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10. Evaluation of the feasibility of an IT project

Lecture




10.1. Transition to the evaluation stage

As is known, the cost of correcting errors due to inaccuracies, including in project planning, is tens of times higher than the cost of preparing detailed, agreed and verified project plans. The completion of the planning stage is recommended only after the project has been verified in accordance with the table below. 10.1 points [8].

Table 10.1. Checklist for planning phase

Aspect

Indicators

Project participants

  • The goal of the project is clearly formulated by the [sponsor] before the project team and is reflected in the key documents of the project: the charter, a description of the content.
  • The project team understood and accepted the purpose of the project.
  • Members of the project team understand how the project being implemented is related to the core business and strategy of the customer’s company.
  • Each member of the project team has a clear idea of ​​their role and place in the project.
  • Subcontractors and employees working less than 100% of their working time understand their contribution to the project and agreed to work in accordance with the developed rules.
  • Heads of functional units who assign employees to participate in a project are aware of the project tasks facing their subordinates and are ready to assist their employees throughout the project.
  • Representatives of the client are taken into account in the communication plan of the project and have accepted the condition of holding regular informational meetings on the status and other issues of the project.

Project Processes and Procedures

  • The project management plan contains a baseline schedule and a baseline cost plan for the project.
  • The project management plan contains information on all project work, those responsible for this work and is available to all members of the project team.
  • There is a procedure for tracking the execution of the project schedule for each member of the project team.
  • Integrated change management process implemented.
  • Implemented risk logging procedure. The risk log itself is available to all members of the project team
  • The configuration management plan for the project precisely defines the location of all project documentation, the abbreviations used and the names adopted, and also provides for the procedure for controlling the versioning of documents.
  • The company's management is satisfied with the proposed format of project reports and the established frequency of their submission.
  • The schedule for conducting project reporting meetings with the participation of all project team members was established and agreed.

The project team

  • The teams set the basic rules of behavior in the project: internal ethics, appeal to colleagues, dress code.
  • Each team member clearly knows their responsibilities and authorities, as well as the responsibilities and authorities of their closest colleagues in the project.
  • Each member of the project team has an idea of ​​the professional and project experience of their colleagues in the project.
  • In the basic schedule and the basic plan for the cost of the project, resources are allocated for carrying out team building activities and establishing internal communications for the project.

At the "Assessment" stage of the "Project Planning" life cycle of the IP center, it is necessary to assess the feasibility of the project in order to decide on the further development of the project, taking into account the existing restrictions, allocated and confirmed resources. At the same time, the feasibility study should not be confused with the feasibility study of a project, or a business case. Unlike a business case, the feasibility assessment is aimed at identifying the factors that determine whether an IT project will be successful or is doomed to failure; Thus, the assessment of feasibility is the basis for the further development of the project. The feasibility study , often referred to in the English literature as a feasibility study , has a certain cost and requires additional resources, but investing these resources can protect companies from wasting time and resources on obviously impracticable projects.

Assessment of feasibility is aimed at analyzing all aspects of an IT project that can significantly affect its success or failure, and based on the results of the analysis, an assessment of the prospects for the implementation of this project is given. Below we turn to the consideration of the feasibility assessment aspects of the project .

10.2. Analysis of the attainability of the planned business benefits

This analysis is designed to answer the question of whether and how the expected benefits specified in the feasibility study of the project will be realized. At the same time, for their implementation, it is always necessary to involve the top and middle management of the company among the project supporters, since practice shows (see critical success factors) that without the participation of middle and top managers, the project of introducing IP is usually unsuccessful. In order to structure the results of the research carried out based on the results of the benefit analysis, it is recommended to use the following template (see Table 10.2), which makes it possible to comprehensively document information about each of the benefits.

Table 10.2. Form analysis of the feasibility study

Functional area / Process / Subprocess

Driver for ROI model

Impact factor as a result of project implementation and business process reorganization

Impact assessment

Implementation period

Gap analysis

The functional and technical requirements should be correlated with the functional and technical characteristics of the system being implemented. It can be used to demonstrate the possibility of using a specific product that provides the required functionality. As a tool for the implementation of the designated goal, you can also use the "quality house" described in the section on the formation of project requirements.

10.3. Evaluation of the feasibility of the project schedule

This assessment is designed to answer the question whether the proposed project time frame is realistic and achievable.

To assess the feasibility of the project schedule, it is recommended to use the method of analyzing possible scenarios and leveling resources.

  10. Evaluation of the feasibility of an IT project
Fig. 10.1. Resource Alignment Uses Example (Excess Resource Availability)

  10. Evaluation of the feasibility of an IT project
Fig. 10.2. Example of using resource alignment (resources optimized)

The analysis of possible scenarios is an assessment method based on the consideration of questions like "What happens if the situation evolves according to scenario X?". In this case, an analysis of the network of the schedule is performed, in which various scenarios are calculated using the schedule model (for example, a delivery delay or an increase in the duration of individual operations) or the effect of unforeseen external factors is simulated. Thus, the results of the analysis of possible scenarios can be used to assess the feasibility of the schedule under adverse conditions and to draw up contingency plans.

