Module 2.

1 Strategic Planning: A Framework For IT Systems Development

Objectives:

 Understand what is strategic planning

 Know the importance of strategic planning
 Learn strategic planning

Quick Assessment:

What do you know about strategic planning?

What is strategic planning?

Strategic planning is a process in which an organization’s leaders define their vision for the future and
identify their organization's goals and objectives. The process includes establishing the sequence in
which those goals should be realized so that the organization can reach its stated vision.

Strategic planning typically represents mid- to long-term goals with a life span of three to five years,
though it can go longer. This is different than business planning, which typically focuses on short-term,
tactical goals, such as how a budget is divided up. The time covered by a business plan can range from
several months to several years.

The product of strategic planning is a strategic plan. It is often reflected in a plan document or other
media. These plans can be easily shared, understood and followed by various people including
employees, customers, business partners and investors.

Organizations conduct strategic planning periodically to consider the effect of changing business,
industry, legal, and, regulatory conditions. A strategic plan may be updated and revised at that time to
reflect any strategic changes.

Why is strategic planning important?

Businesses need direction and organizational goals to work toward. Strategic planning offers that type of
guidance. Essentially, a strategic plan is a roadmap to get to business goals. Without such guidance,
there is no way to tell whether a business is on track to reach its goals.

The following four aspects of strategy development are worth attention:

1. The mission. Strategic planning starts with a mission that offers a company a sense of purpose
and direction. The organization's mission statement describes who it is, what it does and where
it wants to go. Missions are typically broad but actionable. For example, a business in the
education industry might seek to be a leader in online virtual educational tools and services.
2. The goals. Strategic planning involves selecting goals. Most planning uses SMART Goals -
specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound -- or other objectively measurable
 goals. Measurable goals are important because they enable business leaders to determine how
well the business is performing against goals and the overall mission. Goal setting for the
fictitious educational business might include releasing the first version of a virtual classroom
platform within two years or increasing sales of an existing tool by 30% in the next year.
3. Alignment with short-term goals. Strategic planning relates directly to short-term, tactical
business planning and can help business leaders with everyday decision-making that better
aligns with business strategy. For the fictitious educational business, leaders might choose to
make strategic investments in communication and collaboration technologies, such as virtual
classroom software and services but decline opportunities to establish physical classroom
facilities.
4. Evaluation and revision. Strategic planning helps business leaders periodically evaluate progress
against the plan and make changes or adjustments in response to changing conditions. For
example, a business may seek a global presence, but legal and regulatory restrictions could
emerge that affect its ability to operate in certain geographic regions. As result, business leaders
might have to revise the strategic plan to redefine objectives or change progress metrics.

What are the steps in the strategic planning process?

There are myriad different ways to approach strategic planning depending on the type of business and
the granularity required. Most strategic planning cycles can be summarized in these five steps:

Identify. A strategic planning cycle starts with the determination of a business's current strategic
position. This is where stakeholders use the existing strategic plan -- including the mission statement
and long-term strategic goals -- to perform assessments of the business and its environment. These
assessments can include a needs Assessments or a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats) analysis to understand the state of the business and the path ahead.

Prioritize. Next, strategic planners set objectives and initiatives that line up with the company mission
and goals and will move the business toward achieving its goals. There may be many potential goals, so
planning prioritizes the most important, relevant and urgent ones. Goals may include a consideration of
resource requirements -- such as budgets and equipment -- and they often involve a timeline
and business metrics or KPIs for measuring progress.

Develop. This is the main thrust of strategic planning in which stakeholders collaborate to formulate the
steps or tactics necessary to attain a stated strategic objective. This may involve creating numerous
short-term tactical business plans that fit into the overarching strategy. Stakeholders involved in plan
development use various tools such as a strategy map to help visualize and tweak the plan. Developing
the plan may involve cost and opportunity tradeoffs that reflect business priorities. Developers may
reject some initiatives if they don't support the long-term strategy.

Implement. Once the strategic plan is developed, it's time to put it in motion. This requires clear
communication across the organization to set responsibilities, make investments, adjust policies and
processes, and establish measurement and reporting. Implementation typically includes strategic
management with regular strategic reviews to ensure that plans stay on track.
Update. A strategic plan is periodically reviewed and revised to adjust priorities and reevaluate goals as
business conditions change and new opportunities emerge. Quick reviews of metrics can happen
quarterly, and adjustments to the strategic plan can occur annually. Stakeholders may use balanced
scorecard and other tools to assess performance against goals.

Who does the strategic planning in a business?

