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All About Generation and Screening of Project Ideas

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Before any project is executed by an entrepreneur it must be discovered. Although various projects and ideas are available in the market it requires efforts and techniques to look for them. Similarly scanning each and every project available in the market in a sheer waste of time.

Above all, looking for projects related to our business niche is the best way to look for projects. Attractive projects also attract various investors and investment is crucial for the execution of the projects.

However, a creative mindset is required to generate new ideas. It also helps to look at existing projects more creatively.

Certain tasks are involved in generation and screening of project ideas in general and in this post we are going to learn about these involved tasks.

INDEX

  1. Tasks associated with generation and screening of a project idea
  2. Conclusion
  3. FAQs

Tasks associated with generation and screening of a project idea

Tasks which are associated with the Generation and Screening of a Project Ideas are:

Generation of Ideas

Generation of ideas is a crucial and first important step before proceeding further. Therefore a group of people meet and to identify investment opportunities. A creative idea must be found out by the team to go with it further.

Certain tasks or structures can be carried out by the team in order to come up with new innovative, creative ideas. Certain techniques can be followed in order to ensure effective idea generation, some of them are:

  • SWOT Analysis: In short SWOT analysis refers to identification and analysis of the 4 components of our organisation which are namely Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats. As a result, SWOT-analysis helps us to identify key issues and opportunities for our organisation and it comprises an analysis of your internal operations as well.

Performing a SWOT analysis will help us tap opportunities and generate ideas and moreover we may be capable to have the first-mover advantage over others.

  • Determining the objectives: determining the objectives that need to be carried out is also an important step towards idea generation. Determining objectives will help us think in a particular way and direction so that our objectives can be fulfilled. It also saves us from duplication of efforts because it provides us with clarity in the thought process. Directional thinking saves both time and effort.
  • Generation of the atmosphere: creativity comes from within but the process of creativity can support by creating an atmosphere which helps in making the process better and informed

Creating an environment can boost the morale of employees and also motivate them to be more creative. Techniques can also be used to do so like interactive group activities, brainstorming sessions etc. It will help in the generation of more creative and innovative ideas.

Monitoring the Environment 

The next task to execute comes out to be the monitoring of the environment. The environment should be systematically monitored by the organisation in order to assess its competitive abilities. Doing so will help us gain an advantage over others to exploit the opportunities available in the environment.

The process of scanning and monitoring cannot do blindly without first knowing what to do. A plan to execute is must. Certain areas mentioned below which must studied and monitored in order to tap opportunities:

  • Economic sector
  • Technology sector
  • Government sector
  • Competition of firm
  • Demographics of audience

Corporate Appraisal

The next big thing to do is the identification of corporate strength and weakness. This scanning and identification of strength and weakness are termed as the corporate appraisal. It also considers certain aspects to look upon:

  • Market and distribution
  • Production
  • Operations
  • Finance and accounting
  • Research and development 
  • Human resources

Scouting for Project Ideas

The process for scouting for project ideas is now to be executed. But before the process begins one must know that from where is he going to scout ideas from. He must be aware of some popular sources to look for ideas. Some of the potential sources are mentioned below.

  • Plans of government
  • Trade fairs 
  • Exhibitions
  • Stimulation of creativity
  • Local material and resources
  • Financial institutions
  • Development agencies
  • Latest technologies

Also Read: Creative Business ideas in India

Preliminary Screening

Preliminary screening refers to the first look at any project. Scanning the project from an overview perspective and obtaining pointers so that further research can be done on these points. This is the first step after a project comes to us.

This al serves as an elimination stage where those ideas which do not sound promising are eliminated. This also makes sense because if at an early stage, we know about an unpromising project, we will not further invest our precious time and resources in that project.

Some factors are to be considered while performing preliminary screening for our project. Some of them are: 

Project Rating Index 

Project rating index seems to be important when it comes to handling a large number of possible project ideas. A tool which helps us to evaluate a large number of project ideas. It also helps us to simplify the process of preliminary screening. It makes sure that our efforts are in the right direction and also helps us save time. There are certain steps involved in the calculation of the project rating index.

  • Identification of relevant project rating factors
  • Assigning weight to factors( based upon importance )
  • Rating of different project proposals on selected factors
  • Multiply factor rating of projects with factor weights
  • Add all factor scores
  • Overall project rating of the project is obtained

After the project rating for different projects is obtained the time comes to decide with which projects we can proceed and which others to reject. Usually, a benchmark score is defined and any project before that level is rejected. The projects which meet the benchmark scores can be considered for further evaluation.

Also Read: Components of Technical Analysis in Business

Sources of Positive NPV

NPV stands for Net Present Value. To select a feasible and profitable project a project manager should conduct a fundamental analysis of the product and also study the market to know about the entry and exit barriers which lead to positive net present value.

Entry barriers refer to the restrictions on issues which may hinder our entry to the market. Studying about entry barriers and finding ways to overcome them is crucial. Some of the major entry barriers are:

  • Product differentiation
  • Cost leadership
  • Economies of scale
  • Market reach
  • Government policies
  • Technology

Being an Entrepreneur/ Skills of the Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is a person who sets up a business or multiple businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. They are considered as initiators. Entrepreneurs also support the development of the economy by contributing to the GDP of the country. 

Skills are very important when it comes to being an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur is not easy. It demands one to have knowledge of business, the right mindset and the most crucial elements of the ability and courage to take risks. Risk-taking is very important because the greater the risk is the greater are the chances of making profits

Entrepreneurs are not born but are made. It requires to acquire a number of skills over a period of time to become an entrepreneur. Some of the skills required to become an entrepreneur are mentioned below:

  • Willing to make sacrifices
  • Leadership qualities
  • Quick decision making
  • Rationality in thinking
  • Believe in the project or whatever he is doing
  • Able to tap opportunities 
  • Strong willpower to handle ups and downs in business
  • Risk-taker
  • Team player

Also Read- Market and Demand Analysis in Business

Conclusion

Every successful business is once an idea. But not every idea becomes a successful business. We all have got ideas with which we want to execute as a business. But before going any further every idea must go through various stages of processing to find out whether the idea we want to execute is actually worthwhile or not.

This post discusses with all such aspects to take care at time of evaluation of the business idea.

Stay with us to get more such amazing stuff from our side. We will be meeting soon. Till then have a look at some FAQs;

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the tools for identifying investment opportunities?

Porter 5 forces model
Life cycle approach
Experience curve

What are the stages in life cycle approach?

Pioneering stage
Rapid growth stage
Maturity stage
Decline stage

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