Building an Effective Business Case

Course Overview

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

Course Objectives

• Key elements of a business case document and presentation
• How to justify the investment to solve a business problem in a clear, concise, fact-based manner
• Basic financial metrics used within a business case, including feasibility studies and ROI analyses
• Ways to improve the odds of project approval
• Steps to prove your recommendation is "best"
• A step-by-step development process to create a business case

Course Content

1. 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

2. Defining the Business Case Problem

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

3. Exploring Business Case Solutions

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

4. Creating The Business Case

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

5. Financial Metrics

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

6. 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

Course Prerequisites

• There are no prerequisites for this course.