International Institute of Business Analysis
Central Ohio BA Professional Development Day
2014
How to Build a
Better Business Case
By
Kate Gwynne, CBAP, CSM
With more than 20 years of experience helping organizations successfully align and implement their
business and IT initiatives, Kate Gwynne is a recognized leader in the Central Ohio business analysis
community. As a Certified Business Analyst Professional, Kate specializes in building BA Practices for
both large and small organizations, developing corporate training programs that help improve the skills
and effectiveness of analysts, and implementing requirements-related initiatives to help reduce rework
and improve communication.
Kate is the Associate Director of Business Analysis at Resource - one of the nation’s top-rated digital
marketing agencies. She has been a guest speaker at various industry and corporate conferences,
including: IIBA Professional Development Days in Indiana and Ohio; the SW Ohio Regional BA
Conference; IIBA Chapter meetings in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana; the Central Ohio Agile Association
(COHAA); and, Baldwin-Wallace College.
In addition to these events, Kate recently published an article in the August 2014 IIBA Newsletter:
Trending Digital: BA’s are forging a path through the creative world of Digital Marketing
Upcoming Presentations:
• November 2014 BBC Conference in Orlando, FL
UNDERSTAND Business Case Basics
•
What is a business case?
•
When is it needed?
•
How is it approved?
BUILD Your Case
•
What is the business problem?
•
What are your solution option recommendations?
•
What are the costs, benefits, risks, assumptions, and constraints?
•
How will you measure success?
PROMOTE Your Case
•
Who will support your ideas?
•
Who will derail your efforts?
•
How can you get your business case approved?
AGENDA
UNDERSTAND
BUSINESS CASE BASICS
BASICS:
WHAT IS A BUSINESS CASE?
• A written report or presentation
• Focused on a business problem and
solution options
• Justifies a business initiative or project
BASICS:
• Executive Summary
• Business Need
• Solution Recommendation
• Summary of Results
• Solution Analysis
• Business Drivers
• Costs
• Benefits
• Risk
• Assumptions and Constraints
• Strategic Options
• Opportunity Costs
• Conclusion and Next Steps
WHAT IS A BUSINESS CASE?
BASICS:
WHEN IS A BUSINESS CASE NEEDED?
• When it’s a high profile issue
• When it’s a low profile issue
• When risk is great
• When a radical solution is being proposed
to solve a business problem
• When business money or resources
needed may cross a certain threshold
BASICS:
HOW IS A BUSINESS CASE APPROVED?
• By Steering Committee or Governing Board
Submit
Business
Case
Prep
Present
Support
Info
SC Reviews All
Case Files
Next Steps
Process
Complete
Decision
Revise &
Resubmit
You
Steering Committee
BUILD
YOUR CASE
BUILD YOUR CASE:
WHAT IS THE BUSINESS PROBLEM?
• What is the issue?
• What is the current state?
• How does the current state impact:
• People?
• Processes?
• Technology?
BUILD YOUR CASE:
WHAT IS THE BUSINESS PROBLEM?
What is the issue?
•
Manual requirements management causes inaccuracy, inefficiency, and rework
What is the current state?
•
People:
o High / inaccurate estimates for requirements management
o BA’s copy/paste requirements for reuse – leads to increased defects
•
Processes:
o Inconsistent requirements review processes across departments and project types
o Traceability from business requirements to solution implementation is a manual effort and often aborted on long projects
•
Technology:
o Inconsistent tools and versions
o Manual data collection for reporting – leads to low confidence in project decision making
BUILD YOUR CASE:
WHAT IS THE BUSINESS PROBLEM?
What is the issue?
•
Manual requirements management causes inaccuracy, inefficiency,
and rework
What is the current state?
•
People:
o
High / inaccurate estimates for requirements management
o
BA’s copy/paste requirements for reuse – leads to increased
defects
•
Processes:
o
Inconsistent requirements review processes across departments
and project types
o
Traceability from business requirements to solution
implementation is a manual effort and often aborted on long
projects
•
Technology:
o
Inconsistent tools and versions
o
Manual data collection for reporting – leads to low confidence
in project decision making
What is the future state?
•
People:
o
Increased accuracy of estimates for requirements
management
o
Reusable requirements repository eliminates copy/paste
•
Processes:
o
Consistent requirements review processes across
departments and project types
o
Consistent traceability from business requirements to
solution implementation
•
Technology:
o
Consistent requirements tool across enterprise
o
High confidence in decisions through better data tracking
and reporting
BUILD YOUR CASE:
WHAT ARE YOUR SOLUTION OPTION RECOMMENDATIONS?
Automate
Requirements
repository
BUILD YOUR CASE:
WHAT ARE YOUR SOLUTION OPTION RECOMMENDATIONS?
Build
Buy
BUILD YOUR CASE:
WHAT ARE YOUR SOLUTION OPTION RECOMMENDATIONS?
