Feasibility analysis assignment

The purpose of the Feasibility Analysis is to gain insights into the viability of a business idea and to make sure that you are on the right track. Two basic questions need to be answered with the analysis: 1) Is there sufficient demand for the product or service? 2) Can the product or service be provided on a profitable basis; or if the product or service is aimed at creating social good, can it be offered on a sustainable basis?

Each group will need to submit a hard copy of your report to the designated SIM assignment drop box by no later than 7:00 pm local time on the due date of submission (week 9). You should also submit a soft copy of your report to the Grade book link at course Blackboard by no later than 7:00 pm local time. Your local lecturer will confirm the exact due date of submission.

The report must be either spiral bound or securely stapled with the standard RMIT School of Management cover sheet attached (available on-line).

Length:
4000-5000 Words (excluding prefatory section, references and appendices)

Total Value:
40%

Report Due: In week 9

Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to

1. Gain knowledge of specific issues related to feasibility analysis and entrepreneurship

2. Develop research skills

3. Develop skills in critical thinking and analysis

4. Develop skills in writing research reports

Feasibility analysis assignment

The purpose of the Feasibility Analysis is to gain insights into the viability of a business idea and to make sure that you are on the right track. Two basic questions need to be answered with the analysis: 1) Is there sufficient demand for the product or service? 2) Can the product or service be provided on a profitable basis; or if the product or service is aimed at creating social good, can it be offered on a sustainable basis?

*Please note that in order for you to receive a good grade, you will need to refer to theory and trusted information to support your proposed business idea throughout your assignment. Excuses such as ‘I know there is demand for my product/service because I have worked in this industry’, is not acceptable. Failure to reference ideas/theory will result in a lower grade*

In a team of 5 students, you are required to prepare a written feasibility analysis (20 pages on an average excluding references, Times New Roman font, Size 12, 1.5 spacing). In the analysis, you should address at least the following issues:

1. The Business Idea

Description of your business: What problem are you solving or what opportunity are you realizing?

Product/service description: Describe the benefits of your product(s)/service(s). Explain the service/product design. You should include a prototype (for a product) or a service blueprint (for a service).

Description of the entrepreneur/s and the venture team: Evaluate whether you and your management team possess the characteristics required to make the proposed business successful.

2. The Industry and Market

Current industry: Describe the industry as specifically as you can. There are some excellent sources in the RMIT library that can help you determine the size of the industry, average sales and profitability for the industry in a number of Asia Pacific countries. Please also refer to Statistics Singapore, Data Storage Industry, Asia Monitor, Business Monitor Singapore etc. and other reports available via the library database and industry associations.

Market potential for this industry: Is the industry in a period of decline, stability or growth? What were the trends in the past 5 years? What is the market demand going to be like in the next 1-4 years? Talk to people in industry as well as potential customers for their ideas about where the industry might be headed. Consider how technology or the global economy might affect the market potential for the business. Research the demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural trends in the industry (This may be presented in table format).

Competitors (Direct): Competitors in the same innovation field, the same or substitutable categories, e.g. other bike manufacturers. What are their distinct advantages and disadvantages?

Competitors (Benefit): Competitors who are using a different method (product or service) to satisfy the same need for the same end users/consumers, e.g. other means of transport and/or exercise which compete with bikes (these are also considered to be indirect competitors which might be selling substitutes for your products/services).

Target market/customers: Who are your customers? Are they businesses or end-consumers? What are their preferences, values, attitudes that relate to your business? How will you find out what your customers think or intend to buy? How can you find out what problems they have, what they need, or what they want that they don’t know yet! If you have more than one target market, do this for each market segment. It is important to note the different benefits and limitations for each customer group.

Penetrating the market: How will you reach your target customers? What forms of distribution or selling will you use? How will your potential customers become aware of your business?

Stakeholder analysis: Who are the key stakeholders in the business?

3. Business model analysis

Revenue sources: How many different revenue streams will the business model generate? What is the source of each revenue stream (sales, service fees, advertising, subscription)? What is the relative size and importance of each revenue stream? How quickly is each revenue stream likely to grow?

Cost drivers: What cost drivers have the greatest impact on the cost structure? Are the costs fixed, semi-variable, variable or non-recurring? What is their relative size and importance? Will the cost drivers change over time?

Resource requirements/mapping: What resources (e.g., human, physical, financial) are needed? Where will you source it from? How much will it cost?

Investment size: How much cash is required to launch the business model? What are the timings of these cash needs?

Critical success factors: Which elements of the company’s business model are most important to achieving profit goal? Which of these elements are most difficult to execute? Will they change over time?

4. Future action plan

Sources of start-up capital: Where can you obtain the money you need to start the business? Consider all sources available to you, such as personal savings, family and friends, bank loans, investors etc.

Further information needed: What are you uncertain about? Whom could you ask? Where can you find this information?

Support needed: List the individuals or groups you could consult for advice. Consider developing an advisory board consisting of people with experience in your industry and professionals from other industries whom might be expert marketers, for example. Do you have an attorney, accountant, website designer etc. who could help you when needed? Make a list of all the supporting actors your business may need in the future.

