Project Appraisal

Project Appraisal Definition

Project appraisal is the structured process of assessing the viability of a project or proposal. It involves calculating the feasibility of the project before committing resources to it. It is a tool that company’s use for choosing the best project that would help them to attain their goal. Project appraisal often involves making comparison between various options and this done by making use of any decision technique or economic appraisal technique.

Project appraisal is a tool which is also used by companies to review the projects completed by it. This is done to know the effect of each project on the company. This means that the project appraisal is done to know, how much the company has invested on the project and in return how much it is gaining from it.

Steps of Project Appraisal

Project appraisal is the process of assessing the feasibility, viability, and potential impact of a proposed project. It involves a systematic analysis of various aspects of the project, such as its objectives, scope, benefits, costs, risks, and potential outcomes. The following are the steps involved in project appraisal:

1. Project identification: This involves identifying and defining the project, including its objectives, scope, and key stakeholders.

2. Project screening: This step involves assessing the project's alignment with the organization's strategic goals, resource availability, and overall feasibility.

3. Project scoping: This step involves defining the project's boundaries, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements.

4. Market and demand analysis: This step involves analyzing the market and demand for the project's output or services, including potential customers, competitors, and market trends.

5. Technical analysis: This step involves assessing the project's technical feasibility, including the availability of technology, expertise, and other resources required for the project.

6. Financial analysis: This step involves assessing the project's financial viability, including the costs, revenues, profits, and cash flows associated with the project.

7. Economic analysis: This step involves assessing the project's economic impact, including its contribution to economic growth, employment, and social welfare.

8. Risk analysis: This step involves assessing the project's risks, including its vulnerability to external factors, such as market fluctuations, natural disasters, and political instability.

9. Environmental and social impact analysis: This step involves assessing the project's potential impact on the environment and society, including the potential risks and benefits associated with the project.

10. Project appraisal report: This step involves compiling all the information gathered from the above steps and presenting it in a comprehensive project appraisal report. The report should provide a clear recommendation on whether the project should be approved, modified, or rejected.

The process of project appraisal consists of five steps and they are – initial assessment, defining problem and long-list, consulting and short-list, developing options, and comparing and selecting project. The process of appraisal generally starts from the initial phase of the project. If the appraisal process starts from an early stage, then the company will be in a better position to decide how capital should be spend in the project and also it will help them to make the decision of not spending too much or stopping a project that is not economically viable.

Types of Project Appraisal

Appraisal of projects can be done by many ways, but the most common of them are financial and economic appraisal. In case of financial project appraisal, the company reviews the cost of the project and the expected revenues that will be generated by the project. This type of appraisal helps the company to prevent overspending on a project. It also helps in finding certain areas where alterations can be done for generating higher revenues. Under economic appraisal, the company mainly focuses on the total benefit of the project and less on the costs spent on the project. Other than these two types of appraisal, there are also other types of project appraisal which include technical appraisal, management or organizational appraisal and marketing and commercial appraisal.

What period of the future should be chosen for a better project evaluation?

The time period for project appraisal depends on the project's nature, scope, and expected lifespan. Generally, a project's appraisal period should cover the entire project lifecycle, including the planning, implementation, and post-implementation stages.

For short-term projects, the appraisal period may be one to three years. In contrast, for long-term projects, the appraisal period may be 10 to 20 years or even longer. The appraisal period should be long enough to capture the project's expected benefits and costs, including the initial investment, ongoing operational costs, and expected benefits over the project's lifespan.

It's also critical to keep in mind that the length of the project appraisal period can change based on the goals of the project and the organization's policies and processes. For instance, if the project's goal is to make quick money, the appraisal time can be shorter than if the goal is to benefit stakeholders over the long term.

In conclusion, the term for project evaluation should include the full project lifecycle and be extensive enough to include all of the estimated costs and benefits, including the initial investment, continuous operating expenses, and anticipated benefits during the project's duration.

Specialists carry out project appraisals

Project appraisal involves a wide range of specialists from different fields, depending on the nature, scope, and complexity of the project. The following are some of the specialists who may be involved in project appraisal:

• Project manager: The project manager is responsible for overseeing the entire project appraisal process, including the coordination of all the specialists involved.
• Financial analyst: A financial analyst assesses the financial viability of the project, including the cost-benefit analysis, cash flow projections, and other financial metrics.
• Economist: An economist assesses the economic impact of the project, including its contribution to economic growth, employment, and social welfare.
• Market analyst: A market analyst assesses the demand and supply factors related to the project, including market trends, customer preferences, and competition.
• Technical specialist: A technical specialist assesses the technical feasibility of the project, including the availability of technology, expertise, and other resources required for the project.
• Environmental specialist: An environmental specialist assesses the potential environmental impact of the project, including its impact on air, water, and land.
• Social specialist: A social specialist assesses the potential social impact of the project, including its impact on the community, culture, and social norms.
• Legal specialist: A legal specialist assesses the legal aspects of the project, including compliance with laws and regulations, contractual agreements, and liability issues.
• Risk analyst: A risk analyst assesses the potential risks associated with the project, including market risks, operational risks, financial risks, and other types of risks.

The specific specialists involved in project appraisal may vary depending on the type and scale of the project, as well as the organization's policies and procedures.

Software Used for Projects Appraisal

There are several software tools that can be used for project appraisal, including:

1. Microsoft Excel: This is a spreadsheet software that can be used for financial analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and other types of quantitative analysis.

2. Project management software: There are several project management software tools available in the market, such as Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, and JIRA. These tools can be used for project scoping, scheduling, resource allocation, and other project management activities.

3. Decision-making software: There are several decision-making software tools available, such as DecisionTools Suite, Expert Choice, and Analytica. These tools can be used for cost-benefit analysis, risk analysis, and other types of decision-making analysis.

4. Mind mapping software: There are several mind mapping software tools available, such as MindManager, XMind, and FreeMind. These tools can be used for brainstorming, SWOT analysis, and other types of visual analysis.

5. Environmental and social impact assessment software: There are several environmental and social impact assessment software tools available, such as ESRI ArcGIS, IMPACT, and OpenLCA. These tools can be used for environmental and social impact analysis, including the analysis of land use, water use, energy consumption, and carbon footprint.

Depending on the organization's rules and processes, as well as the project's type, scale, and complexity, the specific software tools utilized for project assessment may change.