Business CASE

Business CASE#

Executive summary#

This document is created to serve as input for an automatic Business Case generator.

HELP TEXT:

The Executive Summary should provide a short, informative headline summary of the Business Case document to follow. It should typically be no longer than 1 page and contain:

• A short narrative to identify the subject, scope, method of analysis and key results and findings;

• A short list of the key objectives of the project

• A summary of the financial metrics ( table below, provides a very basic and high-level example of summarizing outlay and ROI)) from the investigation, highlighting the most significant;

A brief summary of the conclusions as a result of the study

FORM: texteara

TOOL:Summary of CAPEX/OPEX (for 3-5 years)

First: XLS table upload (csv)?, png upload

Contents

Executive summary ii

2 Introduction 4

3 Glossary and acronyms 4

4 Appendixes 4

Document information#

Document History#

[automatic generated: Note it is a generated document!]

Project name: Link to project name module

Version No. Date Author Revision Description

Introduction#

HELP Text:

This section should describe the setting, background and context of the Business Case. It should serve to clarify and elaborate the subject matter of the Business Case. It should clearly state the purpose of the Business Case, e.g.

• To obtain financial approval to either commence a project or proceed to the next stage;

• To compare alternative solutions, etc…

It should explain the objectives, needs or problems addressed by the requirement. The objectives should be stated in clear and measurable terms with a specified time frame, e.g.:

• To have improved communication systems against more competitive cost options from December 2007

• To invest £xx in a performance improvement project that will ultimately provide a 10:1 return on the initial investment (spend to save)

It should outline any relevant related initiatives – is the project part of a larger programme? Are there dependencies on the delivery of other projects to realise the benefits?

It should include a statement how the project is “right-sized”; that is ensuring that the proposed solution is realistically scoped to ensure that the benefits and costs to deliver are in line.

Scope#

Boundaries#

Define what is to be included within the scope of the investment and explicitly state what is excluded from the investment.

Stakeholder Analysis#

[link to module?]

Describe key stakeholders, their specific roles, and their contributions to the realization of the investment.

Business Problem#

2.1 Environmental Analysis (include Business Process as applicable)

Outline the core aspects of the business environment which have derived the need for this project to take place. These may include:

• Business Vision, Strategy or Objectives

• Business processes or technologies which are not operating efficiently

• New Competitor products or processes which have been identified

• New technology trends (or opportunities resulting from new technologies introduced)

• Commercial or operational trends which are driving changes in the business

• Changes to Statutory, legislative or other environmental requirements. ©

Provide any facts or evidence to support the conclusions drawn above.

Problem Analysis#

Outline the fundamental business problem or opportunity which the resulting project will directly address.

Business Problem

Provide a summary of the core business problem, including:

• A generic description of the core issue to hand

• The reasons why the problem exists

• The elements which create it (e.g. human, process, technology)

• The impact it is having on the business (e.g. financial, cultural, operational)

• The timeframes within which it must be resolved. ©

Business Opportunity#

Outline the business opportunity which has been identified, including:

• A summary of the generic opportunity

• Any supporting evidence to prove that the opportunity is real

• A timeframe within which the opportunity will likely exist

• The positive impact that realization of the opportunity will have on the business.

1.1.3 Drivers for Change#

Identify the internal and external drivers that have triggered the business need for the investment proposal.

1.1.4 Business Outcomes#

Describe the expected results or benefits (high level) that the investment is striving to achieve at the end of an intervention or change.

1.2 Strategic Fit#

Describe how the proposed investment fits within the organization’s broader strategic context and contributes toward its goals and objectives. This subsection should map the investment proposal to the organizational overview’s objectives.

Assumptions#

Provide a list of the assumptions related to the key requirements and describe the potential impact of those assumptions if they are not addressed.

Example: Assumptions Affecting Investment

	It is assumed that:	Effects on investment:	Reliability Level: High/Medium/Low
Assumption 1
Assumption 2
Assumption 3

Constraints#

List and describe internal or external constraints that place limits or conditions on the investment.

Examples: Hard deadline, Pre-determined budget, subject matter expertise, contract provisions, privacy or security considerations. External factors: social factors, environmental issues or concerns, political reasons, economic factors, technological issues. Internal factors: resources, expertise, business requirements, legal requirements, facilities.

Dependencies#

Describe any dependencies related to the overall business need, requirements, or solution.

Example: Dependencies

Number	Element:	Is dependent upon [action] from [entity]:
Dependency 1
Dependency 2
Dependency 3

Assessment of benefits#

HELP Text:

The benefits to be gained from the investment compared to the alternative of ‘doing nothing’ should be summarised. Benefits should be identified and quantified, as far as possible, in financial terms: as appropriate, this to include projected cost reduction against investments, impact if no investment,, reduction in risk, improvements in quality, reliability, accuracy and other tangible, non-tangible and consequential benefit i.e. ‘what are the real benefits from making the investment?’

