Tutorial on how to write a business case, as presented at JBoye 12 in Aarhus.

1. Successful Web Projects
Preparing the Business Case
Preparing the Business Case 1

2. Agenda
 Introductions (10 min)
 Case Study (30 min)
 Why? Who? When? What? How much? (60 min)
 Case Study, Revisited (60 min)
 Gaining Approval (30 min)
 Risks and Success Factors
 Case Study, Applied (15 min)
 Close (5 min)
Preparing the Business Case 2

3. Who?
Where?
Experience?
Why?
Preparing the Business Case 3
Alaskan Dude

4. What are the barriers?
Preparing the Business Case 4
roy costello

5. Case Study
Preparing the Business Case 5
Karen Roe

6. WebCo Exercise (1)
 WebCo manufactures and sells WebStuff. It is divided into four divisions:
 Production manufactures WebStuff
 Marketing creates and distributes product brochures and other supporting materials
 Sales talks to potential customers and sells them WebStuff
 Operations supports customers once they have bought some WebStuff
 Being a thoroughly modern corporation, each division uses the web to support their activities:
 Production runs a supplier portal, through which its suppliers provide information about the
status of orders, delivery tracking information, invoices, etc
 Marketing provides a range of product brochures, information sheets, etc, for resellers (via a
private website) and customers (via the public website). It also runs a number of regional
marketing sites in countries around the world.
 Sales runs a number of applications on on intranet, which are used by sales people to record
new orders, expense claims, etc. These sales people are on the road a lot, so they also value
the company news and information that is provided through the intranet.
 Operations runs a customer service portal. Customers use this to download product
manuals, ask questions about their products and raise service requests.
Preparing the Business Case 6

7. WebCo Exercise (2)
 Having been thoroughly modern for a long time now, the systems that support this are a bit of a
mess. For example:
 Product information is inconsistent across the various marketing websites. The versions on
the intranet (often used by sales people) and customer service portal may be different again.
 Creating a new marketing campaign can be really painful, as many sites and systems need to
be updated independently.
 It costs a lot to operate and maintain all the different portals and websites, all of which are on
different content management systems, servers, databases, etc.
 None of the web systems are integrated with WebCo’s ERP system, so all the supplier
tracking information, expense information, etc, needs to be transferred manually.
 In order to sort out this mess, WebCo has decided to migrate all its web systems to a common
Web CMS, and to integrate this CMS with the corporate ERP system.
 Discuss:
 What information you would put into a business case
 How you would gather and present this information
 (Don’t get too bogged down in whether WebCo is adopting a sensible strategy, or exactly how
you’d execute this strategy, except to the extent that this is relevant to the business case)
Preparing the Business Case 7

8. Present Back
Preparing the Business Case 8
Karen Roe

9. Why write a business case?
Because we’re told to
To prioritise allocation of resources across the portfolio
To create a framework for decision making
Preparing the Business Case 9
Patrick Hoesly

10. A framework for decision making
Create a clear vision for the
project
Win meaningful support for
delivering this vision
Define measurable success
criteria
Help make good decisions as
issues arise in the project
Preparing the Business Case 12
digitalrob70

11. Who Cares?
Execs
Sponsor and Project Board
Project Manager
Project Team
Other Managers
Preparing the Business Case 14
pasukaru76

12. What you might care about…
 Winning people’s support for the case
 Getting their support as problems arise during the project
 Fitting your project into the wider context
 How it supports organisational goals
 How you build support from other people (or trade with them)
 Understanding what the organisation expects of you
 Structure of case, when and how to present it
 Knowing who your allies and competitors are
 Finding potential mentors
 ...
Preparing the Business Case 16
pasukaru76

13. Potential Contents
 Executive Summary
 Situation
 Proposed Solution
 Benefits (financial & non-financial)
 Impacts
 Alternatives Considered
 Implementation Approach, Timelines & Resources
 Governance
 Financial Analysis
 Risks and Success Factors
Preparing the Business Case 17

14. Executive Summary
 What issues do you want to address?
 What do you want to do to address them?
 What benefits will the organisation get from doing this?
 How will you do this?
 Milestones
 Resources – make it clear just what you’re asking for
 Governance
 Risks
 Proof that you have a reasonable chance of success
Preparing the Business Case 18

