System Analysis and Design

CSE 307
Instructor: Sabrina Alam

Lecture 03
Project
Management
 Learning Objectives

⚪ Understand how projects are initiated and selected,

define a business problem, and determine the feasibility of
a proposed project.
⚪ Evaluate hardware and software and the way it supports
human interactions with technology.
⚪ Forecast and analyze tangible and intangible costs and
benefits.
⚪ Manage a project by preparing a budget, creating a work
breakdown structure, scheduling activities, and controlling
the schedule and costs.
⚪ Build and manage a project team
⚪ Professionally write and present an effective systems
proposal, concentrating on both content and design
Project Management
Fundamentals
⚪ Project initiation
⚪ Determining project feasibility
⚪ Activity planning and control
⚪ Project scheduling
⚪ Managing systems analysis team
members
Major Topics
⚪ Project initiation
⚪ Determining feasibility
⚪ Determining resources
⚪ Activity planning and control
● Gantt charts
● PERT diagrams
⚪ Managing analysis and design
activities
⚪ The agile approach
Project Initiation

⚪ Problems in the organization

● Problems that lend themselves to systems
solutions
⚪ Opportunities for improvement
● Caused through upgrading, altering, or
installing new systems
Checking Output, Observing Employee
Behavior, and Listening to Feedback Are All
Ways to Help the Analyst Pinpoint Systems
Problems and Opportunities (Figure 3.1)
Problem Definition
⚪ Problem statement
● Paragraph or two stating the problem or
opportunity
⚪ Issues
● Independent pieces pertaining to the problem or
opportunity
⚪ Objectives
● Goals that match the issues point-by-point
⚪ Requirements
● The things that must be accomplished along with
the possible solutions, and constraints, that limit the
development of the system
⚪ Use the problem definition to create a
preliminary test plan
Problem Definition Steps

⚪ Find a number of points that may be

included in one issue
⚪ State the objective
⚪ Determine the relative importance of
the issues or objectives
⚪ Identify which objectives are most
critical.
Selection Of Projects
⚪ Backing from management
⚪ Appropriate timing of project
commitment
⚪ Possibility of improving attainment of
organizational goals
⚪ Practical in terms of resources for the
system analyst and organization
⚪ Worthwhile project compared with
other ways the organization could
invest resources
Selection of Projects: Improving
Attainment of Organizational Goals

⚪ Improving corporate profits

⚪ Supporting the competitive strategy of
the organization
⚪ Improving cooperation with vendors
and partners
⚪ Improving internal operations support
⚪ Improving internal decision support so
that decisions are more effective
⚪ Improving customer service
⚪ Increasing employee morale
Defining Objectives

Many possible objectives exist including:

● Speeding up a process
● Streamlining a process
● Combining processes
● Reducing errors in input
● Reducing redundant storage
● Reducing redundant output
● Improving system and subsystem integration
Determining Feasibility

⚪ Defining objectives
⚪ Determining resources
● Operationally
● Technically
● Economically
The Three Key Elements of Feasibility
Include Technical, Economic, and
Operational Feasibility (Figure 3.3)
Technical Feasibility

⚪ Can current technical resources be

upgraded or added to in a manner
that fulfills the request under
consideration?
⚪ If not, is there technology in existence
that meets the specifications?
Economic Feasibility
⚪ Economic feasibility determines
whether value of the investment
exceeds the time and cost
⚪ Includes:
● Analyst and analyst team time
● Business employee time
● Hardware
● Software
● Software development
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
Estimating Workloads

⚪ Systems analysts formulate numbers

that represent both current and
projected workloads for the system so
that any hardware obtained will
possess the capability to handle
current and future workloads
Comparisons of Workloads between
Existing and Proposed Systems
(Figure 3.4 )
Ascertaining Hardware and
Software Needs
⚪ Steps used to determine hardware
and software needs:
● Inventory computer hardware currently
available
● Estimate current and future system
workloads
● Evaluate available hardware and
software
● Choose the vendor
● Acquire the computer equipment
Steps in Choosing
Hardware and
Software (Figure 3.5)
 Inventorying Computer
Hardware
⚪ Type of equipment
⚪ Operation status of the equipment
⚪ Estimated age of equipment
⚪ Projected life of equipment
⚪ Physical location of equipment
⚪ Department or person responsible for
equipment
⚪ Financial arrangement for equipment
Evaluating Hardware

⚪ Time required for average

transactions
⚪ Total volume capacity of the system
⚪ Idle time of the CPU or network
⚪ Size of memory provided
People that Evaluate Hardware

