Information about Feasibility Analysis

"Feasibility Study" is also the title of an episode from The Outer Limits television show.

A feasibility study is a preliminary study undertaken to determine and document a project's viability. The term feasibility study is also used to refer to the resulting document or artifact. These results of this study are used to make a decision whether to proceed with the project, or table it. If it indeed leads to a project being approved, it will - before the real work of the proposed project starts - be used to ascertain the likelihood of the project's success. It is an analysis of possible alternative solutions to a problem and a recommendation on the best alternative. It, for example, can decide whether an order processing be carried out by a new system more efficiently than the previous one.

Explanation

A feasibility study could be used to test a proposal for new system, which could be used because:

• The current system may no longer carry its purpose,
• Technological advancement may have rendered the current system obsolete,
• The business is expanding, allowing it to cope with extra work load,
• Customers are complaining about the speed and quality of work the business provides,
• Competitors are now winning a big enough market share due to an effective integration of a computerized system.

A feasibility study should examine three main areas:

• market issues
• technical and organizational requirements
• financial overview

Within a feasibility study, seven areas must be reviewed, including those of a Needs Analysis, Economics, Technical, Schedule, Organizational, Cultural, and Legal.

Needs Analysis

A needs analysis should be the first undertaking of a feasibility study as it clearly defines the project outline and the clients' requirements. Once these questions have been answered the person/s undertaking the feasibility study will have outlined the project needs definition. The following questions need to be asked to define the project needs definition: What is the end deliverable? What purpose will it serve? What are the environmental effects? What are the rules and regulations? What standards will we be measured against? What are the quality requirements? What is the minimal quality requirements allowed? What sustainability can we expect? What carry over work can we expect? What are the penalty clauses? How much do we need to outsource? How much do we need to insource?

Technical feasibility study

This involves questions such as whether the technology needed for the system exists, how difficult it will be to build, and whether the firm has enough experience using that technology.The assessment is based on an outline design of system requirements in terms of Input, Output, Fields, Programs, and Procedures.This can be qualified in terms of volumes of data,trends,frequency of updating,etc..in order to give an introduction to the technical system.

Schedule Feasibility study

This involves questions such as how much time is available to build the new system, when it can be built , whether it interferes with normal business operation,number of resources required,dependencies etc..........

Organizational Feasibility study

This involves questions such as whether the system has enough support to be implemented successfully, whether it brings an excessive amount of change, and whether the organization is changing too rapidly to absorb it.

Cultural Feasibility study

In this stage, the project's alternatives are evaluated for their impact on the local and general culture. For example, environmental factors need to be considered.

Legal Feasibility study

Not necessarily last, but all projects must face legal scrutiny. When an organization either has legal council on staff or on retainer, such reviews are typically standard. However, any project may face legal issues after completion too.

Marketing Feasibility study

This will include analysis of single and multi-dimensional market forces that could affect the commercial, along with the company that is carrying out the feasibility achieving more and more reputation as they have carried out safety checks which allow the system to run appropriately.' ''' Economic feasibility''' – Establishing the cost-effectiveness of the proposed system i.e. if the benefits do not outweigh the costs then it is not worth going ahead.

Legal feasibility – Determines whether the proposed system conflicts with legal requirements, e.g. the Data Protection Act.

Operational feasibility – Do the current work practices and procedures support a new system. Also social factors i.e. how the organisational changes will affect the working lives of those affected by the system.

Schedule feasibility – Looks at how long the system will take to develop, or whether it can be completed in a given time period.