In: Operations Management
What are the important things to consider and folllow while creating the feasibility report of some project?
Feasibility study evaluates the project’s potential for success; therefore, perceived objectivity is an important factor in the credibility of the study for potential investors and lending institutions. There are five types of feasibility study—separate areas that a feasibility study examines, described below.
1. Technical Feasibility - this assessment focuses on the technical resources available to the organization. It helps organizations determine whether the technical resources meet capacity and whether the technical team
capable of converting the ideas into working systems. Technical feasibility also involves evaluation of the hardware, software, and other technology requirements of the proposed system. As an exaggerated example, an organization wouldn’t want to try to put Star Trek’s transporters in their building—currently, this project is not technically feasible.
2. Economic Feasibility - this assessment typically involves a cost/ benefits analysis of the project, helping organizations determine the
viability, cost, and benefits associated with a project before financial resources are allocated. It also serves as an independent project assessment and enhances project credibility—helping decision-makers determine the positive economic benefits to the organization that the proposed project will provide.
3. Legal Feasibility - this assessment investigates whether any aspect of the proposed project conflicts with legal requirements like zoning laws, data protection acts, or social mEdiiia
Operational Feasibility - this assessment involves undertaking a study to analyze and determine whether—and how well—the organization’s needs can be met by completing the project. Operational feasibility studies also analyze how a project plan satisfies the requirements identified in the requirements analysis phase of system development.
5. Scheduling Feasibility - this assessment is the most important for project success; after all, a project will fail if not completed on time. In scheduling feasabilityan organization estimates how much time the project will take to complete.
Six Essential Feasibility Study Steps
By following the accepted feasibility study method, project managers and their teams can reach the point of delivering their findings to stakeholders. The written report generated at the conclusion of the feasibility study can help move a team into the presentation phase of the project cycle. Moving readers through the following feasibility study steps can clarify questions about the study’s recommendations.
Executive Summary
The most important page of the report is often the only page that many stakeholders actually take the time to read. Although it should always be presented on the first page of a report, the executive summary is a digest of the following five feasibility study steps.
Clear Project Description
A recap of the project as it is defined for the study can help stakeholders understand the questions asked and the results generated. Stating the project description in very basic terms removes uncertainty about a project for stakeholders who might otherwise be unfamiliar with the ideas the project represents.
Competitive Landscape
Reviewing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by a project helps decision makers focus on the big picture. In some organizations, leaders may not want to approach a new market unless they know they can dominate it. Other companies prefer to focus on profits gained instead of market share. Either way, the challenges faced should be clearly defined, along with the consequences of failure.
Operating Requirements
When following this set of feasibility study steps, authors can use this point in the report to stay clear, focused, and unbiased about a project’s real needs. Project managers that understate the physical and fiscal resources required for a new product or service often end up with failed projects or unfulfilled promises.
Financial Projections
More than ever, Investors and CFOs pore over the financials in a feasibility study to make sure that projects can generate the kind of scalable profits that warrant their approval. Expert project managers emphasize the break-even analysis, a timeline view of the moment a project can pay for itself.
Recommendations & Findings
Summarizing all of the previous feasibility study steps, the recommendations and findings can shape the outcome of a project proposal. Instead of simply stating a “yes\\\" or “no\\\" answer to the question of project approval, this section offers an opportunity to enhance a project by pointing out areas of opportunity.