Business Case Flashcards
(114 cards)
1
Q
A business case is the ?
A
Justification for undertaking the project
2
Q
A business case sets out the________ and compares it against _______
A
Benefits of the project
The cost and risks of undertaking the work
3
Q
The business case usually looks at a range of ______ to problems an organisation faces and prepares an analysis of ______ vs _____ for each option
A
Solutions
Cost vs benefits
4
Q
The business case is used by ______ as a key input to their _______
A
Senior management
Decision making process
5
Q
The business case list the _______ and relates to the _________
A
Reasons for doing the project
Problems the organisation faces
6
Q
The business case list the options that are being considered to ________ , each option is accompanied by a brief analysis of the option and there will be a ___________
A
Solve the problems
Recommendation
7
Q
The business case is looked at during the 1st phase of the lifecycle which is ?
A
The concept phase
8
Q
Concept phase : the content of the business case will be at a ?
A
high level
9
Q
Definition phase =
A
2nd phase
10
Q
2nd phase = definition phase : content
A
The business case is refined + agreed by the end of the phase
11
Q
Deployment phase =
A
3rd phase
12
Q
Deployment phase = content
A
The business case is updated with the latest Information + any changes that have been made ( particularly; Cost , timescales and benefits)
13
Q
Operations : content
A
The business case is reviewed to discover whether the benefits have been realised or not , if not then we would have to find out why and remedy the situation.
14
Q
Business case - project manager
A
- initially writes the business case
- ## keeps the business case updated through out the project
15
Q
Business case- project sponsor
A
- owns the business case
- ## responsible for liaising with senior management of the programme about the validity of business case
16
Q
Business case - users
A
- users provide a view of the expected benefits + dis benefits
17
Q
Business case - users + Sponsor
A
- approve or re approve the business case at the end of each phase
18
Q
Benefits management - project success - project manager
A
- delivering the project on time, on budget and to the right standard
19
Q
Benefits management - project success - Senior management
A
Same as a pm however - benefits may be more important + a slight overspend may be forgiven
20
Q
The success criteria is recorded in the ?
A
Business case
21
Q
Success meaning needs to be _______ in the ______ + _________ in the _________
A
Identified in the concept phase and defined in the definition phase
22
Q
Success criteria - KPI?
A
Throughout we must be able to predict whether we will be able to achieve our KPIs
23
Q
What is a KPI?
A
Key Performance Indicator - a KPI is something that we can measure that is directly related to the success criteria.
24
Q
Each success criteria should have an ?
A
Associated KPI
25
Benefits should be identified in the _______ and from part of the ______
Concept phase
Business case
26
Benefits are refined in the ?
Definition phase
27
Benefits are reviewed ?
Continually until the project finishes
28
During the implementation phase benefits are ?
Benchmarked
29
Benefits management is a key aspect of ?
Programme management
30
Benefits are realised after the ______ but during the _________
Project is finished
Programme lifecycle
31
A key aspect of benefit management is making sure the users change there _________ to take advantage of the new __________. This creates the ______ which in turn results in _________
Operational processes
The new products
Outcomes
Benefits to the organisation
32
The business case provides ?
A justification for undertaking a project or programme
33
A business case evaluates ?
The benefit, cost and risk of alternative options and provides a rationale for the preferred solution.
34
A business case evaluates the ___________ of _________ and provides a _____ for the _______
Benefits , cost and risk of alternative options
Rationale for the preferred solution
35
The earliest phase of the project lifecycle provides ?
The opportunity for the project to evaluate the options that may be available.
36
The business case provides a _______ by which project _______ can be ____,_____ and _____ to learn lessons about how ______ the organisation is deploying its funds to achieve its targeted returns.
Recognised framework
Spending proposals
Recorded , reviewed and audited
Efficiently
37
The business case will referred to throughout the project in order to ?
Make decisions about the continuing viability of supporting the change initiative.
38
The business case will be used during reviews and act as a ?
Baseline for checking ongoing viability of project
39
The reviews will be carried out at ?
The end of major project phases and prior to starting phases
40
Why do reviews take place ?
To avoid continuing investment when perhaps there appears to be no reasonable way the project will achieve the returns that justify such funding.
41
Typically there are ___ key questions that need to be answered to be answered In order to consider any _______ requiring significant financial investment
5
Proposed change
42
5 key questions
Strategic case
Economic case
Commercial
Financial case
Management case
43
Strategic case
How does it support or fit with the long term strategic goals of the organisation?
