It is the preliminary evaluation of a business idea, conducted for the purpose of determining whether the idea is worth pursuing. It takes the guesswork (to a certain degree) out of a business launch and provides an entrepreneur with a more secure notion that a business idea is feasible or viable. It follows the opportunity recognition stage but comes before the development of a business plan.

an assessment of the overall appeal of the product or service being proposed. Before a prospective firm rushes a product or service into development, it should be confident that the product or service is what prospective customers want.

entails showing a representation of the product or service to prospective users to gauge customer interest, desirability, and purchase intent.

is a one-page description of a business that is distributed by a startup entrepreneur to people who are asked to provide feedback on the potential of the business idea.

A concept test is usually followed by the development of a . It is the first physical depiction of a new product, which is usually still in a rough or tentative mode.

It measures a product’s ease of use and the user’s perception of the experience. It is sometimes called user test, beta test, or field trial.

an assessment of the overall appeal of the market for the product or service being proposed.

This factor includes the impact of government policies, political stability, and regulations on the business.

This factor includes the impact of economic conditions, such as inflation, recession, and exchange rates, on the business.

This factor includes the impact of social trends, such as demographics, lifestyle changes, and cultural attitudes, on the business.

This factor includes the impact of technological advancements, such as automation, artificial intelligence, and the internet, on the business.

This factor includes the impact of laws and regulations, such as labor laws, environmental regulations, and intellectual property laws, on the business.

This factor includes the impact of environmental factors, such as climate change, natural disasters, and resource scarcity, on the business.

Will the possibility of shifting party majorities in upcoming or recent elections affect regulation or de-regulation in your industry or a related industry? Does this create a threat or an opportunity?

How might changes in tax codes affect your budget and profits? How can you prepare for this?

What recent or current conflicts might affect foreign relations and/or trade in your industry? What can you do to create stability?

Is there legislation (proposed or passed) that would substantially affect your operations or your customers?

Do you see any upcoming opportunities in the form of new foreign markets? Or conversely, do you see any threats to your foreign markets?

What issues are becoming increasingly important to the people in your target audience? How does this affect their relationship with your brand?

Do you have a ready labor market, or are good team members hard to come by? Which direction is the trend heading? What do you need to consider in terms of compensation to bring on and keep talent in your industry?

How is inflation affecting the price of your materials? How is it affecting your customers and their spending?

How is your currency—and the currency of your customer base—performing? How might this affect your costs and revenue?

What recent or predicted trends in the stock market do you see impacting your industry and your organization?

What are the ages, experiences and backgrounds, and racial and gender identities of your customer base? Have any of these shifted or are they projected to shift? If so, how and why? What do you need to do to accommodate customers coming in?

Are there religious or spiritual beliefs that intersect with your organization or your product? How can you be sensitive to those?

How do consumers feel about your product (or products like yours)? Are there positive or negative changes in this general sentiment?

Due to economic or other factors, are your customers spending less in your market? More?

What current events, celebrity opinions, or other media influences will your consumers be tuned into? Are there any that might affect thoughts, ideas, and feelings about your organization, product, or brand?

What capabilities do you see as opportunities for your organization?

What new technologies would allow you to save on energy costs (both to your organization and to the environment)?

What developments have been made to cloud storage to make it more effective, and are you taking advantage of those developments? Conversely, are there security threats to be aware of in this software for your organization’s data?

What improvements are available to maximize speed and reliability for the online work of your team?

Are there incentives available to encourage certain technology use?

Are there emerging industry-specific technologies or equipment that would improve the quality, cost, or efficiency of your organization’s work?

How might developments or decisions in intellectual property law affect you and/or your competitors?

Are there consumer protection laws that would affect the way you interact with and do business with your customers?

What laws do you need to be aware of to conduct business in a way that protects both your employees and your organization?

What legal parameters are there for ordering goods from other countries, as well as for selling your product in other countries?

What licenses do you, your employees, and your organization need in order to fill the roles that are needed?

How might short- and long-term effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and increasing frequency of extreme weather, impact your organization and customers?

What necessary resources could become limited or depleted in the future that would impair your business?

What developments in clean energy might be accessible and beneficial for your organization?

How does your organization contribute to, and how is it affected by? What steps could be taken to reduce emissions and to prepare against the effect of emissions?

What pose a threat in your area, or in the areas where many of your customers are located? How can you be prepared for these threats?

What other hazards in your environment could prove threatening to your organization?

a diagram that visually conveys a company's internal structure by detailing the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between individuals within an entity.

The aim is to determine whether the business itself has sufficient expertise, competence, and resources to successfully launch its business.

determine whether the proposed venture has or is capable of obtaining sufficient resources to move forward