Topic 2 Feasibility Study
The feasibility study is the one to determine whether the project will be successful in the first place. It is usually the first activity conducted well before any other steps are initiated to further develop the next tasks of the project. It is one of the most important, or even the most important factor in determining whether the specific project can finally be planned and implemented. The feasibility study identifies the market opportunities and the targets for the project (if applicable), performs a market research in order to recognise and highlight its main goals, discovers potential roadblocks and bottlenecks and gives alternative solutions. Moreover, it defines the variables in the timeframe, the budget needs, the legal and workforce requirements, and therefore determines whether the project is feasible, but also profitable and advantageous for the organisation to undertake.
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The key elements of a feasibility study include:
- Technical capability and resources of the organisation to undertake the project
- Financial resources of the organisation to undertake the project, and the sufficiency of the cost & benefit analysis as to warrant the successful future of the project
- Legal requirements of the project and the ability of the organisation to comply with them
- Risk associated with the project and if this is profitable to the organisation based on the perceived benefits
- Operational feasibility of the project in terms of meeting the needs of the organisation by solving problems and/or taking advantage of identified opportunities
- Timeline of the project in terms of profitability within the reasonable timeframe
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