Business Case
A written document or report that helps executive management and key stakeholders determine the benefits and rewards of the Project. The elements of a Business Case include:
- Description
- Describes the project, including the business need or demand that’s driving the project. This should include a list of high-level deliverables and desired outcomes
- Should also include the impacts to the organization if the project is not implemented
- Justification
- Describes the benefits to the organization for undertaking the project
- May be tangible or intangible benefits
- Describes the benefits to the organization for undertaking the project
- Alignment to the Strategic Plan
- Describes how the project and its outcomes will align to the organization’s overall strategic plan
- Stakeholders
- Anyone who has a vested interest in the project
- Can include individuals as well as organizations
- Analysis of the Problem or Opportunity
- Describes the problem or opportunity the project presents
- Can also include a gap analysis describing how this problem or opportunity currently impacts the organization and how the project might bring about different results once it’s implemented
- High-level Risk Analysis
- Known risks and a description of the risks should be documented
- More risks will be identified as the project progresses and should also be managed
- Alternative Solutions
- A high-level description of costs, the feasibility of implementing each alternative, the expected results of each alternative solutions, and a description of any impacts to the organization as a result of this solution
- It’s best to limit alternative analysis to the top two or three solutions
- Should include an analysis of the benefits and rewards of the varying solutions
- This is typically done through Financial and Performance Analysis
- Recommended Solution
- Describes the recommended solution
- Includes a summary of the analysis performed to determine the solution, a description of the high-level risks associated with the solution, a description of the constraints and assumptions, and a high-level plan documenting the major milestones, high-level timeline, and project dependencies
- Includes a brief description of the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders as well
- Feasibility Study Results
- Describes the outcome of a Feasibility Study