Engineering Software Applications/

Software Engineering

Lecture 3 - Feasibility
 Overview
• Look at feasibility
• The ITIL Feasibility template

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 Feasibility

A new computer application may come into

existence for many reasons

• Before any project starts need to consider

whether it can actually be done
• Surprisingly this often does not happen!
• Why?

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 Importance of feasibility
• Carried out to establish feasibility of a venture
• Is the idea viable?
• Can we do it?
• Do we have the resources
• Do we have the skills
• Can we do it in time
• Can we afford to do it
• Can we afford not to!

• You do it all the time!

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 What is required?
• Not uncommon for consultants to be used
• Why?
• Preliminary study
• Looks at alternatives
• Simple cost benefit analysis (CBA)
• Often does not directly include the stakeholders
• Field narrowed down for full study

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 Feasibility Study Factors
• Looks at key areas such as:
• Any existing system
• Functions and objectives of new system
• Who are the key stakeholders?
• What are the challenges?
• What are the potential improvements?
• Cost
• Resources
• Efficiency
• Productivity

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 Key questions
• How well will the system work in the given
environment?
• How critical is the need?
• Are timescales realistic?
• What is the probability of success?
• What is the attitude of the stakeholders?
• How well will the organisation/stakeholders
deal with change?
• What is the buy-in from the decision makers?
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ITIL APPROACH
 Origins of ITIL
• UK government recognised growing
importance of IT in 1980’s
• Central Computer and Telecommunications
Agency (CCTA) specified all IT compliance
requirements for government IT projects
• IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) emerged as a set of
best practices including feasibility
• Latest version 2019
• http://www.itil-officialsite.com/
• ITIL Feasibility approach has 12 stages

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 Stage 1 - Introduction
• The content of the study
• The intent
• The audience
• The purpose
• Organisational details
• Where impacted

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 Stage 2 – Management Summary
• Overview of the ITIL approach
• Background to study
• Objectives
• Situation
• Benefits
• Problems and Risks
• Technical requirements
• Options
• CBA
• Financial/Budget Implications
11 • Recommendations
 Stage 3 – Background to Project
• What is the reason for the project?
• Financial
• Operational
• Resource
• Competition
• New technology
• New channel
• Etc.

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 Stage 4 – Objectives
• What is the purpose of the system
• Increase revenues
• Reduce costs
• Material
• People
• New markets
• Often includes metrics
• E.g. reduce costs by 15%
• Gain 5% market share in Nigeria

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 Stage 5 – Situation
• What is the current state
• Old system
• Market
• Organisational
• Products
• Technology
• Resources
• Aim is to establish justification
• And consequences of none adoption

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 Stage 6 – Benefits
• What will be immediate benefits?
• Higher production volumes
• Reduced time to market
• Reduce money to market
• Increased productivity
• Lower overheads cost
• Reduced inventory
• Higher customer satisfaction

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 Stage 7 – Problems and Risks
• Vital to identify the barriers
• Resources
• Technology
• Timescale
• Cost
• Will
• Need to do a full risk assessment

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 Stage 8 – Technical Requirements
• Do we have the technology?
• Hard/Software
• Do we have the expertise?
• In-house
• Outsourced

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 Stage 9 – Options
• What are the alternatives?
• Analysis of each
• Including not doing it
• Costs
• Advantages
• Disadvantages

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 Stage 10 – Cost/Benefit (1)
• Key stage!
• Total cost estimated
• Design
• Development
• Deployment
• Maintenance
• Benefits calculated
• Process improvement
• Delivery times
• Revenue per customer
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 Stage 10 – Cost/Benefit (2)
• Alternatives to CBA
• Payback Analysis
• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Net present value (NPV)

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 Stage 11 – Financial/Budget Implications
• How will the project be funded?
• Constraints
• Reallocations
• Alternatives
• Phased roll-out
• Reduced functionality
• COTS vs Bespoke

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 Stage 12 – Recommendation
• Present recommendation on how project will
be
• Budgeted and scheduled
• Deployed
• Phases
• All at once.

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 Summary
• Be impartial
• Be objective
• Be inclusive
• Be clear/concise
• Feasibility studies are aimed at decision
makers

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QUESTIONS?