A committee typically leads the strategic planning process. Planning experts recommend the committee
include representatives from all areas within the enterprise and work in an open and transparent way
where information is documented from start to finish.

The committee researches and gathers the information needed to understand the organization's current
status and factors that will affect it in the future. The committee should solicit input and feedback to
validate or challenge its assessment of the information.

The committee can opt to use one of many methodologies or strategic frameworks that have been
developed to guide leaders through this process. These methodologies take the committee through a
series of steps that include an analysis or assessment, strategy formulation, and the articulation and
communication of the actions needed to move the organization toward its strategic vision.

The committee creates benchmarks that will enable the organization to determine how well it is
performing against its goals as it implements the strategic plan. The planning process should also
identify which executives are accountable for ensuring that benchmarking activities take place at
planned times and that specific objectives are met.

How often should strategic planning be done?

There are no uniform requirements to dictate the frequency of a strategic planning cycle. However,
there are common approaches.

Quarterly reviews. Once a quarter is usually a convenient time frame to revisit assumptions made in the
planning process and gauge progress by checking metrics against the plan.

Annual reviews. A yearly review lets business leaders assess metrics for the previous four quarters and
make informed adjustments to the plan.

Timetables are always subject to change. Timing should be flexible and tailored to the needs of a
company. For example, a startup in a dynamic industry might revisit its strategic plan monthly. A mature
business in a well-established industry might opt to revisit the plan less frequently.

Types of strategic plans

Strategic planning activities typically focus on three areas: business, corporate or functional. They break
out as follows:

Business. A business-centric strategic plan focuses on the competitive aspects of the organization --
creating competitive damages and opportunities for growth. These plans adopt a mission evaluating the
external business environment, setting goals, and allocating financial, human and technological
resources to meet those goals. This is the typical strategic plan and the main focus of this article.
Corporate. A corporate-centric plan defines how the company works. It focuses on organizing and
aligning the structure of the business, its policies and processes and its senior leadership to meet
desired goals. For example, the management of a research and development skunkworks might be
structured to function dynamically and on an ad hoc basis. It would look different from the management
team in finance or HR.

Functional. Function-centric strategic plans fit within corporate-level strategies and provide a granular
examination of specific departments or segments such as marketing, HR, finance and development.
Functional plans focus on policy and process -- such as security and compliances -- while setting budgets
and resource allocations.

In most cases, a strategic plan will involve elements of all three focus areas. But the plan may lean
toward one focus area depending on the needs and type of business

What is strategic management?

Organizations that are best at aligning their actions with their strategic plans engage in strategic
management. A strategic management process establishes ongoing practices to ensure that an
organization's processes and resources support the strategic plan's mission and vision statement.

In simple terms, strategic management is the implementation of strategy. As such, strategic

management is sometimes referred to as strategy execution. Strategy execution involves identifying
benchmarks, allocating financial and human resources and providing leadership to realize established
goals.

Strategic management may involve a prescriptive or descriptive approach. A prescriptive approach

focuses on how strategies should be created. It often uses an analytical approach -- such as SWOT or
balanced scorecards -- to account for risks and opportunities. A descriptive approach focuses on how
strategies should be implemented and typically relies on general guidelines or principles.

Given the similarities between strategic planning and strategic management, the two terms are
sometimes used interchangeably.

What is a strategy map?

A strategy map is a planning tool or template used to help stakeholders visualize the complete strategy
of a business as one interrelated graphic. These visualizations offer a powerful way for understanding
and reviewing the cause-and-effect relationships among the elements of a business strategy.

While a map can be drawn in a number of ways, all strategy maps focus on four major business areas or
categories: financial, customer, internal business processes (IBPs), and learning and growth. Goals sort
into those four areas, and relationships or dependencies among those goals can be established.

For example, a strategy map might include a financial goal of reducing costs and an IBP goal to
improve operational efficiency. These two goals are related and can help stakeholders understand that
tasks such as improving operational workflows can reduce company costs and meet two elements of the
strategic plan.

A strategy map can help translate overarching goals into an action plan and goals that can be aligned
and implemented.
Strategy mapping can also help to identify strategic challenges that might not be obvious. For example,
one learning and growth goal may be to increase employee expertise but that may expose unexpected
challenges in employee retention and compensation, which affects cost reduction goals.

Benefits of strategic planning

Effective strategic planning has many benefits. It forces organizations to be aware of the future state of
opportunities and challenges. It also forces them to anticipate risks and understand what resources will
be needed to seize opportunities and overcome strategic issues.

