First Draft/Strategic Business Case

At the beginning of a project, it is the business case that helps the Project Sponsor to decide whether or not to invest resources (people as well as funding) in a project, or whether to choose one project over another. A Business Case is not a static document. It must be continually updated as new information is discovered or the situation changes. In large projects, this updating process is more formal, starting with a Strategic Business Case, then an Outline Business Case and finally a Full Business Case as the detail becomes clearer. This repeating process means that the Project Sponsor and Board can continue to assess whether a project remains viable and worthwhile. As a result, the Business Case is at the heart of the regular project reviews that all projects in Sheffield must hold.

 

Try to create the first Business Case as soon as you can. The best time to do this is immediately after the Project Assessment Workshop. You will have discussed and recorded a great deal of its content (e.g. Project Brief, Initial high level risks and stakeholders etc.) so you can use these as a basis whilst they are fresh in your mind. The important thing at this stage is not to get worried about knowing the answers to everything! At the beginning of any project, there is a lot of uncertainty, all that might be known is the broad project scope, overall objectives and why it contributes to the Council's overall goals.

 

In large projects such as a PFI, this early business case can be more formal, even baselined as a separate document. This is known as the Strategic Business Case. The aim of a Strategic Business Case is to set out the strategic level argument for why the project should go ahead and why any significant investment is worthwhile. You can use the standard Business Case template for the strategic business case, but you will tend to focus on what the project is, why we need it and the alternatives or options. 

 

Whatever format, this first draft Business Case should take you to Review 1, which reviews the start up phase of the project and takes an early look at the planning phase. Review 1 is discussed next.