Modern Systems Analysis and Design (Third Edition)

1. Copyright 2002 Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Modern Systems Analysis
and Design
Third Edition
Jeffrey A. Hoffer
Joey F. George
Joseph S. Valacich
Chapter 6
Initiating and Planning Systems
Development Projects
6.1

2. Learning Objectives
Describe steps involved in the project
initiation and planning process
Explain the need for and the contents of
a Statement of Work and Baseline
Project Plan
List and describe various methods for
accessing project feasibility
6.2

3. Learning Objectives
Describe the differences between intangible
and tangible costs and benefits and between
recurring and one-time benefits and costs
Detail various methods of cost/benefit
analysis
Describe the general rules for evaluating the
technical risks associated with a systems
development project
Describe the activities and participant roles
within a structured walkthrough
6.3

4. Initiating and Planning System
Development Projects
Project Initiation
 Establishment of project team
 Development of relationship with customer
 Project Initiation Plan
 Establishment of Management Procedures
 Establishment of Project Workbook and Project
Management Environment
Project Planning
 Defining clear, discrete activities and the work
needed to complete each activity
6.4

5. Initiating and Planning System
Development Projects
Deliverables and Outcomes
 Baseline Project Plan (BPP)
 Scope
 Benefits
 Costs
 Risks
 Resources
 Statement of Work (SOW)
 Describes deliverables
 Outlines work needed to be performed
6.5

6. Assessing Project Feasibility
Six Categories
 Economic
 Technical
 Operational
 Schedule
 Legal and contractual
 Political
6.6

7. Assessing Economic
Feasibility
Cost – Benefit Analysis
Determine Benefits
 Tangible Benefits
 Can be measured easily
 Examples
 Cost reduction and avoidance
 Error reduction
 Increased flexibility
 Increased speed of activity
 Improved management planning and control
 Opening new markets and increasing sales
opportunities
6.7

8. Assessing Economic
Feasibility
 Intangible Benefits
 Cannot be measured easily
 Examples
 Increased employee morale
 Competitive necessity
 More timely information
 Promotion of organizational learning and understanding
Determine Costs
 Tangible Costs
 Can easily be measured in dollars
 Example: Hardware
6.8

9. Assessing Economic
Feasibility
Determine Costs (Continued)
 Intangible Costs
 Cannot be easily measured in dollars
 Examples:
 Loss of customer goodwill
 Loss of employee morale
6.9

10. Assessing Economic
Feasibility
 One-Time Costs
 Associated with project startup, initiation and
development
 Includes
 System Development
 New hardware and software purchases
 User training
 Site preparation
 Data or system conversion
6.10

11. Assessing Economic
Feasibility
 Recurring Costs
 Associated with ongoing use of the system
 Includes:
 Application software maintenance
 Incremental data storage expense
 New software and hardware releases
 Consumable supplies
 Incremental communications
 Time value of money (TVM)
 The process of comparing present cash outlays to future
expected returns
6.11

12. Assessing Technical
Feasibility
Technical Feasibility
 Assessment of the development organization’s
ability to construct a proposed system
 Project risk can be assessed based upon:
 Project size
 Project structure
 Development group’s experience with the application
 User group’s experience with development projects
and the application area
6.12

13. Assessing Other Project
Feasibility Concerns
Operational Feasibility
 Assessment of how a proposed system solves
business problems or takes advantage of
opportunities
Schedule Feasibility
 Assessment of time frame and project completion
dates with respect to organization constraints for
affecting change
Legal and Contractual Feasibility
 Assessment of legal and contractual ramifications
of new system
6.13

14. Assessing Other Project
Feasibility Concerns
Political Feasibility
 Assessment of key stakeholders in
organization’s view toward proposed
system
6.14

15. Building the Baseline Project
Plan
Objectives
 Assures that customer and development
group have a complete understanding of
the proposed system and requirements
 Provides sponsoring organization with a
clear idea of scope, benefits and duration
of project
6.15

16. Building the Baseline Project
Plan
Four Sections
 Introduction
 System Description
 Feasibility Assessment
 Management Issues
6.16

17. Building the Baseline Project
Plan
Introduction
 Brief overview
 Recommended course of action
 Project scope defined
 Units affected
 Who inside and outside the organization would
be involved
 Interaction with other systems
 Range of system capabilities
6.17

18. Building the Baseline Project
Plan
System Description
 Outline of possible alternative solutions
 Narrative format
Feasibility Assessment
 Project costs and benefits
 Technical difficulties
 High-level project schedules
6.18

19. Building the Baseline Project
Plan
Management Issues
 Outlines concerns that management may
have about the project
 Team composition
 Communication plan
 Project standards and procedures
6.19

20. Reviewing the Baseline
Project Plan
Objectives
 Assure conformity to organizational
standards
 All parties agree to continue with project
6.20

21. Reviewing the Baseline
Project Plan
Walkthrough
 Peer group review
 Participants
Coordinator
Presenter
User
Secretary
Standards Bearer
Maintenance Oracle
6.21

22. Reviewing the Baseline
Project Plan
Walkthrough (continued)
 Activities
Walkthrough Review Form
Individuals polled
Walkthrough Action List
 Advantages
Assures that review occurs during
project
6.22

23. Summary
Project Initiation
 Forming project initiation team
 Establishing customer relationships
 Developing a plan to get the project started
 Setting management procedures
 Creating an overall project management
environment
Baseline Project Plan (BPP)
 Created during project initiation and planning
6.23

24. Summary
 Contains:
 Introduction
 High-level description of system
 Outline of feasibility
 Overview of management issues
Statement of Work (SOW)
 Describes what project will deliver
 Lists all work to be performed
6.24

25. Summary
Feasibility
 Economic
 Operational
 Technical
 Schedule
 Legal
 Contractual
 Political
6.25

26. Summary
Benefits
 Tangible vs. Intangible
Costs
 Tangible vs. Intangible
 One-time vs. Recurring
6.26