⚪ Management
⚪ Users
⚪ Systems analysts
Acquisition of Computer
Equipment

⚪ Purchasing
⚪ Using Cloud Services

Influential factors:
• Initial versus long-term costs.
• Can capital afford to be tied
up in computer equipment.
• Should the business have full
control of and responsibility for
the computer equipment.
Available cloud services
⚪ Available cloud services may
include:
● Web hosting
● Email hosting
● Application hosting
● Backup
● Storage and processing of databases
● Archiving
● Ecommerce
Three Main Categories of
Cloud Computing
⚪ Software as a Service (SaaS)
⚪ Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
⚪ Platform as a Service (PaaS)

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Strategic Cloud Computing
Decisions
⚪ Decisions on cloud computing can
first be addressed on a strategic
level
⚪ Business should focus on:
● Define a high-level business case that
focuses on high-level benefits
● Define core requirements
● Define core technologies for the
enterprise
Benefits of Cloud Computing

⚪ Less time spent maintaining legacy

systems
⚪ May be simpler to acquire IT services
⚪ Scalable applications that can grow
by adding more cloud resources
⚪ Consistency across multiple platforms
⚪ Capital is not tied up
Drawbacks of Cloud
Computing
⚪ Loss of control of data stored in the
cloud
⚪ Potential security threats to data that
is not stored on premises
⚪ Reliability of the Internet as a platform
Purchasing or Using Cloud Services
Advantages and Disadvantages (Figure 3.6)
Evaluating Vendor Support

⚪ Hardware support
⚪ Software support
⚪ Installation and training support
⚪ Maintenance support
Guidelines for Vendor Selection
(Figure 3.7)
BYOD and BYOT

⚪ BYOD: Bring your own device

⚪ BYOT: Bring your own technology
⚪ Employee uses their own device
access corporate networks, data,
and services remotely
Benefits of BYOD and BYOT
⚪ Building employee morale
⚪ Potential for lowering the initial cost
hardware purchase
⚪ Facilitating remote, around-the-clock
access to corporate computer
networks
⚪ Building on a familiar user interface to
access corporate computing
services, applications, databases,
and storage
Drawbacks of BYOD and BYOT

⚪ Security risks posed by untrained users

⚪ Loss of the device
⚪ Theft of the device and its data
⚪ Unauthorized access to corporate
networks using personal mobile
devices
Software Alternatives

⚪ Created custom software

⚪ Purchased as COTS (commercial
off-the-shelf) software
⚪ Provided by an software as a service
(SaaS)
Software Alternatives
(Figure 3.8)
Software Evaluation

⚪ Performance effectiveness
⚪ Performance efficiency
⚪ Ease of use
⚪ Flexibility
⚪ Quality of documentation
⚪ Manufacturer support
Guidelines for Evaluating
Software (Figure 3.9)
Activity Planning and Control
⚪ Planning includes:
● Selecting a systems analysis team
● Estimating time required to complete each
task
● Scheduling the project
⚪ Control includes:
● Comparing the plan for the project with its
actual evolution
● Taking appropriate action to expedite or
reschedule activities
Identifying and Forecasting
Costs and Benefits

⚪ Judgment methods
● Estimates from the sales force
● Surveys to estimate customer demand
● Delphi studies
● Creating scenarios
● Drawing historical analogies
Identifying and Forecasting Costs
and Benefits (continued)

⚪ If historical data are available

● Conditional:
⚪ There is an association among variables in
the model
● Unconditional:
⚪ Do not need to find or identify any
relationships
Estimation of Trends

⚪ Graphical judgment
⚪ Moving averages
Identifying Benefits and Costs
⚪ Tangible benefits are advantages
measurable in dollars through the use
of the information system
⚪ Intangible benefits are difficult to
measure
⚪ Tangible costs are accurately
projected by the systems analyst and
accounting personnel
⚪ Intangible costs are difficult to estimate
and may not be known
Tangible Benefits
⚪ Advantages measurable in dollars that
accrue to the organization through the
use of the information system
⚪ Examples:
● Increase in the speed of processing
● Access to otherwise inaccessible
information
● Access to information on a more timely
basis
● The advantage of the computer’s superior
calculating power
● Decreases in the amount of employee
time needed to complete specific tasks
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Intangible Benefits
⚪ Intangible benefits are benefits from
use of the information system that are
difficult to measure
⚪ Examples:
● Improving the decision-making process
● Enhancing accuracy
● Becoming more competitive in customer
service
● Maintaining a good business image
● Increasing job satisfaction
Tangible Costs
⚪ Those that can be accurately
projected by systems analysts and the
business’ accounting personnel
⚪ Examples:
● Cost of equipment
● Cost of resources
● Cost of systems analysts’ time
● Cost of programmers’ time
● Employees’ salaries
Intangible Costs

