A feasibility assessment is a study to determine if the requirements of a project or a program can be met within the cost, schedule, and performance constraints of the project or program.

Feasibility Assessment Goals

The goal of the assessment is to determine if the requirements can be met with the anticipated technology. A secondary goal is to define certain strategies, such as mitigation for single event upsets, which will constrain the design.

When to Conduct a Feasibility Assessment

A feasibility assessment should be performed once the requirements are developed, or concurrent with the development process.

Purpose of Feasibility Assessment

The purpose of the feasibility assessment is to determine if the required functionality and performance can be met by the chosen technology, for all planned and anticipated off-nominal operational scenarios. If the requirements cannot be met, then the project needs to determine if the requirements should be modified, or if another technology is more appropriate.

Feasibility Assessment Steps

Conducting a feasibility study involves the following steps:

• Step 1: Conduct requirements analysis
• Step 2: Determine cost, schedule, and performance constraints
• Step 3: Determine what can be met and what can’t be met
• Step 4: Develop options/approaches for items that can’t be met
• Step 5: Present plan to stakeholders

Feasibility Assessment Questions

The information produced by the assessment process should be documented in a report and should address the questions below if applicatble. [1]

• Assess the probability that the requirements can be met by the chosen technology. Consider whether the design will reach any technical limitations, such as the number of gates, complexity, operating frequency, and packaging limitations (e.g. number of pins).
• Check the availability of the selected technology. Consider how long the chip and tools will be supported, in relation to mission duration. When will the parts become obsolete? Also consider the availability of technical support.
• Estimate the design complexity
• Estimate the power consumption
• Perform a preliminary timing analysis to assess the feasibility of speed requirements
• Select a radiation hardening approach
• Select a production test approach and verify feasibility against all requirements
• Identify and evaluate suitability and qualification status of complex electronic technologies
• Identify suitable packaging; make a baseline selection
• Determine availability and status of design and test tools and libraries and necessary personnel

AcqLinks and References:

• Defense Acquisition Guidebook (DAG)
• Requirements Development Checklist
• DAU Systems Engineering Fundamentals Guide
• Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Systems Engineering Primer & Handbook
• NASA Systems Engineering Handbook (large 9M file)

Updated: 7/26/2021

Rank: G13