Building an Effective Business Case (BEBC) – Outline

Detailed Course Outline

Introduction

  • Fundamentals of a business case
  • Where the business case fits into the project life cycle
  • Business case as an Organisation Process Asset (OPA)

Defining the Business Case

The six-step process model

  • Defining the ADAPTS business case analysis process
  • Focusing on the required elements
  • Examining the role and value of the steps

Identifying the benefits and risks of the process

  • Business case structure and process
  • Proving that benefits are realised

Agreeing on the Scope

The two-step scoping process

  • Harvesting stakeholder goals
  • Clarifying the business drivers

Applying the stakeholder perception matrix

  • Creating the problem statement
  • Turning goals into business requirements

Developing the Initiative

Conducting stakeholder analysis

  • Identifying business-level stakeholders
  • Capturing user scenarios

Deducing key decision criteria

  • Constructing a compliance matrix from the scenarios
  • Prioritising criteria with affinity diagraming

Determining possible alternatives

  • Practical tools for researching alternatives
  • Applying key criteria to judge alternate solutions

Comparing Costs and Benefits

Estimating costs

  • Benefiting from a Cost Estimation Worksheet
  • Evaluating and selecting financial appraisal methods

Forecasting benefits

  • Categorising tangible and intangible benefits
  • Proving intangible benefits with a benefits rationale

Creating and applying a basic cost model

  • Employing four common financial analysis tools
  • Producing a cash flow model

Managing Business Case Risk

Risk assessment methods and tools

  • Recognising the impact of time and risk
  • Creating and using a risk register
  • Applying a risk assessment matrix

Prioritising risks

  • Framing risk with your stakeholder analysis
  • Aligning risk evaluation with stakeholder point of view

Targeting Your Recommendation

Delivering and positioning the solution

  • Three common decision-making heuristics
  • Aligning the business case with stakeholders

Aligning and prioritising initiatives

  • Prioritising and selecting alternatives
  • Selecting the business case delivery methodology

Crafting a Persuasive Business Case

Preparing the document

  • Overcoming the business document paradox
  • Minimising content to get maximum results

Polishing the Executive Summary

  • Exploiting the Executive Summary template
  • Avoiding common mistakes

Presenting the Business Case

Organising your presentation

  • Revisiting key decision-maker hot buttons
  • Preparing the message
  • Sequencing the content
  • Tailoring your presentation to the audience

Selecting the delivery medium

  • Communicating your case with confidence
  • Templates to build powerful presentations and wall-walks

Improving the presentation

  • Validating your presentation
  • Generating feedback for improvement