Building an Effective Business Case

Course details

In this course, you'll learn the most common disciplines and methodologies used to create and present a business case with clear, concise, and fact-based arguments that highlight project benefits, costs, and risks to win approval for projects. You'll learn the underlying structure and content of a business case as well as the role your audience plays in the development of it. Further, you'll learn basic techniques for determining financial ROI, non-tangible benefits, and the probability of meeting expectations.

Target Audience

Business analysts, project managers, anyone who establishes business cases, and anyone who provides business justification for projects.

Course Outline

Business Case Process

• "Business case" defined
• The business case and system life-cycle decisions
• The business analysts' role in the business case process
• Competition for funds
• Understanding the organizational need

Defining the Business Case Problem

• Identifying problem/opportunity
• Problem statement
• Product vision
• Objectives and constraints

Exploring Business Case Solutions

• Measure the benefits of alternatives vs. the business objectives
• Testing identified solutions for feasibility
• Analyzing solution definitions
• Assessing project risks

Creating The Business Case

• The "ideal" business case
• Business case structure/components/benefits
• Executive summaries
• Adding value with powerful objective statements

Financial Metrics

• Governance: What you need to know
• Business alignment
• Accounting/financial principles
• Summarize the risks and ROI
• Cost of ownership

Presenting the Business Case

• Explain the business problem
• Show the change expectations
• Discuss how and why the "viable alternatives" were selected
• Understand hot topics and pain points of your audience