Business Case

The first major milestone in any project should be production of the Business Case.

This will usually be a complex and intensely scrutinized document but in smaller informal situations, it might be a simple verbal outline. Whatever the circumstance, without a compelling Business Case your project may never get off the ground.

Even if you're planning a small project of your own you will benefit from formalizing your ideas before you begin.

This preparation will prove invaluable when work is underway and the issues and challenges arrive. In such times, it's surprisingly easy to lose sight of what your project had really set out to achieve. 

The business case is a formal record that you will be able to review and check against progress.

Objectives

As with most things in life, acting without due thought will often lead you into difficulty. 

The business case is a very particular document aimed at a particular audience, it has a very specific purpose. It should not be confused with the business plan or the project plan although some organizations will blend and merge aspects of each into hybrid documents. 

If you are in this situation, be clear on what parts serve which purpose and identify them as such in your documentation.

What is it?

What you are describing is why your project should proceed. Remember that you are asking for money so be clear on what will encourage your readers to invest in your project.

As a business document it should address the business benefits of your project. These can be financial, operational, competitive or legislative. They can be to give your organization an advantage or simply to keep you in the game.

Not every Business Case is a winner.

The business may have other priorities or constraints that you are unaware of so don't be disappointed if the project is pulled at this stage and don't oversell the benefits.

Your aim should be to put the case for the project and let the business decide, not to manipulate the data or fool your colleagues. Of course there will always be an element of eager optimism and you will need to ensure that you are playing by the same rules as any other projects that are competing with yours.

Audience

The sort of people reading your document will likely have several things in common. They will be fairly astute, quite ruthless and probably not too imaginative so give them the facts. Show why your project can succeed where others would fail and ensure that the benefits are identified and explained.

Jargon and buzz words are unlikely to impress this audience.

Be clear and concise and adapt to your market sector; a glossy, upbeat approach may go down well with a group of advertising executives but could leave a team of corporate bankers decidedly unimpressed.

Format

Most organizations will have their own style so try to look at other Business Cases (preferably successful ones) that have been produced previously.

Larger projects and organizations will often distinguish between an initial or outline business case, which is required to initiate a study, and the Full Business Case which is produced from the output of that study. Both perform similar roles but the latter will be subjected to far greater scrutiny as it will form the basis for any continued investment in the project.

Content

The elements that you should probably include are.

Management summary - you will need to demonstrate that he rest of your document is worth considering. Keep this short and concise but grab your reader's attention and make them want to read on.

Background - just because you know all the circumstances surrounding your project don't assume that your readers will too. Give context and perspective to your proposal.

Do Nothing - what will be the result of doing nothing? You must show that the benefits of your project significantly outweigh the effort and investment needed to conclude it successfully.

Options - an outline business case is where alternative solutions can be discussed and the pros and cons of each noted. You should conclude your document with a recommendation which is where you can go into more detail about the anticipated benefits.

Benefits - be specific. If you are a service provider show how your service will be improved and how customers will benefit. Saying that you'll end up with a really cool system just won't do.

If your new online application removes the need for manual processing what does that mean? 

State how many operators will be freed up to do other things, how much time and money will be saved on postage and handling, how many errors will be avoided by not manually re-typing data.

Ultimately most of your audience will be persuaded by what's happening to the bottom line, not by how slick or smart the application is.

Risks - change always introduces risk so identify and quantify them briefly. While detailed risk analysis will be carried out during the project you must demonstrate that your proposal is well thought out and that there are be no unpleasant surprises waiting.

Next steps - what do you require to proceed? What will the business need to do? What are the timescales? Are there any dependencies? How will your change affect other parts of the organization? Do you foresee any conflicts with other projects running alongside yours? What levels of training will be necessary and who will take ownership of this?

Conclusion

The Business Case is as important as the project that it supports.

In the past many organizations produced a Business Case almost as an afterthought when a project was already sanctioned, but in the modern, regulated world, a valid and auditable Business Case is demanded before any significant change initiative can proceed.

Never lose sight of the original Business Case. 

As work progresses you should be prepared to review your current situation in light of what you actually set out to achieve.