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Consider these six elements that every quality feasibility study should contain, especially for project managers in the first three phases of the project cycle.
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.
Most importantly, Feasibility study to understand the requirement's and expectation's of prospect.
This is achieved by clear study of requirement's and expectation's of prospects mapping with organization delivery capabilities which can be with the organization products & Services. The know how of the work of delivery.
In my opinion there are basically six parts to any effective Feasibility Study: The Project Scope, The Current Analysis, Requirements, The Approach, Evaluation , Review.
Any feasibility study should contain the following major parts;
1. Market Study.
2. Technical Study.
3. Financial Study.
4. Conclusion and Recommendation.
When a person or organization is investing millions of dollars in a project the owner has to rest assured that he would at least get normal return on capital. His investment would be safe and there is a potential of increasing the profits and prospering in the long run. That he would be able to withdraw the returns in normal times and would be able to withdraw his capital in case of recurring losses.
The investment policy of a country ,FOREX rules, its tax policies, its employment policies, good infrastructure and natural resources are all factors that are considered in feasibility studies. Countries like Singapore ,China and Dubai in the mid east have favorable, tax laws, employment policies and natural resources that attract foreign and domestic investment.
