Project Selection. Request for information systems are typically motivated by one of the following three general objectives :

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1 Project Selection Reasons for project proposals Request for information systems are typically motivated by one of the following three general objectives : Solve a problem An activity, process or function that does not now or may not in the future meet performance standards, if some important steps or actions are not taken. Capitalize on an opportunity A change to expand or improve business performance and competitive achievement. Respond to a directive An order, request originating from a legislative or management authority to provide information. To achieve these objectives, firms typically undertake projects for one or more of the following results : Capability : Business activities are influenced by an organization s ability to process transactions quickly and efficiently. Information system adds capabilities in three ways : Improved processing speed : Using the computer s inherent ability to calculate, sort and retrieve data and information when greater speed than that of people doing the same tasks is desired. Ability to handle increased volume : Providing the capacity to process a greater amount of activity perhaps to take advantage of new business to exceed the capacities and procedures underlying the achievements to date. Faster retrieval of information : Locating and retrieving information from storage. Conducting complex search. For example an organization stores a large amount of data for its employee details, customers and finances. The main problem about these data is about the storage of the data and retrieval process of the data. Data storage becomes more complex if user wants the same data in different form. So in such cases computerized system is able to extract the data into required format very easily. Communications : It concern with enhanced communication (i.e. speeding the flow of information and message between remote locations as well as within offices. Includes the transmissions of documents within office.) and

2 integration of business areas (i.e. coordinating business activities taking place in separate areas of an organization, through capture and distribution of information.) Competitiveness advantages : An organization can gain competitive advantage through its information system in four ways: Lock in customers : Changing the relationship with and services provide to customer in such a way that they will not choose to change supplies. Lock out competitors : Reducing the like hood that competitors will be able to enter the same market because of the way the organization uses information system. Improve arrangement with suppliers : Changing the pricing, service or delivery arrangements or relationship between suppliers and the organization to benefit the firm. New product development : Introducing new products with characteristics that use or are influenced by information technology. Control : To secure greater accuracy and preserve sensitive and important data in a form that is accessible only to authorized personnel. For example in an organization at the time of dispatching the goods delivery the price total will be calculated for all the items of the bill. If the same process is done by a person then in the beginning of the day the accuracy of doing the total will be high, but as the time goes the accuracy of the person will be effected, but if the same thing is done through a information system (i.e. computer) and the program to do the addition is ok and error less, then the same task will be performed efficiently throughout out the day. Sometimes the fact that data can be stored in machine readable form provides security that would be difficult to achieve in a non computer environment Cost : It involves cost monitoring and cost reduction. Cost monitoring involves tracking the cost of labor, goods and facilities to determine how actual costs compare with expectations. Cost reduction using computing capability to process data at a lowest cost than possible with other methods, while maintaining accuracy and performances level. Sources of project request There are four primary sources of project requests. Department managers : Frequently, persons who deal with day-to-day business activities, whether employees or managers, are looking for assistance within their departments. Suppose a manager in a large medical clinic supervise the preparation of patient claim forms submitted to insurance company. This task is very much

3 important for both (i.e. clinic and patient), bur the manager has no satisfaction with the time taken by the staff to prepare the lost and required document, hence manager asks the clinic management committee to develop the computer based information system. Senior manager : Senior executives such as presidents, board chairpersons and vice presidents, usually have information s about the organization that is not available to department managers. For example, the vice president for manufacturing who knows that an additional production plant will be built in another city within two years may want to launch a system project to develop a centralized production planning system one that will help management to plan manufacturing at both plants at the same time. The project request submitted by senior executives are generally broader in scope than those ordered by department managers. System Analyst : Sometimes system analyst sees areas where projects should be developed and either write a systems proposal themselves or encourage a manager to allow the writing of proposal on their behalf. For instance, an analyst who sees that a university s courses-registration procedure is slow, error-prone and generally inefficient may prepare a project proposal for a new registration system. The request prescribed the development of a system that takes advantages of new easy-to-use data entry terminals to speed registration. Outside group : Developments outside the organization also lead to project requests. For example, government contracts are required to use special cost accounting system with government-stipulated features. The internal revenue service requires organizations to keep careful payroll records and to account for employee income tax withheld. Quite often, new demands from external groups bring about project request, either for new systems or changes in current one. Projects originating from this source are just as important as those from within the organizations. Managing project review and selection The request for the developing information system are gathered from different sources of the organization. Someone must decide which request to pursue and which to reject. The decision for accepting or rejecting a request can be made in a number of different ways. One of the more common methods of reviewing and selecting projects for development is by committee. Steering committee method : It is also called operating committees, operating councils or project selection boards. It consists of upper management (executive vice president, vice president etc.), departmental manager, technical manager, and information system group.

4 The committee receives proposals and evaluates them. The major responsibility of the committee is to make a decision, which often requires more information than the proposal provides. The committee determines that which project is more beneficial for the entire organization. The steering committee approach is often favored because system projects are business investment. Information system committee method : In some organization the project request is viewed by a committee consists of managers and analyst in the information system department. All the different kind of requests is submitted directly to a review committee within the information systems department. And the committee accept or reject the requests and sets priority, indicating which projects are most important and should receive immediate attention. This method can be used when many requests are for routine services or maintenance of existing application. User group committee method : Sometimes the responsibility for project decision is delegated to the user themselves. Individual department hire their own analysts and designers, who handle project selection and carry our development. In short users themselves determine what is developed and when it is implemented. But such type of development can have disadvantages for the users i.e. a number of small departments working independently towards the same goal could unknowingly waste resources and miss the opportunity to coordinate planning of a shared & integrated information system that could benefit the entire firm. Some user groups may find themselves with defective or poorly designed systems that require additional time and effort to undo any damage caused by the miss information generated through such system. Other method : Other approaches are also tried from time to time. Some organization have managing planning committees that propose new projects. This method suffers from lack of user involvement, as well as limited insight into technology. A disadvantage of this approach is the possibility that a department can sponsor the development of a system while the information system group or upper management is completely unaware that a project is in the making. Testing project feasibility Any proposed system will be accepted if it is feasible. Three test of feasibility all are equally important. Operational feasibility : Proposed projects are beneficial only if they can be turned into information systems that will meet the organizations operating requirements. This test of feasibility asks if the system will work when it is

5 developed and installed. There should be asked some question, the answer will lead if the system is operationally feasibly or not. - Is there sufficient support for the project from management, from user? - Have the users been involved in the planning and development of the project? - Will the proposed system cause harm? Will it produce poor result? Will loss of control result in any area? Will accessibility of information be lost? The Points which are looking small in the beginning have ways of growing into major problems after implementation. Therefore, all operational aspect must be considered carefully. Technical feasibility : It includes the following - Does the necessary technology exist to do what is suggested. - Does the proposed equipment have the technical capacity to hold the data required to use the new system? - Will the proposed system provide adequate response to inquires? - Can the system be expanded if developed? - Are there technical guarantees of accuracy, reliability, ease of use and data security? Financial and economical feasibility : Financial and economic questions raised by analyst during the preliminary investigation are for the purpose of estimating the following : - The cost to conduct a full system investigation. - The cost of hardware and software. - The benefit in the form of reduced cost or fewer costly errors. - The cost if nothing change. To be judged feasible, a project proposal must pass all these test, otherwise it is not feasible project and project request should be rejected.