15. Current State
 Outline the current state
 Describe the issues / opportunities it creates
 Describe what impact this is having on the organisation
 Increased costs & delays
 Reduced quality (describe the impact it has on customers, if possible)
 Opportunity to grow revenue, improve customer satisfaction
 …
 Illustrate in language that works for your audience
 Numbers, Pictures, Stories, Quotations, …
 Scare tactics? (Can work, but can also be resented.)
 …
Preparing the Business Case 19

16. Proposed Solution
 What it is
 How it addresses the issues in the current state
 Again, describe in terms your audience understands
Preparing the Business Case 20

17. Benefits
 What will the organisation gain by doing this?
 Financial benefits
 Highlights from the financial analysis
 Use whatever parameters (ROI, NPV, IRR, payback, …) your org prefers
 Non-financial benefits
 Align to strategic goals, as far as possible
 How will these be measured
 How will they be realised?
 Who is responsible for realising them?
 Clear understanding of benefits adds a lot of weight
Preparing the Business Case 21

18. Impacts
 Who will be affected by this solution?
 What processes will be affected?
 Are there any side-effects that need to be managed?
 Tell the story – how people will be affected?
Preparing the Business Case 22

19. Alternatives considered
 For each alternative considered:
 Describe the solution
 How do benefits and costs compare to your proposed solution?
 Why was it rejected?
 Work to your organisations expectations
 How many alternatives should you include?
 Should you recommend one, or just offer options?
 “Do Nothing” is always an option
 Socialise options with decision-makers beforehand
 Let them steer & guide you as to what options to consider
 Don’t surprise them
Preparing the Business Case 23

20. Implementation
 Approach
 Timelines – plan, milestones
 Resources
 Financial, human, specialist equipment, …
 Total
 Profile over time
 Demonstrate your ability to deliver the solution
Preparing the Business Case 24

21. Governance
 Who is responsible for the initiative?
 Budget
 Oversight
 Benefits realisation
 Who will be on the project board?
 Who will be the project manager?
 How will this fit to wider governance & reporting?
 Some of this may not be known at this point…
Preparing the Business Case 25

22. Financial Analysis
 Costs – total and spend profile over time
 Benefits – total and profile over time
 ROI, NPV, Payback calculations
 Use the approved template (if one exists)
 Be aware of issues such as:
 Capex versus Opex
 Project versus operational costs
 Planning horizon
 Sensitivities
 Role of finance (to support analysis; to review it before approval; …)
Preparing the Business Case 26

23. Risks and success factors
 To the project
 To benefits realisation
Preparing the Business Case 27

24. Tailor to your organisation
 Is there a defined template for business cases?
 Is there an approved format for ROI calculations & etc?
 Is there a required review process (e.g. by Finance)?
 What communication style works for your audience?
 Numbers? Pictures? Words? Stories? Quotes?
 What are the current strategic priorities?
 Cost cutting? Revenue growth? Focus on specific product or market?
Preparing the Business Case 28

25. Four types of benefit
Cost Saving
Revenue Increase
Must Do
Strategic
Lack of realism
kills credibility
How do these apply to your projects?
Preparing the Business Case 29
miss karen

26. A business case is for life, not just for Christmas
Idea
Inform PID, Plan, Case Request Resources
Deliverables &
ongoing decisions
Feedback
Learn & & Refine
Adjust
Project Approval
Initiate Project
Preparing the Business Case 31

27. Keep the business case alive Idea
Case
 Use it to steer the project
Project Approval
 Defining deliverables, acceptance criteria, etc
 Prioritising resource allocation and risk management
 Your time & attention is probably your most valuable resource
 As you learn more, check whether this changes the case
 It’s OK to learn!
 It’s not OK to ignore this learning…
 Work with execs & other stakeholders
 Does changed context or knowledge suggest you need more resources?
 Are there other blocks which need to be cleared?
 Is the project still worth doing?
Preparing the Business Case 32

28. Understand organisational timescales
 Do you need to align to budgetary cycles?
 How much notice and review time do people need?
 What is the planning horizon for financial projections?
 How are project versus operational costs budgeted?
 How quickly can the organisation move?
 You may need to be patient
Idea
 You may need to build alliances or lobby Case
 You may need to build confidence you can deliver
(e.g. do you need to start small?) Project Approval
Preparing the Business Case 33

