Ch 13.1 Planning for and Justifying IT appl

Question 1

do both small and large orgs have formal processes for justifying IT apps?

Answer 1

usually only large ones do, but these processes create a lot of value

Question 2

What is the applicaion portfolio

Answer 2

list of both existing IT apps, and the potential IT apps

organized in order of priority

Question 3

Steps in IT Planning

Answer 3

1) analyze org strategic plan
2) analyze current IT architecture
3) create IS strategic plan
4) find new IT architecture
5) create IS operational plan
6) create IS development projects

Question 4

what is the org strategic plan

Answer 4

identifies the firms mission and goals, and broad steps needed to reach goals

Question 5

what is the IT architecture

Answer 5

the structure of IT in an org that is used to accomplishh the goals

(technical aspects and managerial aspects of IS)

Question 6

What are the technical aspects of IT architecture

Answer 6

hardware and operating systems, networking, dms, app software

Question 7

what are the managerial aspects of the IT architecture

Answer 7

how how the functional area managers invollved, how IT dept will be managed, and how IT decisions will be made

Question 8

what is the IT strategic plan

Answer 8

long term goals that describe IT infrastructure, and major IT initatives eeded to achieve goals

Question 9

3 objectives of IT strategic plan

Answer 9

1)must be aligned w/ org strategic plan !!
2) provide IT architecture that blends with users, apps, databases
3) must efficiently allocate IS resources among competing projects (mindful of budget and time)

Question 10

why is it improtant to consider existing IT architecture in the IT strategic plan?

Answer 10

constrains future development (the past matters) however it can be changed!

Question 11

what is the IT steering committee

Answer 11

group of managers/staff represnting Functional areas establish IT goals TOGETHER!!

power rangers of the business who help guide IT dev

Question 12

What is the IS operational plan (6 things total)

Answer 12

-clear set of projects IS dept will execture

-has a Mission (from IT strategy)
-has IS environment (summary of info needs of individual FAs)
-Objectives of IS function (estimating the goals of IS)
-Constraints on the IS function (Tech,financial, personnel, etc)
-Application portfolio (prioritized inventory of present apps and a detailed plan of projects to be developed)
-resource allocation and Project management (who is going to do what how and when)

Question 13

which step of IS planning process do the IT steering committee work?

Answer 13

the New Info tech architecture stage

Question 14

What does a company do after they developp their IT plan?

Answer 14

cost benefit analysis

Question 15

types of costs in IT project

Answer 15

fixed cost
-maintenace costs

Question 16

what are fixed costs in IT projects

Answer 16

-infrsatrcutre costs associated w services
(eX: salary of IT director, adding one more IT app will not change it)

Question 17

does IT have maintenace costs?

Answer 17

yes! debugging, improving, updating

Question 18

example of a time where unanticipated IT costs rose

Answer 18

Y2K!! computers were programmed w 19XX in their systems and it was expensive to change it

Question 19

Benefits of IT projects

Answer 19

-intagible benefits

Question 20

more complicated to calculate Costs or benefits of it?

Answer 20

BENEFITS! because for tech to have benefits it needs to be implemented on time, in budget, and properly

Question 21

how do companies assess the benefits of IT

Answer 21

implement it at certain locations (NOT ALL) then compare the results

Question 22

4 ways to conduct cost benefit analysis

Answer 22

1) net present value
2) return on investment
3) breakeven analysis
4) business case approach

Question 23

How to use the NPV method for cost benefit analyssis

Answer 23

convert future values of benefits to their present-value equivalent by “discounting” them at the organization’s cost of funds. They can then compare the present value of the future benefits with the cost required to achieve those benefits to determine whether the benefits exceed the costs.

Question 24

How to use the ROI method for cost benefit analyssis

Answer 24

-measures how much profit the management earned w/ assets

-ROI= net income generated by a project/ average assets invested in projext

Question 25

do you want a higher ROI?

Answer 25

DUH

Question 26

How to use the breakeven analysis method for cost benefit analyssis

Answer 26

determines the point at which the cumulative dollar value of the benefits from a project equals the investment made in the project.

Question 27

how to use the business case approach to cost benefit analysis

Answer 27

system developers write a business case to justify funding one or more specific applications or projects. IS professionals will be a major source of input when business cases are developed because these cases describe what you do, how you do it, and how a new system could better support you