What Should Be in a Business Case?

A business case should be well thought out, inclusive from all angles and contain involvement from all affected parties. Here are the following components that should be involved within a business case for full transparency and understanding:

To build a solid business case, define the following points and objectives:

· Assumptions

· Business benefits (tangible and intangible)

· Background information on how the need for this project has arisen

· Business strategic alignment

· Constraints

· Cost of not proceeding

· Costs

· Deliverables schedule & timescales

· Desired business outcomes

· Financial budget

· Funding

· Project controls

· Project plan (high level)

· Risks

· Roles & responsibilities

· Resource requirements

· Scope (what's in and what's out)

· Stakeholders

· Strategic alignment to organization's objectives

The business case allows the business review all aspects on a much more granular level. Specifically,  it allows the following components to come to light:

· To decide if the perceived benefits of the project justify the cost of the project.

· To assess the benefits against the organization’s strategic objectives.

· To determine if the benefits and costs as outlined are realistic and achievable.

Any business will typically have more projects than are feasible, either cost-wise, time-wise or resource-wise. Decisions and choices must be made and the business case is critical to this process.

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