Systems Development: Investigation and Analysis - Principles of Information Systems - page 511

Initiating Systems Investigation
Because systems development requests can require considerable time and effort to implement,
many organizations have adopted a formal procedure for initiating systems development,
beginning with systems investigation. The systems request form is a document that is filled
out by someone who wants the IS department to initiate systems investigation. This form
typically includes the following information:
• Problems in or opportunities for the system
• Objectives of systems investigation
• Overview of the proposed system
• Expected costs and benefits of the proposed system
The information in the systems request form helps to rationalize and prioritize the activities
of the IS department. Based on the overall IS plan, the organization's needs and goals, and
the estimated value and priority of the proposed projects, managers make decisions regarding
the initiation of each systems investigation for such projects.

systems request form
A document filled out by someone
who wants the IS department to
initiate systems investigation.

Participants in Systems Investigation
After a decision has been made to initiate systems investigation, the first step is to determine
what members of the development team should participate in the investigation phase of the
project. Members of the development team change from phase to phase (see Figure 12.12).
The systems investigation team can be diverse, with members located around the world.
When Nokia decided to develop a new cell phone, its investigation team members were from
England, Finland, and the United States. 62 Cooperation and collaboration are keys to suc-
cessful investigation teams.

The Investigation
Team

Figure 12.12

Managers,
users, and
stakeholders

IS
personnel

The Systems Investigation Team
The team consists of upper- and
middle-level managers, a project
manager, IS personnel, users, and
stakeholders.

• Undertakes feasibility analysis
• Establishes systems development goals
• Selects systems development methodology
• Prepares systems investigation report

In some cases, the participants in systems investigation are asked to step into big problems
and fix them. When a new CIO at a major university was asked to investigate a security
breach, he was a little apprehensive. 63 “I was literally walking into a river of alligators, but
that's not always a bad thing. It can be a character building thing,” he said.
Ideally, functional managers are heavily involved during the investigation phase. Other
members could include users or stakeholders outside management, such as an employee who
helped initiate systems development. The technical and financial expertise of others partic-
ipating in investigation would help the team determine whether the problem is worth solving.
The members of the development team who participate in investigation are then responsible
for gathering and analyzing data, preparing a report justifying systems development, and
presenting the results to top-level managers.

feasibility analysis
Assessment of the technical,
economic, legal, operational, and
schedule feasibility of a project.

Feasibility Analysis
A key step of the systems investigation phase is feasibility analysis , which assesses technical,
economic, legal, operational, and schedule feasibility (see Figure 12.13). Technical feasibility
is concerned with whether the hardware, software, and other system components can be
acquired or developed to solve the problem.

technical feasibility
Assessment of whether the
hardware, software, and other
system components can be
acquired or developed to solve the
problem.