- Enterprise application initiatives are complex, expensive, and require a significant amount of planning before initiation.
- A financial business case is sometimes used to justify these initiatives.
- Once the business case (and benefits therein) are approved, the case is forgotten, eliminating a critical check and balance of benefit realization.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
1. Frame the conversation.
Understand the audience and forum for the business case to best frame the conversation.
2. Time-box the process of building the case.
More time should be spent on performing the action rather than building the case.
3. The business case is a living document.
The business case creates the basis for review of the realization of the proposed business benefits once the procurement is complete.
Impact and Result
- Understand the drivers for decision making in your organization, and the way initiatives are evaluated.
- Compile a compelling business case that provides decision makers with sufficient information to make decisions confidently.
- Evaluate proposed enterprise application initiatives “apples-to-apples” using a standardized and repeatable methodology.
- Provide a mechanism for tracking initiative performance during and after implementation.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.0/10
Overall Impact
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
La-Z-Boy Incorporated
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
N/A
Department of Energy- Richland Operations Office
Guided Implementation
10/10
$5,000
20
Northwest Territories Power Corp
Guided Implementation
9/10
$2,000
10
Workshop: Reduce Time to Consensus With an Accelerated Business Case
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Plan for Business Case Development
The Purpose
- Complete the necessary preceding tasks to building a strong business case.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Alignment with business objectives.
- Stakeholder buy-in.
Activities
Outputs
Map the decision flow in your organization.
- Decision traceability
Define the proposed initiative.
- Initiative summary
Define the problem/opportunity statement.
- Problem/opportunity statement
Clarify goals and objectives expected from the initiative.
- Business objectives
Module 2: Build the Business Case Model
The Purpose
- Put together the key elements of the business case including alternatives, benefits, and costs.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Rationalize the business case.
Activities
Outputs
Design viable alternatives.
- Shortlisted alternatives
Identify the tangible and intangible benefits.
- Benefits tracking model
Assess current and future costs.
- Total cost of ownership
Create the financial business case model.
- Impact analysis
Module 3: Enhance the Business Case
The Purpose
- Determine more integral factors in the business case such as ramp-up time for benefits realization as well as risk assessment.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Complete a comprehensive case.
Activities
Outputs
Determine ramp-up times for costs and benefits.
- Benefits realization schedule
Identify performance measures and tracking.
- Performance tracking framework
Assess initiative risk.
- Risk register
Module 4: Prepare the Business Case
The Purpose
- Finalize the recommendation and formulate the business case summary and presentation.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Prepare the business case presentation.
Activities
Outputs
Choose the alternative to be recommended.
- Final recommendation
Create the detailed and summary business case presentations.
- Business case presentation
Present and incorporate feedback.
- Final sign-off
Monitor and close out.