SYSTEM STUDY

L E C T U R E R - D AW A Y E K H A I N G K H A I N G M O E
SYSTEM STUDY

• Preliminary system study is the first stage of system development life cycle.

• In practice, the initial system study involves the preparation of a System proposal which lists
the
1. Problem Definition
2. Objectives of the Study
3. Terms of reference for Study
4. Constraints
5. Expected benefits of the new system, etc. in the light of the user requirements.

• The system proposal is prepared by the System Analyst (who studies the system) and places it
before the user management.
SYSTEM STUDY [CONTINUED]

 The management may accept the proposal and the cycle proceeds to the next stage.

 The management may also reject the proposal or request some modifications in the proposal.

 The system study phase passes through the following steps:

• problem identification and project initiation

• background analysis
• inference or findings
 SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE
FEASIBILITY STUDY

 Measure of how suitable system

development will be to the company
FEASIBILITY STUDY

• The feasibility study is basically the test of the proposed system in the light of its workability,
meeting user’s requirements, effective use of resources and of course, the cost effectiveness.

• These are categorized as technical, operational, economic, schedule and social feasibility.

• The main goal of feasibility study is not to solve the problem but to achieve the scope.
FEASIBILITY STUDY [CONTINUED]

• In the process of feasibility study, the cost and benefits are estimated with greater accuracy to
find the Return on Investment (ROI).

• The result is a feasibility report submitted to the management.

• This may be accepted or accepted with modifications or rejected.

FEASIBILITY STUDY [CONTINUED]
The following decision are taken in different feasibility study:

• Economic feasibility - The likely benefits outweigh the cost of solving the problem which is
generally demonstrated by a cost/ benefit analysis.

• Tangible benefits refer to items that can be measured in dollars and with certainty.
• Examples: reduced personnel expenses, lower transaction costs, or higher profit margins.

• Intangible benefits refer to items that cannot be easily measured in dollars or with certainty.
Intangible benefits may have direct organizational benefits, such as the improvement of
employee morale, or they may have broader societal implications, such as the reduction of
waste creation or resource consumption.
 FEASIBILITY STUDY [CONTINUED]

• Tangible costs refer to items that you can easily measure in dollars and with certainty. From an
IS development perspective, tangible costs include items such as hardware costs, labor costs,
and operational costs including employee training and building renovations.

• Alternatively, intangible costs are items that you cannot easily measure in terms of dollars or
with certainty. Intangible costs can include loss of customer goodwill, employee morale, or
operational inefficiency.
FEASIBILITY STUDY [CONTINUED]

• Technical feasibility - Whether the problem be solved using existing technology and resources
available?

• Project risk can be assessed based upon:

– Project size
– Project structure
– Development group’s experience with the application
– User group’s experience with development projects and the application area
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• Scheduling Feasibility

• A project will fail if it is not completed on time. In scheduling feasibility, an organization

estimates how much time the project will take to complete.

• The purpose of assessing schedule feasibility is , as a systems analyst, to gain an understanding

of the likelihood that all potential time frames and completion date schedules can be met and
that meeting these dates will be sufficient for dealing with the needs of the organization.
FEASIBILITY STUDY [CONTINUED]

• Operational feasibility - Whether the problem can be solved in the user’s environment with existing and
proposed system workings?
– Assessment of how a proposed system solves business problems or takes advantage of opportunities

• Organizational feasibility – Whether the proposed system is consistent with the organization’s strategic
objectives?
• Some Important Stakeholders for Organizational Feasibility:
– Champion: a high-level, non–information systems executive
• Initiates the project, Promotes the project, Allocates his or her time to project
– Organizational manager:
• Know about the project, Encourage users to accept and use the system
– System Users
• Make decisions that influence the project, Perform hands-on activities for the project
DETAILED SYSTEM STUDY

• The detailed investigation of the system is carried out in accordance with the objectives of the
proposed system.

• This involves detailed study of various operations performed by a system and their
relationships within and outside the system.

• During this process, data are collected on the available files, decision points and transactions
handled by the present system.
DETAILED SYSTEM STUDY [CONTINUED]

• Interviews, on-site observation and questionnaire are the tools used for detailed system study.

• The following steps it becomes easy to draw the exact boundary of the new system under
consideration:

– Keeping in view the problems and new requirements

– Workout the pros and cons including new areas of the system
DETAILED SYSTEM STUDY [CONTINUED]

• All the data and the findings must be documented in the form of

o detailed data flow diagrams (DFDs)

o data dictionary
o logical data structures and
o miniature specifications.

• It includes planning for the new system, analysis of requirement, system constraints,
functions and proposed system architecture, prototype of the proposed system and its
analysis.
• Baseline Project Plan (BPP)
• A major outcome and deliverable from the project initiation and planning phase that contains
the best estimate of a project’s scope, benefits, costs, risks, and resource requirements.

• Project Scope Statement (PSS)

• A document prepared for the customer that describes what the project will deliver and outlines
generally at a high level all work required to complete the project.

• Return on Investment (ROI)

• ROI is the ratio of the net cash receipts of the project divided by the cash outlays of the project.
Trade-off analysis can be made among projects competing for investment by comparing their
representative ROI ratios.
KNOW YOUR ROI RIGHT AWAY?
KNOW YOUR ROI RIGHT AWAY?