Before a business embarks on a project or initiative, it must first make sure that the project or initiative is actually worthwhile. Many projects can last months, years, or even decades, and often cost a significant amount of money and resources. Thus, it is essential that a business fully analyzes the pros and cons of projects to ensure that their potential investment is worth it, in both time and money. A technical writing team has the skills and knowledge to completely dissect a project to assess its value by completing an analysis known as a Feasibility Study.
What is a Feasibility Study?
A Feasibility Study is a thorough documented analysis of a project’s expenses and potential upsides. Expenses can include anything from hiring costs, to legal ordeals, to technical development, to scheduling considerations. In other words, a feasibility study documents the required investment in all fields – time, money, employees, and brainpower – necessary to complete the project. Technical writers have likely seen multiple hundreds of projects and are therefore experienced in correctly assessing these costs.
The upsides (benefits) of a project refer to the financial or personal gains received upon a project’s completion. For example, if a project results in a new product that the business could sell, part of the upside is the profit that the business would make from selling this product. Other upsides could include concepts such as improvements in employee happiness or productivity, which can’t be as easily quantified in dollars. A technical writing team can effectively weigh the costs against the benefits of a potential project to see if the project is worth it.
Benefits of These Studies
Feasibility studies ensure that a business is making worthwhile investments with their time and money. If a business thinks it has a great idea, but a feasibility study of the project shows that the costs of the project outweigh the benefits, then the feasibility study has helped the business save their money and operate more efficiently. Some further benefits of feasibility studies are…
- Increased confidence in the value of projects
- Prevents unnecessary spending of money and time on low-return projects
- Only requires a small investment when compared to the potential cost of a full project
- Results can be extrapolated to future projects
- Reflection on potential projects shows care and critical analysis, improving company relationships with stakeholders, employees, and customers
How EDC can Help
Whether you need a team of consultants to produce a complete line of documentation or a single technical writer for a brief project, Essential Data’s Engagement Manager will lead the project from start to finish. At Essential Data Corporation, the quality of our work is guaranteed. Contact us today to get started at (800) 221-0093 or [email protected]
Written by Jeffrey Pinsker-Smith