Feasibility Study:

Feasibility Study

Many feasibility studies are disillusioning for both users and analysts. First, the study often presupposes that when the feasibility document is being prepared, the analyst is in a position to evaluate solutions. Second, most studies tend to overlook the confusion inherent in system development-the constraints and the assumed attitudes. If the feasibility study is to serve as a decision document, it must answer three key questions:

1. Is there a new and better way to do the job that will benefit the user?
2. What are the costs and savings of the alternative (S)?
3. What is recommended?

The most successful system projects are not necessarily the biggest or most visible in a business but rather those that truly meet user expectations. More projects fail because of inflated expectations than for any other reason.

Importance=Why Are Feasibility Studies so Important?

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; and Serve as a solid foundation for developing your business plan.

Economic Feasibility

Economic analysis is the most frequently used method for evaluating the effectiveness of a candidate system. More commonly known as cost/benefit analysis, the procedure is to determine the benefits and savings that are expected from a candidate system and compare them with costs. If benefits outweigh costs, then the decision is made to design and implement the system. Otherwise, further justification or alterations in the proposed system will have to be made if it is to have a chance of being approved. This is an ongoing effort that improves in accuracy at each phase of the system life cycle. More on cost/benefit analysis is covered in Chapter.

Technical Feasibility

Technical feasibility centers around the existing computer system (hardware, software , etc) and to what extent it can support the proposed addition. For example, if the current computer is operating at 80 percent capacity-an arbitrary ceiling-then running another application could overload the system or require additional hardware. This involves financial considerations to accommodate technical enhancements. If the budget is a serious constraint, then the project is judged not feasible.

In technical feasibility the following issues are taken into consideration.

       Whether the required technology is available or not

       Whether the required resources are available -

- Manpower- programmers, testers & debuggers

- Software and hardware

Once the technical feasibility is established, it is important to consider the monetary factors also. Since it might happen that developing a particular system may be technically possible but it may require huge investments and benefits may be less. For evaluating this, economic feasibility of the proposed system is carried out.

Behavioral Feasibility

People are inherently resistant to change, and computers have been known to facilitate change. An estimate should be made of how strong a reaction the user staff is likely to have toward the development of a computerized system. [t is common knowledge that computer installations have something to do with turnover, transfers, retraining, and changes in employee job status. Therefore, it is understandable that the introduction of a candidate system requires special effort to educate, sell, and train the staff on new ways of conducting business  In our safe deposit example, three employees are more than 50 years old and have been with the bank over 14 years, four years of which have been in safe deposit. The remaining two employees are in their early thirties. They joined safe deposit about two years before the study. Based on data gathered from extensive interviews, the younger employees want the programmable aspects of safe deposit (essentially billing) put on a computer. Two of the three older employees have voiced resistance to the idea. Their view is that billing is no problem. The main emphasis is customer service-personal contacts with customers. The decision in this case was to go ahead and pursue the project.

       Is the audience likely to adopt the behavior? Is the current behavior seen as a problem? How engrained or “rewarding” are the current or competing behaviors?

       How costly is it (time, effort, resources) for the audience segment to perform the behavior?

       How complex is the behavior (does it involve few or several elements)?