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Questions and Answers
What is the primary purpose of conducting an organizational feasibility analysis?
What is the primary purpose of conducting an organizational feasibility analysis?
Which of the following is a component of stakeholder analysis?
Which of the following is a component of stakeholder analysis?
Which stage of the Systems Development Lifecycle is primarily focused on determining project feasibility?
Which stage of the Systems Development Lifecycle is primarily focused on determining project feasibility?
An example of organizational management in a stakeholder analysis would be:
An example of organizational management in a stakeholder analysis would be:
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What is often considered the most challenging aspect when assessing organizational feasibility?
What is often considered the most challenging aspect when assessing organizational feasibility?
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What is the primary focus of technical feasibility analysis?
What is the primary focus of technical feasibility analysis?
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Which factor is NOT considered when assessing technical feasibility?
Which factor is NOT considered when assessing technical feasibility?
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What is the key outcome of conducting an economic feasibility analysis?
What is the key outcome of conducting an economic feasibility analysis?
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What question does economic feasibility analysis strive to answer?
What question does economic feasibility analysis strive to answer?
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Which aspect is evaluated as part of organizational feasibility?
Which aspect is evaluated as part of organizational feasibility?
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During feasibility analysis, which area does NOT typically get assessed?
During feasibility analysis, which area does NOT typically get assessed?
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What is one of the first steps in conducting economic feasibility analysis?
What is one of the first steps in conducting economic feasibility analysis?
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Why is technical feasibility critical when assessing a project?
Why is technical feasibility critical when assessing a project?
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Which of the following is NOT a category of costs and benefits identified in a cost-benefit analysis?
Which of the following is NOT a category of costs and benefits identified in a cost-benefit analysis?
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What is the primary goal of assigning specific dollar values to costs and benefits?
What is the primary goal of assigning specific dollar values to costs and benefits?
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What does the cumulative net cash flow represent in a cash flow analysis?
What does the cumulative net cash flow represent in a cash flow analysis?
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Which financial measure indicates the time required for an investment to recoup its initial cost?
Which financial measure indicates the time required for an investment to recoup its initial cost?
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What aspect does organizational feasibility primarily assess?
What aspect does organizational feasibility primarily assess?
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Which factor is considered a tangible benefit in a cost-benefit analysis?
Which factor is considered a tangible benefit in a cost-benefit analysis?
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Which method is used to evaluate a project's worth by looking at the profitability relative to its costs?
Which method is used to evaluate a project's worth by looking at the profitability relative to its costs?
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In cash flow analysis, the formula for net cash flow over a year is represented by which expression?
In cash flow analysis, the formula for net cash flow over a year is represented by which expression?
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Study Notes
Systems Analysis and Design
- Course title: Systems Analysis and Design
- Edition: 5th
- Authors: Roberta Roth, Alan Dennis, and Barbara Haley Wixom
Chapter 1: The Systems Analyst and Information Systems Development
Chapter 1 Outline
- The systems analyst
- The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
- Information system project identification and initiation
- Creating a system request
- Feasibility analysis
Introduction
- The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is the process of determining how an information system (IS) can support business needs, design and building the system and delivering it to users
- The key person in the SDLC is the systems analyst, who analyzes the business situation, identifies opportunities for improvement, and designs an IS to implement those improvements.
Systems Analyst Skills
- Technical skills: Must understand the technical environment, technical foundation, and technical solutions
- Business skills: Must understand how IT can be applied to business situations
- Analytical skills: Must be problem solvers
- Interpersonal skills: Need to communicate effectively
- Management skills: Need to manage people and risks
- Ethical skills: Must deal fairly, honestly and ethically with other project members, managers and users
Systems Analyst Roles
- Business analyst: Focuses on business issues around the system
- System analyst: Focuses on the IS issues surrounding the system
- Infrastructure analyst: Focuses on technical issues
- Change management analyst: Focuses on people and management issues surrounding system installation
- Project manager: Ensures the project is completed on time and within budget, and that the system delivers the expected value to the organization
- Requirements Analyst: Focus on eliciting the requirements from the stakeholders associated with the new system
The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
- Comprised of four fundamental phases: Planning, Analysis, Design, and Implementation
- Each phase has consecutive steps and activities that rely on appropriate tools and techniques (models & templates) which produce deliverables (specific documents) that explain various elements of the system
Planning Phase
- Fundamental process of understanding why an information system should be built and determining how the project team will go about building it
- Key elements are Problems (real or anticipated requiring corrective action), Opportunities (for improvement despite the absence of complaints), and Directives (management, government or other external influence for changing a situation)
- Two steps: Project initiation (identifying system's business value to the organization), and Project management (creating a work plan, staffing the project, and putting techniques in place for controlling and directing the project through the SDLC).
