Lecture 10
8/10/15
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
Economic Feasibility
• Economic feasibility determines whether the time and money
are available to develop the system
• Includes the purchase of
• New equipment
• Hardware
• Software
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