english 3302 dr e l harris assignment 4 feasibility report feasibility study preliminary stu

English 3302 Dr. E. L. Harris Assignment 4: Feasibility Report A feasibility study is a preliminary study undertaken before the real work of a project starts, in order to ascertain the likelihood of the project’s success. It is an analysis of possible solutions to a problem and a recommendation on the best solution to use. By presenting a complete picture of a situation and then using that information to propose effective solutions to problems that you find, you establish your credibility. Your goal is to show your readers that your ideas are sound because you have done thorough background research and presented information clearly and fairly. A variety of sources will also add credibility to your report because you will be able to show that you did an exhaustive study of the situation prior to making suggestions. SPECIFIC GUIDELINES: First and foremost look at the FEASIBILITY/RECOMMENDATION REPORT in your textbook,starting at the INTRODUCTION. Follow the format. • Make the main text of the report (excluding the References page) a minimum of 7 pages (single space within paragraphs, double space between paragraphs). • Use 1.25” for the top margin, and 1” for left, right, and bottom margins. • Each page after the first page must have the page header: name of the person you are addressing, page number, and date. INTRODUCTION 1. In this section, announce your topic. 2. Answer the question, Why is it important for us to consider these alternatives?” a) Identify the problem your study will help reader solve or b) Identify a goal it will help them achieve 3. Announce alternative courses of action you studied and tell generally what you did to investigate them. 4. Preview the main conclusions and, perhaps, the major recommendations. 5. Include, as necessary any restrictions or limitations of the report and forecasting information. CRITERIA Criteria are the standards that you apply in a feasibility study to evaluate the alternative courses of action that you are considering. Introduce your criteria early because your audience knows the validity of your conclusions depends upon the criteria you use to evaluate the alternatives, and they want to evaluate the criteria themselves. They’ll want to know whether you took into account all factors relevant to the decision and whether the standards you applied are reasonable in this situation. The selection of the criteria will depend upon the problem you address and the professional responsibilities, goals, and values of the people who will use your report. METHOD OF OBTAINING FACTS Discuss the methods used to obtain facts about the alternatives. OVERVIEW OF ALTERNATIVES Before you evaluate your alternatives, you must be sure the reader understands them completely. Depending upon how familiar your audience is with the alternatives, you may have to provide more or less background information. You may discuss the criteria against the alternatives in a whole-to-whole or point-by-point comparison. EVALUATION A matrix that presents the “big picture” is often used in this section. Summarize your findings clearly, carefully, and in such a way that readers process the material the way in which you want them to. RECOMMENDATIONS Answer the question, “What do you think we should do?” This may be one page or many pages. You may recommend that a course of action be taken, or not taken, or that additional research is conducted. END MATTER: References page with all work cited in-text. Do not include anything that has not been cited in-text. See your textbook, 9th Edition of Markel, for example of recommendation/feasibility.