A feasibility study should be able to kill the project.
If a study only ever confirms what management already believes, it isn’t doing its job. A proper study is structured to surface the reasons a project might fail, not just the reasons it might succeed.
Market assumptions deserve the most scrutiny.
Revenue projections are usually the least tested part of a business case, yet they drive every other number. Independent market validation — not internal estimates — should anchor the revenue case.
Scenario analysis matters more than a single base case.
A single projected outcome hides risk. Modelling a downside scenario alongside the base case shows what happens to returns, covenants and cash flow if things go less smoothly than planned.
Operational feasibility is as important as financial feasibility.
A project can be financially attractive on paper and still fail because the business lacks the operational capacity, systems or team to deliver it. Both need to be assessed together.
The output should be a decision, not just a document.
A feasibility study’s value is in the go/no-go clarity it provides — including, sometimes, a clear no.