⚪ Those that are difficult to estimate

and may not be known
⚪ Examples:
● Losing a competitive edge
● Losing the reputation of being first
● Declining company image
● Ineffective decision making
Comparing Costs and Benefits

⚪ Break-even analysis
⚪ Payback
⚪ Cash-flow analysis
⚪ Present value analysis
Break-Even Analysis
⚪ The point at which the total cost of the
current system and the proposed
system intersect
⚪ Useful when a business is growing and
volume is a key variable in costs
⚪ Disadvantage:
● Benefits are assumed to remain the same
⚪ Advantage:
● Can determine how long it will take for the
benefits of the system to pay back the
costs of developing it
Break-Even Analysis (Figure
3.10)
Break-Even Analysis Showing a Payback
Period of Three and a Half Years (Figure
3.11)
Cash-Flow Analysis

⚪ Examines the direction, size, and

pattern of cash flow that is associated
with the proposed information system
⚪ Determines when cash outlays and
revenues will occur for both; not only
for the initial purchase, but over the
life of the information system
Cash-Flow Analysis for the
Computerized Mail-Addressing
System (Figure 3.12)
Present Value Analysis

⚪ Way to assess all the economic

outlays and revenues of the
information system over its economic
life, and to compare costs today with
future costs and today’s benefits with
future benefits
⚪ Presents the time value of the
investment in the information system
as well as the cash flow
Present Value Analysis (Figure
3.14)

⚪ Taking into account present value, the

conclusion is that the costs are greater than the
benefits.
⚪ The discount rate, i, is assumed to be .12 in
calculating the multipliers in this table.
 Guidelines for Analysis

● Use break-even analysis if the project needs to be

justified in terms of cost, not benefits
● Use payback when the improved tangible
benefits form a convincing argument for the
proposed system
● Use cash-flow analysis when the project is
expensive, relative to the size of the company
● Use present value when the payback period is
long or when the cost of borrowing money is high
Work Breakdown Structure

⚪ Often a project needs to be broken

down into smaller tasks or activities
⚪ These tasks together make up a work
breakdown structure (WBS)
Work Breakdown Structure
Properties
⚪ Each task or activity contains one
deliverable, or tangible outcome,
from the activity
⚪ Each task can be assigned to a single
individual or a single group
⚪ Each task has a responsible person
monitoring and controlling
performance
Developing a WBS

⚪ Decomposition, starting with large

ideas, then breaking them down
into manageable activities
⚪ Product oriented, building a website
can be broken down into many
parts
⚪ Process-oriented, emphasizes the
importance of each phase
Time Estimation Techniques

⚪ Relying on experience
⚪ Using analogies
⚪ Using three-point estimation
⚪ Identifying function points
⚪ Using time estimation software
Function Point Analysis
⚪ Takes the five main components of
a computer system and rates them
in terms of complexity:
● External inputs
● External outputs
● External queries
● Internal logical files
● External interface files
Beginning to Plan a Project by
Breaking it into Three Major Activities
(Figure 3.16)
Refining the Planning and Scheduling of Analysis
Activities by Adding Detailed Tasks and
Establishing the Time Required to Complete the
Tasks (Figure 3.17)
Project Scheduling

⚪ Gantt Charts
● Simple
● Lends itself to end user communication
● Drawn to scale
⚪ PERT diagrams
● Useful when activities can be done in
parallel

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Using a Two-Dimensional Gantt Chart for
Planning Activities that Can Be
Accomplished in Parallel (Figure 3.18)
A Completed PERT Diagram for the
Analysis Phase of a Systems Project (Figure
3.22)
PERT Diagram Advantages

⚪ Easy identification of the order of

precedence
⚪ Easy identification of the critical path
and thus critical activities
⚪ Easy determination of slack time
Project Due Dates

⚪ Estimating models
● Costar
● Construx
⚪ Function point analysis
● Helps the analyst quantitatively estimate
the overall length of software
development efforts
Estimating Costs

⚪ Using a work breakdown structure

● Estimate costs for each activity in the
work breakdown structure
● Prepare a budget for the project and
have it approved by the organization or
client
● Manage and control the costs
throughout the project
Approaches to Cost Estimation

