Lecture 4
Analysing the Business Case (1)
System Users and their needs
Systems Analysis & Design
Academic Year 2008/9
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Lecture Objectives
By the end of this lecture you will be able to:
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Explain the concept of a Business Case (and
how it affects an IT Project)
Describe the strategic planning process
Explain the purpose of a mission statement
Give reasons for information systems projects
and the factors that affect them.
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Systems Planning Phase
This lecture explains further the first phase in
the Systems Development Life Cycle.
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It explains why it is important to understand
Business operations and requirements.
It examines how IT projects support a
Company’s overall strategic plan and how
systems projects get started.
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Six of the main reasons for
Systems requests
P51 Shelley et al
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Systems requests and the business
case
It is important that the system request takes
into account the purpose of the
Organisation.
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It should aim to improve service or provide
better performance.
It should recommend changes that are in the
company’s best interests.
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The Business Case
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During the systems planning phase the IT
team reviews a proposal to determine if it
presents a strong business case
The term ‘business case’ refers to the reasons
for or justification for a proposal.
A strong business case means the proposals
are in the company’s best interest.
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Systems requests can be the result
of both internal and external
factors
Page 51
Shelley et al
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Problem Identification
This important work is done by Systems
Analysts and other IT professionals.
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A clear set of objectives need to be defined
These objectives should reflect the
Organisation’s “Mission statement”.
The aim is to discover options from which the
Organisation can choose.
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System Users
A hierarchy still exists in most companies A
systems analyst must understand the
company’s organisation model in order to:
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Recognise who is responsible for specific
processes and decisions
What information is required by whom.
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Systems Users continued
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Large organisations have Organisational
levels
Each level has a different business function.
Each category has differing information needs
and responsibilities
The following slide illustrates this
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P15 Shelley et
al
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User Groups
User groups fall into 4 main
categories:
Top Managers
1.
Middle Managers & Knowledge workers
2.
Supervisors and team leaders
3.
Operational employees
Another way to represent this is by Anthony’s
triangle on the next slide:
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Adaptation of Anthony’s triangle – showing
organisational levels
Strategic Planning
Strategic Level
Top managers
Management Control
Management Control level
Tactical
Operational
Control
Operational
Middle Managers and
knowledge workers
Operational Activity
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Activity time
In order to understand the structure of
business operations further we will now
do a short exercise.
You will be given an ID – you are either
an A student, a B student or a C
student.
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Activity time
Think about a Car Production plant –
A group be the Strategic Level
B group be the Tactical Level
C group be the Operational level
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Activity time
Think about a Car Production plant –
Working in twos - answer the following:
1.
2.
3.
What activities would your group be
involved in?
What decisions would they have to make,
what day to day activities would they
perform?
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Feedback time
Now its up to you to talk to your Lecturer
and other group members to fill in the
gaps.
Remember time is precious – you may
have to complete this after the
lecture.
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System categories
We can divide systems into categories –
1. Decision support systems / Executive
Information systems (top managers)
2. Office systems, (Admin) (Middle Managers and
knowledge workers)
3. Operations systems (Transaction processing)
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User group 1 -Top Managers
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Top Managers develop long-range plans
called strategic plans,.
They need information from both inside and
outside the company (e.g. economic
forecasts, technology trends, competitive
threats and governmental issues)
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User Group 2 -Middle Managers and Knowledge
workers
Middle managers provide supervisors and team
leaders with:
 Direction
 Performance feedback
 Necessary resources
In addition every company needs knowledge
workers (Analysts, programmers, accountants
etc)
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User group 3 - Supervisors and Team
leaders
These employees:
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Oversee operational employees
Carry out day to day functions
Need decision support information and
knowledge management systems in order to
carry out their responsibilities
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User group 4 -Operational Employees
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Rely upon Transaction processing systems
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Their work is often to enter and receive data
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They need information to handle specific
tasks.
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Strategic planning risks
The greatest risk occurs when a company tries
to decide how the system will be
implemented before determining what the
system is supposed to do.
To avoid this we have to begin by outlining a
company’s user requirements, (and business
needs) to identify possibilities or solutions.
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Strategic planning
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Strategic planning is the process of
identifying long term organisational goals,
strategies and resources.
Strategic planning looks beyond the day to
day activities and focuses on a horizon that
is 5 to 10 years in the future.
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Mission Statements
Objectives and IT needs
“To analyse the business case for a specific
proposal, the Analyst must consider the
company’s overall mission, objectives and
IT needs.”
Ch.2 Shelley et al. Page 44.
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Preliminary investigation stage
As we learned in Lecture 3, systems
development begins with:
1.
A systems request
2.
A preliminary investigation/feasibility study)
3.
Fact finding
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Fact finding planning tools
Managers often do a SWOT analysis when planning
for the future. This identifies the following:
 STRENGTHS
 WEAKNESSES
 OPPORTUNITIES
 THREATS
Each of these areas may lead to an IT related issue which in
turn requires, review, analysis and planning
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Example of a SWOT
analysis result
Strategic decision making is crucial for the future
of a business as decisions made affect all levels of
employees.
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In conclusion:
You should now be able to

Recognise that IT needs differ with user
groups
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Identify the organizational levels.
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Explain the early stages of Systems
development.
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Recommended Reading
Chapter 1 up to pages 20-25 of the
recommended text
‘Systems Analysis & Design’, Shelley Cashman
Series, Thomson Course Technology
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