Identifying and

Selecting Systems
Development Projects

Introduction

Legacy

Improvement, future competitive edge

Islands of information

Lots of potential projects

Limited resources

Project Identification and Selection

Identifying potential development projects

Identification from a stakeholder group

Classifying and ranking potential IS projects

Using value chain analysis or other evaluation criteria

Selecting projects
Based on various factors

Top managers / directors, a steering committee, business units

(members and leaders), or the IS development group
Depending on the organizations complexity and SOPs

Each stakeholder group brings their own

perspective and motivation to the IS decision.

Strategic

Development

Classifying and ranking

potential IS projects

Classification (not selection) Criteria

Table 4-2

Strategic alignment
Potential benefits
Resource availability
Project size / duration
Technical difficulty / risks
Value chain analysis (next slide)

Value chain analysis: analyzing an organization's activities to

determine where value is added to products/services and the
costs incurred for doing so.

Selecting Project: Factors for

Selection

Example

Each requirement or constraint: Score = weight X rating

Each alternative: sum scores across requirements/constraints
Alternative with highest score wins

Deliverables and
Outcomes
Primary deliverable from the first part of the
planning phase is a schedule of specific IS
development projects.

Chapter 4

2008 by Prentice Hall

10

Deliverables and Outcomes

Outcome of the second part of the planning

phase project initiation and planning is the
assurance that careful consideration was
given to project selection and each project
can help the organization reach its goals.
Project workbook

Chapter 4

2008 by Prentice Hall

11

The Need for Proper Planning

and Selection

The cost of IS systems has risen steadily and

approaches 40% of total expenses in some
organizations.
Many systems cannot handle applications that cross
organizational boundaries.
Many systems often do not address the critical
problems of the business as a whole or support
strategic applications
Data redundancy is often out of control, and users
may have little confidence in the quality of data

The Need for Proper Planning and

Selection

Systems maintenance costs are out of control,

as old, poorly planned systems must constantly
be revised

Application backlogs often extended 3 years or

more
Frustrated end users are forced to create their
own systems
Creating redundant databases and
incompatible systems in the process

The Right Question for the Right

Answer

What information (or data) requirements will satisfy the

decision-marking needs or business processes of the
enterprise today and well into the future?

What procedure (application program) is required to

solve this particular problem as it exists today?

Corporate and Information

Systems Planning

To benefit from a planning-based approach

for identifying and selecting projects:

An organization must analyze its information

needs thoroughly.
Plan its projects carefully.

Chapter 4

2008 by Prentice Hall

15

Corporate Strategic Planning

Ongoing process of developing and refining

Models of the current enterprise

Models of the future enterprise
Strategic plan

Corporate strategy involves:

Mission statement
Objective statements
Description of competitive strategy

Mission Statement
Concise
statement
about the
main business
of the
organization

Statement of Objectives

A series of statements that express quantitative and

qualitative goals ( broad and timeless) for the future position
of an organization

Competitive Strategy

The method by which the organization will

attempt to satisfy its mission and objectives

Main types:

Low-cost producer - Perodua (Consumer)

Product differentiation Apple (Style)
Product focus or niche Rolls Royce (Luxury)

Information Systems Planning

(ISP)

An orderly means of assessing the

information needs of an organization and
defining systems, databases, and
technologies that will best meet those needs

ISP must be done in accordance with the

organization's mission, objectives, and
competitive strategy.

Strategic and IS Planning

Relationships
IS planning
must be
kept in line
with
corporate
strategic
planning.

Assessing the Current IS Situation

Top-down planning

Attempts to gain a broad understanding of

information system needs of the entire
organization

Missions, Objectives, Strategy, Competitors,

Bottom-up planning

Identifies IS development projects based on

solving specific operational business problems or
taking advantage of specific opportunities

System functions, documents, process details,

Benefits of Top-Down
Planning

Broader perspective
Improved integration
Improved management support
Better understanding
But, bottom-up planning can be faster and less costly,
so may be beneficial in certain circumstances

Assess the current IS Landscape

Locations,
Business units,
Functions

Roles (people)

Processes
Data,
Information Systems

Identifying Functions, Data

Entities and IS

Functional Decomposition

Decomposition:
breaking highlevel abstract
information into
smaller units for
more detailed
planning

IS Planning Matrix

Matrices describe relationships between pairs of organizational

elements (location, function, business unit, objective, process,
data, information system).

Preparing for the Future

Edit the existing documents and record the

desired

Locations,
Business units,
Functions,
Processes,
Data,
Information Systems

IS Plan Components

Briefly describe mission, objectives, and strategy of the organization

IS Plan Components (cont.)

Provide summary of current and future processes, functions, data

entities, and information needs of the enterprise

IS Plan Components (cont.)

Describe primary role IS will play in the organization to transform

enterprise from current to future state

IS Plan Components (cont.)

Describe limitations imposed by technology and current levels of

financial, technical, and personnel resources

IS Plan Components (cont.)

Summarize overall information systems needs in the company and

set long-term strategies for filling the needs

IS Plan Components (cont.)

Show detailed inventory of present projects and systems and

detailed plan for the current year

IS Plan Components (cont.)

Describe unknown but likely events that can affect the plan,
presently known business change elements, and description of their
impact on the plan