Purpose of project: To implement a Content Management System solution that will enable a Midwestern City with a population of 25,000 to create and maintain an Internet as well as an Intranet site.
Criteria for Success: Midwestern City has a population of 25,000. The City aims to build an online facility that will be able easily accessible by all members of the city and fully meet their online needs before the end of year 2011. Besides that, MC needs to have a system that the management can easily maintain and manage, as well as update information on the Internet and Intranet systems.
Assumptions or Constraints:
One assumption of the project is that it will be easier to manage and update the system if the databases are outsourced to an ISP but monitored manually. Another assumption is that a larger portion of the city is conversant with the computer technology and will hence be able to make use of the new services. There is also the assumption that the staff will quickly learn and adapt to the changes.
However, the project faced some constraints, the major one being finances to fund the project and buy the needed equipment to have the project running. Again, getting skilled personnel to steer on the project and keep it running is a bit expensive and difficult. There are also chances that the staff or even members of the city will resist the new changes.
Requirements
a) Business
The system is expected to perform business related functions like paying water bills online and completing other business transactions on line. Hence, the system should support e-business activities.
Users supported- the users (staff of MC), requirement is that the system should be flexible to allow for changes when the need arises. Slight changes need to be made once in a while to meet upcoming needs or solve problems that may crop up in the running course of the system.
Stakeholders- the system should have a short response time. This will make it easier to have their problems sorted fast enough, increasing the efficiency of the system.
b) Functional
Functional requirements are related to requirements that form the basis of the system. For this particular system, it should be able to meet all the designated needs and requirements of the system which to transact business online and to access information about the city.
c) Non-functional
External Interfaces- the system should incorporate browsers that are not complex in nature and are easy to use for MC members to easily use.
Performance Requirements- Before the construction of the system begins, the requirement of how many requests the system can handle at a time, how much time it will take to complete a request, and how many users can use the system at a time should first be clarified to all the stakeholders. The information is needed to help know how much bandwidth should be used for the system.
Logical database Requirements- the databases should be run by automated software that can easily be monitored manually by staff of MC.
Design Constraints- the system should have the needed mechanism to meet all the set requirements and needs of the members of MC.
System Attributes- the system attributes used for the system should be able to tell the system how to display, and handle notes and links. An example of a system attribute fit for this particular system is weblog which is data that configures weblog exports. This will be most useful to fulfill the requirement of downloading the construction forms and retrieving information from the site.
d) Technical
Technologies, Infrastructure- the system should have a logical architecture that is based on business requirements. For instance, the networking for both internet and intranet should be well done so as to avoid collisions of information.
Quality Characteristics- a system should meet the standard requirements of a system as well as the set requirements of the stakeholders. For this, all requirements need to be well documented, approved by most stakeholders, and then implemented.
Risk Analysis
Every project has got its expected risks. To have a successful project, a formal risk analysis and management is needed. This involves identifying the possible risks, classifying them based on their impact, and finding possible solutions to the risk (Crouhy et al. 38).
Possible risks
Risk Probability/Impact Matrix
High risks
Disruptions on the system such as collisions of traffic. This can happen when too many users are using the system at the same time.
Procedural risks- these are risks related to integrity and authentication of the system.
Low risks
Stakeholders not trusting the system especially when giving their information or bank details when paying bills.
Government policies can limit the functionability of the system
Medium risks
Technical risks such as having a poor architecture or not using up to date technology.
Financial risks such as not having a consistent source of revenue to run and maintain the system.
Possible risks
Human risks-these include having personnel not well qualified to run and manage the system as it should be. There could also be the risk of the staff refusing to learn about the new technology and adopt it as many will fear losing their jobs. The system could be a problem for many who do not know how to make use of the technology.
Recommended solutions to help manage the risks
Safeguarding measures such as use of firewalls and private browsing mechanisms should be adopted to ensure privacy and integrity in the system. The council of MC can also initiate small projects to help raise funds to push through the project.
Works Cited
Crouhy, Michel, Dan Galai, D., and Robert Mark. The essentials of Risk Management. New
York City: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006. Print.
