Business Case Template
Need
a business case template for an information management project and want
practical suggestions to ensure rapid project delivery?
A
business case template is a document that is used by companies as part
of a formal process to consistently evaluate proposed information management
projects
Why is it important?
Imagine you have a small business and go to the bank to apply for a
loan to invest in new equipment.
You
complete a lengthy loan application, which asks many questions about
your assets and liabilities. You expect the investment will save you
costs
and are confident that the bank will approve the loan.
To your astonishment, the bank refuses your
application but give your competitor a
similar loan. What is worse, you are well aware that his
financial situation is very bad and he is having problems making ends
meet.
When
you ask your bank manager what happened, he explains that your
competitor has a dog, and anybody who likes dogs must be a good credit
risk! Is
that fair!
The answer is obvious but it’s less obvious in a large company that has
many proposals for new projects all theoretically vital to the
company.
That’s where
a template can help!
It provides a standard
way
of presenting a business case so that the rationale for proceeding with
an information management project can be evaluated the same way for all
proposals.
What does it
contain?
Some companies have a very formal process
for evaluating business case proposals that includes net present value
of money (NVP) and projected return on investment (ROI).
Other
companies have a less formal
approach.
In all cases, a good business case should include most of the following:
- Executive
summary, should provide a high level
overview of the business case which can be used as a
stand-alone document, if required, to summarize the project;
- Project scope,
should describe the project objectives, deliverables, financial scope,
benefits, and the approach that will be used to measure
project results;
- Risk analysis,
should identify potential risks and planned mitigation
strategy;
- Project
management approach, should identify:
- How the scope will be managed to prevent
“scope creep”,
- How issues and
risks will be managed;
- How quality will
be assured during the project;
- How the project will transition to
production;
- How project
communications will be maintained; and
- The contingency
approach;
- Project
organization, should list the key project roles/responsibilities and
proposed
resources;
- Discussion of
alternatives considered including:
- Make vs. buy (outsource);
- Do now versus later;
- Don't do at all; and
- Varying levels of scope which were strongly
considered (full blown implementation vs. more targeted results); and
- Business case
approval should be some form of sign-off by all
stakeholders.
How does a business case
template help deliver projects faster?
The
document outlines project objectives, financial projections and key
milestones that can be monitored by senior management to measure
progress—A template ensures that each project is evaluated in a
consistent
manner.
The template also serves as a starting-point
for project planning and should reduce the time required
to create a project plan.
Summary...
A
business case template consistently documents project scope and
expectations, which, if carefully managed, will minimize project time
delays and cost over-run.
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