What is a business case?
A business case is a document that you can use to pitch a project idea to your stakeholders. The process involves identifying a need or problem, outlining a possible solution, and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of your idea.
What does a business case include?
A business case offers details that help stakeholders evaluate your idea by understanding why you’re suggesting a certain solution and what you hope to achieve with your project.
Specifically, a business case template often includes the following sections:
- Purpose: The business problem or need that your proposed project will solve.
- Solution: An overview of your solution to the problem or need, which usually includes an overview of the project schedule and timeline.
- Scope: The time, money, and human investment required for your project.
- Alternatives: Other strategies that could be used to solve the same problem.
- Analysis: The benefits and risks associated with your solution and reasons why you chose your solution over the alternatives.
- Key performance indicators (KPIs): How you plan to measure the effectiveness or success of the solution.
Importance of creating a business case document
Preparing a business case for a project empowers you to make a compelling argument for your proposed solution.
Additionally, it can increase the chances of your project’s success by enabling the following benefits:
Gaining stakeholder support
A comprehensive business case shows investors and stakeholders that you’ve done the research to prove the value of a solution. This builds trust and credibility, which means you’re more likely to win support for your idea.
Improving project selection
Writing a business case forces you to clearly define the purpose of each project, consider alternatives, and weigh the benefits against the risks. As a result, you’re more likely to invest in projects that have the best possible outcomes and strategic advantages over alternate solutions.
Enabling proactive risk management
Considering risks is a key part of project management. In fact, two-thirds of project managers regularly take part in risk management activities. And thinking about potential risks at the beginning of a project gives you a head start on mitigating them. Instead of responding in real-time, you can take a proactive approach.
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