Planning, Continued

After the Identification of the CIS Management Team, the next steps in planning are the following:

b.)    Definition of the Problem

c.)     Feasibility Study

d.)    Environmental Assessment

e.)    Development of a Project Timeline

f.)     Giving of Recommendations

g.)    Documentation and Negotiation of a Project Scope Agreement

h.)    Allocation of Resources

Writing plans. On a laptop. Literally.

Definition of the problem includes statements of the problem identified in the institution requiring CIS development or utilization. It also includes key goals after the project implementation, and evaluation techniques.

If upgrading a system, it may also include the identification of equipment available, age, degree of amortization, and the need for upgrades.

Feasibility Study meanwhile tackles on weighing Benefits and Products vs. Risks and Issues. It is a preliminary analysis to determine if the proposed problem can be solved by the implementation of CIS, with identified objectives and varying issues that may be legal, operational, or technical in nature.

The Environmental Assessment answers the question whether the proposed project is in line with organizational mission-vision and plans. It determines the information needs of the intended or existing users, as well as specifying the scope of the project or limitations.

In Development of a Project Timeline, a timeline is made to show the key milestone events of the project and is somewhat similar to an action plan. In the development of a CIS, the Project Timeline will provide as a guideline.

Giving of Recommendations is the part in planning where endorsements, sanctions and approvals for the CIS are given, taken into consideration and acted upon.

After this involves the Documentation and Negotiation of a Project Scope Agreement. A project scope agreement is drafted by the project team and submitted to the project’s steering committee for acceptance.

Lastly, in Allocation of Resources, the resources are considered, which includes: staffing workload, human resources, present cost of operation and relationship of implementation events with non-project events such as training costs, space availability and current and anticipated equipment requirements.