Project feasibility

Feasibility comes before design, not after

A feasibility study is the step where a board tests whether a proposed capital project can actually happen, on this site, at this cost, and in a way that matches what the board is trying to accomplish, before anyone is paid to draw it. That question comes before design, not during it. AIA's own description of the design phases that follow feasibility puts it plainly: schematic design is where "an architect consults with the owner to determine project goals and requirements." Feasibility answers a different, earlier question: whether the project should go forward at all.

Boards sometimes skip straight from "we have a problem" to hiring an architect. A feasibility study is what fills that gap, and it does not require hiring an architect to exist. A board can write a short one itself, using the same categories a professional report would use.

What a feasibility report should contain

If the board commissions a written feasibility study, AIA's standard scope for one describes what belongs in it: "an executive summary," "documentation of the methodology used," "the Owner's Development Objectives," "relevant facts upon which the report is based," and "conclusion and recommendations." A report that stops at a pile of numbers has left out the part the board actually needs: a professional's judgment on whether to proceed, not just the data behind it.

That same structure works even when no architect is involved. A board writing its own feasibility summary before a special assessment vote can use the same five parts: what was studied, how, what the board is trying to achieve, what was found, and a recommendation.

What feasibility cannot rule out

A feasibility study is not the same thing as an engineering inspection of physical condition, though a board may commission both around the same time (see Engineering studies). ASTM's guide to property condition assessments describes the purpose of that kind of report:

"is to identify and communicate material physical deficiencies to a user"

Source: ASTM E2018, Standard Guide for Property Condition Assessments, ASTM International

The same guide adds a limit worth remembering: the resulting report "is not intended to be construed as technically exhaustive." A feasibility study that leans on a property condition assessment inherits that same limit. It is a walkthrough snapshot of what a trained observer could see and was told, not a guarantee against every hidden defect.