Analysis Phase
- Answers the questions of who will use the system, what the system will do, and where and when it will be used
- The project team investigates current system(s), identifies improvement opportunities, and develops a concept for the new system
- Three steps: Analysis strategy (to guide the project team's efforts), Requirements gathering (to develop a concept for a new system), and System proposal (presented to the project sponsor and other key individuals).
Design Phase
- Decides how the system will operate in terms of technical components (hardware, software, network infrastructure, user interface, forms, reports, programs, databases, and files).
- Four steps: Design Strategy (clarifies whether the system is developed in-house or outsourced), Architecture Design (describes the hardware, software and network infrastructure), Database and File Specifications (defines what and where the data will be stored), and Program Design (defines what program need to be written and what they will do.)
Implementation Phase
- System is developed or purchased, tested, and installed
- Includes users training and education
- Usually the longest and most expensive part of the SDLC
- Three steps: System Construction (build and test), Installation (turn off the old and turn on the new), and Support Plan (post implementation review and identify needed changes).
Planning Phase Details
- Primary outputs: System Request with feasibility study and a project plan (Chapter 2).
Project Identification and Initiation
- Project is identified when someone in the organization identifies a business need to build a system
- A need may surface when an organization identifies unique and competitive ways of using IT, to leverage the capabilities of emerging technologies (cloud computing, RFID...)
Project Sponsor
- The project sponsor is a person (or group) who has an interest in the system's success
- Works throughout the SDLC to ensure the project is moving in the right direction from the business perspective
- Serves as the primary point of contact for the project team
- Has the insights needed to determine the business value that will be gained from the system
System Request
- Document describing business reasons for building the system and its expected value (benefits)
- Has five elements: Project sponsor, Business need, Business requirements, Business value, and Special issues.
- The completed system request is submitted to the approval committee (steering committee) for consideration. The committee determines if a feasibility analysis is necessary.
Feasibility Analysis
- Guides the organization in deciding whether to proceed with the project
- Identifies important risks associated with the project which must be managed if the project is approved
- Three main areas assessed include: Technical feasibility, Economic feasibility, and Organizational (operational) feasibility).
Technical Feasibility
- Extent to which the system can be successfully designed, developed, and installed by the IT group (a technical risk analysis)
- Factors to consider: familiarity with the application, familiarity with the technology, project size, and compatibility of the new system with existing technology.
Economic Feasibility
- Also called cost-benefit analysis, it identifies the costs and benefits associated with the system
- It attempts to answer the question: "Should we build the system?"
- Steps to conduct: Identify costs and benefits, assign values to costs and benefits, determine cash flow, and assess project's economic value (ROI, break-even point, NPV)
Intangible Costs and Benefits
- Values that are hard to quantify in monetary terms, but are important such as customer satisfaction, enhanced competitive position, and improved functionality.
Organizational Feasibility
- How well the system will be accepted by users and incorporated into the organization's ongoing operations
- Factors to assess include understanding how well the goals of the project align with business objectives and organizational strategies
- Conducting stakeholder analysis is also key, including stakeholders that are individuals, groups, or organizations that can impact the new system such as; Project champion, System users, Customer, Suppliers, Competitors, Government, Organizational management, Other stakeholders.
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Description
Test your knowledge on Chapter 1 of Systems Analysis and Design. This quiz covers the role of the systems analyst, the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC), and key concepts such as feasibility analysis and system requests. Assess your understanding of the foundational elements critical to information systems development.
