Case Study

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Case Study Project Selection

• Charisma
• Love Hospital

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Learning Outcomes

• You should be able to
• Read case studies
• List and discuss criteria for selecting projects

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Using Case Studies

• What is a case study?
• A description of a realistic relevant situation,
  providing a context and events.
• Why use case studies?
• To set techniques in context
• To illustrate the complexity of real situations
• To include human issues
• To provoke discussion

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Learning with case studies

• Read the study identify key features
• Are 'well-known' problems relevant?
• What problems are specific to the case?
• When evaluating options, take into account
• the advantages and disadvantages of the option
• the particular features of the case
• the likely implications of the options in the case

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Case Study 1 Charisma

• CD management courses telephone tutors.
• Commercial problems
• aging products
• falling sales
• Development problems
• Team with varied skills and personalities
• Multiple products development tools
• Failure to achieve deadlines set to close deals.
• A variety of unethical behaviours

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Case Study 2 Love Hospital

• An NHS Hospital Trust
• In a turbulent period of NHS re-organisation.
• New layers of management
• Intense feelings among staff.
• Competition for contracts
• From local doctors and the Health Authority
• Needs accurate financial information.
• Aging IT system
• Doesnt support new competitive environment
• Runs on obsolete hardware and software.

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Project Selection

• Identify a problem, need or opportunity
• client with a business need
• developer with a new product idea.
• Decide
• Whether to proceed with a project
• Between potential projects
• What criteria can be used?
• Evaluate options against business goals

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Charisma Projects

• Develop Web site
• To advertise company
• To deliver courses to replace CDs
• Selection among options

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Love Hospital Project

• To develop an IT system
• To replace the existing system
• To support organisations operation
• To support new commercial operation
• Mainly a yes/no decision
• But there are scope issues

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Selection Criteria

• Factors
• Cost
• Benefit
• Timing
• Risk
• Judgement required

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Non-numeric Selection

• Based on management experience
• The bosss favourite
• Operating necessity
• Competitive necessity
• Me too
• Product line extension

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Selection by expected profit

• Rank projects by a measure of profitability
• Shortest payback period
• Time to repay investment
• Total Profit
• Average rate of return
• Annual interest
• Considers size of investment
• Net Present Value
• considers returns and the effect of inflation

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Comparing Criteria

• What are the advantages disadvantages of the
  different criteria?
• Are they appropriate?
• Are they easy to apply?

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Possible criteria Love Hospital

• What criteria seem relevant?
• Are there problems in using the criteria?
• Could other criteria apply in practice?
• Personal ambition

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Selection by Scoring

• Combination of various measures
• Identify criteria weightings
• Score the potential projects
• Similar to classifying Degree
• weighted combination of coursework and
  examination from different modules

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Other Issues

• Cash Flow
• Timing of incomings and outgoings
• Amount of debt which needs funding
• Risk
• Unpredictable outcomes
• Greater uncertainty require greater profit
• Information
• Obtaining information costs time money

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Feasibility Study

• Preliminary analysis
• Fact-finding
• Define the problem and objectives.
• Identify possible solutions.
• Select solutions worth a detailed analysis.
• Detailed analysis
• Review requirements
• Outline solution
• Analyse risks costs
• Cost of study requires authorization

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Assignment 1 Outline

• Produce a demonstration Web site
• showing the potential use of the Internet to
  support ethical behaviour among staff.
• Tasks
• Choose a team
• Find out what you could do
• Decide what you are going to do
• to demonstrate potential facilities
• Do it in a fixed time
• Evaluate it