Developing a System Proposal 10/7/19, 8)42 PM

Developing a System Proposal 10/7/19, 8)42 PM
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Developing a System Proposal
This course has taken you from analyzing a business strategy to iden!fying opportuni!es for strategic
advantages and ways to increase the organiza!on’s compe!!ve posi!on; iden!fying process improvement
opportuni!es where a technology solu!on can increase efficiency and effec!veness; defining stakeholder
system requirements; evalua!ng solu!ons, and steps to effec!vely implemen!ng an IT solu!on.
This is a lot of informa!on, and o$en the role of a business analyst is to create or help create a proposal or
presenta!on to inform key stakeholders of the findings above and “sell” the poten!al solu!on. Presen!ng
the informa!on in a clear, logical sequence to your audience is important.
Different organiza!ons use their own formats and components in system proposals, but there are several
common areas that a business analyst will address:
1. Strategic Analysis—What are the key strategic goals and objec!ves of the organiza!on, and what is
the current business problem or opportunity being addressed? How might a technology solu!on help
the organiza!on achieve its strategy and where can a technology solu!on help?
2. Process Analysis—A process is a series of steps to perform a task. Many organiza!onal processes can
be very complex and include many sub-processes and steps. It is important to know what work needs
to be done, how it is currently being done, where opportuni!es for improvements exist, and how
technology can support the improved process.
3. Requirements—The requirements iden!fica!on is cri!cal to defining exactly what key stakeholders
need the system to do; what tasks they expect the system to complete or support; what overall
performance is required and what processes need improvement; how a technology solu!on can help
achieve the organiza!onal strategy and improve processes; and what specific requirements the system
needs to meet based on stakeholder informa!on. Defining these requirements enables poten!al
solu!ons to be clearly evaluated to ascertain whether they will fulfill the organiza!on’s needs.
4. Solu!on Building—A cri!cal part of any proposals is iden!fying the specific system that will effec!vely
support and/or improve the business process and clearly meet the stated user and system
performance requirements. This may include “build vs. buy” analysis to determine whether the best
solu!on should be developed internally or purchased as a COTS or SaaS solu!on. An organiza!on’s IT
Plan and architecture may help inform those decisions. Also the degree of specialty of the so$ware is
Learning Resource
Developing a System Proposal 10/7/19, 8)42 PM
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a factor: Is this a common business process used by mul!ple companies, such as Human Resources,
Logis!cs, Accoun!ng and Finance, or something very unique to the organiza!on that may not be
commercially available? Some!mes, alterna!ve solu!ons may be presented along with the pros and
cons of each op!on.
5. Implementa!on Planning—Equally important to iden!fying the best fit solu!on is implementa!on
planning. What has to happen (how and when) to help ensure a successful installa!on of the
technology solu!on? What suppor!ng ac!vi!es are required to ensure users are prepared to be
successful using the new system including communica!on, training, and ongoing support? The data to
be migrated to the new system must be iden!fied and any data integrity or compa!bility issues noted.
Also it is important to ensure appropriate maintenance and technical support are in place: Is the IT
staff trained to provide Help Desk Support? Do users have a point of contact for issues? Should a
website be established with frequently asked ques!ons (FAQs) to help users especially in the early
days of implementa!on?
Without ge%ng into the details of wri!ng the proposal, understand it is important to convey the
informa!on clearly and concisely. At this point, significant work has been done to iden!fy the informa!on
above, and you want to present it as effec!vely as possible. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Iden!fy if there is a specific format or template that the organiza!on uses.
Is there a preference for a wri&en report, oral presenta!on, PowerPoint slides, etc.?
Who is your audience and what informa!on do they already know?
What is the key informa!on that you need your audience to pay a&en!on to?
Iden!fy specific next steps to keep the ini!a!ve moving forward.
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