•
What is the criteria you will use to evaluate solution
options?
o Cost to purchase and customize vs. build
o Cost to train and implement
o Impact to existing processes and applications
o Ability to integrate with existing applications
o Ability to support new system
o Solution features and reports
o Ability to upgrade
•
What are your recognized sources for information?
o Gartner
o Forrester
o Industry organization
o Other
BUILD YOUR CASE:
WHAT ARE THE COSTS, BENEFITS, RISKS, ASSUMPTIONS,
AND CONSTRAINTS?
Informal:
Formal:
• Research
• Impact Analysis
• Industry Info
• Gap Analysis
• Webinar
• Feasibility Study
• Research
• Vendor Demo
BUILD YOUR CASE:
HOW WILL YOU MEASURE SUCCESS?
What is the future state?
•
People:
o Increased accuracy of estimates for
requirements management
o Reusable requirements repository eliminates
copy/paste
•
Processes:
o Consistent requirements review processes
across departments and project types
o Consistent traceability from business
requirements to solution implementation
•
Technology:
o Consistent requirements tool across
enterprise
o High confidence in decisions through better
data tracking and reporting
People
•
Improve accuracy
•
Reduce defects in QA
Processes
•
Streamline review processes and implement best
practices
•
Trace requirements from beginning to end of
project
Technology
•
Implement solution across departments
•
Establish standard reports and data needed
BUILD YOUR CASE:
HOW WILL YOU MEASURE SUCCESS?
People
•
Improve accuracy of estimates
•
Reduce defects in QA
Processes
•
Streamline review processes and implement best
practices
•
Trace requirements from beginning to end of project
Technology
•
Implement solution across departments
•
Establish standard reports and data needed
Increase
Revenue
Expand
Market
Products /
Services
Reduce
Expenses
Reduce
Complexity
BUILD YOUR CASE:
HOW WILL YOU MEASURE SUCCESS?
People
•
Improve accuracy of estimates
o Quantitative measurement – estimates accurate to within 15%
•
o Quantitative measurement – reduce requirements related defects by 50%
Processes
•
Increase
Revenue
Expand
Market
Products /
Services
Reduce
Expenses
Reduce
Complexity
Reduce defects in QA
Streamline review processes and implement best practices
o Qualitative measurement – survey
•
Trace requirements from beginning to end of project
o Quantitative measurement – % of traceable requirements per project
Technology
•
Implement solution across departments
•
•
Qualitative measurement - survey
Establish standard reports and data needed
•
Quantitative measurement – number of automated reports vs. manual effort
PROMOTE
YOUR CASE
PROMOTE YOUR CASE:
WHO WILL SUPPORT YOUR CASE?
• Identify supporters
• Leverage those with authority
• Get their feedback on your proposal
• Ask them for information from their department
that may support your findings
• Ask them to join you in meetings with their peers
PROMOTE YOUR CASE:
WHO WILL DERAIL YOUR EFFORTS?
• Who would sabotage your business case?
• Why would they?
• What do they have to gain or lose?
PROMOTE YOUR CASE:
WHO WILL DERAIL YOUR EFFORTS?
• Know thine enemy
• Meet with them separately
• Ask for their input
• Listen to their feedback
• Collaborate on ways to address their concerns
PROMOTE YOUR CASE:
HOW CAN YOU GET YOUR BUSINESS CASE APPROVED REJECTED?
• Poorly written
• Too wordy, too much data, not the right level of info for the audience
• Misssspellings or misuse of grammar an punctuation..
• Not formatted properly or not in the preferred template
• Incomplete
• Missing information
• No supporting data
• Gaps in research
PROMOTE YOUR CASE:
HOW CAN YOU GET YOUR BUSINESS CASE APPROVED REJECTED?
• Not traceable to strategic goals
• Alternative solutions appears to be a better fit
• ROI doesn’t outweigh risk
• Unclear how benefits will be measured
• Lack of confidence in your presentation
• Steering committee isn’t invested
PROMOTE YOUR CASE:
HOW CAN YOU GET YOUR BUSINESS CASE APPROVED?
• Know your audience
• Present your ideas before you
submit the business case
• Ask for their feedback – make
them a part of the solution
o Address their concerns
o Incorporate their suggestions
•
Ask for their support
PROMOTE YOUR CASE:
HOW CAN YOU GET YOUR BUSINESS CASE APPROVED?
• Know the
and
about your solution recommendation
o Be able to support your case and address concerns
about risk, cost, and impacts
o Understand how the solution benefits the business
o Show alignment to business drivers and company goals
PROMOTE YOUR CASE:
HOW CAN YOU GET YOUR BUSINESS CASE APPROVED?
SUMMARY
UNDERSTAND Business Case Basics
•
SUMMARY
Know the specific processes, dates, and templates for business cases
within your organization
BUILD Your Case
•
Chart current state issues to desired future state
•
Identify impacts to business
•
Research solution options
•
Know the costs, benefits, risks, assumptions, and constraints
•
Show how you will measure success
PROMOTE Your Case
•
Know your supporters
•
Seek out your saboteurs
•
Meet with steering committee members individually
•
Ask for their support
•
Present your case with confidence