A business Case is a part of the project mandate, or separate document referenced by the project mandate (depending on the scale of the project), produced before a project is initiated. It is owned by the executive sponsor. Many project methodologies, such as PRINCE2, explicitly require a formal business case.

The Business Case addresses, at a high level, the business need that the project seeks to resolve. It includes the reasons for the project, the expected business benefits, the options considered (with reasons for rejecting or carrying forward each option), the expected costs of the project, a gap analysis and the expected risks.

In almost all cases the option of doing nothing should be included with the costs and risks of inactivity included along with the differences (costs, risks, outcomes etc) between doing nothing and the proposed project. It is from this that the justification for the project is derived.

The case will be reviewed at the initiation of the project (before the go/no-go decision is made) and periodically during the running of the project (e.g. at stage or sub-project boundaries) to ensure that:

1. The business case is still valid, i.e. the business need still exists.
2. The project is still on track to deliver the solution to the business need.

As a result of this review the project may be terminated or future parts amended. The business may also be subject to amendment if the review concludes that the business need has abated or changed, this will have a knock on effect on the project.

Compare with

• Business Benefits

References

1. Practical Prince2 by Colin Bentley (The Stationery Office), ISBN 0-11-702853-3.
2. Description of BusinessCase on ProjectPerformance
3. Strategic Business Case

Project management | PRINCE2

Business Case