44
Economic case
Does it represent the optimum value for money or can a greater return be gained elsewhere?
45
Commercial case
What are the factors that influence the commercial viability of the proposal and can they be sensibly realised ?
46
Financial case
Is the level of funding required actually available either through existing capital reserves or borrowed funds and what impact does this have on the overall affordability of the proposal ?
47
Management case
How will the change be delivered and by whom and do we have existing capability to deliver such and extent of change ?
48
5 key points =
Five case model
49
The five case model is ?
A multi dimensional approach
50
5 case model
Strategic - is there a compelling case for
Change ?
Economic - does the recommended option optimise public value ?
Commercial - is the proposed deal achievable and attractive in the market place ?
Financial - is the spending proposal affordable ?
Management - how will the proposal be successfully delivered ?
51
The majority of the effort in the business case production will usually be at its greatest within ?
The concept phase of the project lifecycle
52
Early concepts may form a _________ (SOB). Further refined to be become the ______(OBC) and finally towards the end of the phase where the ________ (FBC) is agreed and the funding approved .
Strategic outline case
Outline business case
Final business case
53
The following people may be involved in business case development and contribute to its content :
Project steering group
Project sponsor
Project manager
54
Business case involvement: project steering group
The members of the steering group are often made up corporate management who in their monitoring of the organisation’s external or internal
Business environment have defined a need to consider that change options should be explored
55
Business case involvement: project sponsors
Appointed by the steering group and considered as the owner of the business case the sponsor leads its development during the concept phase of the project. At the end of the concept the business case may be approved by the steering group and funding released in order that the project proceeds to detailed planning in the definition phase
56
Business case involvement: project manager
The project manager will be appointed by the sponsor and will contribute detail about the reality of delivering such change. In some cases where the project is a smaller internal project within a functional department of the organisation the project manager may write the business case under the direction of the functional manager.
57
Other business case contributors:
Users
Business analyst
Subject matter experts
Suppliers
58
Other business case contributors: users
They will be key to providing the sponsor with insight as to how the output will be operated within BAU. It is there perspective that will add most value to the project and be key to benefits realisation.
59
Other business case contributors: Business Analyst
May be an internal role or brought into the organisation as an external consultant and provides a vital link between the project, it’s stakeholders and both the internal and external environments. A strength of a skilled BA is the experience that the may have gained in other projects and the implantation of these lessons learned in planning a new project
60
Other business case contributors: subject matter experts
These stakeholder could provide expertise in such areas as procurement , Human Resources , finance, specific technical areas and process application
61
Other business case contributors: Suppliers
Can sometimes be used as a blanket term when describing some of the roles above any stakeholder who has the capacity to input significant detailed knowledge to make the writing of a business case possible and to add value to the decision making could be considered a supplier. And extend to suppliers in the traditional sense
62
At the highest level the business case will show:
The level of investment required
The change intended
The resulting benefits
63
Fundamental aspect of a business case:
Background/situation
Benefits
Budget
Risks
Operational appraisal
64
Background/ Situation :
This will capture the essence of why the project is needed.
Information such as, environmental analysis and market situation.
The information should be quite categoric as to the problem , opportunity or business need to project is intended to address.
65
Benefits :
Crucial to ultimate feasibility. Full agreement of how the benefits will be realised, measured and the stakeholders involved
66
Budget
The funds that are expected to be consumers as a result of delivering the project. There may also be contingency allowances to taking account of uncertainties.
As the project progresses further through its lifecycle more granular cost estimates will be produced and reflected to the business case budget.
This information should be sufficient for stakeholders To understand the operations and sustainment required to utilise the new project and enable to acceptance and use of the benefits
67
Risks
Business case risk are important to identify.
If they risk can’t be mitigated at this stage , it may mean that project is abandoned or a less risky strategy is pursued.
The longer the timescale of the project, the more difficult it may be to identify the level of uncertainty and the the most effective approach.
68
Options appraisal
Option appraisal is a major part of justification for the chooses option to proceed.
The strength of any business case is increased when a full range of options have been considered as it shows that the organisation has not become embedded into a single tacked idea but it has reflected on what other options may be possible.
The do nothing option may also be considered.
When the final business case is ultimately produced, it is approved not only on the basis of being a good idea but that in relation to the other options it was the strongest option.
