The level of detail that's included here will vary by project. Include all applicable sections for which you have relevant information. Some of the things that you may include are:. Determine how long each stage of your project will take and estimate a date for completion.
Divide your timeline into manageable sections that explain what will happen during each phase of the project. Explain who will govern and work on the project. Outline the reporting structure explaining both who you will report to for the duration of the project and what information you will provide.
Specify the metrics that you will use to measure progress or determine success. Producing a business case helps you evaluate your project thoroughly. As you develop the business case, you may find alternative approaches that are better than your initial proposal. This allows you to change your direction before you've made a significant investment in a particular approach.
When multiple projects are competing for the same funds and resources, an analysis of the business cases for each option makes it easier to compare these choices and make the right selection.
Creating a solid business case helps you present your project to multiple audiences and gain the necessary approval across all departments. This is one of the first documents that you will create when you begin a new project, and the information within will help inform other steps if the proposal moves forward.
A business case provides a solid outline for the development of additional documents, such as the project management plan. The information provided in the initial business case converts easily to action steps and milestones.
Upon completion of a project, you can compare the business case to the post-project evaluation. Evaluating these documents side-by-side will help you assess your level of success and determine whether the finished product measures up to the initial proposal. Consider using this template to help create your business case:. Include a clear justification that specifies the problem in question and how your proposal will solve it. Explain how your solution aligns with the company's goals and mission statement.
Life Sciences Business Case Template. What Is a Business Case? The Business Case and Business Case Template Writing Process Poor preparation and a lack of senior management involvement often contribute to eventual project failure.
When writing the business case, consider these pointers for success: Write in the voice of your readers and stakeholders, but avoid jargon as much as possible. Communicate concisely regarding the essential content. Be interesting, even entertaining. Be clear about your goals and how they can benefit the organization.
Limit the number of authors to keep the voice and style consistent. The Main Elements of a Business Case Template Your business case is intended to provide sponsors, stakeholders, and investors with a clear picture of the outcomes and benefits of your project.
In general, a business case contains the following particulars about a project: A high-level summary Financial information about the costs and benefits Details of the scope Benefits and risks Information about how the project will be managed Measurements for success A sample business case template is available here for the management certification guidelines used in the UK, Australia, and other countries.
Typical elements include most or all of the following: An Executive Summary: Particularly in government or formal business situations, the executive summary may be the only part of the document that stakeholders, investors, the media, and other interested parties read. An executive summary must convey what will be done, who will do it, how much it will cost, and how and who it will benefit — in one page or less.
Another gauge for length is that it should take no longer than five minutes to read. Purpose: The purpose of the project describes the background of the business problem or opportunity. It details how the change envisioned by completing the project will improve the situation. Alternatives: Researching and describing viable alternative options to the recommended project will help provide a more vivid context for the recommended solution.
Strategic Alignment: Explaining how your plan fits into and advances the overall strategic direction of the organization is crucial. Stating project goals and objectives in this context can strengthen your case. Organizational Impact: Discuss how the proposed project will change the organization.
Consider any relevant departments, equipment, processes, or roles. Stakeholder analysis i. Assumptions and Constraints: Be clear about any anticipated resources or limitations. For example, if funding from one agency is certain, note that. If success depends upon implementing a new platform, note that. The list of assumptions may grow and change as the project progresses. You may also consider any interdependencies that might affect the plan. Benefits: Articulate the anticipated outcomes to show how the entire organization gains and improves from your project.
Examples of benefits are more customers served, less eye strain for service reps at workstations, or a roof patch ahead of storm season. Schedule and Costs: Outline the plan with a brief timeline for project development and completion, including major milestones. For technology projects, provide an overview of the migration plan, if required. On the timeline, add a cost benefit analysis and budget, possibly even with ongoing maintenance costs. Risks and Opportunities: Risks describe what could happen to delay or prevent the completion of the project or raise the costs of the project.
Depending on the scope of your project, complete your market analysis by studying PESTLE factors political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental. For each risk you identify, include a mitigation plan. Recommendation and Justification: State the preferred option and summarize its risks and costs as well as the justifying factors that recommend it.
This includes what the project will consist of, a general description of how it will be executed, and the purpose of it. This will be done by determining and selecting a product which adequately replaces our existing system and still allows for growth for the next 10 years. Once selected, the project will replace our existing system in a phased implementation approach and be completed once the new system is operational and the legacy system is archived and no longer in use.
This project will result in greater efficiency of day to day payroll and administrative operations and reporting, significantly lower overhead costs, and reduced turnover as a result of providing employees with greater autonomy and flexibility. Additionally, managers will once again be focused on billable tasks instead of utilizing a significant portion of their time on non-billable administrative tasks.
Smith Consulting will issue a Request for Information in order to determine which products are immediately available to meet our business needs. Once the product is acquired, all implementation and data population will be conducted with internal resources. This part of the template lists the business goals and objectives which are supported by the project and how the project will address them.
The WP Project directly supports several of the corporate goals and objectives established by Smith Consulting. The following table lists the business goals and objectives that the WP Project supports and how it supports them:. The following table lists the key resources, processes, or services and their anticipated business outcomes in measuring the performance of the project. These performance measures will be quantified and further defined in the detailed project plan.
This section lists the preliminary assumptions for the proposed project. As the project is selected and moves into detailed project planning, the list of assumptions will most likely grow as the project plan is developed. However, for the business case there should be at least a preliminary list from which to build. The following assumptions apply to the WP Project.
As project planning begins and more assumptions are identified, they will be added accordingly. This section of the business case template lists the preliminary constraints for the proposed project. As the project is selected and moves into detailed project planning, the list of constraints will most likely grow as the project plan is developed.
The following constraints apply to the WP Project. As project planning begins and more constraints are identified, they will be added accordingly. This section of our template lists the major project milestones and their target completion dates. Since this is the business case, these milestones and target dates are general and in no way final.
It is important to note that as the project planning moves forward, a base-lined schedule including all milestones will be completed. The following are the major project milestones identified at this time. As the project planning moves forward and the schedule is developed, the milestones and their target completion dates will be modified, adjusted, and finalized as necessary to establish the baseline schedule.
This section of the business case template provides an overview of the organizational strategic plans that are related to the project. This includes the strategic plan, what the plan calls for, and how the project supports the strategic plan.
By directly supporting these strategic plans, this project will improve our business and help move the company forward to the next level of maturity. Many consider this one of the most important parts of a business case as it is often the costs or savings a project yields which win final approval to go forward.
It is important to quantify the financial benefits of the project as much as possible in the business case. This is usually done in the form of a cost benefit analysis. The purpose of this is to illustrate the costs of the project and compare them with the benefits and savings to determine if the project is worth pursuing. The following table captures the cost and savings actions associated with the WP Project, descriptions of these actions, and the costs or savings associated with them through the first year.
At the bottom of the chart is the net savings for the first year of the project. This represents a significant improvement in our operating costs and is a clear indicator of the benefit this project will have on the company.
All business problems may be addressed by any number of alternative projects. While the business case is the result of having selected one such option, a brief summary of considered alternatives should also be included—one of which should be the status quo, or doing nothing. The reasons for not selecting the alternatives should also be included. The following alternative options have been considered to address the business problem.
These alternatives were not selected for a number of reasons which are also explained below. The business case is a document with which approval is granted or denied to move forward with the creation of a project. Therefore, the document should receive approval or disapproval from its executive review board.
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