IMAT1906 Systems Development Lecture week 6: systems analysis (1) : feasibility

Today’s Agenda IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Recap what is system development  Understand business problem  Fact-finding techniques  Feasibility study

Recap: what is system development  Inception:  Looks at a business problem  Elaboration:  Analyses problem  Designs solution and computer system to support business area  Construction:  Develops and tests computer system  Transition:  Implements computer system  Helps business area to build new system into work practices 3 IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University

Context  So far in this module we have  Looked at a scenario: the second hand bookshop  Evaluated an existing system: Student 2 Student  Seen ways of documenting the scenario and system  Rich picture  Mind map  Use case diagram and description  Now we go on to  Consider a system that does not yet exist  Rather than one single scenario, we will use many little ones over the next few weeks, to illustrate different parts of development process 4 IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University

Business problem IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  System development starts with recognition of business problem, for example  New function required for existing system  New business process needs a computer system to support it  Leads to system request and business case  Outline of business problem  Request made to IT director, chief analyst, IT department manager, system developer – as relevant in the organisation  Usually a formal document of some kind  Often includes business case giving reason investment needed, costs, benefits

Understanding business problem IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Analyst or developer starts by understanding business problem  Builds a rich picture to show what the business problem is and its context, how it fits in the organisation  We have seen how to do rich pictures  How to find out what goes into the picture?  Work with the business people who know their areas  User involvement and teamwork  Analysts and users need to work together as a project team  Communication and interpersonal skills  Need to find out the facts....

Where are we on agenda IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Recap what is system development  Understand business problem  Fact-finding techniques  Feasibility study

Factfinding for overall understanding IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Factfinding is done at two major stages of system development  Overall understanding, for feasibility study  Detailed understanding, for requirements specification  For overall understanding, need to talk to people  Main techniques are  Interviews  Workshops

Interviews (1) - preparation IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Interviews for overall understanding  Talking to senior people, often managers  Focus on what happens and why rather than on how or when  How to prepare for an interview  Decide what you want to find out  Work out questions to find out those things  Identify who to talk to (interviewees)  Arrange meetings and invite interviewees  List the questions and any follow-up questions  Prepare for taking notes, either yourself or a scribe

Interviews (2) - questions IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Open questions  Have open-ended answers  Allow person to develop ideas  For example  “what do you think....”  “can you tell me about....”  Often lead to follow-up questions to find out more about something they’ve said  Closed questions  Have short or yes/no answers  Good to confirm facts  For example  “do you work in Accounts Department”  “how long have you worked in this role”

Interviews (3) - conducting IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Remind yourself of the questions  Introduce yourself, put the person at ease, confirm they understand the purpose of the interview, confirm how long it will take or any other time constraints  Ask the questions in a natural manner  Allow the person time to think and respond  Ask follow-up questions as they arise  Summarise what you’ve heard about a topic before moving on to a new topic  Make notes as you go along, as unobtrusively as possible  Keep an eye on the time  May not follow all of your interview plan but that’s fine

Interviews (3a) - conducting IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  5 minutes before end, summarise what you’ve heard  Close the interview:  Thank them for their time and thoughts  Confirm any actions you have agreed

Interviews (4) – afterwards IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Follow-up activities:  write up your interview notes  send a copy to the interviewee inviting them to confirm your understanding of what they’ve said  incorporate their comments in your notes

Workshops for overall understanding IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Sometimes possible to get several senior people together at once  Preparation similar to interview preparation except  More people to invite and coordinate availability  Larger meeting room to arrange  Need flipchart paper and pens to collect discussion notes  Still need to think about purpose of workshop and prepare questions or topics for discussion

Workshops (1) - conducting IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Remind yourself of the questions and topics  Welcome participants, thank them for their time, confirm how long it will take or any other time constraints  State purpose of workshop for example to understand need for new system and likely scope  State what you hope to get out of it for example understanding the business problem  Ask the questions or introduce each topic for discussion  Make notes of the main points and agreed conclusions  On flipcharts so all can see and refer back to during workshop  Summarise what you’ve heard about a topic before moving on to a new topic

Workshops (1a) - conducting IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Keep an eye on the time  May not follow all of your workshop plan but that’s fine  5 minutes before end, summarise what has been agreed  Close the workshop:  Thank everyone for their time and thoughts  Confirm any actions that have been agreed

Workshops (2) – follow-up IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Similar activities to interview follow-up:  Write up the notes from the flipcharts and any other notes  Send a copy to participants inviting them to confirm your understanding of what emerged from the discussions  Incorporate their comments in your notes

Rich Picture IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Using the information found by interviews and/or workshop  Identify main players or users  Identify main processes  Identify main things used or exchanged by players  Draw a rich picture  Include any conflicts or potential hotspots identified in the fact-finding  Share the rich picture with people you talked to, to confirm you’ve understood it right

Where are we on agenda IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Recap what is system development  Understand business problem  Fact-finding techniques  Feasibility study

Feasibility study IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Purpose of feasibility study is to confirm whether the system development project  Is feasible, ie can be developed with reasonable chance of success  Is worth going ahead with, ie will give reasonable return on investment or will give required business improvement  Study is usually done in short timescale and is not a full analysis of the business problem  Result of a feasibility study is a feasibility report  Usually presented in hard copy and also delivered in a presentation to senior management  Allows senior management to decide business priorities and whether to go ahead with the system development or not

Feasibility types IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Technical feasibility – are there technical reasons not to develop the system  Operational or business feasibility – are there operational business reasons not to develop the system  Economic or financial feasibility – are there financial reasons not to develop the system

Technical feasibility IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Looks at technical resources needed to develop or purchase, install and operate the system  Compares likely performance against technical criteria  May investigate several different options for development, comparing costs and benefits  Concerned with configuration of components rather than precisely which makes or versions of hardware and software  Questions to be asked:  Are the necessary hardware, software, network components available  Is the necessary technical expertise available

Operational or business feasibility IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Looks at human, organisational and business aspects needed for system to be successful  Compares likely performance against business and organisational criteria  Unlikely to prevent development but may inform system requirements  Questions to be asked:  Will users have difficulty with proposed system  Will system provide expected benefits  Will new system bring changes to existing job roles  What new skills will be required  Is the proposed system supported by senior management and is there a firm timetable

Economic feasibility IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Looks for a financial return that outweighs the costs of development  Compares likely financial benefits with expected costs  Likely to be used to prioritise proposed developments or to select different options for a development  Questions to be asked:  What are the tangible (measurable) financial benefits  What is the cost of developing the system  What is the cost of not developing the system ie making do with current process  What are the intangible (hard to measure) benefits

Feasibility report IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Report sets out how the feasibility was investigated and what the conclusions are  Presented to senior management  Decision makers need to balance three types of feasibility and not ignore any one of them  Development project can be:  Technically sound but too expensive to be economically feasible  Operationally supportive but expensive to develop  Financially viable – typically one option will give a better financial return while compromising the technical or operational suitability

For further reference.... IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  Fact-finding techniques:  Skidmore & Eva chapter 5  Shelly & Rosenblatt pp  Cadle et al pp  Feasibility:  Skidmore & Eva chapter 4  Shelly & Rosenblatt pp 63-66, 75  Note that Shelly & Rosenblatt also mention Schedule Feasibility, which other authors include in Operational or Business Feasibility  Cadle et al pp ,

Summary IMAT 1906 Lecture Week 6 (c) De Montfort University  System development starts with identified business problem  Initial investigation using fact-finding techniques for overall understanding of business problem  Use findings to clarify understanding and begin feasibility study  Investigate three types of feasibility  Feasibility report for management to support decision to go ahead with system development