Let’s now look at this example business case.

Executive summary

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

Reasons

The reasons for the project are clearly spelled out when describing the 3 current problems which the company faces.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.

Options

In this example, there are 2 options (other than do nothing) which have been examined. Each option is summarized and the reason why option 3 is the preferred option has been stated.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.

Benefits

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?

Well, 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.

Dis-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!

TimescalesMarketing

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).

Costs

Again, 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.

RisksMarketing

One major risk has been identified in this example, but on your project, there could be many risks.

Investment 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.

The 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 templateThe technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. is free to download.

SummaryManage options

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

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.Manage {vendor_count} vendors

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.Read more about these purposes

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.

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 Acceptbusiness analyst course .Deny

• Benefits, expressed in measurable terms;
• Investment appraisal (or cost benefit analysis);Statistics
• Major risks and their mitigation plans;

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.

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;
• The reasons for the project (answers the question ‘Why are we doing this?’);
• The options considered – e.g. do nothing, do something, or do something else – (answers the question ‘What’s the best option?’);The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
• The expected benefits – in measurable terms – (answers the question ‘What’s the return?’);
• Costs – both project and operational – (answers the question ‘How much will it cost?’);The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Pro
• Timescales – for the project and for realizing benefits – (answers the question ‘How long will it take?’);vider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
• Investment appraisal – weigh up costs, times, risks against benefits – (answers the question ‘Is it worth it?’);
• Major risks – (answers the question ‘What if?’).

What is a business case template?

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.

You can download an example business case template hereMarketing.

What is the purpose of a business case?

The 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.

Who owns a business case?Marketing

A 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.

By 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.