To study any system the analyst needs to do collect facts

and all relevant information, the facts when expressed in

quantitative form are termed as data. The success of any

project is depended upon the accuracy of available data.

Accurate information can be collected with help of certain

methods/ techniques. These specific methods for finding

information of the system are termed as fact finding

techniques. Interview, Questionnaire, Record View

and Observations are the different fact finding

techniques used by the analyst.

The analyst may use more than one technique for

investigation.

InterviewThis method is used to collect the information

from groups or individuals. Analyst selects the

people who are related with the system for the

interview. In this method the analyst sits face to

face with the people and records their responses.

The interviewer must plan in advance the type of

questions he/ she is going to ask and should be

ready to answer any type of question. He should

also choose a suitable place and time which will

be comfortable for the respondent.

Interview The information collected is quite accurate and reliable as

the interviewer can clear and cross check the doubts there

itself. This method also helps gap the areas of

misunderstandings and help to discuss about the future

problems. Structured and unstructured are the two sub

categories of Interview.

Structured interview is more formal interview where fixed

questions are asked and specific information is collected

whereas Unstructured interview is more or less like a

casual conversation where in-depth areas topics are

covered and other information apart from the topic may

also be obtained.

Questionnaire It is the technique used to extract information

from number of people.

This method can be adopted and used only by an

skillful analyst.

The Questionnaire consists of series of questions

framed together in logical manner. The questions

are simple, clear and to the point.

Questionnaire This method is very useful for attaining

information from people who are concerned with

the usage of the system and who are living in

different countries.

The questionnaire can be mailed or send to

people by post. This is the cheapest source of

fact finding.

Record View

The information related to the system is

published in the sources like newspapers,

magazines, journals, documents etc.

This record review helps the analyst to get

valuable information about the system and

the organization.

ObservationUnlike the other fact finding

techniques, in this method the

analyst himself visits the

organization and observes and

understand the flow of documents,

working of the existing system, the

users of the system etc.

Observation For this method to be adopted it takes

an analyst to perform this job as he

knows which points should be noticed

and highlighted.

In analyst may observe the unwanted

things as well and simply cause delay

in the development of the new system.

A feasibility study assesses the operational, technical and economicmerits of the proposed project

The feasibility study is intended to be a preliminary review of thefacts to see if it is worthy of proceeding to the analysis phase

From the systems analyst perspective, the feasibility analysis is theprimary tool for recommending whether to proceed to the nextphase or to discontinue the project

The feasibility study is a management-oriented activity. Theobjective of a feasibility study is to find out if an information systemproject can be done and to suggest possible alternative solutions.

Projects are initiated for two broad reasons:

1. Problems that lend themselves tosystems solutions

2.Opportunities for improving through:(a)Upgrading systems(b) Altering systems(c) Installing new systems

A feasibility study should provide management withenough information to decide:

· Whether the project can be done

· Whether the final product will benefit its intendedusers and organization

· What are the alternatives among which a solutionwill be chosen?

· Is there a preferred alternative?

A large part of determining resources has to dowith assessing technical feasibility.

It considers the technical requirements of theproposed project.

The technical requirements are then compared tothe technical capability of the organization. Thesystems project is considered technically feasible ifthe

.

The analyst must find out whether currenttechnical resources can be upgraded or added to ina manner that fulfills the request underconsideration.

This is where the expertise of system analysts isbeneficial, since using their own experience andtheir contact with vendors they will be able toanswer the question of technical feasibility.

The essential questions that help in testing thetechnical feasibility of a system include thefollowing:

Is the project feasible within the limits of current technology?

Does the technology exist at all? Is it available within given resource constraints? Is it a practical proposition? Manpower- programmers, testers & debuggers

Are the current technical resources sufficient for the new system?

Can they be upgraded to provide to provide the level of technologynecessary for the new system?

Do we possess the necessary technical expertise, and is theschedule reasonable?

Can the technology be easily applied to current problems?

Does the technology have the capacity to handle the solution?

Do we currently possess the necessary technology?

Economic analysis could also be referred to ascost/benefit analysis. It is the most frequently usedmethod for evaluating the effectiveness of a new system.

In economic analysis the procedure is to determine thebenefits and savings that are expected from a candidatesystem and compare them with costs.

If benefits outweigh costs, then the decision is madeto design and implement the system. AnEntrepreneur must accurately weigh the cost versusbenefits before taking an action.

Possible questions raised in economic analysis are:

Is the system cost effective?

Do benefits outweigh costs?

The cost of doing full system study

The cost of business employee time

Estimated cost of hardware

Estimated cost of software/software development

Is the project possible, given the resource constraints?

What are the savings that will result from the system?

If short-term costs are not overshadowed by long-termgains or produce no immediate reduction in operating

costs, then the system is not economically feasible,and the project should not proceed any further.

If the expected benefits equal or exceed costs, thesystem can be judged to be economically feasible.

Economic analysis is used for evaluating the effectivenessof the proposed system.

The economical feasibility will review the expected costs to see ifthey are in-line with the projected budget or if the project has anacceptable return on investment. At this point, the projected costswill only be a rough estimate.

The exact costs are not required to determine economic feasibility.It is only required to determine if it is feasible that the project costswill fall within the target budget or return on investment.

A rough estimate of the project schedule is required todetermine if it would be feasible to complete the systems projectwithin a required timeframe.

The required timeframe would need to be set by the organization.

Dependent on human resources available for theproject and involves projecting whether thesystem will be used if it is developed andimplemented.

It is also a measure of how well a proposedsystem solves the problems, and takes advantageof the opportunities identified during scopedefinition and how it satisfies the requirementsidentified in the requirements analysis phase ofsystem development.

Operational feasibility reviews the willingness of theorganization to support the proposed system.

In order to determine this feasibility, it is important tounderstand the management commitment to theproposed project.

If the request was initiated by management, it is likelythat there is management support and the system will beaccepted and used.

However, it is also important that the employee basewill be accepting of the change.

The essential questions that help in testing the operational feasibility of a systeminclude the following:

Does current mode of operation provide adequate throughput and responsetime?

Does current mode provide end users and managers with timely, pertinent,accurate and useful formatted information?

Does current mode of operation provide cost-effective information services tothe business?

Could there be a reduction in cost and or an increase in benefits?

Does current mode of operation offer effective controls to protect against fraudand to guarantee accuracy and security of data and information?

Does current mode of operation make maximumuse of available resources, including people, time,and flow of forms?

Does current mode of operation provide reliableservices

Are the services flexible and expandable?

Are the current work practices and proceduresadequate to support the new system?