Document Outline

Business Case
for
project name

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Introduction
This document outline provides guidelines on the typical contents that should be included
in a business case. Business cases are prepared for a whole host of different investments
in a variety of industries and markets. This document covers the standard contents that
should be included in a business case concerned with investments in new or improved
products, services or processes.

Typical contents
Introduction
Business Objectives
Strategic Fit
High Level Business and Technical Requirements
Options Considered and Recommended Solution
Scope
Business Benefits
Assumptions
Costs and Budgets
Proposed Timescales
Risk Management
Investment Appraisal

Introduction
The Introduction should describe the purpose of the document, the background to the
business case what business conditions have triggered the need for the business case and the current position of the business.

Business Objectives
This section should define the business objectives (e.g. expand market share via new
channels, eliminate waste in processes) that are required to be fulfilled by the business
case such objectives should be SMART. Included in this section should be the critical
success factors and how they are to be measured.

Strategic Fit
Here the link of the business case to the strategic objectives of the organisation must be
spelt out. Most strategic objectives come down to two main objectives (increase revenue
and reduce cost) for commercial organisations, and improve customer service levels and
reduce cost for government and non-commercial organisations. Therefore the business
case must show how it contributes to the strategic objectives of the organisation.

High Level Business and Technical Requirements

Here the business requirements and any technical requirements (if it is an IT related
investment or a new facility/product investment) should be highlighted. The business
and technical requirements should be expressed as outcomes. For example, if the
business case is for a new call centre with appropriate technology to ensure faster
customer service, the business case should identify:
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the
the
the
the
the

number of service seats required

type of information required to be fielded by the call centre
skills and abilities required by the staff
response times required to be provided for customers
technology architecture requirements to fit with organisational standards.

Options Considered and Recommended Solution

This section should outline the options that have been considered with a SWOT analysis
against the critical success factors highlighted in the Business Objectives section.
Included in the options should be consideration of the costs and benefits of each option,
the risks associated with each option, and the alternatives for delivery of the various
options. The options should be ranked on a set of pre-determined criteria against which
a recommendation should be made.

Scope
The scope of the project around which the business case is built should be summarised
with a view taken of the range of scope (minimum to maximum) possible and how it
satisfies the business need.
The areas that are out of scope should also be highlighted. For instance, it could be a
project which is to handle legislative changes that impact most but not all European
countries, and here the countries that are excluded from scope should also be spelt out.

Business Benefits
The range of benefits that will be derived from pursuing the business case should be
highlighted. Benefit areas include:

financial benefits such as increased revenue and reduced cost

regulatory benefits such as compliance with legislation and environmental factors
operational benefits such as improved process efficiencies and better data quality
soft benefits such as improved staff working conditions and increased customer
satisfaction levels.

Assumptions
The assumptions used in preparation of the business case need to be recorded.
Assumptions around costs, benefit calculations and resource availability should be
included in this section.

Costs and Budgets

Estimates of the whole lifetime costs of the project should be included highlighting the
cost elements calendarised over the project period. The costs should, as a minimum, be
categorised into capital and revenue costs. There should be a clear indication of the
intended budget sourcing for each category, i.e. which part of the organisation is funding
the cost elements.
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Proposed Timescales
The proposed timescales should be included at a high level showing any project phasing
and the main milestones in each phase, together with the main approval points to enable
progress from one phase to another. Any major dependencies should be highlighted
(e.g. interface with other projects).

Risk Management
The main risks to the business case should be identified with some analysis of the
probability of the risk occurring and its impact should it occur. At this stage an outline
plan for how the risks are to be mitigated should be included.

Investment Appraisal
This section should show (preferably via a graph or similar visible facility) a year on year
payback profile with costs and benefits, and the point at which payback occurs.

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