Project Management:

MBS

Business Case Analysis

 

 

Generic Outline for Constructing a Business Case

adapted from "The Project Manager's MBA" by D.J.Cohen and R.J.Graham

Executive Summary

  • Description of the project

  • Market, customer, and competition

  • Cost-benefit analysis

  • Sensitivity analysis, risk assessment, and contingencies

  • Definitions of success and failure

Description of the Project

  • Purpose of the investment

  • Key reasons for pursuing the project

  • Strategic alignment

  • The value proposition

  • Project requirements

  • Project goal, milestones, and major deliverables

Market, Customers, and Competition

  • Market analysis

    • Critical success factors

    • Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT analysis)

    • Market size and segmentation

    • Market trends

  • Customer and end-user analysis

    • Customer and end-user identification

    • Fulfillment of customer and end-user needs

  • Competitive analysis

    • Identification of both direct and indirect competitors

    • Competitors' offerings

    • Competitive advantage to be produced by the project

    • Countermoves competitors might make

    • New competitors

    • Contingency plans

Cost-Benefit Analysis

  • Financial model

    • Cash flows in

    • Cash flows out

    • Financial analysis

    • Assumptions

    • Assumption tests

  • Non-quantitative factors

    • Opportunity costs

    • Benefits

Sensitivity, Risks, and Contingencies

  • Sensitivity analysis

    • Critical assumptions

    • Assumption change

  • Risk analysis

    • Identification of risks

    • Quantification of risks

    • Risk management

    • Contingency plan

  • Contingencies and dependencies

    • Value chain analysis

    • Responsibility chart

Definitions of Success and Failure

  • Metrics

    • Economic factors/measures

    • Strategic factors/measures

  • Methods

    • Process

    • Responsibility

Why Business Case Analysis?

 

Business case development is a step companies use for project selection. It analyzes how fulfilling the business case for the project will implement the corporate strategy and sustain the competitive advantage of the company.

The business case can further be developed into the business plan with the addition of more details. Your can convert the business case to action steps and major milestones in order to develop a plan that will guide your venture through the entire project lifecycle, including that of the project outcome.

GREAT Model

By: Michael S. Dobson

To make your project team function effectively, the first thing you need to know is the GREAT model: Goals; Results; Expectations / Performance; Accountabilities / Abilities; Timing.

The GREAT model specifies what people must know before they can work together effectively... More

5 Factors that Make a Project a Success

By: Eric Verzuh, the author of The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management,

To be successful, a project must have:

 
  1. Agreement among the project stakeholders – the team, customer, and management  – on the goals of the project... More

 

7 Phases of a Project

  1. Wild enthusiasm

  2. Disillusionment... More

50 Rules of Project Management

The project would not have been started if the truth had been told about the cost and timescale.

The person who says it will take the longest and cost the most is the only one with a clue how to do the job.

Good project management is not so much knowing what to do and when, as knowing what excuses to give and when... More

 

 

 

 

 

 

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