BUSINESS SYSTEMS PLANNING (BSP)

BSP is a highly structured approach to enterprise analysis that focuses on data, the flow of data, and the data repositories, leading to the development of an IS architecture based on the data analysis. The methodology was originally developed for its own internal use by IBM and later became a successful commercial product (IBM, 1984).

BSP utilizes a top-down approach with bottom-up implementation of a process designed to translate the organization's business strategy to IS strategy. (IBM, 1984) Because of the importance of top management involvement with the process, an assessment of top management's commitment is conducted before beginning the process.

Once top management is on board with the project, a project team is selected from the organization's management, which usually includes both business and IS professionals.

The project team's first tasks are to identify and set goals and objectives for the organization, and to establish the scope of the project.

Following the initial steps of preparing and starting the BSP analysis, ten additional steps are undertaken to complete the BSP process:

1.     Define the business process: the resulting output is a list of all business processes, a description of each, and the identification of key processes.

2.     Define business data: identify entities and group their data into data classes.

3.     Define information architecture: relate the business processes to the data classes.

4.     Analyze current systems support: identify the existing organizations, business processes, IS applications, and data files, to detect voids or redundancies.

5.     Interview executives: a critical aspect of the top-down approach, this step validates the work of the project team, determines the objectives, defines the problems, ascertains IS needs and calculates their value.

6.     Define fidings and conclusions: analyze problems and their relationships to the business processes, establish priorities for IS support, and thereby alleviate the problems.

7.     Determine architecture priorities: development and implementation takes time, this step determines the importance of each IS initiative.

8.     Review information resource management: define the environment in which the information architecture is to be developed, implemented, and operated efficiently and effectively.

 Develop recommendations: assist management in their decisions regarding the follow-on activities.

Report results: present the final results to top management. (IBM, 1984)