A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
Published by Pansophix Online
22 Torquay Road, Chelmsford,
Essex, CM1 6NF, England
Written by Richard Polom
This edition published May 2012
Copyright © Pansophix Ltd. All rights reserved.
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
Essential Questions for the Business Case
Things to consider:
Try answering the following questions for a case you are dealing with, or one you know about:
1 Why are we doing it?
Need? Purpose? Benefit?
2 Who is it aimed at?
Target Audience?
3 Who is sponsoring it?
4 Who will be contributing to it?
Functional Experts? External Parties?
5 How will you assess costs and benefits?
6 What assumptions and how justified?
7 What are the risks and who is managing them?
8 What is the impact on the reputation and sustainability of your organisation?
9 How is it going to be funded and who gets the benefits?
10 Who is going to deliver it?
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
Use these steps in greater or lesser detail to help prepare and organise the structure for all Business cases you are involved in:
Business Case Content What is covered
1 The Objective: the problem or opportunity statement
2 How does this proposal fit with the organisation’s strategy
3 Economic evaluation of options
4 Commercial evaluation
5 Financial assessment
6 Implementation
7 Risk Assessment
8 Benefits evaluation and post-audit
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
These templates are taken from real examples to give you an idea of how the case can be presented differently for different purposes. The boxes will expand as you type.
(Organisation-Affecting Business Case)
Business Case Proposal
Proposer name Department
Title Date
1. Introduction
Give a brief description of the proposal including the key objectives.
Reference
No.
2. Strategies
Identify aspects of the Organisational Plan and/or Information Strategy that are addressed.
3. Benefits
What are the opportunities and benefits for the Organisation and User(s)?
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
4. Implications of not undertaking Proposal
What problems will arise if the proposal does not go ahead?
5. Alternatives
What are the alternatives to undertaking the proposed development?
6. Organisational Areas Affected
What staff, processes and systems will be affected by the proposed development?
7. Risks
What risks are involved in implementing the proposal and how will they be managed?
8. Investment Costs
What is the summary of capital investment costs for the proposed development?
a) Staff
b) Training
c) Equipment, etc.
d) Other
TOTAL
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
9. Running Costs
What are the costs to run this proposal as a service? a) On-going Annual Training (to cover staff turnover, manuals, refresher
training etc.)
b) Licence renewal, etc.
c) Maintenance
TOTAL
10. Payback
How and on what timescales will the projected costs be recouped as savings or benefits?
11. Decision
Has the proposal been approved, rejected, deferred etc. and do any conditions apply?
Authorised by Post
Name of Assigned Project Sponsor
Date
Date
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
(General Project Business Case) The boxes will expand as you type.
Project/Programme Details
Project/Programme
Name
SRO (Senior Responsible
Officer)
Project/Programme
Manager
Group
Start Date
Objective No.
Completion
Date
Document Details
Document Ref
Status
Issued Date
Version No.
Approved/Draft Approved by
Last Update
Date
Background
Strategy
Scope
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
Objectives
Options
Proposed Solution
Benefits
Risks
Dependencies
Affordability
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
Analysis of costs and Phasing of expenditure
Stakeholder engagement
Change control procedures
Critical success factors
Procurement procedures
Additional Information
SRO signature………………………………………………………………….
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
Business Case Template – the boxes will expand as you type.
(Short Case Format)
Summary
Introduction/Background/ Context
Drivers/Objectives
Options
Appraisal of the Options:
Recommendations and Conclusion
Appendices
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A Useful Guide to
Business Cases
Use this checklist to understand what kinds of costs are relevant to your business case. You can also use it to keep a record of sources and key assumptions.
Cost Description Source of Cost Type of Cost Behaviour of cost Relevance to Decision
Making
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