Plain definition
A feasibility study tests whether a proposed project can actually be delivered in its intended market and operating setting. It examines the conditions that must be true: customer demand, technical capability, permits, suppliers, people, funding, timing, and economics. A project can be profitable on paper but infeasible because one of those conditions is absent.
It differs from a business case in emphasis. A business case argues for a decision among alternatives; a feasibility study tests whether an option is workable at all. Its scope should match the commitment: a reversible trial needs less evidence than a site, system, or contract that is expensive to unwind.
Illustrative example
Suppose a company wants to open a cold-storage site. Its forecast assumes demand from nearby food distributors, but the study also checks electrical capacity, required permits, road access, qualified operators, supplier lead times, and the cash needed to hold initial inventory.
The sales forecast can remain attractive even if the local grid cannot support the equipment. Management can then change the site, redesign the operation, or stop before signing a lease. The useful result is not merely “feasible” or “not feasible”; it is a clear list of the conditions that determine the answer.
A feasibility study reduces uncertainty; it does not prove that demand or execution will occur exactly as forecast.
Why it matters
It prevents a founder from treating a revenue forecast as evidence that a business can be launched, staffed, supplied, and funded. Finding a constraint before commitment usually preserves cheaper options than discovering it after deposits, hiring, or contracts are in place.
Practical consequence
State the proposed operating model and list each condition that could block it. For every material condition, record the evidence, the person validating it, the date by which it must be confirmed, and the fallback if it fails. Separate facts already verified from assumptions still to test, then decide whether the next step is a pilot, a redesign, or approval.