How do you make a solid business case for your project?

The main purpose of a business case is to get approval and funding for your project. The business case is the main deliverable before you initiate the project. It’s one of the key documents that senior managers review when deciding whether to give a project the funding it requires to go ahead. In the business case, you detail the benefits that the project will deliver, how they’ll be achieved, what it will cost, and how long it will take.

Before you start writing the business case, you should have carried out a fair amount of research. Typically a business case contains the following sections. Depth and detail can vary according to the organizational context and habits.

Section 1: What is the project all about?

• background and project description
• high level objectives and link with the strategic success factors of the organization
• high level scope and exclusions from scope
• constraints and assumptions

Section 2: Why should this project go ahead?

• project benefits and deliverables
• cost/benefit analysis (ROI)
• high level risk analysis

Section 3: How and when will the project be delivered?

• initial high level project plan
• project owner and key project members

Once approved, the business case should be worked out in further detail as the Project Initiation Document (PID). The PID will be the core document throughout the complete life cycle of your project.

Are our posts inspiring you? Sure you will be impressed by our business management solution, designed to scale with multi-functional teams. Get started for FREE, today!