How to Write a Feasibility Study

Feasibility studies are a type of report used for decision making. They help an organization decide whether it's feasible to make a change in the way they do business. For instance, a feasibility study might help the board of a corporation determine whether they should replace a piece of equipment, adopt a different system, change their method of production, or hire an outside contractor. Generally speaking, there should be no "pitching" in a feasibility study; the job of the writer is simply to provide enough information to help in the decision process.

If you've been assigned the task of writing a feasibility study, you could simply start with a blank screen on your word processor and write all the pages from scratch. But if you'd like to speed up the process and get some guidance, you could use a report or proposal kit of materials, which includes templates for all sorts of topics, as well as sample proposals and studies, and graphic designs to make the finished product look great.

Let's work through the basic organization of a feasibility study, from front to back. The very first page should be a Title Page naming your study - something like "Feasibility Study for Moving the Manufacturing Division from Baltimore, Maryland to Laredo, Texas" or "Feasibility Study for Replacing Our Inventory System with the PQR Inventory System." Next, describe the Goals you hope to achieve by making a change. Next, you'll write a Needs Assessment or a Problem Statement page; here you'll simply describe what the need or problem is. In other words, why are you contemplating the change? For example, you might write about how your software is antiquated and no longer interfaces with your clients' computer systems, or describe how you are having difficulty hiring workers with the skills your company needs. If your need is complex or the decision makers are not familiar with the issues, you may need to include pages like Background, Assumptions, Definitions, Reference Materials, and so forth to provide all the information your readers will need.My Amazon Page

After you've detailed the need or problem, write a description of the possible Solution. Following that, you'll explain the Benefits of the solution, which could be things like increased productivity, cost savings, greater interaction with clients, and so forth. After the Benefits, you should write an Impact Statement that lists the anticipated impacts to the current organization and process, as well as a description of how the solution will affect your organization's long-term plans.

Next, discuss Alternatives. These should include other Options (if any), as well as the alternative of taking no action.

Following the discussion of alternatives, you should describe any Risks or Disadvantages associated with implementing the solution, followed by the actual projected Costs of making the change.

A feasibility study can mean countless different things to different people. The actual topics used and length of the study will vary dramatically from situation to situation. This is where having access to a comprehensive library of pre-written topics comes in handy.

Finally, you should include a Summary of your discussion. If it's your job to help make the decision, you might want to end with a Conclusion or a Recommendation.

If your report is lengthy, you might need various appendices, and you might need to include a Table of Contents right after the Title Page and/or an Index at the end so that readers can easily find the pages they're looking for.

After you have your study all written, be sure to proofread each page and make sure everything looks professional, too. Add a graphic design to make your study more visually appealing, or use just a plain format for more informal use.

Source: Articlealley, Ian Lauder