When a new system is being developed for an organization the system, it isn’t developed in isolation. The system is developed within an existing environment and is subject to the needs and constraints of the environment, the organization and the individuals within the environment.
Aspects to consider
It is important to consider the wider situation, especially in regards to:
The physical, economic, political and cultural environment that it is being developed within
The nature, culture and policies of the organisation
The individuals who are going to be involved in the system
Any existing system in place.
Any constraints that will be placed on the development of the new system.
The scope of the new system.
Identifying the of an ICT system involves understanding the physical environment, political environment, cultural environments, internal and external factors.
Physical Environment
What kind of premises is the new system going to used in?
Is the system going only to need to be usable locally and remotely?
What hardware is the system going to be running on?
What are the network and internet connections like? Are they reliable? Does the system need to be able to cope with loss of internet connection?
Is the environment busy, dark, outdoors, dirty, wet?
Which of the following is an example of a physical environment affecting an ICT system?
Political & Cultural Environment
Does the system need to adhere to certain laws in regards to data privacy, security or accessibility?
Does the system need to follow a particular house style or user experience?
Does the organizational culture dictate certain requirements?
Does the system need to adhere to wider cultural or political sensitivities?
Political factors, such as government regulations, can influence the operation of an ICT system.
Organizational considerations
How large is the organisation?
How many different departments are there?
How will the system be fitting in within those departments?
What other systems will the system need to interoperate with?
Is the organisation growing? How will its needs change over time? How is the system going to adapt?
Why is it important to identify the context of an ICT system before designing it?
Individuals within the system
What individuals are going to be interacting with the new system?
How many different user roles are there? How do their needs differ?
How does the existing workflow function?
Are there any other stakeholders within the system who aren't users.
What is the role of stakeholders in identifying the context of an ICT system?
Existing System
Is there an existing electronic system in place?
Is there currently a paper-based system in place?
Why does the existing system need to be replaced?
Which parts of the existing system need to be kept?
Legacy system
Internal & External Constraints
Internal Constraints
What are the internal constraints from within the organisation?
Time - when does the new system need to be in place?
Money - what is the budget?
External Constraints
External Constraints
Project deadlines
Legal constraints
Scope of the new system
It's important to sit down early on with the client and establish exactly what is within the scope of the system. This is known as in-scope.
A specific list of features and capabilities that the new system will have.
Agreed deliverables & timeframe
Project costing estimate
Scope statement
Out of scope
As well as listing what the new system will do it is crucial to list out-of-scope features or functionality that will not be provided. Failure to establish firm boundaries will lead to feature creep, missed deadlines other issues further down the line.
What features are not going to be included.
What interoperability is not going to the provided
What items are not included within the costing and therefore will need to be billed extra
Potential future functionality that is not included in the costing.
