What is a feasibility study?

A feasibility study looks at the viability of an idea

with an emphasis on identifying potential problems
and attempts to answer one main question: Will the
idea work and should you proceed with it?
It is an analysis of how successfully a project can
be completed, accounting for factors that affect it
such as economic, technological and scheduling
factors. It is used to determine potential positive and
negative outcomes of a project before investing a
considerable amount of time and money into it.
 Feasibility studies contain
comprehensive, detailed information
about your business structure, your
products and services, the market,
logistics of how you will actually deliver
a product or service, the resources you
need to make the business run
efficiently, as well as other information
about the business.
 Importance of feasibility studies:
The information you gather and present in your
feasibility study will help you:
List in detail all the things you need to make the business
work.
Identify logistical and other business-related problems and
solutions.
Develop marketing strategies to convince a bank or
investor that your business is worth considering as an
investment.
Serve a solid foundation for developing your business plan.
Components of a feasibility study:
Description of the Business: the product or services
to be offered and how they will be delivered.
Market Feasibility: includes a description of the
industry, current market, anticipated future market
potential, competition, sales, projections, potential
buyers, etc.
Technical Feasibility: details how you will deliver a
product or service (i.e., materials, labor,
transportation, where your business will be located,
technology needed, etc.)
 Financial Feasibility: projects how much start-up capital
is needed, sources of capital, returns on investment, etc.
Organizational Feasibility: defines the legal and
corporate structure of the business (may also include
professional background information about the
founders and what skills they can contribute to the
business.)
Conclusions: discusses how the business can succeed.
Be honest in your assessment because investors wont
just look at your conclusions they will also look at the
data and will question your conclusions if they are
unrealistic.
 APPROPRIATE AREAS OF FOCUS:
Acceptability: this relatively common focus looks at how the
intended individual recipients both targeted individuals and
those involved in implementing programs react to the
intervention.
Demand: demand for the intervention can be assessed by
gathering data on estimated use or by actually documenting
the use of selected intervention activities in a defined
intervention population or setting.
Implementation: this research focus concerns the extent,
likelihood, and manner in which an intervention can be fully
implemented as planned and proposed, often in an
uncontrollable design.
Practicality: this focus explores the extent to
which an intervention can be delivered when
resources, time, commitment, or some
combination thereof are constrained in some
way.
Adaptation: focuses on changing program
contents or procedures to be appropriate in a
new situation. It is important to describe the
actual modifications that are made to
accommodate the context and requirements of
a different format, media, or population.
Integration: this focus assesses the level of
system change needed to integrate a new
program or process into an existing
infrastructure or program. The
documentation of change that occurs
within the organizational setting or the
social/physical environment as a direct
result of integrating the new program can
help to determine if the new venture is
truly feasible.
Expansion: this focus examines the potential
success of an already-successful intervention
with a different population or in a different
setting.
Limited-efficacy testing: many feasibility studies
are designed to test an intervention in a limited
way. Such tests may be conducted in a
convenience sample, with intermediate rather
than final outcomes, with shorter follow-up
periods, or with limited statistical power.