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Business Case Study
Need
an information management business case study checklist and want some
practical timesaving suggestions and sample templates?
What is a business case?
A business case is a document that specifies the rationale
for
proceeding with an information management project.
It is sometimes
called a feasibility
study or cost benefit analysis because it involves determining the
technical and financial realities of continuing with a planned project.
Imagine you have just purchased an old house and you want to make
some
renovations to save energy costs.
You
call a contractor, explain the current situation and provide all relevant cost information.
The contractor then examines the current situation, looks at the
heating system including hot water heating, tests the insulation and
windows and reviews the age and efficiency of appliances.
The contractor then does some research and reports back with a
series of options with projected costs and cost benefits e.g.
- Upgrade furnace to more efficient design will cost $x but will save $Y;
- Replace windows;
- Install heat pump;
- etc.
The work involved with creating these estimated costs and savings is similar to the effort involved with a business case study.
What is an
information management business case analysis?
Business case analysis might be considered part of an information
management project phase or it might involve a completely separate
project dedicated to completing business case e.g.making a business
case for information management human resource outsourcing might involve:
- Impact
analysis on existing staff including all costs associated with
downsizing i.e severance packages, cost of outplacement consulting
services, etc;
- Outsourcing alternatives analysis e.g. will outsourcing be achieved by:
- A "big three" consulting firm who then takes ownership for recruitment?
- Off-shore outsourcing?
- Fixed price consulting contracts?
- Contract employee's?
The list of analysis topics can quickly grow to the point that a formal
business case project is required to fully explore costs,
benefits and expected “return on
investment”.
In other words, the study should conclude with a recommended strategy
(including a "do nothing" option) describing the proposed costs,
benefits and an implementation plan.
Think of the business case study as:
- Looking at where we are (the current situation);
- Deciding where we want to go (the desired
situation); and
- Defining how we are going to get there.
Why is it
important?
Would
you start a major project without a project plan?
A business case study delivers a management recommendations and project plan. It provides management
a means of monitoring project progress
to ensure that it continues to meet objectives
and does not diverge
into other “interesting” things that the project team might find.
It clearly sets scope and expectations, which, if carefully managed,
will minimize time delays and cost over-run.
Information
management business case study checklist
Depending upon the nature of the study, some, or all, of the following tasks might be required.
 Create
a project
management plan to secure management commitment for the
approach, schedule and cost of the information management business case
study.
Analyze
data structure and design to gain an understanding of what data structures might be impacted.
Analyze data storage and
enterprise
data management to determine impact on how/where data is will be stored.
Review enterprise conceptual data
movement and data flow diagrams to gain an understanding of potential impact.
Review data security procedures to determine if there is any impact.
Review meta data management processes.
Examine data quality management.
Look
at th project management framework to determine if any changes are
required--This is particularly important if the study involves
outsourcing.
Review roles and
responsibilities and human
resource strategy.
Review business
intelligence reporting and analytics to determine cost/benefits.
Develop recommendations.
Document and present the business case, preferably using a standard business case template.
Summary...
A business case study delivers a business case document that specifies the rationale
for
proceeding with an information management project.
It is sometimes
called a feasibility
study or cost benefit analysis because it involves determining the
technical and financial realities of continuing with a planned project.
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