The planning phase involves establishing a high-level plan of the intended project and determining project goals. Remember that once a project is identified, the first steps involve assigning a project manager and developing a project charter, then guiding the project and initiating the project planning phase.
Planning is the first and most critical phase of any systems development effort an organization undertakes, regardless of whether the effort is to develop a system that allows customers to order products over the Internet, determine the best logistical structure for warehouses around the world, or develop a strategic information alliance with another organization. Organizations must carefully plan the activities (and determine why they are necessary) to be successful. The three primary activities involved in the planning phase are:
1. Identify and select the system for development.
2. Assess project feasibility.
3. Develop the project plan.
1. Identify and Select the System for Development
Systems are successful only when they solve the right problem or take advantage of the right opportunity. Systems development focuses on either solving a problem or taking advantage of an opportunity. Determining which systems are required to support the strategic goals of an organization is one of the primary activities performed during the planning phase. Typically, employees generate proposals to build new information systems when they are having a difficult time performing their jobs. Unfortunately, most organizations have limited resources and cannot afford to develop all proposed information systems. Therefore, they look to critical success factors to help determine which systems to build. Determining which systems are required to support the strategic goals of an organization is one of the primary activities performed during the planning phase. Typically, employees generate proposals to build new information systems when they are having a difficult time performing their jobs.
Unfortunately, most organizations have limited resources and cannot afford to develop all proposed information systems. Therefore, they look to critical success factors to help determine which systems to build. A critical success factor (CSF) is a factor that is critical to an organization’s success. To determine which system to develop, an organization tracks all the proposed systems and prioritizes them by business impact or critical success factors. This allows the business to prioritize which problems require immediate attention and which problems can wait. Below figure displays possible evaluation criteria for determining which projects to develop.
2. Assess Project Feasibility
A feasibility study determines if the proposed solution is feasible and achievable from a financial, technical, and organizational standpoint. Typically, an organization will define several alternative solutions that it can pursue to solve a given problem. A feasibility study is used to determine if the proposed solution is achievable, given the organization’s resources and constraints in regard to technology, economics, organizational factors, and legal and ethical considerations. These are the different types of feasibility studies an organization can perform.
3. Develop the Project Plan
Developing a project plan is one of the final activities performed during the planning phase and it is one of the hardest and most important activities. The project plan is the guiding force behind on-time delivery of a complete and successful system. It logs and tracks every single activity performed during the project. If an activity is missed, or takes longer than expected to complete, the project plan must be updated to reflect these changes. Updating the project plan must be performed in every subsequent phase during the systems development effort.
