·
Assumptions
— speak to all stakeholders and gather their main assumptions, e.g. in the case of IT
development, that the IPR will be owned by the organization. Examine whether these
assumptions are valid or not.
·
Benefits
— outline the benefits, and opportunities, that each option provides. Identify the
high-level benefits that align with your company’s main business objectives, and
explore how these benefits can be measured
·
Costs
— obtain indicative figures for the cost of the project over its entire lifecycle,
not only the implementation costs. You may want to factor in 15-20% for scope creep, if
appropriate.
Also, determine who will pay for the project, if they have agreed to do this, and the
payment method. Examine how to get an acceptable balance of cost, benefit, and risk.
·
Critical
success factors — seek consensus with the other stakeholders on what
constitutes success. If you do not take this step, stakeholder will have different
expectations of the final deliverable.
Define success factors that are specific, measurable, and achievable; identify any other
factors that could affect success, such as the delivery of other parallel projects.
·
Dependencies
— outline the internal (e.g. staff availability) and external dependencies (changes
in the marketplace, new government legislation).
·
Options
– gather details on all available options that could meet the business needs.
Consider the trade-offs associated with each option, and the degree to which each option
meets the project’s needs.
Make sure that you have included the overall supply chain’s needs, i.e. the
organization, partners, suppliers, staff and customers.
·
Procurement
— send an Invitation to Tender (ITT) to prospective contractors. Evaluate their bids.
Hold presentations with the most impressive bids.
·
Project
Group — identify those (individuals, units, and departments) who are
involved and/or affected by the project. Determine their interests and endeavor to resolve
any potential conflicts.
·
Resources
— scope the anticipated resource and capabilities requirements that you will need,
such as staff, IT, workspace, equipment, and funding.
·
Risks
– Capture all anticipated risks – plan contingencies. Prepare a high-level
estimate of the costs for each risk.
·
Scope
– define what is in/out of scope with the existing budget; scope what can be
delivered with a reduced budget, with indicative delivery dates; ensure that there are no
conflicts with other on-going projects.
Look at the impact that delaying the project or under-delivering could have.
·
Stakeholders
— identify their role, responsibility, availability, and contingencies if they become
incapacitated/released from the project.
·
Strategic
fit – confirm that the project is still required and that its
objectives are in line with the company’s business goals.
·
Value For
Money — examine how to get VFM from the contractors – agree what
constitutes VFM with the project stakeholders.
Once you have checked off these points, your business case should be ready
to send to the project stakeholders.
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