Common that options will be subject
To financial appraisal considering relative cost in relation to time and the phasing of return value.
69
Additional content -
The business card may also document information on timeline , success criteria , stakeholders , constraints. Assumptions, dependencies and details of any plans.
70
When a business case for a project is weak or I’ll defined that project will always have _______ in being subsequently _____ and is unlikely to realise the ______ that justify the ________.
Difficulty
Delivered
Benefits
Committed investment
71
Apart from helping to decide options , a valid business case should be used throughout all _____ of the project to monitor the _______ of _____ and the ongoing _____ of project output at the time of its completion.
Phase
Feasibility
Continuation
Viability
72
Is important that the business case is used throughout the lifecycle of a project to confirm _________.
Continuation of the project
73
The business case will be used in the following phases: Concept
The business case should be considered as the launchpad of the project , fully justifying the investment and stating explicitly why the project should be delivered and it’s importance to the sponsoring organisation.
74
The business case will be used in the following phases: Definition
As a response to the business case the PM will develop the project management plan. A thorough business case will ensure that an effective PMP will be developed acknowledging the project managers accretion that the defined success criteria and related performance requirements are indeed a realistic proposition.
The business case will be used at gate reviews to ensure continued viability of the project.
75
The business case will be used in the following phases: Deployment
At various stages of deployment plans will be implanted and performance verified though testing and assurance.
As outputs are delivered it is important to establish the feasibility of subsequent outcomes and benefits post transition.
Reference to the business case is key to the most effective decisions being made and continuation confirmed.
76
The business case will be used in the following phases: transition
The phase where most funding has been consumed and it is hoes that the intended output is likely to achieve the outcomes and benefits the business needs.
The business case will be important here as the main reference to review how the benefits are being realised compared to what what expected by stakeholders as documented in the business case
77
Benefits realisation is the practice of _____ that benefits are ____ from ___ and ____ and is essential to support the achievement of the business case.
Ensuring
Derived
Outputs and outcomes
78
Once the outputs have been handed over or transitioned into _____ they need to be used to realise the _____ that the organisation invested in.
BAU
Benefits
*this may be after the work or during the work in cases where an iterative lifecycle is used where immediate benefits can be delivered potentially by concentrating on a crating an MVP.
79
Adoption is dependant on the recipients of the ___ being ready to ____ and _____ the outputs in the intended way.
Change
Accept and use
* ongoing support is usually needed to ensure the new routines are established that use the new process/system/product/ways of working in the intended way.
** some organisation manage this work through their Normal business operations others choose and extended life use deployment approach which ensure that accountability and governance of the investment stays with the change team until fully embedded.
80
Organisations that are committed to driving through the realisation of benefits devise methods for ______ which involve ____ and _____ the benefits that were promised at the last decision ____ and included in the _____.
Managing benefits
Tracking and measuring
Gate
Business case
*
81
During its development the business case should contain detail of the upfront plan for any supplemental activities and additional considerations necessary in order for the project _____ to be in the optimal state for _____to be possible.
Outputs
Benefit realisation
* income expected and any operational cost connected to additional activities including capital expenditure should also be considered.
82
Benefits management is the ?
Identification , definition, planning , tracking and realisation of benefits.
* a project that is only responsible for delivering output interfaces with the entity responsible for delivering benefits. This may be a programme , portfolio or BAU organisation .
83
During the investment appraisal of project options the business case for the project depends on ______ such as ________ reflecting enough to accurately attribute benefits at the right level.
Stakeholders
Change managers
* avoiding aspects that yield value being missed or double counted
84
A benefits management plan ensure that there there is a ______ management approach to maintain a focus on ____ driven change through the entire ______.
Proactive
Benefit
Project lifecycle
*the delivery of outputs and the management of change must’ve closely coordinated.
85
Benefits management is an iterative process with five main steps ?
Identification
Definition
Planning
Tracking
Realisation
Benefits realisation plan
* a review takes place at both the identification and realisation step
86
Benefits management plan -
This explains how benefits will be managed. Sets out policies for aspects such as measurement, roles and responsibilities, priorities and KPIs
87
Identification-
Requirement are captured from sources such as the project mandate and stakeholders.
Benefits depend on the delivery of outputs and the achievement of outcomes.
At this stage befits are recorded together with justification and outline measurement criteria.
