Analyzing projects

CAST FLOW ANALYSIS DETERMINES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INCREMENTAL COSTS AND THE INCREMENTAL BENEFITS FOR EACH YEAR OF A PROJECT IN ORDER TO EVALUATE ITS FINANCIAL VIABILITY. DISCOUNTING PROVIDES A BASIS FOR ANALYZING AND COMPARING FUTURE STREAMS OF COSTS AND BENEFITS BY REDUCING THEM TO THEIR EQUIVALENT PRESENT WORTH. NET PRESENT WORTH EVALUATES PROJECT NET BENEFITS BY COMPARING DIFFERENT TIME STREAMS OF BENEFITS AND COSTS. THE RATIO OF PROJECT BENEFITS TO PROJECT COSTS (BENEFIT-COST RATIO) EVALUATES THE EFFICIENCY OF PROJECT RESOURCE USE. INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN IS A CRITERION FOR ANALYZING PROJECTS BASED ON THE PERCENTAGE RETURN ON INVESTMENT. AN IMPACT-INCIDENCE MATRIX TABULATES THE DISTRIBUTIONS OF PROJECT COSTS AND BENEFITS TO THE AFFECTED GROUPS IN THE SOCIETY. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS IDENTIFIES, ASSESSES, AND WEIGHS COSTS VS. BENEFITS TO EVALUATE THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC MERITS OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS EVALUATES THE EFFECTIVENESS RELATIVE TO THE COSTS OF ALTERNATIVE MEANS TO THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES.