How to write a business case
Key takeawaysStrong project delivery turns plans into results by combining clear goals, the right method, and disciplined control.
A business case helps decision-makers judge whether an investment is worth the time, money and risk.Define scope, objectives, and stakeholders early to prevent confusion and scope creep.
- State the reason for the activity and ensure it aligns with organisational strategy.Choose Waterfall, Agile, or a hybrid approach based on certainty of requirements and pace of change.
- Compare realistic options, including doing nothing, and clearly justify the preferred choice.Monitor progress with KPIs and adjust plans to protect time, budget, quality, and stakeholder confidence.
- Separate project costs and timescales from ongoing operational costs and benefit realisation timescales.Build core skills in communication, risk management, and resource planning to keep delivery predictable.
- Define benefits in measurable terms and distinguish outcomes from benefits so performance can be tracked.Use tools such as Jira, Trello, Teams, and reporting dashboards to coordinate work and share insight.
- Include known dis-benefits and major risks, plus mitigations, to avoid one-sided decisions.Improve employability with tailored applications, networking, and certifications such as PRINCE2, PMP, or Agile.
- Use an investment appraisal, such as net benefits and break-even timing, to test viability.
IntroductionCommon challenges in project delivery
This article explains how to write a business case. It includes 2 business case examples and a free business case template for you to downloadCareer opportunities in project delivery.
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 5 top resources to find project delivery jobs in the UKbusiness case to ensure the investment is worthwhile.Tips for landing a project delivery job
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.
What is a business case?: Define the
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.project
A business case forms an essential component of the curriculum of the and ensure it’s feasible. Identify the project’s key stakeholders and goals.best project management coursesProject planning.: Create a
Personal business caseproject plan
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. with timelines, resource allocation, and
Why have a business case?risk management
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 plans.projectsProject execution.: Implement the project plan. Teams work together to complete tasks and deliver results.
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.Monitoring and controlling
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.: Track the project’s progress and make necessary adjustments to keep it on track.
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.Project closure
Who uses a business case?: Close the project, reflect on what was learned, and deliver the project’s deliverables to stakeholders.
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 Enhance your skills with our expert-led coursesportfolio management 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.Self-paced
What form does a business case take?APM PFQ blended online
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!£749 +vat
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.
For those of you interested in project management , the project management methodology known as Self-pacedPRINCE2PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner (with Foundation) self-paced online focuses its decision-making on a project on having a viable business case.
Business case examples£1,399 +vat
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 home
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.
ReasonSelf-paced
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? In fact, there are two problems here – the local school and John’s long commute.AgilePM Practitioner (with Foundation) self-paced online
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.£1,299 +vat
BenefitsProject delivery methods
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.There are different approaches to project delivery. Here are three of the most common:
TimescalesWaterfall
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 : A sequential approach that’s best for projects with well-defined requirements and minimal changes.projectsAgile or activities.: A flexible approach that allows for continuous improvement. It’s best for projects with changing requirements.
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.
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.
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.£1,399 +vat
Risks
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.Self-paced
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.AgilePM Practitioner (with Foundation) self-paced online
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.
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What’s included in a business case?PRINCE2
The following are the most important items to put into a business case:, PMP, or
- Executive summary – summarizes the key points;Agile
- The reasons for the project (answers the question ‘Why are we doing this?’); on your resume.
- The options considered – e.g. do nothing, do something, or do something else – (answers the question ‘What’s the best option?’);Future trends in project delivery
- The expected benefits – in measurable terms – (answers the question ‘What’s the return?’);Keep an eye out for these upcoming trends:
- Costs – both project and operational – (answers the question ‘How much will it cost?’);Artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Timescales – for the project and for realizing benefits – (answers the question ‘How long will it take?’);: Use technology to make
- Investment appraisal – weigh up costs, times, risks against benefits – (answers the question ‘Is it worth it?’);planning
- Major risks – (answers the question ‘What if?’). and resource management easier.
What is a business case template?Remote and distributed teams
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.: Learn to work and manage teams remotely.
You can download an example Sustainable and green project managementbusiness case template here: Deliver projects sustainably and with an eye for the environment..Enhance your skills with our expert-led courses
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?
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.Self-paced
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.APM PFQ blended online