Technical Feasibility In Software Engineering

Muhammed Cüce
Computer Engineering, Avcılar-Istanbul University

Abstract
When we look at today’s informatics world, companies are separated with deep lines from each other by sector. Because people life is full of various technologies. People are dependent on technology and technology is dependent on software. Hence, for creating new technologies or for improving existing systems, software has to be integrated into the system well. In software engineering technical feasibility analysis is the question that we can build the project or not. For a company, in technical feasiblity analysis, it is important that users’ and analysts’ familiarity with the business application area; familiarity with technology and the question it is used before; project size,it means number of people, time and features; compatibility with existing systems.
In this paper, the aim is to make detailed analysis and to present effectively basic line of technical feasibility which we meet at project management phase in software engineering. The technical feasibility, which is the first part of feasibility analysis, is essential for project initiation and with the help of this paper it is wanted to increase rate of succesful completed for projects.

Keywords:technical feasibility, software engineering, project management, feasibility analysis, project initiation


1 .Introduction

Technology improves quickly and competition increases, hence customers’ requirements change rapidly anymore and these change requirements have to be implemented quickly. [1] In beginning of the project it is impossible to determine customers’ requirements completely, so it is expected the software project we want to build must have properties that cost less and are changed less time. It is only possible with good feasibility analysis.

Especially little sources in developing countries have to be located to the projects which have good planning and control, this will be useful for countries and people in that countries. When we look at the projects which cost much than anticipated and not finish in anticipated time, it is understood that it is important to prepare the projects with scientific rules.

On the other hand, when we look at the projects which can not be finished in no way or not give desired results even if it is finished, project preparing phase’s importance can be understood. The economic, technical and financial analyses which are contained by feasibility, it is not to do in order and dependently but practical implementations show that progressive analysis provide big eases for projects. [2]

2. Feasibility Analysis

After doing necessary researches, if the project which is thought to build has worth to emphasize and to be desirable enough, project initiation phase is started. It is costly and difficult work to prepare absolute project. The feasibility is required less cost than absolute project and in the end of work it is obtained the decision to continue the project.

The feasibility works are used in all sectors which are about investment. For feasibility analysis, the purpose is to investigate the project if it is corresponded with desired purpose or to determine if the project implements or not. [4]

For the products or the projects, which pass the presection and are determined priority with regard to potential success degrees, it is necessary to make pre-feasibility working before starting the feasibility work.
1.Is it needed to make detailed feasibility work for projects or projects ideas?
2.If it is needed to make detailed feasibility work, which subjects(e.g. technology, costs etc. ) are required more detailed and careful research?
3. After determining content of feasibility work, we have to determine who and how feasibility is done and we have to determine estimated total cost. Because the feasibility work is required more researches and so it is costly to make people necessary working together. [3]
The difference between pre-feasibility working and real feasibility work is level of collected detailed datas.
It is wrong to think not to use feasibility work after project initiation. Every company must have target to develop, renew and increase. When it is time to develop, the feasibility work is needed again and with this feasibility work’s reports the companies can achieve new investment decisions.
The feasibility analyses have to bo done before absolute decision for investment and preparing implementation projects. It is not possible to succeed the project which is not based on feasibility analysis. If the feasibility analysis shows that it is not a profitable business, it is thought new business searches and this is a very normal situation. [5]

3. Technical Feasibility Analysis
Especially nowadays process and work flow are very dynamic and so work requirements in industrial IT systems change daily. The datas and functions for a project are unimportant or not enough with changing requirement. In this situation, the physical running of the company and data system with hardware and software are modified to supply new occurrences.
The purpose of technical feasibility analysis phase generally is to research project for technically. This phase also contains constant cost estimation to consider alternative technologies and chose the right one.

In general, even if this phase is weighted technical it is also very important economic dimension. Therefore technical feasibility is not only engineering work. In real feasibility work it is obliged to have engineer, but economic researches are also very important in base of technical feasibility.

Definitely if the project is not built technically the technologic resources are investigated again or quit the project. [3]
Technical feasibility is a work which is emphasized mark-free technical characteristics and it is grouped three part:

• Software Feasibility
• Hardware Feasibility
• Communication Feasibility

In Software feasibility, it is essential to emphasize software facts which are chosen to form the system and to determine technical characteristics of these software facts which are Operating System, Database Management System, Web Server and/or other server systems, Application Development Language, Application Development Platform, other additional support software tools. Mark-free alternatives of these software are also possible. It is chosen with respect to project needs. In this case it has to be defended logically why it is chosen.

