How to write a business case

This article explains how to write a business case. It includes 2 business case examples and a free business case template for you to SloveniadownloadSpain.Sweden

You’re probably reading this article because you want to know how to write a business case. Perhaps your organisation is embarking on a major project to develop a new product. Or, perhaps you’re thinking of moving house so your family can enjoy a better life. In either case, you write a Other countriesbusiness caseHome to ensure the investment is worthwhile.

In this article we’ll give you 2 business case examples, provide you with a simple business case template for you to use, and explain how to write a business case.Project management

What is a business case?

A business case is the justification for some activity (e.g. a project) undertaken by your organisation. It weighs up the timescales, costs and risks of doing the activity against the benefits to be gained. Think of it as weighing up the pros and cons and then taking a sensible decision.Become a PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner

A business case forms an essential component of the curriculum of the Advance your PRINCE2 skills with Practitioner or combined training, delivered live online or self-paced with exam included.best project management courses

Personal business case

You may also use a business case to justify an investment you make in your personal life. For example, when you’re thinking of moving home to another area. You and your spouse will need to understand the costs of moving, the timescales and risks involved, and weigh these up against the benefits to be gained e.g. saving time traveling to your office, or your children able to go to a better school.4.9/5 average rating

Why have a business case?

Projects should not just start on a whim or because of vanity – although a lot of money has been wasted over the years on such projectsPeopleCert accredited.

For 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.

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.25,000+ professionals trained

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.

Who uses a business case? Enrol now

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 portfolio management More details office to help it decide which projects will contribute to the organisation’s strategic goals. That way, they can filter out the bad ideas for projects, and only fund projects which will contribute to strategic goals.

A business case is also often used by a project sponsor or project executive to help it decide if they should invest in a specific project.

In all cases, the business case must be written and approved prior to any major commitment of resources.

What form does a business case take?

Business cases can take many forms – digital or analogue. The tools you use to create one are also many and varied. Common business tools such as Microsoft Office might be used. Rather than being a document or slide deck however, it could equally be in the form of an email.

Equally, a business case could be written by hand on a whiteboard or flipchart, or on the back of a cigarette packet! All major cards accepted.

What you should always remember is that a business case does not have to be a huge long document. In fact, it should be as short as possible, and only include the most important information. That way it cuts out the noise and provides decision-makers with just the right information to enable them to take sensible decisions.Invoice/PO option available in checkout.

For those of you interested in project management , the project management methodology known as PRINCE2Enrol focuses its decision-making on a project on having a viable business case.

Business case examples

We will now give you 2 business case examples. The first example is one which you might find useful for taking decisions in your personal life. The 2nd business case example is more business focused project.

Business case example 1: Moving homeOverview

Suppose you and your spouse are considering moving to a new home. You will need to weigh up the pros and cons of moving. This is done using a business case. You might not call it that, but that’s what it is. Let’s look at an example.

Reason

As you can see from the example, the first thing to be clear about in a business case is the reason for doing the project or activity. In this example, the couple has answered the question Why?Delivery In fact, there are two problems here – the local school and John’s long commute.

Options considered

A business case should weigh up the competing options which have been considered. After all, there is usually more than one option. Perhaps an alternative option would have been for John to change his job to one nearer their current house. However, this wouldn’t solve the issue with the school.

BenefitsCourse

The benefits of a project or activity are the positive things you’re going to get back in return for your investment of time and money. In this case, the kids will get a better education, and John will save time each day.

Timescales

It’s also important to understand how long the investment of resources will take. This is so that the organisation (or family in this case) knows when the resources will be freed up to work on other projectsExam or activities.

There are usually 2 timescales to consider. First, the timescale of the project or activity – in this case 3 months to find a new house and move there. Second, the time over which the benefits shall be realized. In this case it’s 5 years until the kids leave school.

Costs

The costs of doing the project or activity is the next important bit of information. On this project, the costs of moving to a new house will be £5,000. These are the project costs.Reviews

However, the couple will spend an additional £2,000/year for every year over which the business case is calculated. For a project in an organisation, this is usually referred to as the operational costs of maintaining and operating the projects outputs e.g. an IT system. At this point, the couple knows the total costs over the timescales when the benefits shall be realized.