A full assessment / explanation of the benefits should be included as an Annex if appropriate.

Optional per scenario:

[SOWT analyse]

Cost / Benefits Assessment#

HELP TEXT:

This will clearly identify the cost benefit against the investment that is being made. This should consist of a simplified presentation of the financial cost/benefit analysis - presented in tables or graphs;

This should include an assessment of:

Investment value – Revenue and Capital
Cost Saving first 12 months (£)
Cost Saving after first year (£)
Depreciation costs
Total cost (£)
Cash outlay (£)

Additionally, an assessment of unquantified Benefits and Costs, and Strategic Contribution should be considered:

Try very hard to quantify all costs and benefits
All direct costs should be included
Indirect costs should be included
If a non-financial benefit is significant, then define it

Make the impact of the benefit tangible – describe all likely effects and implication

Risks#

Summaries the most apparent risks associated with the adoption of this solution. Risks are defined as “any event which may adversely affect the ability of the solution to produce the required deliverables”. Risks may be Strategic, Environmental, Financial, Operational, Technical, Industrial, Competitive or Customer related. Complete the following table:


Description	Likelihood	Impact©	Mitigating Actions
Inability to recruit skilled resource	Low	Very High	Outsource project to a company with proven industry experience and appropriately skilled staff
Technology solution is unable to deliver required results	Medium	High	Complete a pilot project to prove the technology solution will deliver the required results
Additional capital expenditure may be required in addition to that approved	Medium	Medium	Maintain strict cost management processes during the project

Issues#

Summarize the highest priority issues associated with the adoption of this option. Issues are defined as “any event which currently adversely affects the ability of the solution to produce the required deliverables”. Complete the following table:


Description©	Priority	Resolution Actions
Required capital expenditure funds have not been budgeted	High	Request funding approval as part of this proposal
Required computer software is only at ‘beta’ phase and has not yet been released live	Medium	Design solution based on current software version and adapt changes to solution once the final version of the software has been released
Regulatory approval must be sought to implement the final solution	Low	Initiate the Regulatory approval process early so that it does not delay the final roll-out process.

Recommended option#

HELP TEXT:

When formulating an investment proposal the options available, including the ‘do nothing’ option, should be considered and compared. Based on the outcome of the comparison of the options i.e. the option appraisal, a recommendation should be made for one option.

The full option appraisal should include a cost/benefit/risk comparison between the options available to address the business problem / opportunity. Options to include ‘do nothing’, business and technical options, timing options and, if at all relevant, consideration of 3^rd party involvement – contractors, joint ventures partnerships, PFI and funding options. When considering options, relevant strategies, standards and legal requirements should be taken into account.

Depending on the situation the option appraisal may be simply qualitative or a detailed analysis. It may be done in two stages i.e. a broad sift of a wide range of options followed by a detailed examination of say, 3 of them.

Risk and Sensitivity analysis#

The key business risks associated with the recommended option should be summarised, particularly those which may impact on the financial projections (costs and/or benefits). The summary should include an indication of the probability and likely impact of the risks and the measures being proposed to manage the risk(s) and / or to reduce their impact e.g. business case review prior to major cash expenditure. Political, Operational Economic / Financial and Technical (POET) risks should be taken into account as they could all contribute to the overall business risk.

The financial projections presented in support of the recommended option should reflect the expected, or most likely, outcome of events. In presenting an analysis of the business risks, the Sponsor should identify the major sensitivities to which the investment could be exposed, typically the impact of cost overruns, time slippage which may result in higher costs and missed opportunities; failure to achieve the development/investment period.

Resource requirements and costs#


The resource requirements and costs associated with the recommended option should be summarised i.e. external costs for equipment, external service costs e.g. for consultancy and internal staff costs. The summary is to include investment and running costs.

Resource requirements and costs:

Man years

Capital

£

Running costs per annum (range)

External (bought in equipment)

External services

Internal costs

Total

Funding source / Timing / Certainty#


The source and timing of the funding for the investment, be it required, known or suggested, should be identified and an indication given of the certainty or otherwise of the funding being available when required.

Timescales#


The proposed start and end dates should be given together with a list of significant (particularly financially significant) milestones (events with dates). Where relevant, the milestones to include dates on which the investment should be reviewed.

Main milestones and dates:	Proposed start:	Proposed end:
Tba	date	date

Conclusions and Recommendations#


Bring the document to a close by concluding the findings and making recommendations.

Glossary and acronyms#

Provide definitions of the special terms used in the SAD. If a term has a different meaning in this SAD than it does in a parent SAD, explain why.

Provide definitions of the acronyms used in the SAD.

Appendixes#

Appendixes can be used to provide information published separately for convenience in

document maintenance (e.g., charts, classified data). As applicable, each appendix should be referenced in the main body of the document where the appendix data would normally have been provided. Appendixes can be bound as separate documents for ease in handling.