System Planning
(Overview of Feasibility)
- Mr. Ahmad Al-Ghoul

Chapter Objectives
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Discuss the economic feasibility
Discuss the schedule feasibility
Describe the differences between tangible and intangible benefits and costs and between one time and recurring benefits and costs
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 2

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Economic Feasibility
Means that the projected benefits of the proposed system outweigh the estimated costs.
Analyst need to assess tangible and intangible benefits and costs.
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Tangible benefits
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Can be measured easily
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Examples
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Cost reduction and avoidance
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Error reduction
Increased flexibility
Increased speed of activity
Improved management planning and control
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Opening new markets and increasing sales opportunities
Reducing staff (due to automation)
Maintaining constant staff
Decreasing operating expenses
Reducing error rates (due to automation)
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 3

Avicenna
Overview of Feasibility
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Ensuring quicker processing and turnabout
Capturing lost discounts
Reducing bad accounts or bad credit losses
Reducing inventory or merchandise loss
Collecting accounts receivable more quickly
Capturing income lost due to “stock outs”
Reducing the cost of goods with volume discounts
Reducing paperwork costs
System Analysis and Design
System Planning 4

Overview of Feasibility
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Intangible benefits
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Cannot be measured easily
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Examples
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Increased employee morale
Competitive necessity
More timely information
Promotion of organizational learning and understanding
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 5

Overview of Feasibility
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Determine Costs
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Tangible Costs
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Can easily be measured in dollars
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Example: Hardware
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Intangible Costs
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Cannot be easily measured in dollars
Examples:
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Loss of customer goodwill
Loss of employee morale
Avicenna
System Analysis and Design
System Planning 6

Overview of Feasibility
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One-Time Costs
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Associated with project startup, initiation and development
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Includes
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System Development
New hardware and software purchases
User training
Site preparation
Data or system conversion
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 7

Overview of Feasibility
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Recurring Costs
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Associated with ongoing use of the system
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Includes:
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Application software maintenance
Incremental data storage expense
New software and hardware releases
Consumable supplies
Incremental communications
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 8

Overview of Feasibility
 Assign Cost and Benefit Values
 Difficult, but essential to estimate
 Work with people who are most familiar with the area to develop estimates
 Intangibles should also be quantified
 If intangibles cannot be quantified, list and include as part of supporting material
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 9

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Schedule Feasibility
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Assessment of time frame and project completion dates with respect to organization constraints for affecting change
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A system analyst must consider the interaction between time and costs
Issues that relate to schedule feasibility includes:
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Has management established a firm timetable for the project?
What conditions must be satisfied during the development of the system ?
Will an accelerated schedule pose any risks?
Will project management techniques be available to coordinate and control the project?
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 10

Sequence Summary
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Economic feasibility means that the projected benefits of the proposed system outweigh the estimated costs.
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Analyst need to assess tangible and intangible benefits and costs.
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Tangible means can be measured easily
Intangible means cannot be measured easily
Schedule feasibility is the assessment of time frame and project completion dates with respect to organization constraints for affecting change
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 11

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Defined and described the economic feasibility
Describe the differences between tangible and intangible benefits and costs and between one time and recurring benefits and costs
Defined schedule feasibility
Described the issues that relate to schedule feasibility
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 12

[1]System Analysis and Design, Sixth Edition (Chapter 2 )
Authors: Gary B. Shelly, Thomas J. Cashman and Harry J. Rosenblatt ,
Publisher: SHELLY CASHMAN SEWIES.
[2] Modern Systems Analysis and Design fourth Edition (Chapter 5 )
Authors: Jeffrey A. Hoffer , Joey F. George, Joseph S. Valacich
Publisher: prentice hall
[3] System Analysis and Design, 3 rd Edition ( Chapter 2 )
Authors: Dennis, Wixom, & Roth
Publisher: John Wiley & sons
[4] SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN, sixth edition ( Chapter 3 )
Authors: Kenneth E. Kandall and Julie E. Kendall
Publisher: prentice hall
System Analysis and Design
System Planning Avicenna 13