Resource leveling is a schedule network analysis method that is applied to the schedule model analyzed by the critical path method [20]. Resource leveling is used to identify planned operations that need to be performed in order to meet deadlines. Alignment of resources is conveniently carried out using computer scheduling programs using resource histograms (see. Fig. 10.1,10.2). The histogram of resources is created on a split screen — a Gantt chart is displayed at the top, which shows operations using the resources represented in the bottom of the screen as a bar chart. Charts use the same time scale.

10.4. Assessment of the availability and load of human resources

It is necessary to make an accurate assessment of resources, as well as draw up a schedule for their need. The results of the analysis should give an idea of ​​whether the company is able to provide all the necessary resources with the necessary level of competence.

Table 10.3. Sample calendar and resource plan

Team

Works

Weeks

one

2

3

four

Phases

Phase1

Phase 2

Project Manager

Task 1

6

five

1.0

Total days RM

b

Solution Architect / Consultant Expert (K5)

Task 1

five

five

Task2

ten

five

five

Total expert days

15

five

five

five

Senior Consultant for RA, OM, RT, PY (K3)

Task 1

3

four

five

five

Total days

3

four

five

five

To indicate the availability of resources, a period of time is documented for each member of the project team to participate in the project. Information on the availability of resources is necessary to adjust the project schedule taking into account vacations and obligations for other projects.

Based on well-defined requirements and identification of each team member, a typical resource plan is developed.

A typical resource plan includes a list of activities - tasks to be performed during the project, the number and levels of team members, distributed by deadlines and dates, as well as typical project phases (see. Table 10.3). The plan also indicates the employment of each resource in the project.

In the presented example of the calendar and resource plan, employment can be calculated taking into account the fact that the same manager can participate in several projects simultaneously. The percentage of employment in a typical project plan is indicated as the actual number of days per week allocated to this project.

The calendar and resource plan also reflects information about the release of employees, which allows to timely exclude payments to employees who have already completed the project, and thereby reduce project costs and provide information on the availability of a free resource. An example of a completed calendar and resource plan for an IP implementation project is given in Table. 10.4.

Table 10.4. Example of filling the calendar and resource plan

Team

Works

Phases

Training

Survey

Design

Implementation

Testing

Preparation for operation

of the week

one

2

3

four

five

6

7

eight

9

ten

eleven

12

13

14

15

sixteen

17

18

nineteen

20

21

Project Manager

Project management

11.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

Total days RM

11.0

Solution Architect / Consultant Expert (K5)

Work planning

5.0

5.0

Survey

30.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

Total days by expert

35.0

Senior Consultant FH OM , RT, PY (K3)

Conceptual writing

35.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

Coordination of the conceptual project

0.0

System Setup

25.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

Preparation of test scripts

5.0

5.0

Preparing the system for testing

5.0

5.0

Testing with users

5.0

5.0

Removing remarks from testing results

0.0

Preparation of training materials

0.0

User training

0.0

Loading historical data

5.0

5.0

Counseling

6.0

2.0

2.0

2.0

Total senior consultant days

86.0

Consultant PY, RT (K2)

Conceptual writing

25.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

System Setup

25.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

Preparation of mechanisms for loading historical data

5.0

5.0

Preparing the system for testing

5.0

5.0

Testing with users

5.0

5.0

Removing remarks from testing results

0.0

Preparation of training materials

0.0

User training

0.0

Loading historical data

5.0

5.0

Counseling

6.0

2.0

2.0

2.0

Total consultant days

76.0

Developer (K4)

Reporting implementation

45.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

Total developer days

45.0

TOTAL

Days

253.0

10.5. Organizational readiness assessment

This type of assessment should take into account the financial history of the company and the experience of implementing similar projects. In addition, the culture of the organization and its level of maturity are extremely important. As a tool for assessing organizational maturity, it is possible to use the following diagnostic approach [5], which considers organizational readiness in the context of 5 perspectives (see Table 10.5).

Table 10.5. Project organizational readiness assessment template

No

Perspective

Components

Compliance (%)

one.

Clearly formulated vision of the project

Having a clear and consistent view of all project participants about:

business causes of the project goals and objectives of the project

Benefits and benefits for the whole company and for each participant individually

impact on everyday work practices

2

Willing to go to the end

The attitude of the company's management and the project, as well as its participants to the project, in terms of their readiness:

complete the project

participate in design work

in the required amount

continuously maintain progress

project results

be guided by the planned

business result

3

Leadership and management

Effective leadership aimed at achieving the objectives of the project, with the following characteristics:

interest in a senior management project

interest in a mid-level management project

clear separation of powers and responsibilities

availability of effective conflict resolution procedures

four.

Skills and competencies

Realization by all project participants of the need to acquire new skills for working with the technologies and business processes being introduced:

awareness of upcoming intensive trainings and training

awareness and readiness for the upcoming changes in processes and job responsibilities

readiness of project participants to expand technical skills

the willingness of project participants to expand their range of communication and presentation skills

five.

Communications

Organization of effective project communication for transmitting complete information through the correct channels that meets the following requirements:

ensuring the necessary level of quality of the information provided

correct functioning of channels and methods of communication

availability of feedback mechanisms

support the ability to accurately assess the quality of the implemented communication process

In conclusion of the consideration of this section, it is necessary to note that the result of the feasibility assessment process rarely becomes a clear statement or an unequivocal rejection of the project. The company's management should comprehensively review the results obtained and only on this basis make the final decision [8].


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software project management

Terms: software project management