1. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY 2. OPERATIONAL FEASIBILITY 3. ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY
INTRODUCTION
A feasibility study assesses the operational,
technical and economic merits of the proposed project. The feasibility study is
intended to be a preliminary review of the facts to see if it is worthy of
proceeding to the analysis phase. From the systems analyst perspective, the
feasibility analysis is the primary tool for recommending whether to proceed to
the next phase or to discontinue the project.
The feasibility study is a
management-oriented activity. The objective of a feasibility study is to find
out if an information system project can be done and to suggest possible
alternative solutions.Projects are initiated for two broad reasons:
1. Problems that lend themselves to systems
solutions
2. Opportunities for improving through: (a)
upgrading systems (b) altering systems (c) installing new systems
A feasibility study should provide
management with enough information to decide:
·
Whether
the project can be done
·
Whether
the final product will benefit its intended users and organization
·
What
are the alternatives among which a solution will be chosen
·
Is
there a preferred alternative
A large part of determining resources has to do with assessing technical feasibility. It considers the technical requirements of the proposed project. The technical requirements are then compared to the technical capability of the organization. The systems project is considered technically feasible if the internal technical capability is sufficient to support the project requirements.
The analyst must find out whether current technical resources can be upgraded or added to in a manner that fulfills the request under consideration. This is where the expertise of system analysts is beneficial, since using their own experience and their contact with vendors they will be able to answer the question of technical feasibility.
The essential questions that help in testing the operational feasibility of a system include the following:
·
Is the
project feasible within the limits of current technology?
·
Does the
technology exist at all?
·
Is it
available within given resource constraints?
·
Is it
a practical proposition?
·
Manpower-
programmers, testers & debuggers
·
Software
and hardware
·
Are
the current technical resources sufficient for the new system?
·
Can
they be upgraded to provide to provide the level of technology necessary for
the new system?
·
Do we
possess the necessary technical expertise, and is the schedule reasonable?
·
Can
the technology be easily applied to current problems?
·
Does
the technology have the capacity to handle the solution?
·
Do
we currently possess the necessary technology?
OPERATIONAL FEASIBILITY
Operational feasibility is
dependent on human resources available for the project and involves projecting
whether the system will be used if it is developed and implemented.
Operational feasibility is a
measure of how well a proposed system solves the problems, and takes advantage
of the opportunities identified during scope definition and how it satisfies
the requirements identified in the requirements analysis phase of system
development.Operational feasibility reviews the willingness of the organization to support the proposed system. This is probably the most difficult of the feasibilities to gauge. In order to determine this feasibility, it is important to understand the management commitment to the proposed project. If the request was initiated by management, it is likely that there is management support and the system will be accepted and used. However, it is also important that the employee base will be accepting of the change.
The essential questions that help in testing the operational feasibility of a system include the following:
·
Does
current mode of operation provide adequate throughput and response time?
·
Does
current mode provide end users and managers with timely, pertinent, accurate
and useful formatted information?
·
Does
current mode of operation provide cost-effective information services to the
business?
·
Could
there be a reduction in cost and or an increase in benefits?
·
Does
current mode of operation offer effective controls to protect against fraud and
to guarantee accuracy and security of data and information?
·
Does
current mode of operation make maximum use of available resources, including
people, time, and flow of forms?
·
Does
current mode of operation provide reliable services
·
Are
the services flexible and expandable?
·
Are
the current work practices and procedures adequate to support the new system?
·
If the
system is developed, will it be used?
·
Manpower
problems
·
Labour
objections
·
Manager
resistance
·
Organizational
conflicts and policies
·
Social
acceptability
·
Government
regulations
·
Does
management support the project?
·
Are
the users not happy with current business practices?
·
Will
it reduce the time (operation) considerably?
·
Have
the users been involved in the planning and development of the project?
·
Will
the proposed system really benefit the organization?
·
Does
the overall response increase?
·
Will
accessibility of information be lost?
·
Will
the system affect the customers in considerable way?
·
Legal
aspects
·
How do
the end-users feel about their role in the new system?
·
What
end-users or managers may resist or not use the system?
·
How
will the working environment of the end-user change?
·
Can or
will end-users and management adapt to the change?
ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY
Economic analysis could also be referred to as cost/benefit analysis. It is the most frequently used method for evaluating the effectiveness of a new system. In economic 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. An entrepreneur must accurately weigh the cost versus benefits before taking an action.Possible questions raised in economic analysis are:
·
Is the
system cost effective?
·
Do
benefits outweigh costs?
·
The
cost of doing full system study
·
The
cost of business employee time
·
Estimated
cost of hardware
·
Estimated
cost of software/software development
·
Is the
project possible, given the resource constraints?
·
What
are the savings that will result from the system?
·
Cost
of employees' time for study
·
Cost
of packaged software/software development
·
Selection
among alternative financing arrangements (rent/lease/purchase)
The concerned business must be able to see the value of the investment it is pondering before committing to an entire system study. If short-term costs are not overshadowed by long-term gains or produce no immediate reduction in operating costs, then the system is not economically feasible, and the project should not proceed any further. If the expected benefits equal or exceed costs, the system can be judged to be economically feasible. Economic analysis is used for evaluating the effectiveness of the proposed system.
The economical feasibility will review the expected costs to see if they are in-line with the projected budget or if the project has an acceptable return on investment. At this point, the projected costs will only be a rough estimate. The exact costs are not required to determine economic feasibility. It is only required to determine if it is feasible that the project costs will fall within the target budget or return on investment. A rough estimate of the project schedule is required to determine if it would be feasible to complete the systems project within a required timeframe. The required timeframe would need to be set by the organization.
REFERENCES
Preliminary
Analysis-Case Study: Library Management System
Retrieved
August 11, 2011, from http://www.freetutes.com/systemanalysis/sa3- technical-economic-operational-legal.html
Feasibility
Jaelson
Castro and Mylopoulo. Information Sytems Analysis and Design
Retrieved
August 13, 2011, from http:/www.cs.toronto.edu/jm/340S/02/PDF/Feasibility.pdf
Technical
Feasibility, Economic Feasibility, Operational feasibility, Legal
Feasibility
Retrieved
August 13, 2011 from http:www.freetutes.com/systemanalysis/sa3-
technical-economic-operational-legal.html
Kendall
and Kendall. Systems Analysis and Design
Skidmore,
Steve (1994) Introducing System Analysis.
Blackwell Publishers, 25-34p.
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