1. BIS 360 – Lecture Four Ch. 5: Identifying and Selecting Projects
Ch. 6: Project Initiation and Planning

2. Objectives Project Identification and Selection
General Approaches and Outcomes
Integration between Strategic and IS Planning for Project ID and Selection
Project Initiation and Planning
Basic Activities in Initiation and Planning
Deliverables and Outcomes

3. Where are we in SDLC? Project Identification and Selection
Proj. Identification & Selection
Proj. Initiation & Planning
Analysis
Logical Design
Physical Design
Implementation
Maintenance
1. Identifying Projects
2. Ranking Projects
3. Selecting a Project

4. Where are we in SDLC? Initiation and Planning
1. Initiating the Project
2. Studying the Project
3. Generating BPP and
SOW
Project ID and Selection
Project Initiation
& Planning
Analysis
Logical Design
Physical Design
Implementation
Maintenance

5. Identify and Selecting IS Projects

6. Identifying and Selecting IS Development Projects
Deliverables and Outcomes
Primary Deliverable
Schedule of specific IS development projects
Outcomes
Assurance that careful consideration was given to project selection
Clear understanding of project’s relation to organizational objectives

7. Project Identification
General Approaches
Top Down:
1. Top Mgmt
2. Steering comm
Sources of
Potential Projects
Schedule of Projects
1. Initiating
2. Feasibility Study
3. Cost/Benefits
4. BPP
5. ...
Project Identification
and Selection
Project Initiation
and Planning
Evaluate,
Prioritize, and
Select
Projects
Bottom Up:
3. User Dept
4. Develop. Group

8. Who Makes The Identification and Selection ... It really matters!
Top-down:
by top management and steering committee
gain a broad understanding of the information system needs of the entire organization
greater strategic focus, cross functional, larger size & duration, riskier
Bottom-Up:
by user-department and development group
solving operational business problems or taking advantage of some business opportunities
narrow, non-strategic focus, integration with existing systems, smaller project
1. Top-down planning: extensive analysis of the organization’s mission, objectives, and strategy and determine the information requirements to meet each objective.
2. Bottom-up planning: identification of business problems and opportunities which are used to define projects.

9. Possible Evaluation Criteria
Value Chain Analysis - ident. value-added activities
Strategic Alignment - compatible w/ org obj./goals
Potential Benefits - any improvements and profits
Resource Availability - $$ and resources??
Project Size / Duration - complexity and time
Technical Difficulty / Risks - can we make it?

10. Corporate Strategic Planning
An ongoing process that defines the mission, objectives, and strategies of an organization
Current
Enterprise
(where you are)
Step 1:
Gap is
identified
Future
(where you want to be)
Step 2:
Strategic Plan
(How to get there?)
Step 3:

11. Results of Corporate Strategic Planning Mission, Objective & Strategic Plan
Mission Statement:
A statement that makes it clear what business a company is in
Objective Statements:
A series of statements that express an organization’s goals for reaching a desired future position
Strategic Plan:
The method by which an organization attempts to achieve its mission and objectives
Examples: Figure 5-6, 5-7

12. An Example - Pine Valley Furniture
Mission Statement
We are in the business of designing, fabricating, and selling to retail stores high-quality wood furniture for household, office, and institutional use. We value quality in our products, and in our relationships with customers and suppliers. We consider our employees our most critical resource.

13. An Example - Pine Valley Furniture Objective Statements
1. PVF will strive to increase market share and profitability (prime objective).
2. PVF will be considered a market leader in customer service.
3. PVF will be innovative in the use of technology to help bring new products to market faster than our competition.
4. PVF will employ the fewest number of the highest-quality people necessary to accomplish our prime objective. (efficient)
5. PVF will create an environment that values diversity in gender, race, values, and culture among employees, suppliers, and customers. (fair)

14. Information Systems Planning
An orderly means of assessing the information needs of an organization, and defining the systems, databases, and technologies that will best satisfy those needs.
Pinpoint
Current System
(what you have)
Step 1:
Gap is
identified
Identify
Future IS Needs
(what you want)
Step 2:
Schedule
IS Plan
(How to get there?)
Step 3:

15. Information Systems Planning
Current situation
Listing of manual & automated processes
Listing of manual & automated data
Technology inventory
Human resources inventory
Future Situation
Blueprints of manual & automated processes
Blueprints of manual & automated data
Technology blueprints
Human resources blueprints

16. A Match between CSP and ISP
Strategic Plan
(How to get there?)
Schedule
IS Plan
Current
Enterprise
(where you are)
Step 1:
Future
(where you want to be)
Step 2:
Step 3:
Pinpoint
Current System
(what you have)
Identify
Future IS Needs
(what you want)

17. Project Initiation and Planning

18. Project Initiation and Planning
Deliverables and Outcomes
Baseline Project Plan (BPP)
Scope
Benefits
Costs
Risks
Resources
Statement of Work (SOW)
Describes deliverables
Outlines work needed to be performed

19. Elements of Project Initiation
Establishment of project team
Development of relationship with customer
Project Initiation Plan
Establishment of Management Procedures
Establishment of Project Workbook

20. Elements of Project Planning
Describe the Project scope, alternatives, and feasibility
Dividing the project into manageable tasks
Estimating resources and creating a resource plan
Developing a preliminary schedule
Developing a communication plan
Determining Project standards and procedures
Identifying and assessing risk
Creating a preliminary budget
Developing a statement of work (Figure 6-2, p.167)
Setting a baseline project plan (Figure 6-10, p.182)

21. Project Planning Assessing Project Feasibility
Economic - benefits outweigh costs
Technical - know-how versus risks
Operational - consistent with IS plan
Schedule - time and duration OK
Legal - ownership / licensing issues
Political - potential power shift / resistance
Technical Feasibility: organization’s ability to construct a proposed system
Operational Feasibility: how a proposed system solves business problems or takes advantage of opportunities
Schedule Feasibility: time frame and project completion dates with respect to organization constraints
Legal and Contractual Feasibility: legal and contractual ramifications of new system
Political Feasibility: key stakeholders in organization’s view toward proposed system

22. Cost-Benefit Analysis (Figure 6-7, p.175)
A process used to assess economic feasibility by attempting to quantify benefits and costs associated with proposed information system projects
Net present value (NPV)
Break even analysis
Return on investment (ROI)

23. Benefits of an IS Tangible benefits: Intangible benefits
easily measured in dollars and certainty
e.g., Cost reduction and avoidance, Error reduction, Increased flexibility, Increased speed of activity, Improved management planning and control, Opening new markets and increasing sales opportunities
Intangible benefits
cannot be easily measured in dollars or certainty
e.g., Increased employee morale, Competitive necessity, More timely information, Promotion of organizational learning and understanding, Improved asset utilization, Improved resource control, Positive impacts on society

24. Types of IS Costs Tangible Cost Intangible Cost One-Time Costs
easily measured in dollars and certainty; e.g., Hardware
Intangible Cost
cannot be easily measured in dollars and certainty
e.g., Loss of customer goodwill, Loss of employee morale
One-Time Costs
Costs associated with project initiation and development
e.g., equipment purchase, site preparation and modifications
Recurring Costs
costs resulting from ongoing evolution and use of the system
e.g., system maintenance, employee costs

25. Project Planning Assessing Project Risk
Large projects are riskier than small
Structured problems are less risky than the messy, ill structured, ill defined ones which are subject to the judgment of an individual
Using standard technology is less risky than using nonstandard / new technology
User group with knowledge in development process / application area is less risky
Figure 6-9 Effects of degree of project structure, project size, and familiarity with application area on project implementation risk.

26. IS Planning Deliverable
Outline for Baseline Project Plan (Figure 6-10, p.182)
Introduction
Overview
Recommendation
System Description
Project Scope, Objectives, Functions
Feasibility Study
Cost/Benefits Analysis
Management Issues
Team Organization, Communication procedure, Preliminary Plan Schedule
Figure 6-10 Outline of a Baseline project plan
Figure 6-11 Statement of project scope
Baseline project plan: a major outcome and deliverable from the project initiation and planning phase which contains the best estimate of a project’s scope, benefits, costs, risks, and resource requirements.