Analyzing the Business Case

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning involves identifying long-term organizational goals, strategies, and resources.

• Starts with a mission statement.
• Critical success factors: Goals that must be achieved to fulfill the company’s mission.

SWOT Analysis

• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
• Used to avoid seeking goals that are unrealistic, unprofitable, or unachievable.
• Helps define mission statements.

Tools

• CASE tools: Strategic planning software.
• Non-CASE tools: Mind maps, balanced scorecards, and gap analysis.

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Business Case

A business case is used during the systems planning phase and refers to the reasons or justifications for a proposal.

• The analyst must consider the company’s overall mission, objectives, and IT needs.
• The business case must:
  • Clearly describe the project.
  • Provide justification to proceed.
  • Estimate the project’s financial impact.

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System Requests

System requests are the starting point for most Information Systems projects.

• Six main reasons for system requests:
  1. Stronger controls.
  2. Reduced cost.
  3. More information.
  4. Better performance.
  5. Improved customer service.
  6. More support for new products and services.

Internal vs. External Factors

• Internal Factors:
  • Strategic Plan.
  • Top Managers.
  • User Requests.
  • IT Department.
  • Existing Systems and Data.
  • Company Finances.
• External Factors:
  • Government.
  • Technology.
  • Suppliers.
  • Customers.
  • Competitors.
  • The Economy.

Systems Review Committee

Also known as the computer resources committee, this group processes system requests.

• Responsibilities:
  • Evaluating system requests.
  • Typically involves the IT director and several managers.

Service Request Management: Tools used to manage request tickets.

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Feasibility

Feasibility determines if a project is viable. It involves four primary areas:

1. Operational: Will the system be used effectively?
2. Economic: Do the benefits outweigh the costs? (Includes Total Cost of Ownership [TCO]: ongoing support, maintenance, and acquisition costs.)
3. Technical: Are the technical resources sufficient?
4. Schedule: Can the project be implemented in an acceptable timeframe?

• Dynamic Priorities: Feasibility should be an ongoing process due to changing factors.
• Discretionary Projects: Management has a choice in implementing them.
• Non-Discretionary Projects: No choice exists.

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Preliminary Investigation

The preliminary investigation involves studying the system request and recommending specific actions.

• Purpose:
  • Gather facts about the problem or opportunity.
  • Define project scope and constraints.
  • Identify project benefits.
  • Estimate development time and costs.
• Outcome: A report to management.

Steps in a Preliminary Investigation

1. Understand the problem or opportunity.
2. Define the project scope and constraints.
3. Perform fact-finding.
4. Analyze project usability, cost, benefits, and schedule data.
5. Evaluate feasibility:
   • Operational.
   • Technical.
   • Economic.
   • Schedule.

Key Tools and Concepts

• Fishbone Diagram: A graphical tool to represent possible causes of a problem.
• Constraint: A requirement or condition the system must satisfy or an outcome it must achieve.