.AI QUALIFICATIONS & WORKSHOPSFor business organisations, justification for a project usually takes a commercial form i.e. evaluating how much money could be made from the investment. For example, investing money in developing a new software app to bring first to market, might be deemed to bring certain monetary benefits (in terms of sales) which exceeds the costs of investment.

Select your preferred qualification or workshop.For government organisations, justification is probably not a commercial one, but could be based upon giving value for money to achieve certain benefits. For example, a public health campaign extolling the benefits of flu-vaccinations for elderly people, might be judged as giving greater value for money than having no campaign, and instead relying on treating patients in hospital once they have contracted the virus.

With so many competing claims being made on scarce funds, organisations need the assurance that the decision they are taking is the right one. After all, there will not be enough funds to pay for all the ideas for projects which are floating around the organisation.AIPGF COURSESWho uses a business case?

Select your preferred training course below:Business cases can be used by many different levels of management within an organisation. Not only are they used to justify the investment in an individual project, but also they are typically used by a

The expected benefits of reduced overheads are clearly stated. Benefits should be measurable and quantifiable. That means that the benefits can be measured later. But what about the reduced errors, rescheduled appointments and customer contract cancellations? Aren’t they benefits?BUSINESS SOLUTIONSWell, these are in fact something else – they’re called outcomes. Outcomes are the results of the changes which come about by using the new handheld devices. The ways you measure the improvements resulting from these outcomes are known as benefits.

This example also contains a dis-benefit which is that the back-office staff morale will be lower due to reduced overtime payments. A dis-benefit, if you’re wondering, is a negative consequence of a project. It’s not the same as a risk which implies something uncertain. A dis-benefit is something which you know will happen because of the project and it has negative consequences for the organisation. It’s the opposite of a benefit!TO HELP ORGANISATIONS IMPROVETimescales

We offer solutions to help improve team performance including:Just as we saw in the previous example, the business case contains 2 timescales – the project timescales (i.e. the time it will take to complete the project) and the benefits realization timescales (i.e. the time over which benefits are expected to be realized).

Consultancy servicesCosts
Staff developmentAgain, there are 2 costs – project costs and the ongoing operational costs over the benefits realization timescale. When the decision is taken whether to invest in this project, the total costs (i.e. project costs and ongoing operational costs) are weighed against the expected benefits over the same time period.
Compliance trainingRisks
Apprenticeship trainingOne major risk has been identified in this example, but on your project, there could be many risks.
Custom e-Learning developmentInvestment appraisal

The final section is the investment appraisal. The investment technique used in this example is called net benefits. As you can see from the table, the project and operational costs are recorded for each year of the investment. The project lasts 1 year which is why the project costs are zero after year 1. Of course, the benefits won’t be realized until the solution is in place and the company starts to use the handheld devices.Find out moreThe net benefits are simply the total benefits minus the total costs. This shows that the company will start to get a return on its investment sometime towards the end of year 2. This knowledge is vital if the decision-makers are to take a sensible decision about whether to invest in the project. Business case template This simple business case template is free to download.

SummaryCONTACT USA business case is the most important document on any project. That’s because it justifies the investment.

Remember, if you want to learn more about developing a business case, and learn many of the techniques useful for assessing business problems, consider attending a classroom business analyst courseName.

Enhance your skills with our expert-led courses Email

Instructor-ledPhoneBetter Business Cases Practitioner (with Foundation) course

£2,400 +vatHow can we help?

See all dates

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY£699 +vat

Some of the charities we have helped over the years:Business case FAQs

Who approves a business case?

Usually on a project, the project sponsor (the person or people who are committing the funds) will approve a business case. Before approving it, they need to have confidence that the problems have been addressed and the right solution has been selected, that the benefits are achievable and realistic, when the investment will pay off, and how big will the return on investment be.

What makes a good business case?

As you have seen in this article, there’s several important bits of information which goes into a business case. Don’t spend unnecessary time though adding information which isn’t required. Your project sponsor will have to read your business case before they approve it, and you don’t want to make their job any harder than it already is!

There are several things you can use to check whether your business case is adequate or not. Here’s a checklist of 13 questions to ask yourself before you submit your business case to your sponsor for approval:

United KingdomThe reasons for the project (answers the question ‘Why are we doing this?’);
AustriaThe options considered – e.g. do nothing, do something, or do something else – (answers the question ‘What’s the best option?’);
BelgiumThe expected benefits – in measurable terms – (answers the question ‘What’s the return?’);
BulgariaCosts – both project and operational – (answers the question ‘How much will it cost?’);
CroatiaTimescales – for the project and for realizing benefits – (answers the question ‘How long will it take?’);
CyprusInvestment appraisal – weigh up costs, times, risks against benefits – (answers the question ‘Is it worth it?’);
Czech RepublicMajor risks – (answers the question ‘What if?’).
DenmarkWhat is a business case template?
EstoniaA business case template serves as a starting point when writing a business case. It is reusable and can be used across all your projects. Depending upon its needs, your organisation may have different business case templates, each one used for different scales of projects.
FinlandYou can download an example
Francebusiness case template here
Germany.
GreeceWhat is the purpose of a business case?
IrelandThe purpose of a business case is simple – it’s used to justify an investment in an activity. Typically, in an organisation this activity is a project. It helps give confidence to management that their investment is worthwhile and will realize benefits for the organisation.
ItalyWho owns a business case?
LatviaA business case is owned by the person who is funding the project. The name of this role is different across organisations, but commonly this role is known as a project sponsor, or project executive.
LithuaniaBy owning the business case, it means this person is accountable for ensuring that any investment decisions which are taken based upon the information within the business case are worthwhile.
LuxemburgSubscribe to our exclusive offers and promotions
Malta
NetherlandsSubscribe now
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Other countries

Agile Project Management Foundation - exam

AgilePM Foundation examStatistics

The 1-hour Agile PM Foundation exam is the most popular certification level. Passing the PRINCE2 Foundation exam shows to employers your understanding of the core principles of the AgilePM DSDM Agile Project Management framework

This AgilePM exam only option comes with 7 days’ access to our Agile PM Foundation elearning.

Accreditation: APMGStatistics
Prerequisites: None
Location: Online or London

AgilePM Practitioner includes

The AgilePM Practitioner exam only option includes:

7-day access to Agile PM Practitioner online course accredited by APMG
Agile PM Practitioner exam
AgilePM Practitioner certificate after passing the exam
Agile PM Practitioner exam preparation
Sample Agile PM Practitioner exams.