1. Lecture 10
8/10/15

2. Determining Project Feasibility
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.
Feasibility should be measured throughout the life cycle.
The scope and complexity of an apparently feasible project can change after the initial problems and opportunities are fully analyzed or after the system has been designed.
Thus, a project that is feasible at one point in time may become infeasible at a later point in time.

3. Cross Life Cycle Activities
Estimation and Measurement
Measurement has become important because of the productivity and quality problems that plague systems development.
The field of software and systems metrics offers hope for the future.
Software and systems metrics provides an encyclopedia of techniques and tools that can both simplify the estimation process and provide a statistical database of estimates versus performance.
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In response to those problems, the industry has developed methods and tools to improve both quality and productivity. These methods and tools can be costly. Formal measurement of development productivity may be the only way to justify the cost of these expenses.

4. Cross Life Cycle Activities
Feasibility Analysis
A system development life cycle that supports our creeping commitment approach to systems development recognizes feasibility analysis as a cross life cycle activity.
Feasibility is a measure of how beneficial the development of an information system would be to an organization.
Feasibility analysis is the activity by which feasibility is measured.
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Too many projects call for premature solutions and estimates. This approach often results in an over-commitment to the project. If analysts are so accurate in feasibility estimates, why then are so many information systems projects late and over budget? Systems analysts tend to be overly optimistic in the early stages of a project. They underestimate the size and scope of a project because they haven't yet completed a detailed study.
A project that is feasible at any given stage of systems development may become less feasible or infeasible at a later stage. For this reason, we use the creeping commitment approach to reevaluate feasibility at appropriate checkpoints.

5. Cross Life Cycle Activities
Project Management and Process Management
Systems development projects may involve a team of analysts, programmers, users, and other IS professionals who work together.
Project management is the ongoing activity by which an analyst plans, delegates, directs, and controls progress to develop an acceptable system within the allotted time and budget.
Most project development failures are attributed to poor leadership and management.
This mismanagement results in unfulfilled or unidentified requirements, cost overruns, and late delivery.
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Failures and limited successes of systems development projects far outnumber very successful information systems. Why is that? One reason is that many systems analysts are unfamiliar with or undisciplined in the tools and techniques of systems development.

6. Cross Life Cycle Activities
Project Management and Process Management
The systems development life cycle provides the basic framework for the management of systems projects.
Process management’s intent is to standardize both the way we approach projects, and the deliverables we produce during projects.
Process management is an ongoing activity that establishes standards for activities, methods, tools, and deliverables of the life cycle.
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Because projects may be quite large and complex, the life cycle's phased approach to the project results in smaller, more measurable milestones that are more easily managed.

7. Project Initiation Projects are initiated for two broad reasons:
Problems that lend themselves to systems solutions
Opportunities for improvement through
Upgrading systems
Altering systems
Installing new systems

8. Project Selection Five specific criteria for project selection
Backed by management
Timed appropriately for commitment of resources
It moves the business toward attainment of its goals
Practicable
Important enough to be considered over other projects

9. Feasibility Impact Grid (FIG)
A feasibility impact grid (FIG) is used to assess the impact of any improvements to the existing system
Can increase awareness of the impacts made on the achievement of corporate objectives

10. Feasibility Impact Grid (FIG)
Current or proposed systems are listed on the left
Objectives are listed on the top
Red arrows indicate a positive impact
Green arrows indicate implementation

11. Feasibility
A feasibility study assesses the operational, technical, and economic merits of the proposed project
There are three types of feasibility:
Technical feasibility
Economic feasibility
Operational feasibility

12. Technical Feasibility
Technical feasibility assesses whether the current technical resources are sufficient for the new system
If they are not available, can they be upgraded to provide the level of technology necessary for the new system

13. Economic Feasibility
Economic feasibility determines whether the time and money are available to develop the system
Includes the purchase of
New equipment
Hardware
Software

14. Operational Feasibility
Operational feasibility determines if the human resources are available to operate the system once it has been installed
Users that do not want a new system may prevent it from becoming operationally feasible