Plenty of successful entrepreneurs have built businesses on the back of a napkin. Or, at least, that’s how they tell the story. In reality, every good idea in a business must first survive a rigorous project feasibility study. For many project managers, a feasibility study represents the first four phases of the project cycle.
People love ideas. They come to us in the blink of an eye, or even in our dreams. Although it can be tempting to tackle a compelling new idea head on, project management veterans understand the importance of reviewing the opportunities and the challenges posed by a project. Because project management professionals tend to focus on getting things done, it can sometimes be hard to look at the overall viability of a new idea.
According to some business experts, only about one idea out of fifty have any real chance of long term success. Making sure your idea falls within that 2% success rate can prevent time and resources from being devoted to a project that will probably fail, regardless of the execution. A well-orchestrated project feasibility study provides the kind of impartial analysis that can separate profitable ideas from unproductive brainstorms.
Facing Challenges to a Project Feasibility Study
Often, the biggest source of criticism for a project feasibility study will come from the person or the team that championed the idea in the first place. Strong leaders can develop the ability to conduct a project feasibility study on their own ideas, since they have learned how to make peace with the fact that not every idea deserves to be fully explored.
First time entrepreneurs or project managers may prefer to conduct a project feasibility study with help from another professional or an outside consultant. External perspective can make or break a project idea: if it makes sense to an impartial third party, it will probably make sense to pursue as a project.
