Discuss the three major areas of feasibility, which are addressed in system analysis?

A well-conducted feasibility study provides a sense of the likelihood of success and of the expected cost of solving the problem, and gives management a basis for making resource allocation decisions. In many organizations, the feasibility study reports for all pending projects are submitted to a steering committee where some are rejected and others accepted and prioritized.

Because the feasibility study occurs near the beginning of the system development life cycle, the discovery process often uncovers unexpected problems or parameters that can significantly change the expected system scope. It is useful to discover such issues before significant funds have been expended. However, such surprises make it difficult to plan, schedule, and budget for the feasibility study itself, and close management control is needed to ensure that the cost does not balloon out of control. The purpose of a feasibility study is to determine, at a reasonable cost, if the problem is worth solving.

It is important to remember that the feasibility study is preliminary. The point is to determine if the resources should be allocated to solve the problem, not to actually solve the problem. Conducting a feasibility study is time consuming and costly. For essential or obvious projects, it sometimes makes sense to skip the feasibility study.

Three Major Areas of Feasibility in system analysis in organization

1. Technical feasibility—Is it possible to solve the problem using existing technology? Typically, the analyst proves technical feasibility by citing existing solutions to comparable problems. Prototypes , physical models, and analytical techniques [such as simulation are also effective.

2. Economic feasibility—Do the benefits outweigh the cost of solving the problem? The analyst demonstrates economic feasibility through cost/benefit analysis .

3. Operational feasibility—Can the system be implemented in the user’s environment? Perhaps a union agreement or a government regulation constrains the analyst. There might be ethical considerations. Maybe the boss suffers from computer phobia. Such intangible factors can cause a system to fail just as surely

as technology or economics. Some analysts call this criterion political feasibility.