Technical Feasibility in Software Development

Every startup idea starts with

Imagine you're working at the teapot manufacturer. You created a crazy but ambitious idea - a highly-technological teapot that will choose a tea based on your mood. If you're sleepy, it'll make you a refreshing green tea, but if you're unsettled, it'll offer you a cup of peppermint tea. 

However, the first question you'll be asked is: "Is it technically possible for the company to implement it?". 

Here we'll discuss the technical feasibility analysis and how to check your ideas on technical implementation possibilities. 

P.S. BTW, if you want your idea to be implemented, CGS-team is ready to help and lead you through all the way from idea discovery, research, and design to development, testing, and maintenance. 

What is a feasibility study?

A Feasibility Study is a way to figure out whether a proposed project or system is practical and beneficial for an organization. It's basically a way to see if a project or system would actually work and be useful for a company. They look at how the software would be made and used and whether it would help the company. It's a way to make sure the software is a good fit for what the company needs.

When you're considering taking on a new project, it's important to make sure your organization has the technical know-how and resources to make it happen. This step is called assessing technical feasibility. It's basically a way to check if you have the tools and skills you need to get the job done right. This means looking at all the technical aspects of the project, like the hardware and software involved.

Types of Feasibility Study

There are also their feasibility studies like:

Source: ProjectCubicle​

• Operational Feasibility 
  Operational feasibility is all about assessing if a project aligns with your organization's resources, goals, and overall planning.
• Economic Feasibility 
  To figure out if the project is financially sensible, you should look at the money involved. You can do a cost-benefit analysis which will help you compare how much the project costs against how much it will benefit you. This will also make the project more trustworthy and help the decision-makers see how much the project will benefit the organization.
• Legal Feasibility 
  Before starting a project, it's essential to make sure that it follows legal and ethical rules. This involves looking into things like laws related to data protection and social media, as well as getting the necessary certificates and licenses. All of this is part of a Legal Feasibility Study.
• Scheduling Feasibility
  Consider how your project timeline fits with your existing operations, including product scheduling, demand forecasting, and other related tasks.
  

Importance of Feasibility Study

Before starting a project, it's a good idea to do a feasibility study. This can help you discover new ideas that may change the project's scope. It's better to figure this out early on rather than starting the project and realizing it won't work.

A technical feasibility study can assist in determining the following answers:

1. Is it possible to build the product using the company's present technology?
2. Is the company equipped with the required technologies to complete the project?
3. Are there technically strong people who can produce the project on schedule and on budget with the technology available?

Other restrictions must also be considered:

1. Internal project constraints include technical, technological, budgetary, and resource constraints.
2. Financial, marketing, and export constraints are examples of internal corporate constraints.
3. External constraints include logistics, the environment, laws and regulations, and so on.
   

How to run a technical feasibility study?

• Define the purpose and scope
  Clearly state the goals and objectives of the project to determine the specific technical requirements. 
• Identify key stakeholders
  Recognize the individuals or groups affected by the project and address their needs and concerns in the study. 
• Identify technical requirements
  Document the necessary hardware, software, infrastructure, and technical components for project implementation. 
• Conduct a technology assessment
  Evaluate available technologies or solutions that meet the project requirements, considering factors like functionality, compatibility, scalability, and cost. 
• Identify and evaluate alternatives
  Explore and assess alternative solutions or technologies to provide context for the project's feasibility. 
• Analyze technical risks
  Identify potential risks and challenges related to compatibility, performance, security, and other technical constraints. 
• Evaluate technical feasibility
  Assess if the project is technically feasible based on requirements, resources, and risks within the given limitations. 
• Cost estimation
  Estimate the expenses associated with project implementation, including hardware, software, infrastructure, licenses, and maintenance. 
• Develop an implementation plan
  Create a plan outlining steps, timelines, and resources needed to execute the project successfully, addressing technical challenges, and proposing solutions. 
• Provide recommendations
  Based on study findings, offer clear recommendations on whether to proceed with the project, suggesting modifications or contingencies if necessary. 
• Use a structured format
  Employ a structured format for the study, including an executive summary, introduction, methodology, results, and conclusion for clarity and ease of navigation. 
• Document the feasibility study
  Record all findings and conclusions in a comprehensive report, serving as a reference for decision-makers and stakeholders to evaluate the project's viability.
  

Source: mobindustry​

Conclusion

If you're thinking about starting a new project, it's important to figure out if it's possible from a technical standpoint. This means taking a look at whether your organization has the right resources and knowledge to get the job done well. Doing a feasibility study can help you figure out if the project lines up with your organization's goals and if it's both doable and financially reasonable. The study will check out a lot of different things, like if it makes sense operationally, economically, legally, and as far as scheduling goes. 

To find out if it's technically possible, you'll need to decide what you want to achieve, figure out who's involved, write down what you need to make it happen, look at the technology you'll need, consider any risks, decide if it's feasible, estimate the costs, make a plan, make some recommendations, use a specific format, and put everything you find out into a report. By doing a perfect technical feasibility study, you'll be able to make smart choices about whether or not your project will work and be able to finish it successfully.