Study

Project name

Classification	Select an element
Status	Select an element
Program name
Project number
Project manager	Project manager
Version	0.1
Date	Click here to enter a date
Project sponsor	Project sponsor
Author(s)
Distribution

List of changes

Version	Date	Change	Author
0.1

Table 1:	Change control

Description

The study describes the desired solution by defining the rough objectives, listing possible solution options and then evaluating them. It forms the basis for deciding whether or not a project is to be released. It is the prerequisite for drawing up the project management plan and the project order.

Background

Motivation and reason for preparing this study, at the start of the project, possible need for action

Situation analysis

The situation analysis creates a sound knowledge base in order to be able to draw up objectives and solution options for the target system/product

Business organization

The current business organization is described here. Existing documents are mostly used as a basis. If nothing is available, it is necessary to check the extent to which documentation on the actual situation of the business organization is needed. It is a case of drawing up a rough description of the most important tasks/goods/services and the main processes, as well as the organizational structure.

Organization chart, function descriptions, process landscape, current process descriptions, quantity structure of business cases, employees, customers, etc.

Quantities and frequencies

Material resources used

No.	Description	Explanation
01	PCs	25
02	Vehicles	13 station wagons

Table 2:	Product or IT system/material resources used

Transactions

Transaction	Average per time unit	Peak per time unit	Minimum per time unit
Payments	8,500/mth	20,000/mth	500/mth

Table 3:	Transactions

Data sets

Object type	Stock	Mutations per time unit	Inflows per time unit	Outflows per time unit
Requester	20,000	1,500/mth	750/mth	500/mth

Table 4:	Data sets and movements

Information security and data protection

Description of the current situation

Analysis of strengths, weaknesses and causes

Strengths

Prose description including considerations as to whether the strengths could be maintained or even enhanced in the future

No.	Description	Cause	Maintenance prospects*
01	Practically flawless outgoing payments	Highly qualified employees	+
* Maintenance prospects: + = enhancement possible / H = high / M= medium / L = low

Table 5:	Strengths and their causes

Weaknesses

Prose description including considerations as to whether the weaknesses could be eliminated

No.	Description	Cause	Elimination prospects*
01	Inefficient handling of the business process Pxxx	Lack of functionality in IT application	H
* Elimination prospects: H = high / M= medium / L= low

Table 6:	Weaknesses and their causes

Causes

Findings based on the analysis of (direct) causes

System context

Description of the system context

The description of the system context shows which aspects are relevant for defining and understanding the requirements of the system in question

Fig. 1 –	System context (symbolic image)

Context diagram

The context diagram shows all players (stakeholders, peripheral systems) that interact with the product/system and that wish to:

produce flows of information and material

receive flows of information and material

Illustration in the form of a data flow or use case diagram

Fig. 2 –	Context diagram (symbolic image)

Objectives

Unlike the objectives concretely defined and prioritized later in the project, the objectives in the study are only roughly formulated and weighted according to whether they are mandatory, to be expected or doable. They form the basis for devising the solution options.

System/product objectives

Examples of categories

Financial objectives, cost/benefit/economic efficiency

Performance, efficiency, processing time

Quality, error reduction

Customer/user satisfaction, public service

Security, reliability

Legal conformity

Flexibility

Expandability

Maintainability

Sustainability

No.	Category	Description	Measurement variable	Weighting*
S1	Organization	Each division can organize its events independently; the processes are the same for the office	5 people can now organize this instead of the current 2 people	M
S2	Functionality	It should be possible to organize events for external participants and division staff	External and internal events can be organized	E
S3	Quality	The quality of event organization increases	Less overbooking – now none	D
S4	Sustainability	The staff burden should be reduced	Involvement reduced by 2 hours per event	E
S5	Sustainability	Less paper should be used for event organization and implementation	The paper used should be reduced by 20%	M
* Weighting: M = mandatory / E = to be expected / D = doable

Table 7:	System/product objectives

Project process objectives

Examples of categories:

Project costs (budget)

Deadlines

Milestones

Methodology

Communication

No.	Category	Description	Measurement variable	Weighting*
T1	Deadlines	A tool for event organization is available productively in six months' time	Events can be organized using the tool	M
* Weighting: M = mandatory / E = to be expected / D = doable

Table 8:	Project process objectives

Strategy reference and implementation of specifications

Strategy reference

The project supports the following strategy of the core organization:

YXYX

Implementation of specifications and parameters

The project complies with the following specifications and parameters of the core organization:

XYXY

Rough requirements

ID	Requirement	Type 1	Acceptance criterion	Importance 2	Urgency 3
A1	Enter course registration	F	Successful tests according to test case specification	5	5
A2	Display confirmation	Q	Within 2 seconds in 90% of tests in a real system environment	3	4
A3	Confirmations must be sent on a daily basis	B	Within 24 hours following the decision to carry out a course	3	3
A4	Transmit data with encryption	S	Successful tests according to test case specification	5	4
A5	Ensure methodological coherence	C	Validate method components with HERMES CD	5	3
A6
1) Type = Requirement type: B = Business organization, F = Functional, Q = Quality, S = Security, M= Migration, A = Architecture, O = Operation, C = Compliance (legislation, directives, standards and guidelines) 2) Importance: 5 = mandatory implementation; 4 = very important; 3 = important; 2 = normal; 1 = not important 3) Urgency: 5 = must be implemented immediately, 4 = very urgent, 3 = urgent, 2 = normal, 1 = not urgent

Table 9:	Rough requirements

Solution options

Option overview

Option	Designation
V1	Optimized business organization with centralized operation
V2	Optimized business organization with decentralized operation
V3
V4
V5

Table 10:	Option overview

Methods for generating solution options: creative techniques (e.g. brainstorming, methods 6-3-5), cause-effect charts (matrixes), morphological boxes, analogy methods, etc.

