Elements of the Business Case

People

Project Sponsor

The Project Sponsor is the senior person supporting the project. It is essential to secure buy-in and support from this person before submitting a Business Case as they will be critical in promoting your case and are likely involved in discussions around resourcing and funding.

Project Lead

The Project Lead is responsible for overseeing delivery and will, in most cases, see the project from start to finish.

Business Needs

Here you will outline why the project is necessary and the benefits it will provide. You'll also explain the size and scope of the projects alongside the risk of not proceeding.

What is the opportunity and why now?

Explain succinctly what the opportunity is and why now is the right time to proceed. Think about how the project will support the aims and objectives of the department (or broader university) and alignment with the relevant strategy.

What happens if the project doesn't go ahead?

Explain what the impact will be if the project does not proceed. What will happen as a result of in-action that will/might cause problems, or what might you not achieve as a result of not continuing with the project?

How big is the project?

Explain the scope of the project. Which stakeholders will the project affect (this is likely a broader group than the intended end-users)? Which departments/teams/units will the project come into contact with throughout its duration?

What will be achieved?

What benefits does the project intend to achieve? Objectives can be both qualitative and quantitative - although the most compelling business cases often contain a combination of the two. If a project is intended to set the groundwork for other activity, you should explain that here too.

What risks are involved?

What are the most important risks to consider that might affect the ability for the project to achieve its aims? These risks should not be confused with the those of not proceeding and you should focus specifically on threats to the success of the project.

Outline the options

It is essential to consider all the options available to achieve your desired outcome. It is at this point you might identify an alternate approach that might usurp your initial idea - this is great! Try to remain outcome focussed, rather than 'method focussed'.

What were the alternative options?

Explain the different options available to achieve the desired outcome. There is rarely one solution to any one problem, so it's important to dedicate sufficient time to consider all of the options. You should explain why you have discounted each possibility.

What is the preferred option?

Explain your preferred solution and why you feel this is more appropriate than all of the others considered. When doing this make sure you think of the various costs (financial and time) and other metrics such as the quality delivered to the end-user.

Consider the Requirements

You must now add some indicative detail to your proposal relating to the cost of delivery and the resources required to achieve your objectives. These are headline figures and, if your project proceeds, more work will be done on this area in the next phase of development.

What are the costs?

Try to explain the financial costs for proceeding with the project. If the work requires considerable staff-time, you should estimate this and translate this into an economic value (using the appropriate per-hour pay staff costs from the university's HR website). If the project requires purchasing of large items or investment in infrastructure (e.g. ICT software) or staff (e.g. consultancy) you will be expected to provide a general indication of cost here.

What are the staff implications?

Think about how much staff time is required to achieve the objectives and the expertise necessary (either from within the department or from elsewhere in the university) to achieve the desired goals. You should also explain the likely impact on other areas of activity, e.g. where staff will be redeployed to the project away from teaching duties.

What are the timeframes?

Consider when are the preferable (and realistic) start and end date for the project. You might also want to identify here if particular deadlines must be achieved within the project timeframe, or if funding must be made available by specific dates to enable success.