Elements of a business case

Depending on the degree of knowledge available at the time of preparation, a business case may contain the following:

  • The business objectives and reasons for the project or program, based on defining the present problem or improvement opportunity; and, eliciting and prioritising the requirements of key stakeholders and subject matter experts;

  • Background information, including the 'current state' of the business and the desired 'future state', including:
    • Identification of the organisation's drivers and where improvement is required,

    • Identification of the organisation's stakeholders and how they are affected;

  • Documenting how the project, program, or initiative will add value to the organization, including:
    • Identification and classification of the expected benefits of the project, including significant non-financial impacts, and how these will be measured,
    • Identification and classification of the expected disbenefits of the project, including significant non-financial impacts, and how these will be measured,

    • Planning for benefits realisation;

  • Assessment metrics such as:
    • Financial ratios, IIR, ROI, NPV, BCR, etc.,
    • Effects on organisational cash flows over time,
    • Total cost of ownership (TCO) / lifecycle costing;
    • Opportunity costs,

    • Payback period;

  • A summary of the project, including:
    • An assessment of the alternative solutions that were considered,
    • The costs -v- the benefits of the proposed initiative,
    • The project's budget and cash flow,
    • The required timescale of the project,
    • An analysis of the risks to completing 100% of the project's goals, and any proposed mitigation.
    • The quality criteria for the project's product,

    • The key people that are involved in the proposed project and the skills needed to implement the proposed change;

  • Validation of the data and the assumptions that the projected improvements are based upon, including calculating the level of confidence that can be placed upon the conclusions that are reached;

  • Formal recommendations for action, including accountabilities and commitments for:
    the delivery of benefits, and the management of costs.