Software Engineering
Lecture # 1
Feasibility Study
Feasibility analysis should be conducted during the analysis phase before
the decision is made by the top management. Feasibility is a measure of
how beneficial or practical an information system will be to the organization.
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.
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Continued
A feasibility study should provide management with enough
information to decide:
• whether the project can be done
• whether the final product will benefit its intended users
• what are the alternatives among which a solution will be chosen
(during subsequent phases)
• is there a preferred alternative
After a feasibility study, management makes a go/no go decision
Continued
• Should we develop this system?
• Does the system contribute to objectives of the customer?
• Are there better and cheaper alternatives they have?
• Will it work within the informational/ organizational structure of
the organization?
• Is the system affordable by the customer?
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Product development
Supporting hardware/software
User training
Maintenance
Continued
• Can we develop this system?
• Do we have the resources?
• People
• Expertise/experience
• Hardware/software
resources
• Can it be done within constraints?
• On time
• Within budget
Operational feasibility
•
is a measure of how well a specific solution will work in the
organization. It is also a measure of how people feel about the
system/project.
• Does management support the system?
• How do the end-users feel about their role in the new
system?
• What end-users or managers may resist or not use the
system? Can this problem be overcome? If so, how?
• Usability analysis
Ease of use, Ease of learning, User satisfaction
Operational feasibility
• Operational feasibility is dependent on human resources
available for the project and involves projecting whether the
system will be used if it is developed and implemented
• Operational feasibility is a measure of how well a proposed
system solves the problems, and takes advantage of the
opportunities identified during scope definition and how it
satisfies the requirements identified in the requirements
analysis phase of system development. Operational feasibility
reviews the willingness of the organization to support the
proposed system..
Operational Feasibility:
The PIECES Framework
• The PIECES framework can help in identifying problems to be solved,
and their urgency:
• Performance -- Does current mode of operation provide adequate
throughput and response time?
• Information -- Does current mode provide end users and managers
with timely, accurate and usefully formatted information?
• Economy -- Does current mode of operation provide cost-effective
information services to the business? Could there be a reduction in
costs and/or an increase in benefits?
Continued
• Control -- Does current mode of operation offer effective
controls to protect against fraud and to guarantee accuracy
and security of data and information?
• Efficiency -- Does current mode of operation make maximum
use of available resources, including people, time, flow of
forms,...?
• Services -- Does current mode of operation provide reliable
service? Is it flexible and expandable?
Technical Feasibility
• Is the proposed technology or solution practical?
• Do we currently possess the necessary technology?
• Do we possess the necessary technical expertise, and is the
schedule reasonable?
• The technology for any defined solution is usually available;
however, the question is whether that technology is mature
enough to be easily applied to our problem.
Technical Feasibility
• Is it available in the information systems shop? If the
technology is available, does it have the capacity to handle the
solution.
• If the technology is not available, can it be acquired?
Schedule Feasibility
• Constraints on the project schedule and whether they could be
reasonably met
• Given our technical expertise, are the project deadlines reasonable?
Some projects are initiated with specific deadlines; You need to
determine whether the deadlines are mandatory or desirable. If the
deadlines are desirable rather than mandatory, the analyst can
propose alternative schedules.
• It is preferable (unless the deadline is absolutely mandatory) to
deliver a properly functioning information system two months late
than to deliver an error-prone, useless information system on time!
• Missed schedules are bad, but inadequate systems are worse!
Economic Feasibility
• Economic feasibility is a measure to identify the financial
benefits and costs related with the development project.
• As soon as specific requirements and solutions have been
identified, the analyst can weigh the costs and benefits of
each alternative.
• This is called a cost-benefit analysis.
TYPES
Economic feasibility is divided into two major classifications.
• Cost estimate
• Benefit estimate
Cost classification
Cost can be further classified as
• Development cost and Operational cost
• Fixed cost and Variable cost
Cost estimate
• Development Cost and purchasing costs : Development costs
are costs that can be associated with the development of a
specific System.
• who builds the system(internally or contracted out)? software
used (buy or build)?hardware (what to buy, buy/lease)?
Operational cost
Operational cost is incurred after the system is implemented
and continues while the system is in use. Examples might
include systems maintenance, ongoing training, annual software
license fees annual maintenance contract fees, and
communications expense.
Operational costs (on-going)
Maintenance: hardware (maintenance, materials,...),software
(maintenance fees and contracts)
Continued
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Continued
• For a small business that wants to introduce a PC-based
information system, these cost categories translate to the
following:
• Project costs: purchasing (hardware, software, office
furniture),customizing software, training, system installation
• On-going costs: operating the system (data entry, backups,
helping users etc.), maintenance (software) and user support,
hardware and software maintenance
Fixed cost and Variable cost
• Fixed cost: Fixed costs are costs that are relatively constant
and do not depend on a level of activity or effort. Many fixed
costs recur regularly, such as salaries and hardware rental
charges, office rent etc.
• Variable cost: Variable costs are costs that vary depending on
the level of activity. Example: - The Costs of Printer stationary
paper, ribbon, telephone line charges, electricity etc. are
Variable costs.
Benefit estimate
• TANGIBLE COSTS
Are Costs for which you can assign a specific monetary value
(i.e. Dollar value). Examples of Tangible Costs include
Employee Salaries, Hardware and Software purchase, and
office Supplies.
• INTANGIBLE COSTS
Are those costs whose monetary (Dollar) value cannot be
calculated easily. Examples might include the Cost of
Customer dissatisfaction, lowered employee morale, reduced
information availability etc.
Benefit estimate
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Feasibility
• Ethical feasibility: is a test to determine if the project is
ethical, or even legal. Ethical feasibility should be tested from
both the company perspective, as well as the developer’s
perspective and user perspective.
• Legal feasibility :Legal feasibility is a measure of how
well a solution can be implemented within existing legal
and organization’s policy. It’s also regarding copyright
issues. For example, if we need certain software in
develop the system; we have to make sure that we use
the licensed software.