Feasibility Study and Business Requirements Statement

BIS310: Week 4 BIS310: Structured Analysis and Design

Feasibility Study and Business Requirements Statement

-Selecting the Best Alternative Design Strategies

- Interpersonal Skills and Communications

BIS310: Week 4

Feasibility analysis

• Feasibility is the measure of how beneficial or practical the development of an information system will be to an organization

• Feasibility analysis is the process by which feasibility is measured.

BIS310: Week 4

Analysis Phase Checkpoint

• Alternative solutions are defined in terms of their IS building blocks (hardware, software, data, network, etc.).

• After defining these options, each option is analyzed for operational, technical, schedule, and economic feasibility.

BIS310: Week 4

Four Tests for Feasibility

• Operational feasibility

• Technical feasibility

• Schedule feasibility

• Economic feasibility (cost-benefit analysis)

BIS310: Week 4

Operational Feasibility

• Is the problem worth solving, or will the solution to the problem work?

• How well would the candidate solution be received from management, system users, and organization perspective? (political)

• Is the solution compliant with laws and regulations? (legal)

BIS310: Week 4

Technical Feasibility

• Is the proposed technology or solution practical?

• Do we currently possess the necessary technology?

• Do we possess the necessary technical expertise, and is the schedule reasonable?

BIS310: Week 4

Schedule Feasibility

• Given our technical expertise, are the project deadlines reasonable?

BIS310: Week 4

Economic Feasibility

• How Much Will the System Cost?

• What Benefits Will the System Provide?– Tangible benefits– Intangible benefits

• Is the Proposed System Cost-Effective?

BIS310: Week 4

Cost-Benefit Analysis Techniques

• Brake-Even Analysis

• Payback Period Analysis

• Cash-Flow Analysis

• Net Present Value (NPV)

• Return-on-Investment (ROI) Analysis

BIS310: Week 4

Financial Analysis Tools

Guidelines to select the method for comparing alternatives:– Use Break-Even Analysis if the project needs

to be justified in terms of cost, not benefits.– Use Payback Period Analysis when the

improved tangible benefits form a convincing argument for the proposed system.

BIS310: Week 4

Financial Analysis Tools (cont.)

Guidelines to select the method for comparing alternatives (continued)– Use Cash-Flow Analysis when the project is

expensive, relative to the size of the company.– Use Net Present Value (or ROI) when the

payback period is long or when the cost of borrowing money is high.

BIS310: Week 4

BIS310: Week 4

BIS310: Week 4

Selecting the Best Alternative Design Strategy

• Generate a comprehensive set of alternative design strategies -- Candidate Systems Matrix

• Select the one design strategy that is most likely to result in the desired information system – Feasibility Matrix

BIS310: Week 4

Business Requirements Statement

A consolidation of all system models, discovery prototypes, and supporting documentation is sometimes called a requirements statement. All elements of the requirements statement are stored in

the repository, but most systems analysts find it useful to keep a printed copy of that documentation for reference and reporting.

BIS310: Week 4

Systems Analysis Reports

• The Analysis phase results in a business requirements statement. – This specification document is often large and

complex and is rarely written up as a single report to system users and owners.

– It is best reviewed in walkthroughs (in small pieces) with users and maintained as a reference for analysts and programmers.

BIS310: Week 4

Interpersonal Skills and Communications

• Written Reports– The business and technical report is the

primary method used by analysts to communicate information about a systems development project.

• The purpose of the report is to either inform or persuade, possibly both.

BIS310: Week 4

Organizing the Written Report

– Every report consists of both primary and secondary elements.

• Primary elements present the actual information that the report is intended to convey. Examples include the introduction and the conclusion.

• Secondary elements package the report so the reader can easily identify the report and its primary elements. Secondary elements also add a professional polish to the report.

BIS310: Week 4

Factual Format Administrative FormatI. Introduction I. Introduction

II. Methods and procedures II. Conclusions and recommendationsIII. Facts and details III. Summary and discussion of facts

and detailsIV. Discussion and analysis of facts and

detailsIV. Methods and procedures

V. Recommendations V. Final conclusionVI. Conclusion VI. Appendices with facts and details

BIS310: Week 4– The abstract or executive summary is a one- or two-page

summary of the entire report.

– The introduction should include four components: purpose of the report, statement of the problem, scope of the project, and a narrative explanation of the contents of the report.

– The methods and procedures section should briefly explain how the information contained in the report was developed — for example, how the study was performed or how the new system will be designed.

– The bulk of the report will be in the facts section.

» This section should be named to describe the type of factual data to be presented (e.g., “Existing Systems Description,” “Analysis of Alternative Solutions,” or “Design Specifications”).

– The conclusion should briefly summarize the report, verifying the problem statement, findings, and recommendations.

BIS310: Week 4

Sample Outline for a Requirements Statement

• Executive Summary

• Introduction (What’s going on now)

• Background (How are we doing?)

• Business requirements (What’s needed?)

• Feasibility Study (Can we do it?)

• Proposed design phase plan and schedule

• Appendix

BIS310: Week 4

Formal Presentations

– In order to communicate information to the many different people involved in a systems development project, a systems analyst is frequently required to make a formal presentation.

• Formal presentations are special meetings used to sell new ideas and gain approval for new systems. They may also be used for any of the purposes in the margin. In many cases, a formal presentation may set up or supplement a more detailed written report.

BIS310: Week 4

Preparing for the Formal Presentation

– Step 1: Define your expectations of the presentation — for instance, that you are seeking approval to continue the project, that you are trying to confirm facts, and so forth.

• A presentation is a summary of your ideas and proposals that is directed toward your expectations.

– Step 2: Organize your presentation around the allotted time (usually 30 to 60 minutes).

BIS310: Week 4

Preparing for the Formal Presentation (cont.)

– Step 3: Prepare visual aids such as predrawn flip charts, overhead slides, Microsoft Powerpoint slides and the like — to support your position.

– Step 4: Practice the presentation in front of the most critical audience you can assemble.

BIS310: Week 4Typical Outline and Time Allocation for an OralPresentation

I. Introduction (1/6)1. Background2. Problem Statement3. Work completed to date

II. Body of Presentation (2/3)1. Summary of existing systems and cause-effect

analysis2. Summary description of proposed systems3. Feasibility study (analysis of alternatives)4. Proposed schedule to complete project

III. Conclusion (1/6)1. Questions and concerns from the audience2. Call to action (request for authority whatever you

require to continue the systems developmentproject)