Strategic planning also gives individuals a sense of direction and marshals them around a common
mission. It creates standards and accountability. Strategic planning can enhance operational plans and
efficiency. It also helps organizations limit time spent on crisis management, where they're reacting to
unexpected changes that they failed to anticipate and prepare for.

Information technology is a key part of developing an effective strategic plan.

Activity:

On a clean sheet of paper, explain why strategic planning is important.

Module 2.2 What is a Business Case?

Objectives:

 Understand the elements of a business case

Quick Assessment:

RECITATION TYPE: Enumerate factors you consider when opening a business?

What is a business case?

A business case provides justification for undertaking a project, programme or portfolio.

It evaluates the benefit, cost and risk of alternative options and provides a rationale for the preferred
solution.

Five elements of a business case

A common way of thinking about a business case is using these five elements:

Strategic context: The compelling case for change.

Economic analysis: Return on investment based on investment appraisal of options.

Commercial approach: Derived from the sourcing strategy and procurement strategy.

Financial case: Affordability to the organization in the time frame.

Management approach: Roles, governance structure, life cycle choice, etc.

The business case is reviewed and revised at decision gates as more mature estimates and information
become available. The approved business case provides a record of the decisions made
by governance about how to achieve the required return on investment from the work. It documents
the options considered and it is normal practice to include the ‘do-nothing’ option as a reference.
Through this approach, the business case becomes a record of the recommended option with rationale
and evidence to support the decision.

The presentation of the business case, if approved, results in the formal startup of the project,
programme or portfolio. The sponsor owns the business case.

It brings together the investment appraisal with evidence of how the investment is intended to lead to
realisation of the intended benefits. All projects must have a business case that demonstrates the value
of the work and it is outlined during the concept phase of the life cycle.

Activity:

Create a business case using the five elements of business case.

2.3 Evaluation of Systems Request

Objectives:

Quick Assessment:

What is evaluation?

 Evaluation is a process in which the evidence for assurance is gathered and analyzed against
criteria for functionality and assurance. The results can be a measure of trust that indicates how
well a system meets particular criteria.

What is a system request?

System Requests are commonly used in organizations to manage the intake and prioritization of changes
to software systems, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively and that the most valuable
enhancements are implemented.

 A system request is a document or system used to initiate the systems development life cycle
process.
 It may be called something different in different organizations, such as a system proposal
document or system initiation document.

What does a system request include?

A system request typically includes information about:

 The project sponsor (a specific person)

 The business need for the system (the business-related needs of the system)
 The business requirements for the system (the requirements that the system must meet to be
successful)
 The business value of the system (how the system will pay for itself)
 Any special issues or constraints that may be relevant to the system

Activity:

Think of a system request that CSU campus can use.

2.4 Overview and Evaluating Feasibility

Objectives:

Quick Assessment:

What is feasibility analysis?

 Feasibility analysis is a process used to determine the viability of a particular project.

Feasibility analysis typically consists of three dimensions:

1. Technical feasibility: Can we build the system? This looks at an organization's technical
readiness to take on a project, including factors such as familiarity with the business application
and technology, project size, and integration requirements.

What is technical feasibility?

Some considerations for technical feasibility include:

 Familiarity with the business application: Does the organization have experience using the type
of system being proposed?
 Familiarity with the technology: Does the organization have the necessary skills and tools to
develop and maintain the system?
 Project size: Is the project realistic in terms of the time and resources required to complete it?
 Integration requirements: Will the system need to be integrated with other systems or
processes within the organization? If so, is the organization capable of handling these
integration requirements?

2. Economic feasibility: Should we build the system? This involves analyzing the financial
implications of a project, including the costs of developing and implementing the system, as well
as any potential benefits.

What is economic feasibility?

Economic feasibility is the second dimension of a typical feasibility analysis, and it answers the question
of "should we build it?" In other words, is it a good idea from a financial or economic standpoint?

What are the primary considerations for economic feasibility?

Some of the primary considerations for economic feasibility include tangible benefits, total cost of
ownership, and net present value.

 Tangible benefits are the financial benefits that can be directly quantified and measured. These
might include increased revenue, cost savings, or increased efficiency. Intangible benefits are
 the non-financial benefits that cannot be directly quantified, but are still important to consider.
These might include increased customer satisfaction, improved employee morale, or increased
market share.
 Total cost of ownership (TCO) is the long-term financial cost of a project, including both the
initial cost of development and the ongoing maintenance and support costs. It is important to
consider TCO in economic feasibility analysis because it gives a more complete picture of the
financial impact of a project.
 Net present value (NPV) is another tool that can be used to determine economic feasibility. It is
a financial calculation that estimates the value of a project by comparing the present value of
the cash inflows (benefits) to the present value of the cash outflows (costs). A positive NPV
indicates that the project is expected to generate more value than it will cost, while a negative
NPV indicates the opposite.

