Category Archives: Feasibility

Th, 11/13: Front & Back Matter

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We have two simple items on our agenda today:

1. Review the slides you posted to Blackboard. We’ll walk through what’s strong about these examples and, if applicable, how they might be improved.

2. Slideshow: Front + Back Matter. This is the last lecture for the feasibility study and it’s packed with information that will be useful to applying the finishing touches to the report.

T, 11/11: Presenting

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Today’s agenda (in 009 HBC):

1. Listen and evaluate our final tech briefing. We’ll spend 10-15 minutes hearing Andrew, Rachel, and Lexi talk about social media in the workplace and another 5 completing their evaluation form. Here are their deliverables:

2. Review the feasibility briefing requirements. This week we are wrapping up instruction on the feasibility unit. Starting next week and again after Thanksgiving Break, you’ll take turns delivering 5-7 minute briefings on the status of your feasibility studies. This is a chance for you to practice planning a presentation, designing slides, and delivering a short, effective briefing. Like the Tech Briefings, these are co-evaluated by me and the class. Here is the evaluation form:

3. Schedule briefings. Your schedule is available on Google Docs.

4. Video: “Story, Imagery, & the Art of 21st Century Presentation” by Garr Reynolds at TEDxKyoto 2012

5. Handout: Some Thoughts on Delivery

6. Slideshow: Slide Design

7. Activity (if there’s time): Use Powerpoint or Keynote to design one slide for your feasibility study using some of the principles we just discussed. Bring this to class on Thursday.

 

 

Th, 11/6: Feasibility reports

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Today we’re spending most of our time spelling out the genre of the feasibility report and processes for developing one. And remember, your proposals are due tonight.

1. Listen and evaluate another tech briefing. We’ll spend 10-15 minutes hearing Kathryn & Anisha talk about InterviewStream and another 5 completing their evaluation form. Here are their deliverables:

2. Slideshows: Feasibility reports & Finding and Using Information.

3. Activity: Making a research plan. We’ll use the matrix in the Finding and Using Information slides to think more strategically about your client’s alternatives/choices, your criteria for analysis, and the research necessary for writing a useful report.

T, 11/4: Working with clients

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This week you’ll submit a proposal for the feasibility study. If you haven’t finalized your client for this unit and you haven’t spoken with me about it, you need to do so today.

This morning we’re talking about working with clients and on Thursday we’ll begin to discuss how to put together the actual report. Next week we’ll discuss presentations and front/back matter within the report. In the last three weeks we’ll dedicate time in class to hear briefings on your studies, whether they are actually complete or not.

1. Listen and evaluate two tech briefings. We’ll spend 10-15 minutes hearing from each of them and another 5 completing evaluation forms.

  • LinkedIn (Julia & Kelly).
  • Google apps (Ethan & Francisco).

2. Slideshow: Working with clients. Slides here.

3. Activity: Analyze example proposals. We’ll take a look at 3 examples that vary in approach and quality.

Th, 10/30: Proposals

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1. Listen and evaluate another tech briefing: Go2Meeting (Alina & Tian). We’ll spend 10-15 minutes hearing from them and another 5-10 completing their evaluation form. Their deliverable is here.

2. Last-minute questions about the Instructions Project? This is due by midnight.

3. Slideshow: Proposals. Slides here.

4. Activity 1: RFPs. Browse the RFPs at grants.gov, find an example from your field, and skim the synopsis, full announcement and/or application materials to identify:

  • Investors — Who are they? Who do they represent?
  • Problem/need/goal — Why are they posting this RFP?
  • Objectives — What would a good proposal promise to do?
  • Solutions/Methods — How could might a proposal insure it keeps that promise? What must an applicant say about their qualifications, scheduling, resources, and capacity to manage?

5. Activity 2: Kickstarter. Browse the various projects on Kickstarter, find an example that interests you, and skim the page to identify:

  • Investors — Where & how does the maker address them?
  • Problem — What need or desire does this thing satisfy?
  • Solution — What is the thing and what does it promise to do?
  • Methods — What appeals does it make to insure it will keep those promises? What does the page say about the maker’s qualifications, scheduling, resources, and capacity to manage making this thing?

T, 10/28: The Feasibility Study

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1. Listen and evaluate another tech briefing: Zoho (Tim & David). We’ll spend 10-15 minutes hearing from them and another 5-10 completing their evaluation form. Their deliverable is here.

2. Close up the Instructions Project. Your final deliverables for the Instructions Project are due Thursday before midnight. We’ll review the delivery requirements, the team evaluation form, and look at an example of a letter of transmission for the S.S. Save Wheezy instructions & usability report we viewed earlier in this unit.

3. Slideshow: What’s a feasibility study? Slides here.

4. Look at recent examples of feasibility studies IRL. Get into groups by major and pick a feasibility study to review from the list below. Ask yourselves the questions form the last slide above. Talk about this for 10-15 minutes and get ready to share.

Public admin/management:

–Bicycle Commuter Corridor Study from Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council

Engineering:

–Onondaga Lake Wastebeds Study from the NYDEC
–Kenilworth Park Landfill Site from the National Park Service
–Greenhouse Gas Management (NYC Dept of Environmental Protection)

Accounting or management:

–On Using CPA Firms from Auditor of Public Accounts, Virginia
–Enterprise Data to Revenue Project (California Franchise Tax Board)

Technology:

–Los Angeles County WiFi Feasibility Report from Los Angeles County

5. Look at examples from this class. These executive summaries were culled from more memorable final reports of previous semesters. Apply the same questions from the slides and come up with 2-3 ideas for your own project.