Please understand that completing this kind of an assignment with your team will take plenty of time, and you have to find this time outside of the classroom. I suggest you start working on the various parts of the analysis as soon as the teams are formed. If you run into problems on the way please do not hesitate to ask for help. However, do not expect this help to be available the last day before the assignment deadline.

Please remember that as you write the Feasibility Analysis, that the whole purpose for this document is to assist you in assessing whether or not to move on with your business concept. If at the end of a rigorous feasibility analysis it looks as if your idea is not feasible – that is acceptable. Like most entrepreneurs, you have tons of ideas and the nature of the Feasibility Analysis is to ensure that you embark on your path to realize tremendous success. If a few ventures do not pass the test, then this is fine. We all have options and we must be very careful not to fall in love with the first, or second, idea that pops into our heads. The primary purpose, therefore, of the Feasibility Analysis is to act as filter or screening device.

Important:

· Each group must attach their interview schedules used for collecting data, and the contact details of the entrepreneurs with their reports

· Your report must be typed and double spaced with a font size of no smaller than 12 points Times New Roman or 10 point Arial for clarity.

· Sources of information must be consistently and comprehensively referenced throughout the report.

Group Size

· The standard group size should be 5 students. Only in exceptional circumstance, 6 members will be allowed in a group, subject to the approval of your local lecturer.

Report Structure

Essentially your report will contain three sections: (1) Prefatory, (2) text, and (3) supplemental.

In general, following points are to be noted in preparing your report:

Prefatory Section

1. This states information that identifies and introduces the report to the reader. It tells the reader what to expect. Five common parts of the prefatory section are:

· Title Page

· Acknowledgement

· Executive Summary

· Table of Contents

· List of Figures and Tables

Body/Text

1. The body of the report presents a logical argument that supports the main theme or proposition. The body must be consistent with what you have said you are going to do in the introduction. Usually the body of the report can be organized in various chapters as below:

· Introduction, Objectives, Scope, Limitations of the report

· Research Methods

· The Business Idea

· The Industry and Market

· The Business Model

· Conclusions

· Future Action Plans

2. Within each chapter, you can have main headings and sub-headings that should be numbered accordingly. Each paragraph should have a topic sentence, and the points you are making should reflect that topic sentence.

3. In presenting your results, you need to refer to theory and supporting primary and/or secondary data to explain your argument.

4. Remember that you are trying to present a logical, cohesive and clear analysis of the key issues that you have investigated in assessing viability of your business idea.

5. DO NOT TRY TO WRITE EVERYTHING THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE TOPIC IN THE HOPE THAT SOMETHING WILL BE GOOD.

6. A conclusion is not just a list of the key points you have made. You need to draw together your key points to demonstrate that you have supported your position or proven your assumption(s).

7. The conclusion and future action plans need to be consistent with the analysis of the report.

Supplemental

This section contains additional information that the reader finds useful. The supplemental section of your report must contain the followings:

· ‘References’ which is a formal listing of the sources cited in the feasibility analysis report that may include books, journal articles, and other statistical and industry reports.

· ‘Appendices’ that contain related and supportive items such as, contact details of the key informants, photographs, sample brochures etc.

General points about the report

1. You can use headings, but use them sparingly. Headings only add value if they assist the reader in following the logical argument.

2. Poor spelling and grammar detracts from your ability to build an argument. CHECK BOTH GRAMMAR AND SPELLING THOUROUGHLY.

For more details about the report structure, see page 59-61 of Chapter 3 from your prescribed text as below:

McMurray, A., Wayne, R. and Scott, D. (2004), “Research: a commonsense approach” R. Pace and Don

Turnitin

You will need to use Turnitin software and check that your work meets RMIT’s standards of academic integrity. Turnitin instructions are available at

http://mams.rmit.edu.au/zdrig5rjsxnqz

. Each course has a specific code which you must use to log in to Turnitin. Your lecturer will provide this code through myRMIT. Turnitin will check your assignment for originality and will generate a report indicating areas in which the content overlaps with other academic papers and student assignments. Do not include the cover sheet or references when you submit the assignment to Turnitin as they will distort the report. By inspecting the report you should be able to determine whether your essay would be acceptable as predominantly your own work. Please take care to allow sufficient time to review the originality report of your assignment in turnitin before submitting by the due date. Your report will not be eligible for submission until it receives a similarity index below 20%.

Students: __________________________________________________________________

Class: _________________________
Date: __________________________

Criteria	Not at all (0%)	A little (1-49%)	Adequate (50-59%)	Good (60-69%)	Very Good (70-79%)	Exceptional (80-100%)
The Business Idea: 10%
Description of your business
Product/service description
Description of the entrepreneur and the venture team)
The industry and market: 40%
Current industry
Market potential for this industry
Competitor analysis
Target market description
Market penetration
Stakeholder analysis
Business model analysis: 25%
Revenue sources
Cost drivers
Resource requirements/mapping
Investment size
Critical success factors
Future action plan: 10%
Sources of start-up capital
Further information needed
Support needed
Executive Summary: 5%
Report Itself: 10%
Use of business report format
Clarity of expression
Spelling, grammar, syntax
Evidence of wider reading
Appropriate number of references
Correct use of referencing

* Note 1: Although this section is technically worth only 10%, students who do not use references correctly (they must be cited throughout the body of the report), or who are unable to express their points with any clarity, risk receiving a mark of zero for the whole assignment.