How do you choose the right feasibility study tool or software?

When choosing a partner, it is critical to know your expected outcomes. If you think that the study is going to give you a thumbs up or down, then you are unrealistic. Feasibility studies are like your first level of underwriting. If you do not have the bandwidth to study a market, its fundamentals, the comps and a basic SWAT analysis for the project. Then this is a perfect scenario for conducting a feasibility study.

1. Simple Projects: Consider user-friendly templates or spreadsheets for basic financial analysis and risk assessment. 2. Complex Projects: Specialized software offers advanced features like cost estimation, market research tools, and scenario modeling. 3. Collaboration Needs: Opt for cloud-based software with document sharing and real-time data access for team collaboration. 4. Budget: Free or open-source options exist, but paid software might offer more robust features and support.

Selecting the right feasibility study tool involves defining project objectives, exploring available options, evaluating features against needs, and considering usability, compatibility, feedback, and cost. This process helps in choosing a tool that aligns well with project requirements and enhances project outcomes.

One of the often overlooked aspects of choosing a feasibility partner is market size. Market size is one, if not the most, important factors to consider. The bigger the market the more robust the data sources and thus the more accurate and reliable the output will be. If you are in a secondary or tertiary market it will be harder to validate. In fact, I would go so far as to say that form data availability in a tertiary market that it will be imperative for you as the operator and sponsor to supply most if not all of the data. These will be collected from local sources and local experience. County and city planners, zoning departments, local commissioners and even the local coffee shop.

Do not expect a big national firm or a piece of software to be capable in these data jungles aka tertiary markets. You must have local boots on the ground. Be willing to roll up your sleeves, attend meetings, talk to the locals and make the hard decisions on your own.

From my pov, it is essential to assess the accuracy of outputs and results that are generated by feasibility study tools or software to make informed decisions and ensure project success, It is important to understand the underlying algorithms and methodologies used by the tool. not only that but it is crucial to ensure that the tool applies industry-standard formulas and calculations for cost estimation, scheduling, and resource management.