INTRODUCTION

The term business case reasons, or justification, for a

proposal

Company - pursue the

alternative, above other
options
A company develops a
mission statement based on
the firms purpose, vision,
and values

STRATEGIC PLANNING
Major strengths?
How to maximized them?
What should do to
strength IT functions?

Major opportunities?
How to take advantage?
IT plan to support business opportunity?

Major weaknesses?
How to overcome?
IT resource & capability?

Major threats?
What can you do?
Potential threats to IT success?

STRATEGIC PLANNING
The Changing Role of the IT Department
Management leadership and information technology are
linked closely, and remarkable changes have occurred in
both areas
Today, systems development is more team oriented
The Future ???

INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROJECTS

Project Management
Tools

All IT projects

must be managed
and controlled

Begins with a

systems request,
and continues until
the project is
completed or
terminated

INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROJECTS

EVALUATION OF SYSTEMS REQUESTS

Systems Requests Forms
Many organizations use a special form for systems requests
Ensures consistency
Must be easy to understand and include clear instructions
Should include enough space for all required information and
should indicate what supporting documents are needed
Systems Review Committees
Most large companies use a systems review committee to
evaluate systems requests
Many smaller companies rely on one person to evaluate
system requests instead of a committee
The goal is to evaluate the requests and set priorities

OVERVIEW OF FEASIBILITY STUDY

A systems request must pass several tests, called a feasibility
study, to see whether it is worthwhile to proceed further
Operational Feasibility
A proposed system will be used effectively after it has
been developed
Technical Feasibility
Refers to the technical resources needed
Economic Feasibility
Total cost of ownership (TCO)
Tangible benefits
Intangible benefits
Schedule Feasibility
Means that a project can be implemented in an
acceptable time frame

EVALUATING FEASIBILITY
First step - to identify and weed out systems requests that are
not feasible
An ongoing task - performed throughout the systems
development process
Factors that affect priority
Will the systems project result in more information or
produce better results? How? Are the results measurable?
Will the proposed system reduce costs? Where? When?
How? How much?
Will the system increase revenue for the company? Where?
When? How? How much?
Will the system serve customers better?
Will the system serve the organization better?
Can the project be implemented in a reasonable time
period? How long will the results last?
Are the necessary financial, human, and technical resources
available?

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OVERVIEW

Interaction with Managers and Users

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OVERVIEW

Step 1: Understand the Problem or Opportunity
When you analyze a systems request, you need to
determine which departments, users, and business
processes are involved

Step 2: Define the Project Scope and

Constraints
Means to define the boundaries, or extent, of the
project
Being as specific as possible

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OVERVIEW

Step 3: Perform Fact-Finding
Fact-finding involves various techniques
Depending on what information is needed to investigate
the systems request, fact-finding might consume
several hours, days, or weeks

Step 4: Evaluate Feasibility

Evaluate the projects operational, technical,
economic, and schedule feasibility

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OVERVIEW

Step 5: Estimate Project Development Time and Cost
What type of information ? How to collect and analyze the
information?
Source of info? Difficulties?
Interview ? How many involved? When, how long ?
Survey ? Who involved ? How long ?
Cost in analyzing info ? Cost in preparing report ?
Estimate and provide overall cost and schedule.

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OVERVIEW

Step 6: Present Results and Recommendations to
Management
Prepare a report to management
Introduction
Systems request summary
Findings
Recommendations
Time & cost estimates
Expected benefits
Appendix