The business case is the key document for your project. If the financial case does not stack up at the each of the decision gates then it is unlikely the objectives will be met and in turn the benefits will not be fully realised.
So what are the key points to producing and maintaining a business case?
Timing
The business case is a living document that is revised and updated when new information is discovered. The case will likely be initiated following a feasibility study where ballpark figures are developed. These will be revisited and updated at each decision stage (development, implementation) as a fuller picture emerges of the costs and the benefits.
Once the solution has been in operation for, say, six months the business case should be reviewed against the predicted and any realised benefits. This is an opportunity to take steps to correct or improve.
The Make Up of the Business Case
In short the document will centre around the cost/benefit analysis and the risk assessment.
It will start with an ‘Introduction’, ‘Management Summary’ move to the ‘Description of the Current State’ and the ‘Options Considered’. Then the financial, risk and impact assessments follow and ends with clear ‘Recommendations’ that the decision makers are being asked to decide on.
Supporting information (statistics, growth charts) should be included in an appendix (‘Decision Support Pack’) ensuring the main points are clearly visible in the main body of the document.
Presenting the Case
This is a crucial part of the project, the written document will be issued and then discussed face to face. For both, knowing your audience is essential. This requires homework to discover what they like and dislike in the structure of the case and what their likely objections to the project as a whole will be.
Meeting the decision makers individually early in the project to answer these questions and build a relationship is necessary. As the project evolves the relationships between the decision makers and senior project staff will need to be maintained.
The decisions taken will swing on the business case but the projects reputation has a big part to play. At all times be conscious of how the project appears to the senior managers. Presentation is crucial.