88
Definition -
The project manager should be aware of just how benefits will be realised when the project reaches transition into operational use.
The interrelationship between these need to be understood through benefits modelling and mapping.
Each benefit and disbenefit should be documented in terms of priority, interdependencies, value, timescales and ownership
89
Planning -
This step involves capturing baseline measurements and agreeing targets baseline measurements. Identify the current performance of an operation so the improvements can be measured.
The benefits plan illustrates the timeline and milestones for realising benefits including any dependencies on project, outputs interactions between benefits.
90
Tracking -
The project manager and the sponsor agree what benefits are tracked and how this happens in early lifecycle to enable the necessary baseline measures to be set up
Some benefits are tracked using qualitative indicators such as customer satisfaction scores
In addition to financial or no financial quantification the sponsor is accountable for ensuring that benefits tracking and reporting is effective as part of good governance this applies irrespective of whether benefits are being realised as planned or not
91
Realisation -
Benefits happen when something changes
Whilst implanting new change , new opportunities for additional benefits should always be sought.
Long term actions and monitoring for continued realisation should be documented as part of the handover to BAU
92
Effective benefits management is needed in all projects as an _____________ required to translate requirements that have been expressed in terms of ______ and mange them to successful ________ and ________
Additional activity
Benefits
Deployment and realisation.
93
When evaluating the available options purely from a financial view point there is a choice of ________ techniques to evaluate and compare _______ decisions. Such as _______ and _________
Appraisal
Investment
Net present value
Internal rate of return
94
NPV
Net Present Value
95
IRR
Internal rate of return
96
Absolute monetary value ?
Internal rate of return
97
NPV?
Net present Value
98
IRR
Internal rate of return
99
NPV : This technique seeks to examine the _______ of the benefits that are likely to be received as a result of the output of the project going into use.
Value
* These values are estimated each year of operational life for a period that is established as feasible for benefits realisation.
** at the end of the period it would be likely that the output would go into the termination phase and would no longer be yielding benefits
100
NPV seeks to identify the relationship between the ________ and the ________ taking account of ___ and _____
Original investment and the returns
Time and opportunity cost.
*often referred to as calculating the time value of money
** it does this by reducing the returns by an amount equivalent to what would have gained by the investment had it been used in an alternative way or reducing the returns in relation to the cost of borrowing capital.
*** this deduction is referred to as discounting. The reduced returns are referred to as the discounted cash flow.
**** the actual discount rate chosen is either the interest rate charge for the capitulation or the return rate expected by an alternative opportunity.
101
A business case supports the sponsor in making a ________ decision and the ______ to ______ the project if necessary
Go/no go decision
Recommendation to terminate
102
The business case helps to decide ?
Whether to continue supporting a project
103
The business case is referred to throughout the project lifecycle and is used during reviews acting as a ______ for checking on going ______ for a project
Baseline
Viability
104
A business case enables a sponsor to secure ?
Funding for a project
105
A business case ______ a project and promotes why a project should be ______
Justifies
Delivered
106
The business case evaluates the ___ , _____ and _____ of different ______ to solve a particular _____ and provides rationale for the preferred _____
Benefits , cost and risk
Options
Problem
Solution
107
By evaluating the alternative options the business case provides the project with an opportunity to evaluate the ?
Options available to them
108
During the concept a business case sets out the ______ of a project to ______ and ensures _____ with organisational controls and helps to assess the _____ associated with the project.
Purpose
Stakeholder
Compliance
Risks
109
The business case is used as a justification for the project during the ?
Concept phase - the business case is used to launch the project where is justifies the investment and explicitly states why the project should be delivered
110
The concept phase is the earliest phase of the project lifecycle and the business case provides opportunity to evaluate ?
The various options that may be available to find a solution to a business Issue
111
Reference is made to the business case at various stages of the deployment phase and used to make ?
Effective decisions : whether the project should continue at stage gates during deployment it can be used when assessing change request which are decided by the sponsor
112
Following the business case , as outputs are delivered the business case with help to establish _____ that of subsequent outcomes and benefits post transition
Feasibility
113
The business case is used as the main reference during the transition phase as it is used to ?
Review how the benefits from the project are being realised in comparison to what was expect the stakeholders which is documented in the business case.
114
The success criteria set out in the business case can be measured in the _______ and the objectives defined in the business case for overall project achievement can be reviewed.
Transaction phase
