A feasibility study establishes whether or not the project can be done, given the scope laid out during the problem definition phase.
It considers whether it is desirable for the developing company to proceed with the project. When embarking on a software project there must be confidence on both sides that the project can be delivered on time and within budget.
o A project has a specific budget, which must include all the costs of the project, including:
software licences
hardware
human resources/wages
the development company’s running costs.
Profit is also an important consideration.
The hardware and software costs are fairly straightforward and are unlikely to change over the course of the project. Human costs are the most variable and account
Staffing costs are based on the number of people on the project, the amount they earn and the length of the project.
o considers the overall budget and the overall costs. It then decides if enough profit can be made to make the project worth doing.
o Late projects result in going over budget because of the cost of developers’ wages. It is critically important that projects are delivered on time, as the developing company will make a negative impression if they cannot deliver when they said they could.
o In order to decide on how long a project will take, the project manager will have to estimate how long their developers will take to do the project.
o Can the project be done with the technical resources available? Some things are not possible or feasible with current technology.
o For example, accurate speech recognition is not possible, nor is being able to do facial recognition in dark environments. This means that projects that have these requirements are not technically feasible.
o Projects can sometimes have issues that are politically motivated or may go against the beliefs of certain groups of people. Systems such as the NHS, tax credits,
o Olympic computer systems and animal testing come under the direct scrutiny of the general public and media. When these projects go wrong, the media will
o undoubtedly report on it and show the development company in a negative light. The development company needs to decide whether the potential positives
o outweigh the possible negative publicity.
o Legal feasibility helps decide whether the project will be able to comply with all the laws that may affect it in the countries where it will be released.
o File sharing software, although legal in essence, has fallen foul of the law; companies producing or facilitating it have been sued.