By considering these and other factors, organizations can assess the economic feasibility of a project and
determine whether it is worth pursuing.

3. Organizational feasibility: Will people use the system? This assesses whether a project will be
accepted and used by the target audience.

What is organizational feasibility?

 Organizational feasibility is a dimension of feasibility analysis that assesses whether or not an

organization is ready for a new or improved system or process.

What does it involve?

 It involves considering whether there is support for the change from both top management and
users, and identifying any groups that may resist the new system.

How can organizational feasibility be enhanced?

Enhancing organizational feasibility involves:

 Leveraging stakeholders, including the project champion, to promote the project and its benefits
 Building a coalition of supporters
 Addressing any potential objections or concerns
 Communicating effectively with all stakeholders throughout the project, including keeping them
informed of progress and addressing any issues that may arise
 Involving users in the design and testing of the system to increase their acceptance of the
system and ensure that it meets their needs
 Having a plan in place for training and supporting users after the system is implemented
Why is it important?

The feasibility analysis process is important because it helps to identify potential challenges and issues
before a project is fully committed to, allowing for informed decision-making about whether to move
forward with the project.

Activity:
2.5 Setting Feasibility

Objectives:

Quick Assessment:

Setting feasibility in Information Technology (IT) involves evaluating the practicality and viability of
implementing a particular IT system, project, or initiative within an organization.

What Is Technical Feasibility?

What is technical feasibility, can be described as the formal process of assessing whether it is technically
possible to manufacture a product or service. Before launching a new offering or taking up a client
project, it is essential to plan and prepare for every step of the operation. Technical feasibility helps
determine the efficacy of the proposed plan by analyzing the process, including tools, technology,
material, labour, and logistics. A technical feasibility study helps organizations determine whether they
have the technical resources to convert the idea into a fully functional and profitable working system. It
helps in troubleshooting the project before commencing work. The study identifies potential challenges
and uncovers ways to overcome them. It also helps in long-term planning, as it can serve as a flowchart
for how products and services evolve before they reach the market.

What Is The Purpose Of A Technical Feasibility Study?

A technical feasibility study helps find the answers to the following questions:

 Is it possible to develop the product with the available technology in the company?
 Is the organization equipped with the necessary technology for project completion?
 Are there technically strong employees who can deliver the product on time and within budget
using the available technology?
 Is there scope in the company's budget to add more technical resources?
 Is the available technology the right choice to help the product team save time and complete
development within budget?
 Does the client require specific technology, or is the client open to developing the product,
irrespective of the technology?

How To Conduct A Technical Feasibility Study?

Follow these steps to help you plan a technical feasibility study for your business project:

1. Conduct an initial analysis

The initial analysis (also known as preliminary analysis) helps decide whether the project is worth
undertaking from an economic and time perspective. A project is required to give financial returns and
conclude within a reasonable timeframe to make it feasible. The two main areas of preliminary analysis
include:
Project outline

Start by describing the project using the available details. The outline lists all the critical elements like
the target market, the expected goals and outcomes. It also analyses whether there are any available
products or services in the market that meet these goals and how the current project offers features or
benefits that are better and more efficient.

Technical and equipment accessibility

Evaluate if there are any barriers or factors that hinder profitability. Challenges in accessing raw
material, expensive capital, production costs that go over the projected revenues and lack of the right
technology are some of the critical factors that hinder project profitability. If the preliminary analysis
results show optimistic returns, you can proceed to the next step.

2. Calculate the estimated income

Work with the preliminary study results to predict the expected income that the product or service is
likely to generate when sold in the target market. Then calculate the overall cost of development. This
includes the expenses for manufacturing the product, along with paying any debts taken for production
and continuing regular business operations. If the projected income is more than the overall cost of
production, then you can proceed to the next step of the feasibility study.

3. Do a market survey

A market survey helps determine the realistic revenues the project is likely to earn. The market study
has to be in-depth and includes various steps like:

 Identifying the right market: It involves analyzing the demographic factors, the average
disposable income of the target market, cultural aspects of the audience and how these factors
determine the success of the product/service.
 Comparing similar offerings: Identify the pros and cons of each product on your list. Compare
pricing, quality, customer feedback, marketing strategies, and more to decide if your
product/service addresses a specific need that is missing in the market.
 Estimating the scope of expansion: Determine if the market offers expansion opportunities for
launching new products or services down the line. See if there is an opportunity to expand to
nearby markets based on the feedback from the survey respondents.