29. Case Study, Revisited
Preparing the Business Case 34
Karen Roe

30. Approval
Preparing the Business Case 35
Karen Roe

31. Gaining Approval
✔
 Know your audience
 Who are they
 What are their interests & concerns
 How these relate to organisational strategy and context
 What info they need / prefer (numbers, pictures, stories, details, overview)
 Engage with stakeholders
 Win their buy in
 Learn from their expertise, experience & perspectives
 Don’t surprise them (& don’t be surprised)
 Keep them in the loop
 Bounce ideas off them
Preparing the Business Case 36

32. What does approval mean?
What can / must you do next?
How long does this approval last?
Which stars need to be aligned?
Does it create additional requirements on you?
Preparing the Business Case 37
Magic Madzik

33. Other Success Factors
✔
 Treat the business case as a living document
 Set clear expectations
 Get feedback
 Focus on creating a clear vision for the project
 Remember benefits realisation
Preparing the Business Case 39

34. Risks
✗
 Surprising key stakeholders
 Fire and forget
 Focus on the financial case
 Unrealistic expectations on how much you can know
 Not fitting org context – not aligned to strategy & context
 Not fitting org expectations – wrong format, focus, timing
Preparing the Business Case 41

35. Case Study, Applied
Preparing the Business Case 43
Karen Roe

36. Summary
 A good business case sets up the project for success
 Builds meaningful support from key stakeholders
 Creates a framework for decision making
 The business case is a living document
 Understand the organisational context
 Strategic drivers and concerns
 Key people and their drivers & concerns
 Required structure, contents, timescales, etc
 It’s a political activity – it’s OK to work with power
Preparing the Business Case 44

37. Thank You
graham@grahamoakes.co.uk
The Cognitive Edge method used herein in whole or in part of a derived work is ©2012 Cognitive Edge (USA) Inc., is used under
license agreement terms which can be found at http://cognitive-edge.com/about/user-agreement

38. Graham Oakes Ltd
 Making sense of technology…
 Many organisations are caught up in the
complexity of technology and systems.
 This complexity may be inherent to the
technology itself. It may be created by the pace of technology change. Or it may arise from
the surrounding process, people and governance structures.
 We help untangle this complexity and define business strategies that both can be
implemented and will be adopted by people throughout the organisation and its partner
network. We then help assure delivery of implementation projects.
 Clients…
 Cisco Worldwide Education – Architecture and research for e-learning and educational systems
 Council of Europe – Systems for monitoring compliance with international treaties; e-learning systems
 Dover Harbour Board – Systems and architecture review
 MessageLabs – Architecture and assurance for partner management portal
 National Savings & Investments – Helped NS&I and BPO partner develop joint IS strategy
 The Open University – Enterprise architecture, CRM and product development strategies
 Oxfam – Content management, CRM, e-Commerce
 Thames Valley Police – Internet Consultancy
 Sony Computer Entertainment – Global process definition
 Amnesty International, Endemol, tsoosayLabs, Vodafone, …
Preparing the Business Case 46

39. WebCo – Strategic Context
 The economic downturn means that WebCo is suffering from declining sales.
Although it continues to retain (and even grow) market share, the general decline in
the size of the market for its products means that revenue and hence profits are
declining rapidly.
 Accordingly, the executive team has declared that all areas of the company must
focus on reducing costs. Only projects which can demonstrate tangible cost savings
should be approved.
Preparing the Business Case 47

40. WebCo – Strategic Context
 A new competitor has entered the market with some attractive new
products, meaning that WebCo is suffering from declining sales and market share.
 In order to respond to this threat, WebCo has started to develop a suite of new and
improved products. It is essential that all marketing and sales activities provide
maximum support to the launch of these products
 Accordingly, the executive team has declared that the company must focus on
maximising the speed and effectiveness of marketing and sales. Only projects which
can show tangible improvements in these areas should be approved.
Preparing the Business Case 48

41. The Cognitive Edge method used herein in whole or in part of a derived work is ©2012 Cognitive Edge
(USA) Inc., is used under license agreement terms which can be found at http://cognitive-
edge.com/about/user-agreement
Preparing the Business Case 49