SADM 6/ed Case Study 1 CRS Milestone 1: Solution

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MILESTONE 1 SCOPE DEFINITION SOLUTION

Request for System Services
The students should have identified several problems and may have presented them in list format.
Some may provide general descriptions of problems while others may go to the extra effort of
giving concrete examples. The sample RSS provided here represents a general description. Some
students may have given more specific descriptions such as those found in the first column of the
problem statement matrix.
You might stress to the students that often user expectations are simply stated in terms of a new
system that works! But some users have very specific ideas or expectations of what software and
technologies will be used. The important thing is that the systems analyst simply listen to
understand the users envisioned new system, without commenting, however ridiculous or
premature it might seem at the time.
Problem Statement Matrix
Students should try to identify problems and also opportunities that were mentioned in the
narrative. It is possible they might have identified different ones and have stated completely
different values for each of the cells. There is more than one right answer in systems analysis.
There is also more than one wrong answer. Students should be able to defend their answers with
specific statements from the case study exhibits. In this milestone enough information was
provided to be able to quantify some but not all annual benefits. The form that follows illustrates
one possible solution.
Stress to the students that this matrix is a living document. As the project moves through the life
cycle, more facts are obtained and knowledge of the systems problems, opportunities, scope, and
other issues grows and can be refined.

Prepared by Gary B. Randolph for

Systems Analysis & Design Methods 6ed
by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman

Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2004

SADM 6/ed Case Study 1 CRS Milestone 1: Solution

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932 North Beach Rd Destin, FL 32541 866.555.3254

DATE OF REQUEST

SERVICE REQUESTED FOR ORGANIZATION

03/15/2004
SUBMITTED BY (key user contact)
Name
Anna Kelly
Title
Analyst/ Programmer

Office
Phone

ext. 14

Coastline Systems Consulting

EXECUTIVE SPONSOR (funding authority)
Name
Peter Charles
Title
President

Office
Phone

ext. 5

TYPE OF SERVICE REQUESTED:

Information Strategy Planning

Existing Application Enhancement
Business Process Analysis and Redesign
Existing Application Maintenance (problem fix)
Not Sure
New Application Development
Other (please specify ________________________________________________________

BRIEF STATEMENT OF PROBLEM, OPPORTUNITY, OR DIRECTIVE (attach additional

documentation as necessary)

The current practices for responding to and tracking customer requests are not working well.
User requests for service can get lost in the shuffle of other demands. Technicians going out
to handle the service calls often face incomplete information. The current in-house
configuration record of PCs and components is not working well either. The time and billing
records that are currently being maintained are not integrated with customer requests to
provide any management information beyond billing. The proposal has an opportunity to
provide better service to users along with reduced costs and better information to both IT
personnel and management.

BRIEF STATEMENT OF EXPECTED SOLUTION

The proposed Customer Response System will automate the customer response processes
and integrate it with time and billing records. The system will automatically pass requests on
to the appropriate technician. The system will also maintain a service history for and track
components installed in each PC serviced by Coastline staff. The system will be accessible
over the Internet, allowing customers to submit their own requests and technicians to update
the system while in the field. The system will also provide better management reporting
including average days to resolve problems and other statistics to be used for continuous
improvement.

ACTION (IT Office Use Only)

Feasibility assessment approved
Feasibility assessment waived
Request delayed
Request rejected
Authorized Signatures:
______________________________
Prepared by Gary B. Randolph for
Systems Analysis & Design Methods 6ed
by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman

Assigned to Anna Kelly_______

Approved Budget $ ___________
Start Date __ASAP___ Deadline _6 months__
Backlogged until date: ______________
Reason: ______________________________
__________Peter Charles______________
Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2004

SADM 5/ed Case Study 4 IT Tracker Milestone 1: Solution

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PROBLEM STATEMENTS
PROJECT:

Customer Response System

PROJECT MANAGER:

Peter Charles

CREATED BY:

Anna Kelly

LAST UPDATED BY:

Anna Kelly

DATE LAST UPDATED:

03/15/2004

DATE CREATED: 03/15/2004

Brief Statements of Problem,
Opportunity, or Directive

Urgency

Visibility

Annual
Benefits

Priority or
Rank

Proposed
Solution

1. The current system does not provide

good service to users who submit
service requests. Its lack of automation
slows turnaround, leads to extra trips,
causes confusion, and contributes to
customer dissatisfaction.

6 months

High

Unknown

New Development

2. The current system does not accurately

track installed components, leading to
wasted and non-billable extra trips to
the customers place of business.

6 months

Medium

$3900
(1 trip/wk
@ $75)

New Development

3. The proposed system would provide an

opportunity to calculate service
statistics for continuous improvement.

6 months

Medium

Unknown

New Development

4. The proposed system would integrate

time-and-billing records with the
service records, so only one set of
entries will need to be maintained and
totals can be calculated for the separate
accounting system.

6 months

Medium

$1300
($25/wk)

New Development

Prepared by Gary B. Randolph for

Systems Analysis & Design Methods 6ed
by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman

Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2004