Option nn

The following points are described per option

Brief description

Text

System context (target)

Description and chart

Context diagram (target)

Description and chart

Business organization

Processes

Organizational structure

Product or IT system

The following aspects have to be described for an IT system: rough system architecture (overview and structure of system), interfaces and boundaries

Information security and data protection

Text

Prerequisites, dependencies

Text

Analysis and evaluation of options

Achievement of objectives

No.	Description	Weighting*	V1	V2	V3
1	Each division can organize its events independently; the processes are the same for the office	Mandatory	Yes	Yes	Yes
2	It should be possible to organize events for external participants and division staff	To be expected	Yes	Yes	Yes
* Weighting: M = mandatory / E = to be expected / D = doable

Table 11:	Degree of objective achievement

Requirement coverage

ID	Requirement description	Importance*	V1	V2	V3
nn	Enter course registration	5	Yes	Yes	Yes
nn	Display confirmation	3	Yes	Yes	Yes
nn	Confirmations must be sent on a daily basis	3	Yes	Yes	Yes
* Importance: 5 = mandatory implementation; 4 = very important; 3 = important; 2 = normal; 1 = not important

Table 12:	Requirement coverage

Further criteria

Evaluation criteria	V1	V2	V3
Costs
Project costs	CHF 80,000 to 100,000	CHF 50,000 to 80,000	CHF 20,000 to 30,000
Recurring costs	CHF 20,000 to 30,000	CHF 10,000 to 20,000	CHF 30,000 to 40,000
Benefits
Quantifiable benefits	No savings	No savings	0.5 days per event
Non-quantifiable benefits	Fewer errors in organization	Fewer errors in organization	Fewer errors in organization
Risks	No dependence on manufacturers Troubleshooting takes a long time (few internal units) The tool no longer works after Windows/Office update	Dependence on manufacturer Unexpected costs result from software update Troubleshooting takes a long time (few internal units)	Dependence on manufacturer
Sustainability	Proprietary solution No free disposal of data Not produced in a socially acceptable way Environmental compatibility not ensured	Proprietary solution Few development possibilities Only partly produced in a socially acceptable way Only somewhat environmentally compatible	Copyright to new developments retained Access to source code ensured Right to commission third parties for upgrades Socially acceptable production High environmental compatibility
Legal basis
Other

Table 13:	Further criteria

Possible presentation of the evaluation by means of

Utility analysis

Cost-benefit/economic efficiency calculation

Cost-effectiveness analysis

Tradeoff analysis (+/-; pros, cons), economic efficiency and investment calculation

Option choice

Option Vn is recommended and the choice is briefly justified

Abbreviations and glossary

Abbreviation/specialist term	Explanation
HERMES	Methodology for projects and programs HERMES 5 is an eCH standard

Table 14:	Abbreviations and glossary

Contents

List of changes	1

Description	1

1	Background	2

2	Situation analysis	2

2.1	Business organization	2

2.2	Quantities and frequencies	2

2.2.1	Material resources used	2

2.2.2	Transactions	2

2.2.3	Data sets	2

2.3	Information security and data protection	3

2.4	Analysis of strengths, weaknesses and causes	3

2.4.1	Strengths	3

2.4.2	Weaknesses	3

2.4.3	Causes	3

2.5	System context	4

2.5.1	Description of the system context	4

2.5.2	Context diagram	4

3	Objectives	5

3.1	System/product objectives	5

3.2	Project process objectives	6

4	Strategy reference and implementation of specifications	6

4.1	Strategy reference	6

4.2	Implementation of specifications and parameters	6

5	Rough requirements	6

6	Solution options	7

6.1	Option overview	7

6.2	Option nn	7

6.2.1	Brief description	7

6.2.2	System context (target)	7

6.2.3	Context diagram (target)	7

6.2.4	Business organization	7

6.2.5	Product or IT system	8

6.2.6	Information security and data protection	8

6.2.7	Prerequisites, dependencies	8

6.3	Analysis and evaluation of options	8

6.3.1	Achievement of objectives	8

6.3.2	Requirement coverage	8

6.3.3	Further criteria	8

7	Option choice	9

Abbreviations and glossary	10

Contents	11

Figures	12

Tables	12

Figures

Fig. 1 –	System context (symbolic image)	4

Fig. 2 –	Context diagram (symbolic image)	4

Tables

Table 1:	Change control	1

Table 2:	Product or IT system/material resources used	2

Table 3:	Transactions	2

Table 4:	Data sets and movements	2

Table 5:	Strengths and their causes	3

Table 6:	Weaknesses and their causes	3

Table 7:	System/product objectives	6

Table 8:	Project process objectives	6

Table 9:	Rough requirements	7

Table 10:	Option overview	7

Table 11:	Degree of objective achievement	8

Table 12:	Requirement coverage	8

Table 13:	Further criteria	9

Table 14:	Abbreviations and glossary	10