assessment (as covered later)

Detailed Elements of the Systems Request

Example System Request

• Project: Digital Music Download Project

  • Project Sponsor: Carly Edwards, AVP Marketing

  • Business Need: To establish an online and in-store capability to sell digital music downloads

  • Business Requirements: Search functionalities, sample listening, purchase capabilities, subscription accounts

  • Business Value: Expected sales growth from digital downloads and potential subscriptions

  • Tangible Estimates:

    • Sales from downloads: $757,500

    • Subscriptions: $950,000

    • Additional CD sales: $205,000

    • Gift card sales: $153,000

  • Special Issues: Strategic urgency related to market competition

Feasibility and Risk Analysis

• Importance: Essential for assessing project viability and identifying risks

• Components:

  • Technical Feasibility: Capability to build the system

  • Economic Feasibility: Cost-benefit analysis to determine if the project should pursue

  • Organizational Feasibility: Assessment of user acceptance and alignment with goals

Technical Feasibility Considerations

• Identify risks associated with:

  • Familiarity of analysts with the functional area

  • Existing technology and expertise

  • Size of the project and potential integration issues

Economic Feasibility - Cost-Benefit Analysis

• Process:

  • Assess costs vs. benefits

  • Calculate cash flow, with tools potentially including:

  • Net Present Value (NPV)

  • Return on Investment (ROI)

  • Break-even analysis

Cost and Benefits Breakdown

• Development Costs: Salaries, training, equipment, etc.

• Operational Costs: Maintenance, upgrades, consulting fees

• Tangible Benefits: Increases in sales, efficiency improvements, inventory reductions

• Intangible Benefits: Enhanced brand recognition, customer satisfaction

Organizational Feasibility Assessment

• Determining if the project aligns strategically

• Stakeholder Analysis:

  • Identifying key stakeholders—management, users, and others

  • Assessing user acceptance of the new system

Risk Assessment Documentation Example

• Risk: Lack of programming experience in Java

  • Likelihood: High

  • Impact: 50% increase in programming time

  • Mitigation Strategies: Prioritize training for team members, onboard external Java expertise

  • Next Steps: Continue to identify additional risks

Feasibility and Risk Assessment Report Purpose

• Allows executives to grasp the status of current processes and suggested improvements

• Quantifies how new processes provide value (time savings, monetary gains)

• Should utilize clear business terminology for presentation

Sample Feasibility and Risk Assessment Report

• Technical Feasibility: Some risk with music download technology and subscription models

• Economic Feasibility: Expected ROI of 280%, NPV of $4,180,431, break-even in 0.17 years

• Organizational Feasibility: Low risk with strong executive backing, user interest expected

Moving Forward in Project Planning

• Develop a detailed project plan post-approval:

  • Select appropriate project methodology

  • Prepare a comprehensive work plan

  • Establish staffing plans for required skills

  • Implement coordination and control strategies

Project Management Defined

• Project Management: Involves planning and controlling the system development to ensure it is completed on time, within budget, and meets functional requirements.

Work Breakdown and Scheduling

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):

  • Hierarchically details all tasks, their durations, and dependencies

• Outputs:

  • Gantt charts

  • Network diagrams (e.g., PERT and CPM)

Sample Task Identification Table

Sample Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Scheduling with Gantt Chart

• Representation of task schedules highlighting start and end dates, dependencies, and critical timelines for project tasks.

• Critical path indicates essential tasks that impact overall project completion.

Summary of Project Management

• Phases: Project initiation, feasibility analysis, project management tools, and workflow creation.

Lab and Next Steps

• Lab 3: MS Project work

• Seminar 3: Focus on 2nd task - Documenting feasibility and risk analysis

• Upcoming Topic: Requirement analysis, methods, and outputs in the Analysis Phase.