Business Case Flashcards
What is the purpose of the Business Case theme?
To establish mechanisms to determine if the project is (and remains) desired, viable, and achievable, and support decision making in its continued investment.
What is meant by desirable?
The project cost/benefit analysis, taking into account risk, yields benefits that outweigh the cost and risks associated with the project.
What is meant by viable?
The project products remain possible; a project is viable if the products can actually be delivered.
What is meant by achievable?
The project benefits can actually be achieved and realised as a result of the project’s success.
Who owns the business case?
The Executive owns the customers business case.
The Senior Supplier owns the suppliers business case.
Describe the development path of the business case.
The business case will be outlined as part of the SU - Starting up a project process. This will then be included in the project brief for the IP - Initiating a project process, and refined as part of this process. The project plan will inform this, and once complete, it will be included in the Project Initiation Documentation (PID).
The business case will then be updated at the end of each stage and used to confirm that benefits are realised post-project. It is reviewed throughout the project (such as between stage boundaries) to ensure that the project is continuously justified; if it is not, the project should be stopped.
Describe project outputs, outcomes, and benefits.
Outputs: the specialist products that are created as part of the project.
Outcomes: the change in behaviour/process/etc. that is derived from the outputs of the project.
Benefits: the measurable improvements that result from the projects outcomes.
What are the contents of the business case?
- Executive summary - summary for senior management team
- Reasons - what is the opportunity or problem the project is trying to solve? Describes the current situation or ‘life now’.
- Business options - do nothing, do the maximum, or do the minimum. Contains an analysis and recommendation.
- Expected benefits
- Expected dis-benefits
- Timescale - describe the project duration and the period over which project benefits would be realised.
- Costs - describe the costs of the project, operational and ongoing maintenance costs, and funding arrangements.
- Investment appraisal - financial appraisal of costs for business options.
- Major risks - describe the risks associated with the project by probability and impact; ‘Red’ risks.
What is the purpose of the benefits management approach?
The benefits management approach describes the expected benefits, the actions, and the review of benefits, including how benefits will be measured to confirm that they are achieved and realised as a result of the projects success.
