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Advanced Higher Computing Based on Heriot-Watt University Scholar Materials

Advanced Higher Computing Based on Heriot-Watt University Scholar Materials. Feasibility Study. Lesson Objectives. Feasibility Study – Economic, Legal, Technical and Time. Feasibility Study.

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Advanced Higher Computing Based on Heriot-Watt University Scholar Materials

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  1. Advanced Higher ComputingBased on Heriot-Watt University Scholar Materials Feasibility Study Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  2. Lesson Objectives Feasibility Study – Economic, Legal, Technical and Time Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  3. Feasibility Study In the real world, a software development project of any significant complexity can take many years to complete. The basic purpose of a feasibility study is to determine whether the objectives of the problem definition (as defined in the project proposal) can be achieved – within the time and financial constraints (clients can sometimes be totally unrealistic about what can be done in a given time and to a given budget). Feasibility Study Number of possible solutions Client decides whether to proceed or not with the project At this stage, the feasibility study will be a short, cost-effective investigation. There is nothing legally binding between the developer and the client. The feasibility report only details possible solutions with no contractual obligation on the client to proceed. Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  4. Who carries out the Feasibility Study? It is not the same for all organisations. In some cases, a group of people will evaluate new systems (made up of management personnel, systems analysts and other employees). Usually, it will be the role of a Project Leader within a software development company. The Project Leader will be a very experienced and highly technical person, who will have led the development and installation of large-scale software systems. Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  5. Criteria of a Feasibility Study There are four criteria that should be investigated and reported in a feasibility study. These are: Schedule Technical Legal Economic Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  6. Technical What technologies are available to support the proposed project? Does client already have these resources or will they need to acquire them? Will the technology operate in the client environment or will changes be necessary? Will staff of the client need to be trained in the technology – service contract, warranties, help desks? Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  7. Economic Every project that will have real and potential risk, costs and benefits. Many of these can be stated in pound sterling (£) terms. Example: A business is installing a new backup system COST Buying hardware will cost £1,200. Buying service support will cost £10 per week or £520 per year. Profit on increased production using the new technology will be £20 per week or £1,040 per year. BENEFIT The benefit of this is the re-deployment of 1 staff member (£32,000 per year). The benefit of the backup system is the prevention of the business losing all its data and facing subsequent issues. Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  8. Economic Simple Cost-Benefit Analysis For instance, say we have a project that costs £2,000 up front and £200 per month thereafter. The same project returns £500 per month in sales profit. We might prepare our simple Cost Benefit Analysis as follows: We need to find the break-even point. This is the point at which the benefits begin to outweigh the costs. Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  9. Economic Break-even point Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  10. Economic Tangible (measurable) benefits 1. Reduced running costs 2. Increased operational speed 3. Increased throughput of work 4. Better reporting procedures What cannot easily be measured is how the new technology affects staff morale (good or ill). This needs to be managed by client personnel policies. Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  11. Legal Health and Safety Issues Data Protection Act Software Licensing Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  12. Schedule How long will the proposed system take to develop? Will it be ready within the specified time - frame? When is the best time to install? The Gantt Chart Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  13. Schedule The PERT Chart PERT chart for a project with five milestones (10 through 50) and six activities (A through F). The project has two critical paths: activities B and C, or A, D, and F - giving a minimum project time of 7 months with fast tracking. Activity E is sub-critical, and has a float of 2 months. Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

  14. Activities • Answer Review questions 4-8 on page 14 of the Scholar booklet • Homework – Read pages 10-14 of Scholar booklet and begin to prepare your own summary notes – you may wish to copy some of the text and tables from the Scholar website Alford Academy Business Education and Computing

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