Before you start writing your business case Creating a business case document is actually the last of several stages that must be completed before you present it. Throughout these stages, it may become apparent that the project is not currently feasible. Because business case development can be time-consuming, it’s important to make that evaluation as early in the process as possible. Essentially, you have to determine the business case for developing your business case.
The first stage of preparation involves a thorough analysis of the situation that led to the initiative for the project.
Once the problem is thoroughly understood and articulated, it’s essential to determine the requirements for creating the business case and a rough estimate of the requirements for the project. These requirements might include time and human resources required and deadlines for return on investment (ROI) or for completion of the business case, project or project phases.
Next, you should identify all the sources of data that will be required to support the business case. These sources may include financial sources from within the company, case studies from similar projects, historical data, industry analysis and forecasts, demographic studies, and so on.
After you’ve collected that information, you should take the preliminary plans for the business case to one or more people who will have input into the decision. Ask them for their ideas related to the project, their opinions about the project’s worth and feasibility, and – assuming their opinions are positive – their support. Based on all the inputs available, you should have an idea of how likely it is that the project will be approved. Use that determination to decide whether or not to go ahead and write the document. The executive summary
The executive summary is a high-level view of the business case document. It explains, in a condensed form and plain language, the problem that the proposed project is intended to solve, the major considerations, the resources required to complete the project, the desired outcome, the predicted return on investment and a projection of when that ROI should be achieved.
Because some stakeholders may only read the executive summary, it's crucial to include any information that is essential to an informed decision. Like the abstract on an academic article, the executive summary is presented at the first but written after the rest of the document is completed.
The problem statement
This section is a straightforward articulation of the problem that the project is supposed to solve. It identifies the area or areas where there are issues that need to be addressed, such as inefficiencies, missed opportunities, unacceptable market performance or unfavorable consumer response to a product or service.
Analysis of the situation
This section describes the situation behind the problem in more detail and how the situation came about. Finally, it provides general projections about potential events if the current situation continues. The conclusion of the analysis should lead naturally to the next section.
Solution options
In this section, you identify potential solutions to the problem and describe them in sufficient detail for the reader to understand them. If, for example, the solution proposed is the implementation of desktop virtualization, you would define the term and discuss the use of the technology within your industry. For most problems, there are multiple solutions possible and you should explore all solutions that are potentially the best option.
Project description
This section describes the project, including all the resources required for its implementation, the project budget and a timeline with measurable goals for all project milestones. List any assumptions that the reader should be aware of, such as, for example, that government regulations pertinent to the
