Why It Matters: Feasibility Report Overview

A Feasibility Report is presented to the company that requested recommendations to solve a particular problem. This report gives a rationale of the feasibility of the recommendations determined by the Problem Analysis.

The investigator will research each solution that the analysis recommended and present the economic (how much will the solution cost), structural (how will the solution fit into the existing physical structure of the company), and operational (how will the solution fit into the existing operation of the company) feasibility of each recommendation.  The investigator will rank these according to his/her priority, but presenting the feasibility of all recommendations, giving the pros and cons of each recommendation. This gives the decision makers a choice to choose the solution they believe is right for the company.

Feasibility Research Report

Note: Except for the cover page and the transmittal letter, the headings will be formatted as shown below.

Cover Page

Use an APA cover page.

Transmittal Letter

A transmittal letter is sent to the company who requested the feasibility report. Although this letter is sent under separate cover than the Feasibility Report, it is a courtesy to include a copy of the transmittal letter in the Report.

This letter tells the need for the feasibility report and the date of completion of the report. The letter includes the background of the project, a reference to the Problem Analysis, and outlines the procedure used to determine the recommendations presented from the feasibility report.

Table of Contents

Identify the sections and their corresponding pages.

Executive Summary

Briefly explain the problem, the three solutions, and the recommendations.

For example:

The purpose of this feasibility research report was to address the problem of ________________. This report offered three alternative solutions to this problem: _________________, ________________, _______________. In addition, the report ranked the alternative solutions, according to its strengths and its benefits. Solution #3, _______ was the first recommendation. Solution # 1 ________________ was the second recommendation. Solution #2, __________ was the third recommendation.   (Of course this order depends on your rankings.)

The following format begins the body of the feasibility report.

Introduction

Write a brief introduction: This section will be from the Problem Analysis. Tell the why you conducted an investigation and the

Background

Explain the problem. This section explains how you know there is a problem.  This section will explain why you did the investigation, the findings and conclusion from the Problem Analysis.

Purpose

State the specific purpose of the Feasibility Report. For example: The purpose of this report is to address the problem that (the requester is experiencing with state the problem). This report will accomplish this by investigating three alternative solutions to this problem.

Research

From the analyses of the articles (Summaries/Responses), copy and paste the summarized sections here. Only paste the summarized sections. You will attach the entire analyses to the end of the report, as appendices.

NOTE:

Again, this research is not the same research you did for the Problem Analysis Report. The is the summarized sections of your Summaries/Responses. For this research (the Feasibility Report research) you investigated outside source for the solutions to the problem, whereas for the Problem Analysis your research explored internal sources to reinforce the validity of the problem.

Your Summaries/Responses conduct the research of the feasibility of the problem’s solution by examining various sources that addressed the feasibility of solutions to the problem. You may have looked into the recommendations you proposed for your Problem Analysis Report. This will provide research specific to solutions since the recommendations were a result of a previous investigation pertaining to the same problem.

In this Research Section, restate the information from your summaries. Be sure to use in-text citations that reference the source of information. APA requires that each statement in the research is cited, according to its source, followed by the sources year of publication. If you cite a direct quotation, in the in-text citation, follow the source and year of publication with the number of the paragraph from where you fond the quotation. (See the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 6th ed. for the proper format.) Citations can be presented as lead-in references or put at the end of the statements. (See the example in the Research Overview.)

The entire documents (your summaries/responses) are attached to the end of the Feasibility Report as appendices. This allows your reader access not only to the summarized information but also to your analysis of the information.

Maze with Solution

Alternative Solutions

Explain each solution according to technical, operational, and economic feasibilities.

The format will be as follows:

Solution #1

The first solution is __________________.  Further explain the solution.

Economic Feasibility

The economic feasibility is the cost of the solution. This includes all the costs involved: the amount for materials, pay for extra staff, costs of contractors, operating cost, etc. Be sure to report the cost in dollars.   For example: $5,000.

Structural Feasibility

The structural feasibility is how the solution will fit into the existing structure. Will the solution require more space, such as adding other rooms, constructing partitions, putting in heating systems, etc.

Operational Feasibility

The operational feasibility addresses how the solution will fit into the existing operation. Will more staff need to be hired; will the job descriptions of the existing staff need to be redefined; etc.

Solution #2

The second solution is __________________.  Further explain the solution.

Economic Feasibility

The economic feasibility is the cost of the solution. This includes all the costs involved: the amount for materials, pay for extra staff, costs of contractors, operating cost, etc. Be sure to report the cost in dollars.   For example: $5,000.

Structural Feasibility

The structural feasibility is how the solution will fit into the existing structure. Will the solution require more space, such as adding other rooms, constructing partitions, putting in heating systems, etc.

Operational Feasibility

The operational feasibility addresses how the solution will fit into the existing operation. Will more staff need to be hired; will the job descriptions of the existing staff need to be redefined; etc.

Solution #3

The third solution is __________________.  Further explain the solution.

Economic Feasibility

The economic feasibility is the cost of the solution. This includes all the costs involved: the amount for materials, pay for extra staff, costs of contractors, operating cost, etc. Be sure to report the cost in dollars.   For example: $5,000.

Structural Feasibility

The structural feasibility is how the solution will fit into the existing structure. Will the solution require more space, such as adding other rooms, constructing partitions, putting in heating systems, etc.

Operational Feasibility

The operational feasibility addresses how the solution will fit into the existing operation. Will more staff need to be hired; will the job descriptions of the existing staff need to be redefined; etc.

Recommendations

This section prioritizes the recommendations according to the investigator’s interpretation of the most effective solutions.

Recommended SignReport your recommendations, beginning with your first choice (however, use the number from the order it appeared in the alternative solution section). Explain why you prioritized each choice by elaborating on the strength of each feasibility: economical, structural, and operational. Also, emphasize the solutions benefits. Remember you can suggest that you do not recommend a particular alternative solution. However, you need to explain why you do not recommend the solution,  according to the technical, operational, and economic feasibilities.

For example, if you determined that the third solution was the most effective, the first solution was the next best, and the second solution was the least effective, the format would be as follows:

Solution #3

My first recommendation is Solution #3. Solution #3 is to ___________________.

Elaborate on why you ranked the solution as your first recommendation.  End with the benefits of the solution.

Solution #1

My second recommendation is Solution #1. Solution #1 is to ___________________.

Elaborate on why you ranked the solution as your second recommendation.  End with the benefits of the solution.

Solution #2

My third recommendation is Solution #2. Solution #2 is to ___________________.

Elaborate on why you ranked the solution as your third recommendation.  End with the benefits of the solution.

Note: Each recommendation begins with the same sentence structure: My ____ recommendation is Solution #__.  Do not change sentence structure.

Conclusion

Write a brief conclusion.

Reference Page

Be sure to use the APA style of documentation.

Appendices

Attach Appendices to the back of the paper after the reference page. These appendices should include at least four separate appendices, which are labeled Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, and Appendix D. These appendices should include the following:

Appendix A

First complete analysis (Summaries/Response) from article.

Appendix B

Second complete analysis (Summaries/Response) from article.

Appendix C

Third complete analysis (Summaries/Response) from article.

Appendix D

The complete Problem Analysis Report

See the following example of the Feasibility Report:    Student Sample of Feasibility Report