Check that the Plan is Feasible
Before starting the project, you need to be certain that there is a reasonable chance of achieving success. Ask questions to assess whether the project is properly timed, feasible, and worthwhile before going ahead.
Is the Timing Right?
However desirable a project may seem, check that it is the right time to carry it out. Without careful examination of timing you run the risk of failure, for a number of reasons:
Other projects that are already started may make the project irrelevant. If, for example, a team is working on a complete revision of your organization’s website, it may be better to delay the implementation of a system for buying on line until the revision is complete.
Your organization may be trying to implement too many projects at once. Those working on projects may also be responsible for achieving operational targets, and their involvement in the project may jeopardize these targets.
Where projects are competing for the same, possibly scarce, resources it is vital that the right projects are done at the right time.
Postpone a project if there is a possibility that it won’t produce a valuable result.
Assess the Situation
You will need to ascertain whether it is really the right time to implement your project.
Get the Timing Right
High Impact
Involving at an early stage those people whose jobs will change
Doing a project at the right time for the organization rather than at the right time for your team
Negative Impact
Presenting people with an instruction to change when the project is finished
Pressing on regardless when a project has lost relevance
Identify the Driving and Restraining Forces
Every project is driven by the needs of the organization. The stronger these needs, the “driving forces”, the more likely the organization is to put energy and resources into the project to make sure that it succeeds. The reasons why particular projects are less likely to succeed, the “restraining forces”, should be identified early on so that you can overcome them or change the timing of the project.
The need to win back your customers from your main competitor is a driving force. A project that aims to do that will probably succeed as it will be clear to the organization how valuable the result of a successful project could be.
The people involved in implementation may be concerned about changing how they carry out their tasks in order to implement the project. Where this resistance is strong it is a key resisting force, and will threaten the successful outcome of the project.
5 Minute Fix
You can often come under pressure between the time that you complete the plan and start its implementation.
Use a shortcut to check feasibility by highlighting potential problem areas.
Make a list of the critical success factors for the project.
Mark each one red, amber, or green.
A preponderance of amber and green indicates that the project is feasible.
Predict Success
Making an accurate assessment of a project’s feasibility involves knowing how the current situation in your organization will affect it for good or ill. Understanding what these different forces are allows you to predict how likely you are to succeed in achieving the objectives of your project. Forcefield analysis is a useful technique to help you to decide whether the project’s driving forces outweigh the restraining forces and whether the overall balance is weighted towards success or failure.
Use Forcefield Analysis
To assess the relative impact of each force, use a scale of 1–5, where 1 represents a weak driver and 5 an essential organizational need. A restraining force that is not much of a threat to the project is represented by –1, while –5 indicates a force that is very strong and therefore puts the project at risk. Unless you can minimize the impact of this force it will probably be an obstacle to the achievement of the desired project results. Show your forcefield analysis to key team members and ask them to give you their opinion on whether you have correctly illustrated the forces that will have an impact on the ultimate success of the project.
Sometimes it’s easier to weigh up the options if they are presented graphically. This diagram illustrates the likely success or failure of a project very clearly.
Types of Financial Benefit
List the financial benefits of the project to the organization under four headings to assess which are the most compelling.
| TYPE OF BENEFIT | IMPACT |
| Reduction in costs | A cost that the organization used to incur will be eliminated by the project |
| Avoidance of costs | A cost that does not exist at the moment will be incurred later if the project is not undertaken now |
| Increased sales | The project will result in an improvement in revenues, internal or external |
| Improvement in management control | Managers will have better information on which to base decisions |
The most compelling financial benefits that a project is most likely to realize are cost reduction and cost avoidance. The financial reasons for doing a project that will be seen as less likely to occur are an increase in sales and an improvement in management control.
Assess Financial Feasibility
A key factor in deciding on the feasibility of a project is the cost-benefit analysis that accompanies the project plan. Make a list of all the costs you will incur, then estimate what will be the financial benefits of the project to the organization. Estimating the benefits is the more difficult part of this exercise. For each of the benefits take advice from people with experience in the area or look at other parts of the organization where there has been a similar initiative. In the end, you may have to use three estimates:
Pessimistic outcome
Most likely outcome
Optimistic outcome.
If the most likely outcome of the project is a financial benefit that outweighs the costs substantially, then it is very likely that the project will be financially feasible.