⚪ Basing estimates on similar projects,

also called the top-down approach
⚪ Building bottom-up estimates
⚪ Using parametric modeling
Project Risk

⚪ Project failures may be prevented by:

● Training
● Experience
● Learning why other projects have failed
⚪ Fishbone diagram systematically lists
all of the possible problems that can
occur
Fishbone Diagram (Figure 3.24)
Expediting

⚪ Expediting is speeding up a process

⚪ Expediting can help reduce the time
it takes to complete an entire project
⚪ The expedited activities have to be
on the critical path
Earned Value Management
(EVM)
⚪ A technique used to help determine
progress (or setbacks) on a project
⚪ Involves:
● Project cost
● Project schedule
● Performance of the project team
Four Key Measures in EVM
⚪ Budget at completion (BAC) is the total
budget for the project
⚪ Planned value (PV) is the value of the
work that is to be completed on the
project
⚪ Actual Cost (AC) is the total cost
incurred in completing the work
⚪ Earned value (EV) is an estimate of the
value of the work performed thus far
Managing the Team Project
⚪ Team management
● Assembling a team
● Team communication strategies
● Project productivity goals
● Team member motivation
Assembling a Team
⚪ Shared value of team work
⚪ Good work ethic
⚪ Honesty
⚪ Competency
⚪ Readiness to take on leadership based
on expertise
⚪ Motivation
⚪ Enthusiasm for the project
⚪ Trust of teammates
Communication Strategies
⚪ Teams often have two leaders:
● Task leader: leads members to accomplish
tasks
● Socioemotional leader: concerned with
social relationships
⚪ The systems analyst must manage:
● Team members
● Their activities
● Their time and resources
Project Productivity Goals
and Motivation
⚪ Successful projects require that
reasonable productivity goals for
tangible outputs and process
activities be set.
⚪ Goal-setting helps to motivate team
members.
Ecommerce Project
Management
⚪ Ecommerce and traditional software
project management differences:
● The data used by ecommerce systems is
scattered across the organization
● Ecommerce systems need a staff with a
wide variety of skills
● Partnerships must be built externally and
internally well ahead of implementation
● Security is of utmost importance
 Project Charter

● Describes in a written document what the

expected results of the systems project are and
the time frame for delivery
 Project Charter Clarifies
These Questions
⚪ What does the user expect of the project?
⚪ What is the scope of the project?
⚪ What analysis methods will the analyst use to
interact with users?
⚪ Who are the key participants?
⚪ What are the project deliverables?
⚪ Who will evaluate the system and how will they
evaluate it?
⚪ What is the estimated project timeline?
⚪ Who will train the users?
⚪ Who will maintain the system?
The Systems Proposal
⚪ Cover letter
⚪ Title page of project
⚪ Table of contents
⚪ Executive summary
⚪ Outline of systems study with appropriate
documentation
⚪ Detailed results of the systems study
⚪ Systems alternatives
⚪ Systems analysts recommendations
⚪ Summary
⚪ Appendices
Using Figures for Effective
Communication
⚪ Effective use of tables
⚪ Effective use of graphs
Effective Use of Tables
⚪ Integrate into the body of the proposal
⚪ Try to fit the entire table vertically on a
single page.
⚪ Number and title the table at the top
of the page.
⚪ Label each row and column.
⚪ Use a boxed table if room permits.
⚪ Use footnotes if necessary to explain
detailed information contained in the
table.
Effective Use of Graphs
⚪ Choose a style of graph that
communicates your intended meaning
well
⚪ Integrate the graph into the body of
the proposal
⚪ Give the graph a sequential figure
number and a meaningful title
⚪ Label each axis, and any lines,
columns, bars, or pieces of the pie on
the graph
⚪ Include a key to indicate differently
colored lines, shaded bars, or
crosshatched areas
Summary
⚪ Project management fundamentals
● Project initiation
● Determining project feasibility
● Activity planning and control
● Project scheduling
● Managing systems analysis team members
⚪ Problem definition
● Issues of the present system
● The objective for each issue
● The requirements that must be included in
all proposed systems
Summary (continued)
⚪ Project selection
● Backed by management
● Commitment of resources
● Attains goals
● Practical
● Important
⚪ Feasibility
● Operational
● Technical
● Economic
Summary (continued)
⚪ Acquiring hardware and software
⚪ Work breakdown structure
⚪ Project planning
● Gantt charts
● PERT
● Function point analysis
⚪ Team management
⚪ Ecommerce projects
⚪ Preparing a system proposal
Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.
Publishing as Prentice Hall

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 END OF
Lecture 03