Feasibility study

Habari Mwanafunzi! Before You Build the Nyumba, Do You Check the Shamba?

Welcome to our lesson on Feasibility Studies! Think about it: before anyone in Kenya builds a house (a nyumba), they first check the land (the shamba). Is the soil good? Is there access to water? Is the location safe? They do this to avoid wasting time, money, and effort on a project that is doomed to fail.

In the world of technology and systems, a feasibility study is our way of "checking the shamba." It's a critical first step in Systems Analysis and Design where we investigate an idea to determine if it's viable. It's the "look before you leap" stage that answers one crucial question: "Should we even start this project?"

Image Suggestion: An illustration showing a split scene. On one side, a team of young, diverse Kenyan IT professionals are brainstorming around a whiteboard with diagrams and sticky notes in a modern Nairobi office. On the other side, a construction foreman and a client are looking at blueprints on a piece of land, pointing to different features. The style is bright, optimistic, and modern afrofuturism.

So, What Exactly is a Feasibility Study?

A feasibility study is a detailed analysis that considers all of a project's relevant factors to ascertain the likelihood of completing it successfully. It helps to objectively uncover the strengths and weaknesses of a proposed system, the opportunities and threats present in the environment, the resources required, and ultimately, the prospects for success.

At the end of the study, you make a recommendation: it's either a "Go" (the project is feasible) or a "No-Go" (the project is not feasible and should be abandoned or re-planned).

    +-----------------------+
    |      Project Idea     |
    | (e.g., New App for    |
    |     Boda-Boda Riders) |
    +-----------------------+
              |
              v
    +-----------------------+
    |   Feasibility Study   | --> (Investigate all angles)
    +-----------------------+
              |
              v
    +-----------------------+
    |      Is it Viable?    |
    |      (Yes / No)       |
    +-----------------------+
      /                   \
     /                     \
    v                       v
+-------+             +----------+
|  GO!  |             |  NO-GO!  |
| Start |             | Stop or  |
| Project|             | Rethink  |
+-------+             +----------+

The Pillars of Feasibility: Let's Use the Acronym TELOS

To make sure we check everything, we break down the study into key areas. A common and easy-to-remember acronym is TELOS. Let's explore each pillar with some local examples.

• T - Technical Feasibility
• E - Economic Feasibility
• L - Legal Feasibility
• O - Operational Feasibility
• S - Schedule Feasibility

1. Technical Feasibility: "Do we have the tech and the fundis?"

This asks if the technology and expertise needed for the project are available. Can we actually build it? Do we have skilled developers, the right servers, and the necessary software?

Real-World Scenario: Imagine Safaricom was proposing M-Pesa for the first time in 2007.
Technical Questions: "Do we have a mobile network stable enough to handle millions of transactions? Do we have programmers who can write secure code for USSD and SMS? Can we create a system that can update balances in real-time without failing?" If the answer to these was "No," M-Pesa would have been technically infeasible back then.

2. Economic Feasibility: "Does it make pesa sense?"

This is the big one! It's a cost-benefit analysis. We weigh the total costs of the project against the expected benefits. The project is only economically feasible if the benefits outweigh the costs. We don't want to use a G-Wagon to deliver a single loaf of bread, right? The cost is too high for the benefit!

Let's do a simple calculation. Imagine a local restaurant, "Mama Njuguna's Kitchen," wants to build a simple delivery app.

--- MAMA NJUGUNA'S APP: COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS ---

A. COSTS (Money Out)

   1. One-Time Development Costs:
      - App Developer's Fee:      Ksh 150,000
      - Basic Server Setup:       Ksh 30,000
      - Marketing Launch:         Ksh 20,000
      ---------------------------------------
      TOTAL ONE-TIME COSTS:     Ksh 200,000

   2. Recurring Monthly Costs:
      - Server Hosting:           Ksh 5,000 / month
      - App Maintenance:          Ksh 10,000 / month
      ---------------------------------------
      TOTAL MONTHLY COSTS:      Ksh 15,000 / month
      TOTAL ANNUAL COSTS:       Ksh 180,000 (15,000 * 12)

B. BENEFITS (Money In / Saved)

   1. Tangible Monthly Benefits:
      - Increased Sales from App: Ksh 50,000 / month
      - Saved time (1 staff):     Ksh 10,000 / month (less time on phone orders)
      ---------------------------------------
      TOTAL MONTHLY BENEFITS:   Ksh 60,000 / month
      TOTAL ANNUAL BENEFITS:    Ksh 720,000 (60,000 * 12)

C. ANALYSIS: IS IT WORTH IT?

   Let's calculate the Payback Period.
   (How long until we recover our initial investment?)

   Formula: Payback Period = Total One-Time Costs / (Monthly Benefit - Monthly Cost)

   Calculation:
   Net Monthly Gain = 60,000 - 15,000 = Ksh 45,000
   Payback Period = 200,000 / 45,000 = 4.44 months

   CONCLUSION: Mama Njuguna will recover her initial investment in under 5 months!
   After that, she will be making a profit of Ksh 45,000 every month.

   This project looks ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. GO!

3. Legal Feasibility: "Tuko sawa na sheria?" (Are we okay with the law?)

This area checks if the proposed system conflicts with any legal requirements, like data protection laws, tax regulations, or licensing. You don't want to build a system only to have the government shut it down!

Example: When betting companies came to Kenya, their systems had to be legally feasible. They needed to comply with the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) regulations, implement KRA tax subtractions on winnings, and follow rules about advertising.

4. Operational Feasibility: "Will people actually use it properly?"

This is about the human factor. How will the new system affect the day-to-day operations? Will the employees be able to use it? Is there resistance to change? Do we need to train people?

Example: When a county government introduces a new online portal for paying for licenses, they must consider its operational feasibility. Are the clerks at the counter trained to guide citizens? Is the system easy enough for a regular mwananchi to use without getting frustrated? If people find it too difficult, they will just go back to lining up at the office, and the system will have failed operationally.

Image Suggestion: An infographic-style image. A central circle says "FEASIBILITY STUDY". Four arrows point out to four icons. 1) A gear icon for "Technical". 2) A Kenya Shilling coin icon for "Economic". 3) A group of people icon for "Operational". 4) A calendar icon for "Schedule". Each icon has a one-sentence question next to it (e.g., "Can we build it?").

5. Schedule Feasibility: "Can we finish it on time?"

This is all about the project timeline. Can the project be completed within the given deadlines? Some projects have very strict deadlines that, if missed, make the project useless.

Example: Imagine a company was hired to build the online voting system for a university's student elections. The election is on a specific date. The system MUST be ready, tested, and secure before that date. If they can't promise to deliver it on time, the project is not feasible from a schedule perspective.

The Final Product: The Feasibility Report

After analyzing all the TELOS factors, you compile your findings into a formal document called a Feasibility Report. This report is presented to management or the client. It clearly outlines the analysis, the findings (including the cost-benefit calculations), and a final recommendation: to proceed, to rethink, or to cancel the project.

Kazi Kwako (Your Turn)!

You've learned that a feasibility study is a crucial health check for any project idea. It saves us from costly mistakes by making us think before we act. We use TELOS to make sure we've covered all our bases.

Now, think about your college or school. Imagine a project to create a new "Student Portal App" where you can see your grades, fee balance, and class timetables.

What is ONE key question you would ask for each of the TELOS pillars for this project? Jot them down. This is how you start thinking like a true Systems Analyst!

Keep up the great work. You're building the skills to create amazing systems for the future!