How to write a business caseBelgium

Introduction

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

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 4.9/5 average ratingbusiness case 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.APM accredited

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.Why us

A business case forms an essential component of the curriculum of the best project management courses .

Personal business caseFAQs

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.

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 projectsClick or scroll.APM qualifications at a glance

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.APM qualifications provide a structured pathway for building project management capability, from fundamentals through to more advanced knowledge and specialist risk skills.

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.Whether you are starting with the Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ), progressing to the Project Management Qualification (PMQ), or focusing on risk, APM helps you demonstrate recognized professional standards.

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?Compare course options

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 Recognised standardportfolio managementAPM qualifications are widely recognised in the UK and beyond, providing an independent benchmark of project management capability. 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.Progressive pathway

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.Move from PFQ to PMQ and specialist risk training to build depth and breadth in your project management skills.

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

What form does a business case take?Boost your credibility for project, programme, and PMO roles by holding respected APM qualifications.

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!APM Project Fundamentals Qualification Accredited Provider

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.Issuer: Association for Project Management

For those of you interested in PROVIDED BY Credlyproject management , the project management methodology known as APM Project Management Qualification Accredited ProviderPRINCE2Issuer: Association for Project Management focuses its decision-making on a project on having a viable business case.PROVIDED BY Credly

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.APM Project Risk Management Single Subject Certificate Level 1 Accredited Provider

Business case example 1: Moving homeIssuer: Association for Project Management

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.PROVIDED BY Credly

ReasonCompare APM courses

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 APM PFQ introduces fundamental project concepts, PMQ develops broader knowledge across key topics, and Risk Management Level 1 focuses on core risk practices.Why? In fact, there are two problems here – the local school and John’s long commute.

Options consideredBest for

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.Prerequisites

BenefitsDuration

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 appraisal

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.

APM Project Risk Level 1 certificateA business case is the most important document on any project. That’s because it justifies the investment.

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.

However, as you have seen in this article, a business case is something which you can find useful when taking major decisions in your own personal life. Remember – a business case doesn’t need to be a lengthy document. It could easily be a few notes scribbled on the back of something or even sent in an email.APM Risk Management Level 1

Whatever form your business case takes, remember one thing – it will help you or your organisation take sensible decisions about committing time and resources to a project or activity.Still not sure which course is right for you?

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 See our quick guidebusiness analyst course or .chat with an advisor

Business case FAQsSupports consistent project practices

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?Request a quote

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:All options include accredited training, exam entry, and APM certification on passing the relevant exam.

1. Are the reasons for the project consistent with the corporate, Enrol on an APM courseportfolioChoose your preferred delivery format and course option below. All options include accredited training and the official exam. or programme managementChoose delivery format: strategies?
2. Is the project planInstructor-led aligned with the business case? (e.g. are the costs and timescales in the project plan correctly reflected in the business case?)
3. Are the benefits clearly identified and justified?
4. Is it clear how the benefits will be realized?Blended
5. Is it clearly defined what will judged a successful outcome?
6. Is the preferred business option clearly stated, along with the reasons why?Choose course option:
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?APM PFQ
10. Does the business case include operations and maintenance costs and risks?
11. Does the business case include project costs and risks?
12. Does the business case conform to organisational accounting standards (e.g. break-even analysis and cash-flow conventions)?APM PMQ
13. Are the major risks faced by the project explicitly stated, together with any proposed responses?

How do you write a good business case?

A good business case must contain certain key information including:APM Risk Level 1

• The reasons for doing the project;
• The business options which have been considered, including the base business options of do nothing, so something, or do something else;
• Project and operational costs;08 Jun - 09 Jun
• Project and operational timescales;
• Benefits, expressed in measurable terms;APM PFQ course (Online)
• Investment appraisal (or cost benefit analysis);
• Major risks and their mitigation plans; £1,299

How long is a business case?

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.£1,599

What’s included in a business case?

The following are the most important items to put into a business case:

• Executive summary – summarizes the key points;
• {"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"EducationEvent","name":"APM PFQ course","startDate":"2026-06-08","endDate":"2026-06-09","description":"APM PFQ course","url":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/project-management/association-for-project-management-apm/apm-courses/apm-pfq-project-fundamentals-qualification","eventStatus":"EventScheduled","eventAttendanceMode":"OnlineEventAttendanceMode","audience":{"@type":"Audience","name":"Investment appraisal – weigh up costs, times, risks against benefits – (answers the question ‘Is it worth it?’);<
• p>The Major risks – (answers the question ‘What if?’).<

strong>APM Project Fundamentals QualificationWhat is a business case template?

> is the starting point for entering the project management profession in the UK.You will learn the basics of project management based upon modern best practices and be well-placed to make a positive contribution on your projects.A 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.