Project Management
Study Guide — Lectures 3 & 5
Md. Thasinul Abedin | University of Chittagong
Lecture 3: Project Feasibility Study
Why Conduct a Feasibility Study?
• Determines whether a project can be completed across social, economic, financial, legal, and
technical dimensions.
• PMI research shows more than 50% of projects are not successful.
• A rigorous feasibility study is the first step to avoiding project failure.
• Early identification of failure allows faster resource-saving decisions — especially critical for
mega-projects worth millions of dollars.
Definition: A critical evaluation of the proposed idea to understand challenges, hurdles, and
difficulties in order to ensure its viability.
7 Types of Feasibility Analysis
1. Market Feasibility
• Analyzes aggregate demand and expected market share.
• Examines: consumption trends, existing suppliers and capacities, production constraints,
seasonal demand patterns, demand elasticity, customer behavior and preferences, competition,
cost structures, and marketing constraints.
2. Technical Feasibility
• Input Analysis: Identifies, quantifies, and evaluates inputs like skilled manpower, machinery, and
raw materials.
• Throughput Analysis: Examines operations that transform inputs into final products through
manufacturing stages.
• Output Analysis: Covers product specifications — geometry, functional features, chemical
properties, and compliance to global standards.
3. Financial Feasibility
• Assesses ability to repay debt and satisfy return expectations of capital providers.
• Key items: total project cost per lifecycle stage, means of financing, projected profitability, and
capital budgeting decisions.
• Most important to institutions providing capital.
4. Economic Feasibility
• A cost-benefit study comparing all production costs against the budgeted selling price.
• Determines whether costs are justifiable relative to the selling price.
5. Ecological Analysis
• Assesses environmental impact during project execution and product lifetime.
• Particularly relevant for bulk drugs, chemicals, and petroleum industries.
• Questions: What damage is caused to the environment? What are the restoration costs?
• May require prior clearances from government agencies.
6. Legal and Administrative
• Covers land use, pollution control, factory rules, safety, and labor.
• Includes taking registrations, clearances, and approvals from diverse authorities.
7. Human Resource Feasibility
• Ensures the right kind and amount of skilled manpower is available.
• Critical to executing the project without bottlenecks.
Lecture 5: Project Planning
10-Step Project Planning Process
1. Define the problem to be solved by the project.
2. Develop a mission statement, followed by statements of major objectives.
3. Develop a project strategy that meets all objectives.
4. Write a scope statement defining project boundaries (what will and will not be done).
5. Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
6. Using the WBS, estimate activity durations, resource requirements, and costs.
7. Prepare the project master schedule and budget.
8. Decide on the project organisation structure (matrix or hierarchical).
9. Create the project plan.
10. Get the plan signed off by all project stakeholders.
Key Plan Ingredients
• Problem statement
• Project mission statement
• Project objectives
• Work requirements and list of deliverables (reports, hardware, software, etc.)
• Exit criteria for each milestone
• End-item specifications (engineering specs, building codes, government regulations)
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Schedules and required resources (people, equipment, materials, facilities)
• Control system, major contributors, and risk areas with contingencies
Defining the Problem
A problem is a gap between where you are and where you want to be, with obstacles preventing
easy movement to close that gap. The way you define a problem determines how you solve it.
Common mistake: Defining a problem in terms of a solution (e.g., 'How do I repair my car?' rather than
'How do I get to work?').
Vision & Mission Statements
• Vision: the primary objective.
• Mission: always to achieve the vision.
• Mission is written by answering: (a) What are we going to do? and (b) For whom are we going to
do it?
SMART Objectives
Objectives are more specific than the mission statement. They define the desired end result. An
objective is SMART:
Letter
Meaning
Description
S
Specific
Clear and well-defined
M
Measurable
Can be quantified
A
Attainable
Realistic to achieve
R
Realistic
Grounded in available resources
T
Time-Limited
Has a clear deadline
Note: An objective is a noun (desired end result); a task is a verb (activity to achieve it).
Handling Changes to the Plan
• No plan remains unchanged — unforeseen problems will arise.
• Changes should be made only when a significant deviation occurs (usually defined in %
tolerances relative to original targets).
• Scope creep — unmanaged changes resulting in additional work — can push a project over
budget and behind schedule.
Risk Assessment
Ask two simple questions for every identified risk:
• What could go wrong? (Risks)
• What could keep us from our objective? (Contingencies)
Example: Risk analysis for a photography project
What could go wrong?
Contingency
Exposure wrong
Bracket the exposure
Shots unacceptable
Take extra photos
Film lost or damaged
Hand carry to client
Weather delays
Allow extra time