The planning process (企画プロセス) takes the business strategy as its starting point, envisions what system to build and why, and turns that into an actionable systemization plan (システム化計画).
Business strategy
Drafting the systemization concept
Drafting the systemization plan
Requirements definition
Building on the approved plan, requirements definition sets the conditions the business and the system must meet.
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In Common Frame 2013 (共通フレーム 2013), the planning process splits into drafting the systemization concept (システム化構想の立案) and drafting the systemization plan (システム化計画の立案): the concept settles the management issues and the direction of a solution, and the plan turns that into concrete steps and figures. The systemization plan exists to gather what is needed to decide whether to invest, and to let everyone involved work from the same plan. The next stage, requirements definition (要件定義), sets the conditions the business and the system must meet and gets stakeholders to agree on them.
AnalogyIt is like the stage before building a house, when you sort out how you want to live and settle the budget and the move-in date.
How to rememberThe character 企 in 企画 is said to come from the figure of a person on tiptoe gazing into the distance. Link that image to a stage that looks ahead and plans.
Exam points
ExamThe planning process starts from the business strategy (経営戦略), and after confirming management's needs and issues, it draws up the concept and plan for systemization.
ExamThe output of the planning process is an approved systemization plan (システム化計画), which is the starting point for requirements definition (要件定義).
Mix-upThe planning process is the stage that sorts out the issues of the target operations and decides what to systemize. Setting the conditions the business and the system must meet and agreeing on them with stakeholders belongs to the next stage, the requirements definition process (要件定義プロセス).
Scope (適用範囲) sets the boundary of the operations and departments covered by systemization, showing what is in and what is out.
Without a fixed scope, the amount of work cannot be gauged, so neither the timeline nor the cost can be estimated. Widening the scope midway swells the work and the cost and undermines the very premises of the plan.
AnalogyIf you decide which rooms to move and which furniture to throw out before calling a moving company, one quote is enough.
How to rememberScope comes from the same root as the scope in telescope, a word meaning “to look”. It stands for how far your view reaches.
Exam points
ExamWhich operations are covered and how far systemization goes are settled in outline in the systemization plan of the planning process (企画プロセス).
Mix-upRequirements definition takes the outline set in the plan and specifies the functions the system must have to support the business.
A schedule (スケジュール) is a plan that lays out on a timeline when each stage of systemization starts and ends.
The systemization plan sets a rough overall timeline from requirements definition to go-live and places milestones (マイルストーン), the checkpoints for confirming progress. The delivery deadline (納期) is one of the targets alongside quality and cost, and giving priority to any one of them affects the others.
AnalogyIt is like a travel itinerary in which you fix the departure date, the return date and the day you reach each stop in advance.
How to rememberSchedule traces back to a Latin word for “a small slip of paper”. It is said to have begun as a scrap on which plans were jotted down.
Exam points
ExamThe overall development schedule is drafted in outline when the systemization plan is drawn up.
ExamLike quality and cost, the delivery deadline (納期) gets a target value at the planning stage before the project starts, and because they pull against each other, their order of priority is set as well.
The organization (体制) defines who drives systemization, for example by setting out the roles of the person in charge, the departments involved and outside partner companies.
Settling the organization in advance makes clear who makes decisions and who does the work, so no one hesitates over whom to consult when a problem comes up. Including representatives of the user departments makes it easier for frontline needs to be reflected in the plan.
AnalogyIt is like preparing for a school festival by first choosing the committee chair, the treasurer and the leader of each team.
Exam points
ExamThe organization, meaning who will drive the work, is also one of the plan items to make clear at the planning stage before development begins.
Cost-effectiveness (費用対効果) is the approach of comparing what systemization costs with the benefits it brings, to judge whether the investment is worthwhile.
Year
Benefit − operating cost (× 10,000 yen)
Cumulative (initial investment 400 × 10,000 yen)
Year 1
150 − 50 = 100
100
Year 2
150 − 50 = 100
200
Year 3
150 − 50 = 100
300
Year 4
150 − 50 = 100
400, investment recovered
Some benefits can be put in money terms, such as lower labor costs, while others, such as higher customer satisfaction, are hard to price. ROI (return on investment), a typical indicator, is the profit gained as a ratio of the amount invested. The payback period (回収年数) is the number of years it takes for the yearly net benefit, added up, to reach the initial investment.
AnalogyIt is like weighing a slightly pricier commuter pass: if it cuts transfers and saves time every day, is the difference worth paying?
How to rememberThe 対 in 費用対効果 means facing each other. Picture costs and benefits set face to face on the two pans of a balance.
Exam points
ExamROI is used to measure cost-effectiveness, and the larger the value, the more profit the investment generated relative to its size.
ExamThe payback period (回収年数) and profitability are calculated from the net amount, each year's benefit minus operating and maintenance costs, and the running total is compared with the initial investment.
ExamEstimating the cost of introduction and the expected benefits is work done when the systemization plan is drawn up.
Risk analysis (リスク分析) identifies in advance the problems that could hinder carrying out the plan, and evaluates how likely each is and how large its impact would be.
Identify
Assess likelihood and impact
Decide responses
Decide responses starting with the highest-rated items, and build reserve time and budget into the plan.
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Risk (リスク) here means something uncertain that has not happened yet but would affect the timeline, cost or quality if it did. Items with a low likelihood but a large impact should not be overlooked, and preparing for them at the planning stage reduces rework after a problem occurs.
AnalogyIt is like planning for a sudden change in weather or an injury before a climb, by setting a turnaround time and packing spare food.
How to rememberOne theory traces risk to a word for the sheer rocks that sailors steered clear of.
Exam points
Mix-upRisk analysis looks at the factors that could keep the plan from going as intended. A cost-effectiveness (費用対効果) evaluation looks at something else: whether the benefits will justify the investment.