Based on the market survey results, you can decide whether the project is feasible to generate the
predicted revenues. If the survey results are positive, you can move on to the next step of the feasibility
study.

4. Prepare a business plan

A business plan explains the project in detail. It outlines the raw material requirements and the planned
product launch schedule and has a step-by-step plan on the expected costs at each step of the project
and how to manage them. The critical elements of the business plan include:

 Executive summary
  Organizational chart
 Materials, supplies and equipment
 SWOT analysis
 Labour costs
 Facility costs
 Overheads, including utilities, taxes, and insurance
 Marketing and merchandising costs

5. Build a day-one project balance sheet

The day-one project balance sheet lists the liabilities and assets of the project on launch day before it
starts generating revenue. Make sure to include the following:

 assets like the project's initial capital investment, land, building and equipment
 liabilities like rent, loan repayments and margins for receivables

6. Review the data and decide

In this step, you compare the data you compiled in the previous steps to determine if the project is still
feasible. The review provides a clear picture of the overall risks and costs. It helps decide whether it is
technically feasible to commence work on the project. Here are three questions to ask during the final
review stage:

 Does the feasibility study determine whether the project guarantees the minimum expected
ROI?
 Do the potential rewards (income, market share, scope of growth) outbalance the risks
(monetary investment, energy, time)?
 Does this project have growth potential?

If the answer is 'yes' to all three questions, you can arrive at the conclusion that the project is technically
feasible and economically justifiable.

What To Include In A Technical Feasibility Study Report?

Once you complete the feasibility study, it is common to present a detailed report to your manager,
senior leaders or clients. If you are responsible for writing a technical feasibility report, include the
following information in it:

The scope of the project

The report establishes the scope of the project and its objectives. A well-defined scope is critical to
verify the accuracy of the feasibility study. Also, identify the parts of the business that directly or
indirectly affect the current project.

The technical requirements of the project

The next step includes all the technical requirements to achieve the project's objectives. Start by listing
all available resources, including personnel and equipment. Then, list any additional resources that the
team has to procure to complete the project as per the schedule and within budget.
The project approach

Develop an outline of the planned approach to tackle the project. This involves the recommended
course of action to achieve the objectives of the project. It is good practice to include more than one
approach so that the stakeholders can choose the most viable option.

Evaluation

In this step, assess the cost-effectiveness of the different approaches. You are also required to provide
an estimate of the project's total cost and compare it with the expected revenues. Additionally, you can
highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.

Final review

The final step of the feasibility study is to provide a formal review of the various elements completed
until now. The assessment helps the stakeholders arrive at a final decision about whether it is technically
feasible and economically justifiable to proceed with the plan.

Best Practices For Conducting A Technical Feasibility Study

Here are some points to remember while writing a detailed feasibility report:

 Use the available tools and templates to help you collate and gather accurate information.
 Gather feedback and suggestions from all stakeholders, including clients, product designers,
developers and other team members.
 Ask technical questions to the core team members to investigate and get reliable data.
 If possible, outsource the market survey to a market research team with experience and
expertise in the field.
 Break the study into different parts and evaluate the information you collect separately in each
stage.
 Collate the feedback from each stage and develop the final review without any bias.

Activity:
2.6 Preliminary Investigation Overview

Objectives:

Quick Assessment:

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

Preliminary investigation is the first phase. In this phase, the system is investigated. The objective of this
phase is to conduct an initial analysis and findings of the system.

The preliminary investigation occurs within a short period ranging from a few hours to a few days and
should not exceed two to three days. The purpose of the preliminary investigation is to determine
whether the problem or deficiency in the current system really exists. The project team may reexamine
some of the feasibility aspects of the project. At this point, the purpose is to make a “go” or “no-go”
decision. The end result is a decision to proceed further or to abandon the project.

Initial Investigation
This is a user's request to change, improve or enhance an existing system. The objective is to determine
whether the request is valid or feasible before a recommendation is reached to do nothing, improve or
modify the existing system, or build a new one.

Activity:
REFERENCES:

https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/strategic-planning

https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/what-is-project-management/what-is-a-business-case/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-analysis-lesson-1-system-request-mark-moore/

https://www.cs.clemson.edu/course/cpsc420/material/Evaluation/Goals.pdf

https://www.slideshare.net/fajarbaskoro/systems-request

https://in.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-technical-feasibility

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/accounting-information-systems/9781118162309/c06-
8.html#:~:text=The%20purpose%20of%20the%20preliminary,%E2%80%9Cno%2Dgo%E2%80%9D
%20decision.