Theme: business case

Question 1

what is a business case

Answer 1

a description of the reasons for the project and the justification for its undertaking.

Question 2

when is a business case made

Answer 2

at the start of a project (and reviewed throughout)

Question 3

who can review a business case

Answer 3

• Project Board at each key decision point, such as end-stage assessments and exception assessments
• project manager as part of the impact assessment of any new issues/risks, at the end of each stage to check if anything needs to be updated and during the final stage to assess the projects performance.

Question 4

what is the difference between an output and an outcome of a project

Answer 4

• an output is the same as a product. it’s what the project is producing and is used to change the business.
• an outcome is as a result of the output. The outcome is the change in the way BAU operates due to users using the output.

Question 5

what are dis-benefits

Answer 5

the downside/negative effects of doing a project

Question 6

who specifies what the benefits are in a project

Answer 6

The Senior User

• They will also make sure they are realized in the live environment.

Question 7

Who is responsible for ensuring that the benefits represent value for money and that they are also aligned to any corporate, programme or customer objectives.

Answer 7

The executive

Question 8

What are the minimum requirements for a prince2 project in terms of business case

Answer 8

• Create and maintain a business justification, usually a business case
• Review and update the justification in response to decisions and events that affect the desirability, viability or achievability of the project
• Define the management actions to ensure the outcomes are achieved and the benefits are realized
• Define and document the roles and responsibilities for the business case and benefits management

Question 9

what does “develop” mean in the context of business case

Answer 9

getting the right information which we can use to make decisions

Question 10

what does “verify” mean in the context of business case

Answer 10

assessing whether the project is worthwhile and remains so

Question 11

what does “maintain” mean in the context of business case

Answer 11

updating the business case with the latest information about costs and benefits

Question 12

what does “confirm” mean in the context of business case

Answer 12

assessing whether the intended benefits have been, or will be, realized

Question 13

Describe the business case approach

Answer 13

1) The outline business case is developed in starting up a project and refined in initiating a project.

2) The Project Board approve, and re-approve the business case (as part of the process of directing a project)

3) During the “Controlling a stage (CS)” stage, the business case is used to assess issues and risks during the project stages

4) At the “Managing a stage boundary (SB)” stage, the business case is reviewed and updated for each stage. This is also done at the end of a project during the “closing a project” process.

Question 14

describe the benefits management approach

Answer 14

The benefits management approach defines the actions and benefits reviews that are required to ensure that the outcomes and benefits are achieved.

1) It is prepared during the “initiating a project (IP)” process.

2) If the project is part of a programme, then the benefits management approach may be contained within the programme benefits realization plan and executed at programme level.

3) After the project has finished the benefits management approach is executed and maintained by corporate or programme management or the customer

Question 15

what should be included in a business case

Answer 15

• Executive summary: this highlights the key points in the business case, including the important benefits and the return on investment (or ROI)
• Reasons: describes the reason for the project, for example, the problem to be resolved or opportunity to be seized. It should also explain how the project will enable the achievement of corporate strategies and achievements
• Business options: this includes analysis and reasoned recommendation for the base business options of ‘do nothing’, ‘do the minimum’ or ‘do something’. Other options may be included as required
• Expected benefits: where the benefits that are expected to accrue from the project are identified and described
• Note: can also include: tolerances, expected dis-benefits, timescale, cost, investment appraisal (compared the benefits and disbenefits with the cost of the project. There are many techniques for this but this isn’t specified by prince2) and major risks.*

Question 16

Whose responsibility is to make sure the project’s objectives, costs, and benefits are aligned with the business strategy or programme objectives

Answer 16

The executives

Question 17

Can a project mandate include the business case

Answer 17

Yes

The project mandate should contain some basic elements of the business case but at that stage things may be sketchy/incomplete.

Note: The business case evolves over time as more is known about the project

Question 18

When do the Project Board need to review the business case

Answer 18

at the end of each stage in a project