4 : Business Case Flashcards
What sections should be included in a Business Case?
The main sections that Prince2 suggest should be included in a business case are:
- Executive summary (key points, benefits, ROI)
- Reasons (problem or opportunity statement and alignment to business strategy)
- Business options (analysis and reasoned reccomendation for the base options or do nothing, do mininum, do something)
- Expected benefits (what business benefits are possible, and how they’ll be accrued)
- Expected dis-benefits (what negative outcomes are possible)
- Timescale (actual project duration until benefits are realised)
- Cost (summary of project costs from the project plan including maintaining the products)
- Investment apprasial (aggregrate benefits and dis-benefts and costs incl. maintenance costs)
- Major risks (summary of major risks associated with the projects)
What is Business Justification?
Business Justification means that a valid business reason must exist, so that the project makes sense from a investment point of view.
If there is no business justification, i.e., no business case, then the project should not be done.
What is the purpose of the business case theme?
All projects must be driven and underpinned by a viable business case.
The purpose of the Business Case Theme is to provide a structure to judge if the business case is desirable, viable and achievable and worth the continued investment that is made during the project.
In which document may a summary of the business case first appear?
The project mandate document usually contains business case information. If there is no Business Case information in the project mandate then outline Business Case document may be the first document to contain information on the Business Case. This outline Business Case is usually derived from the project mandate and is created in the Starting up a Project process. The outline Business Case becomes part of the Project Brief and is expanded in to a full Business Case document in the Initiation Stage.
What management product must be complete before the business case can be completed?
The Business Case document cannot be completed until the project plan is ready as the following information comes from the project plan: costs, timescale and product information.
Which question does the Business Case answer about the project?
The Business Case answers “why”. Why are we doing this project? What are the reasons?
The business case might also include some “How” informaiton, but this is included in the project plan.
Who identifies and documents the project benefits?
The Senior User has this responsibility to identify benefits and they can get help from other person to gather information on the current status of products or services.
Where are the project’s expected benefits documented in?
This is the Benefits Review Plan.
It is also used after the project is complete to track the benefits that are realized after the project. For most projects, the benefits will be reached after the project is closed.
What is the Corporate or Programme Management responsible for with regard to the Business Case? (3 things)
- They may write the first Business Case summary, which is part of the project mandate document.
- They are responsible for the Business Review Plan once the project has ended.
- They hold the Senior User Accountable for realizing and reporting on the Benefits.
Who is responsible for the following in the Business Case theme?
• Responsible for the Business Case during the duration of the project.
• Responsible for the Benefits Review Plan during the project if not managed by the corporate or program management.
• Oversee the development of a viable Business Case ensure that the project is aligned with corporate strategies and secure funding for the project.
This is the Executive.
Who specifies and then ensures project benefits are realised?
The Senior User specifies the expected benefits, and then ensures they are realised (via measurements)
The senior user is also responsible for ensuring the products produced by the project deliver the desired outcomes, in other words they can be used as expected.
What is the Project management responsible for in the business case? (4 things)
The Project Manager:
- Assists the Executive in preparing the Business Case.
- Do an impact analysis on each new or review risks during the project.
- Assess and update the Business Case at the end of each Management Stage.
- And assess and report on project performance at project closure.
What is the Senior supplier responsible for in the business case?
The Senior Supplier:
- Confirming that the products required by the project can be delivered within the expected costs.
What is project assurance responsible for in the business case? (4 things)
Project Assurance are responsible for:
- Can assist in the development of the Business Case.
- Verify and monitor the Business Case against external events and project progress.
- Ensure that the project fits with overall programme or corporate strategy.
- Verify and monitor the Benefits Review Plan for alignment to corporate or programme management.
What is an Output?
The outputs of a project are the products that the users will use. These are also known as specialist products and the project is setup to create these products.
A good question to uncover the output is: “What is the product that will be delivered by the project?”
What is an Outcome?
From a PRINCE2 project point of view we say that an outcome is the result of the change, derived from using the project’s outputs. Let me give you a good question to uncover the outcome and an example.
A good question to ask to uncover Outcomes: “What can the users do better with this product?”
Example of a CRM application: Some answers could be:
- Sales orders are processed quickly and accurately
- Clients can assess data online and track orders
- Easier for administration staff to track orders
- Easier to get reports from the system
Notice how all the answers are very vague, no mention of anything tangible.