Hardware feasibility has to be chosen in a way that software facts and application which is built by using software facts have to work successful and can be developed. To this end, for software tools which will be used for determining the right hardware, least system requirements (processor speed, RAM need, disc need etc.) are considered.
If the application contains communication, possible communication technologies and convenient software/tools are analyzed technically with “Communication Feasibility” by emphasizing technical characteristics. [7]

In software engineering, while technical feasibility is built for a project these four elements are very important:


3.1 Users’ and analysts’ familiarity with the business application area
The project is thought with users and employees. Harmony between this two entities and familiarity with project are very important.
Before feasibility work; discussions, conversations and works, which are done by considering abilities, interests, educations and work experiences, capital capacities of users, determine the which work we will build. This is a pre-decision for project.
Technical feasibility is performed between customers and supplier with collaboration. Sometimes needs of organization make technical difficulties. To prevent these, we have to pay attention following criterias:
• Low benefit from expected
• Invalid for top management
• Unreal project finish time
• Doubt in corresponding customers needs with product
• Need to work with other products
• Lack of ability of users
• Size of numbers and qualities of documents
• Legal delimitation
• Cost increase because of late or wrong products. [8]

3.2 Familiarity with technology: Have we used it before? How new is it?
Using new technologies is a step which companies have to do. Employees are also want this change. It is a good investment which can be useful in the future for work. But it has following risks:

• Being new product technology for company
• Needs of new algorithms and input/output technologies
• Using unpracticed hardware and interface
• Using new analysis, design, test methods
• Using different technics like maths methods or artificial intelligence
• Forces of extreme performans
Another important point is development platforms risks:

• Lack of software project management tool
• Lack of software process modelling tool
• Lack of analysis and design tools
• Lack of convenient project outputs for these tools
• Lack of necessary compilers
• Lack of software configuration management tools
• Lack of tools integrated
• Lack of education for tools
• Lack of local service to satisfy problems
• Lack of eases for on line help and documentation. [8]


3.3 Project size: Number of people, time, and features
Project size subject is one of most important point of technical feasibility for projects. Factors which affect project size are:
Employee Risks:
• Lack of skilled employees
• Lack of gathering necessary abilities
• Lack of enough numbers of employees
• Bad employee appointment along project
• Having part-time employees
• Wrong expectations about project
• Lack of necessary education

Risks for product size:

• Unreal size estimation
• Estimation size of numbers of programs, files and queries
• High estimation from average products
• Size of used database
• Redundancy of reused softwares
• Extreme user size
• Redundancy in changes of requirement. [8]


3.4 Compatibility with existing systems
Chose of technology is sophisticated because there can be a lot of problems like technologies which are implemented limited capacities, importance of raw and helpful metarial quailities with regard to technology, lack of employees who can use advanced technology.[4]

If the project builds with existing resources and tools the project will build speedy. Also previous projects experiences make current project quality and this depends on project size.

4. Conclusion

Preparing and implementing project phase is most effective part of product planning process; because a strategic error which will be done in this phase does not recover in longly project process. [9]

Feasibility is prepared by professionals but it is not true for analyst to escape from feasibility work. Analysts have to be center of feasibility work and in every step analysts have to control the feasibility work.
Importance of feasibility appears clearly when uncompleted projects are examined. Important point is to estimate this with scientific studies before possible losses.

5. Future Work
Nowadays when we look at economic conditions, it is clear to research investment subject detailed and to go into action after necessary researches. These detailed researches start project initiation phase and finish after investor examined used technics and results in a detailed way with regard to himself. The project is evaluated with technic and economic criterias and it is brought to economy. If this basic approach is omitted and scientific rules are not carried out enough, projects which are thought to invest will be always encounters with hard difficulties.

The investment project must be researched very well and detailed in the beginning. According to results of estimation, investment idea has to be examined detailed direction of profits of company and country.


References

1. Agile Approach in Software Engineering Projects, Turgay Karlıdere; Deniz Harp Okulu, 34942, Tuzla, İstanbul,
tkarlidere@dho.edu.tr , Oya Kalıpsız; Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi, Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Bölümü, 34349, Yıldız, İstanbul, kalipsiz@yildiz.edu.tr

2. Preparation and Evaluation of the Investment Projects, Tarık GEDİK, Kadri Cemil AKYÜZ, İlker AKYÜZ, KTÜ Orman Fakültesi – 61080 TRABZON

3. Pre-feasibility and Feasibility Etude, http://www.yenifrm.com/on-fizibilite-ve-fizibilite-etudu-t122339.html

4. Economic Feasibility Study, Y. Doç. Dr. Elçin TAŞ , 06-04-2009

5. What is the feasibility study? http://www.koniks.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10325

6. System Analysis In Industrial IT Systems, Derman Aydoğan, http://www.danismend.com/konular/projeyon/PRJ-ENDUSTRIYEL%20IT%20SISTEMLERI.HTM

7. Feasibility, A. Tevfik İNAN

8. Software Engineering and Tools (CASE), İrfan MACİT

9. Project Concept, PYLESSON1, http://www.baskent.edu.tr/~alguner/PYDERS1.doc