Risks

For any activity or project, it’s also important to understand the major risks involved. Risks are the uncertain things which may or may not happen during the period of the investment. There is only one risk identified here, which is the risk that the couple might lose touch with friends who live close to them right now.

Investment appraisalFAQs

The next section is where the costs and timescales and risks are weighed up. For this project, it’s a simple decision for the couple to decide if it’s worth spending money over the next 5 years to give their kids better schooling and to save John 2 hours a day commuting.

For an organisation to decide if an investment is worthwhile, however, there are several different ways in which it can decide about the investment.

Often in organisations there are rules defined to help business analysts or project managersClick or scroll write what’s called an investment appraisal. In the next example, we’ll look at one example known as net benefits.Enrol on this course

Business case example 2: Handheld device projectPlease use the

Imagine a heating repair services company that uses a paper-based set of forms filled in by an engineer during site visits. The spare parts required to fix the heater are recorded on a form which is given to staff to process back in the office. They then order the parts, and schedule a follow-up visit for the engineer to fix the heater.region selector

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p>PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner courses help practicing project management professionals blend the governance and control of PRINCE2 with the flexibility and responsiveness of Agile.Executive summary

>This sample business case contains an executive summary. This section briefly describes the selected option and the key benefits it will bring.<

p>For PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner training course information and dates see below.Reasons

>The reasons for the project are clearly spelled out when describing the 3 current problems which the company faces.<

p>PRINCE2 Practitioner training is best suited to those who already possess either a PRINCE2 Foundation or PRINCE2 Agile Foundation qualification. For those new to the PRINCE2 Agile method, we recommend a PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner (with Foundation) combined course.Options

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p>For PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner training course information and dates see below.Summary

>A business case is the most important document on any project. That’s because it justifies the investment.<

p>PRINCE2 Practitioner training is best suited to those who already possess either a PRINCE2 Foundation or PRINCE2 Agile Foundation qualification. For those new to the PRINCE2 Agile method, we recommend a PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner (with Foundation) combined course.It helps an organisation be clear about why a project is needed, and what the results of the investment will be. This is crucial because no organisation has unlimited funds to spend on an unlimited number of projects. Therefore, a business case gives confidence to senior managers when deciding to invest in one project rather than another.

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3. p>For PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner training course information and dates see below.Are the benefits clearly identified and justified?
4. >PRINCE2 Practitioner training is best suited to those who already possess either a PRINCE2 Foundation or PRINCE2 Agile Foundation qualification. For those new to the PRINCE2 Agile method, we recommend a PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner (with Foundation) combined course.
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6. Is the preferred business option clearly stated, along with the reasons why?
7. If the project requires external procurement, is the preferred sourcing option stated, and why?
8. Is it clearly stated how any necessary funding will be obtained?
9. Does the business case include non-financial, as well as financial criteria?26 Aug - 27 Aug
10. Does the business case include operations and maintenance costs and risks?
11. Does the business case include project costs and risks? PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner course (Online)
12. Does the business case conform to organisational accounting standards (e.g. break-even analysis and cash-flow conventions)?
13. Are the major risks faced by the project explicitly stated, together with any proposed responses?

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p>PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner courses help practicing project management professionals blend the governance and control of PRINCE2 with the flexibility and responsiveness of Agile.A good business should be long enough that it contains all the information needed for the decision-makers to take an informed decision about whether to invest in the project. That means, remove any waffle, and only include information which helps decision-making.

>What’s included in a business case?<

p>For PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner training course information and dates see below.The following are the most important items to put into a business case:

• >Executive summary – summarizes the key points;<
• p>PRINCE2 Practitioner training is best suited to those who already possess either a PRINCE2 Foundation or PRINCE2 Agile Foundation qualification. For those new to the PRINCE2 Agile method, we recommend a PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner (with Foundation) combined course.The reasons for the project (answers the question ‘Why are we doing this?’);

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PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner courses help practicing project management professionals blend the governance and control of PRINCE2 with the flexibility and responsiveness of Agile.

For PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner training course information and dates see below.