SSD Revision Notes
Reasons for Systems Development
Reasons for Project Initi ati on
Changing a business process
A new strategic direction for the business
A new requirement for information due to changing laws
Need to replace an aging system
Reasons for Project Failure
Poor project specification
Unrealistic timescales
Inappropriate staff
Insufficient involvement by senior management
Failure to manage user expectations
Failure to manage change required
Purpose of the Business Case Document
The business case document is a formally written document that provides the justification
for proceeding with a given project.
Its purpose is to define what the project is intended to achieve
Examines expected benefits
Used to set expected costs
Describes potential impacts of the project on the organisation.
Acti viti es performed during Project Initi ati on
Develop a Business Case
Undertake a feasibility study
Appoint the project team
Set up the project office
Methods of gathering informati on about the current system
, Staff interviews
o Ensures the solution will solve company-wide issues. Makes sure the system is
suitable for those that use it every day
o Interviewing every member of staff is both costly and time-consuming
Examining current system documentation
o This will help the systems analyst identify data requirements and current input and
output of the current system
o Analysing documents is time-consuming and tedious and does not provide feedback
from users of the system
Questionnaires
o This is an inexpensive method that gather information from a lot of people over a
large area very quickly.
o They do not produce detailed answers. It is also common for users to misunderstand
questions and therefore not answer as expected, affecting the accuracy of the
results
Observation of the current system in use
o The analyst is able to notice any problems or bottlenecks in daily practices. The
analyst can spot problems in both the ICT system and business practices and can
verify results obtained from interviews or questionnaires.
o Observation is time-consuming and people often behave differently if they know
that they are being watched. The analyst may also not be able to obtain feedback
from users with this method.
Purpose of a Feasibility Study
The Feasibility Study is used to decide what is or is not possible in a project. It will include:
Technical feasibility – is the technology available for the suggested solution to be
implemented?
Economic feasibility – are the development and running costs affordable?
Legal feasibility – for example, does it breach the Data Protection Act?
Operational feasibility – is the proposed system viable in daily use?
Social feasibility – for example, it might pose a health hazard, breach the ethics of the
community or be hampered by a lack of available qualified personnel
Job descripti on of a Systems Analyst
Communicate with customers and stakeholders to learn and document requirements in
order to create a technical specification
Interact and coordinate with developers and stakeholders
Help perform system testing
Deploy the system
Help with technical documentation like manuals
Deliberate over post-project assessment
Job descripti on of a Programmer
Reasons for Systems Development
Reasons for Project Initi ati on
Changing a business process
A new strategic direction for the business
A new requirement for information due to changing laws
Need to replace an aging system
Reasons for Project Failure
Poor project specification
Unrealistic timescales
Inappropriate staff
Insufficient involvement by senior management
Failure to manage user expectations
Failure to manage change required
Purpose of the Business Case Document
The business case document is a formally written document that provides the justification
for proceeding with a given project.
Its purpose is to define what the project is intended to achieve
Examines expected benefits
Used to set expected costs
Describes potential impacts of the project on the organisation.
Acti viti es performed during Project Initi ati on
Develop a Business Case
Undertake a feasibility study
Appoint the project team
Set up the project office
Methods of gathering informati on about the current system
, Staff interviews
o Ensures the solution will solve company-wide issues. Makes sure the system is
suitable for those that use it every day
o Interviewing every member of staff is both costly and time-consuming
Examining current system documentation
o This will help the systems analyst identify data requirements and current input and
output of the current system
o Analysing documents is time-consuming and tedious and does not provide feedback
from users of the system
Questionnaires
o This is an inexpensive method that gather information from a lot of people over a
large area very quickly.
o They do not produce detailed answers. It is also common for users to misunderstand
questions and therefore not answer as expected, affecting the accuracy of the
results
Observation of the current system in use
o The analyst is able to notice any problems or bottlenecks in daily practices. The
analyst can spot problems in both the ICT system and business practices and can
verify results obtained from interviews or questionnaires.
o Observation is time-consuming and people often behave differently if they know
that they are being watched. The analyst may also not be able to obtain feedback
from users with this method.
Purpose of a Feasibility Study
The Feasibility Study is used to decide what is or is not possible in a project. It will include:
Technical feasibility – is the technology available for the suggested solution to be
implemented?
Economic feasibility – are the development and running costs affordable?
Legal feasibility – for example, does it breach the Data Protection Act?
Operational feasibility – is the proposed system viable in daily use?
Social feasibility – for example, it might pose a health hazard, breach the ethics of the
community or be hampered by a lack of available qualified personnel
Job descripti on of a Systems Analyst
Communicate with customers and stakeholders to learn and document requirements in
order to create a technical specification
Interact and coordinate with developers and stakeholders
Help perform system testing
Deploy the system
Help with technical documentation like manuals
Deliberate over post-project assessment
Job descripti on of a Programmer
