4 : Business Case Flashcards
What do you think is the main information that exists in a Business Case? Just think about this before answering. In the answer, I will mention a couple of sections.
The main information that exists in a Business Case is:
• The reasons for doing the project
• The estimated costs and expected benefits & dis-benefits
• An overview of the Risks and so on
There are more, we will cover these later
What is meant by the term Business Justification from a PRINCE2 point of view?
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.
Finish the following sentence: “The purpose of the Business Case Theme is to provide a structure to judge if the Business Case is desirable _______.”
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.
Remember the words Desirable, Viable and Achievable.
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 answers about the project: Who, Why, What, When, How, How Much?
The Business Case answers “why”. Why are we doing this project? What are the reasons? You may be thinking that it also provides the How Much information and yes it does but this comes from the Project Plan.
Who has the responsibly to identify the benefits and write them down and gather this information so it can be used to measure improvements?
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.
In which document are the expected benefits stored in? It also includes the current status at the start of the project and may be updated at the end of each stage to show what benefits that may have already been realized during that stage.
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? (Tip: think about before and after the project)
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 is responsible for the following in the Business Case theme?
• Specifying the Benefits and then ensure these benefits are realized by the project.
• Ensure the desired outcome of the project is specified.
• To ensure the products produced by the project deliver the desired outcomes, in other words they can be used as expected.
This is the Senior User.
Who is responsible for the following in the Business Case theme?
• 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.
This is the Project Manager.
Who is responsible for the following in the Business Case theme?
• They confirm that the products required by the project can be delivered within the expected costs.
This is the Senior Supplier.
Who is responsible for the following in the Business Case theme?
• 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.
This is the Project Assurance.
PRINCE2 talks about Output, Outcome and Benefits. What is the 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?”
