Recommendation and Feasibility Reports 

This chapter addresses a loosely defined group of report types that examine a situation, evaluate the evidence, and render a judgment.

Some Rather Fine Distinctions...

The reports in this loosely defined category are variously called feasibility reports, recommendation reports, evaluation reports, assessment reports, and who knows what else. They all do roughly the same thing—provide carefully studied opinions and, sometimes, recommendations. There are some subtle differences among some these types.

Feasibility report

This type of report studies a situation (for example, a problem or opportunity) and a plan for doing something about it and then determines whether that plan is "feasible"—whether it is practical in terms of current technology, economics, social needs, and so on. The feasibility report answers the question "Should we implement Plan X?" by stating "yes" or "no," but more often, "maybe." Not only does it give a recommendation, it also provides the data and the reasoning behind that recommendation.

Recommendation report

This type of report starts from a stated need, a selection of choices, or both, and then recommends one, some, or none. For example, a company might be looking at grammar-checking software and want a recommendation on which product is the best. As the report writer on this project, you could study the market for this type of application and recommend one particular product, a couple of products (differing perhaps in their strengths and their weaknesses), or none (maybe none of them are any good). The recommendation report answers the question "Which option should we choose?" (or in some cases "Which are the best options?) by recommending Product B, or maybe both Products B and C, or none of the products.

Evaluation report

This type of report provides an opinion or judgment rather than a yes-no-maybe answer or a recommendation. It provides a studied opinion on the value or worth of something. For example, for over a year the city of Austin had free bus transportation in an attempt to increase ridership and reduce automobile traffic. Did it work? Was it worthwhile?—These are questions an evaluation report would attempt to answer. This type of report compares a thing to a set of requirements (or criteria) and determines how well it meets those requirements. (And of course there may be a recommendation—continue the project, scrap it, change it, or other possibilities.)

As you can see, these distinctions are rather fine, and they overlap. In real-world writing, these types often combine—you might see elements of the recommendation report combine with the feasibility report, for example. Of course, the writers of these reports don't care which type they are writing—and well they shouldn't! They're trying to get a job done.