Does Your Business Case Match The Organisation’s needs?

by Nicki Carruth | Sep 27, 2022 | Business Case Assurance

Misalignment of a proposed initiative and what the organisation actually requires can result in a wasted effort by a team preparing a business case. It’s why communication between leadership and the business units within the organisation is crucial. While ideally, the objectives of those in charge should be immediately understood by and visible to everyone in the business, the reality is that this isn’t always the case. For that reason, a business case team needs to assume a proactive approach to obtaining all the information necessary to make sure an investment proposal and the business needs are in sync. In this article, we’ll talk to this topic in a bit more detail – how can teams ensure they are speaking the same language as the decision-makers?

What are the big priorities for the business?

Before any business case can be put forward, there needs to be an understanding of just what the leadership team, board or even minister sees as the pressing issues for the organisation. The strategy for the business may outline imperatives over a 3, 5 and 10 year stretch, but within that there will be a shuffling priority of activities based on factors like capabilities, finances and market forces.

Having the ability to capture these priorities as the business case is designed, along with an understanding of why these are priorities can help the entire document read as much more in tune with the business direction. Out-of-date or miscalculated assumptions about what’s important is a surefire way to switch off the interest of decision-makers. Remember, their own KPIs are closely tied to the business meeting its objectives and priorities. If a new initiative is put forward to them that doesn’t look relevant to what’s occupying their thoughts and time, it may struggle to gain traction.

With that said, a business case might have a delay between being accepted and put into action. If the investment is still deemed as valuable but just not top priority, there may need to be a period of time while other priority projects are completed before this one gets underway. It’s important to make the distinction between a valuable business investment that’s not #1 priority right now vs. something that simply doesn’t align with strategic plans now or later.

Aligning business case wording with leadership team terminology

A business case should reflect the way in which the business talks about its objectives, operations, teams and functions. One of the core principles of successful proposals (business case or otherwise) is reflecting the reader’s own perspective in the document. In order to ‘speak the decision maker’s language’ you should make an effort to understand how the leadership team is communicating matters like strategic objectives or challenges. One of the ways you can do this is by accessing minutes from available meetings, strategic documents, internal communications and best of all, by speaking with them directly.

This element of a business case is often missed due to an assumption that the business benefit itself should be enough to get the case over the line. But in our experience the way in which a business case is phrased can make it resonate with the reader (or not). Do the work to understand how the business challenge is being discussed and model your approach around solving this.

Clear outcomes that speak to the goals of the leadership team

A business case is nothing without the tangible outcomes that it will create. Otherwise, what’s the point in making the investment? Whilst background and challenges are very important to detail so the decision makers have all the necessary frame of reference and context, the solution and ultimately what it will change in the business is where a business case truly illustrates its value.

In order to make the outcomes of the proposed activity relatable and tied into the business’ needs, make an effort to find out what the leadership team is attempting to do from a strategic perspective. It may be that your outcomes need to expressly connect to these in the business case wording. This may even be illustrated visually with a diagram or table showing the outcomes and how they drive these leadership goals forward.

Make it easy to see why the investment’s worth it – any extra effort required by decision makers amongst their hectic schedules to decipher the business case could result in the business case being deprioritised or misunderstood.

Relationship Between Programmes and Projects IQANZ

Does the proposed activity take into account the resource capacity?

Blue sky thinking is a wonderful tool for any business to take part in. Tapping into the minds of your people to uncover the right questions and answers is tremendously valuable. With this said, as organisations we do deal in the real and factual – so while aspirational goals may form an important part of future planning, there needs to be some reconciliation between what’s valuable and what’s possible in the here and now.

One of the common limitations to a business initiative making it from idea stage to reality is the capacity in the business to deliver the project. A great idea without the right people, tools and funding to deliver it to the end is often an expensive mistake..

It’s par for the course for a large project to require outside resources to deliver. A combination of in-house staff and contractors is commonplace across New Zealand private and public organisations. However, the business case research needs to determine just how much resource can be met in house through FTE staff vs. new contractor costs that will be incurred.

The business case should outline all the costs involved and shouldn’t require drastic reshuffling of current resources in order to deliver. It may be worthwhile to determine the resourcing in consultation with other parts of the business and have a working plan to mobilise staff and mitigate the resulting impact to other work

Is this the most cost-effective way of delivering the desired outcome?

With the right research and consultation, a business case’s desired outcomes shouldn’t be a matter of great contention with a leadership team or other decision makers. But the manner in which those outcomes are achieved is far more exposed to divergence of opinion or interpretation. Expect that at some point in your career preparing and presenting business cases to hear ‘is this the cheapest/best way of doing this project?’. Even the most experienced senior responsible owners will field such questions.

The business case needs to sell beyond the outcomes – it needs to demonstrate why the approach outlined is the most cost-effective solution. This doesn’t mean the absolute cheapest to deliver, but over the long term may create the right outcomes that make the most financial sense. For example, a cheaper minimal viable product might keep things within a budget, but that business change will likely require further investment down the track.

If the budget is tight, a better option is to break up the project and business cases into smaller investments, making each more affordable and easier to get through the approval stage in many cases. But make sure that each chunk delivers value (something the business can use), otherwise you could end up with a half-finished outcome that’s no good to anyone.

What does your organisation need to make a decision on a business case?

Beyond alignment of goals, finances and resourcing, the business case should make it easy to make a decision by those reviewing it. Each business has its own way in which it makes decisions and certain information that will be asked for. As the team prepares a compelling business case, it’s important to get in front of these potential questions and points of friction.

To do this, start by consulting with those who will ultimately make the decision such as a steering group. You’ll want to understand the information that leadership needs to properly assess the fit of a proposed investment. Gather this criteria up and ensure your business case reflects this as like for like as possible to remove ambiguity.

Another great clue is to analyse past business cases that were accepted and pull out any information that might not be in your research or current structure.

Ensure your business case is fit for purpose

IQANZ are experts in business case development to ensure they meet the needs of the organisation. If you’re looking for the peace of mind that your business case is aligned with the expectations of decision-makers, chat to our team to learn more about how we approach business case assurance.