Business Case Development Training Course

Participants can frame a decision-worthy problem and connect it to strategic priorities.

• Problem statements distinguish symptoms, causes, consequences and affected stakeholders
• Five Whys analysis identifies underlying causes behind reported performance gaps
• SMART objectives define measurable outcomes, timeframes and decision boundaries
• Strategy maps connect proposed outcomes to organisational strategic objectives
• Baseline measures establish current cost, quality, service and risk performance
• Theory of change links interventions, outputs, outcomes and assumptions

Participants can identify stakeholders, gather decision evidence and manage competing interests.

• Stakeholder power-interest grids prioritise engagement for business case development
• RACI matrices assign evidence, review, approval and benefits responsibilities
• Interview guides test pain points, constraints and desired outcomes
• Data quality checks assess completeness, accuracy, timeliness and source credibility
• Assumption logs separate verified facts from forecast inputs
• Evidence registers record sources, owners, dates and validation status

Participants can define the proposed change scope, demand profile and critical requirements.

• Scope statements define inclusions, exclusions, interfaces and delivery boundaries
• Demand analysis estimates volumes, users, transactions and service requirements
• MoSCoW prioritisation distinguishes mandatory, desirable and deferred requirements
• Process maps reveal handoffs, delays, rework and control failures
• Service-level measures translate stakeholder needs into measurable performance criteria
• Constraints identify legal, budgetary, technical, capacity and timing limits

Participants can create a credible range of intervention options before selecting a preferred solution.

• Do-nothing and do-minimum options establish credible counterfactual baselines
• Option workshops generate process, technology, sourcing and policy alternatives
• Longlists include scale, timing, location and delivery-model variations
• Mutually exclusive options prevent double counting benefits and costs
• Dependencies reveal enabling projects, approvals, assets and specialist resources
• Initial feasibility screens remove options failing mandatory constraints

Participants can shortlist options using transparent criteria and defensible scoring methods.

• Critical success factors translate decision priorities into appraisal criteria
• Weighted scoring models compare options against agreed qualitative criteria
• Multi-criteria decision analysis documents scores, weights and rationale
• Knockout criteria exclude options breaching statutory or policy requirements
• Facilitated scoring reduces individual bias and undocumented preference
• Shortlist narratives explain why excluded options were not progressed

Participants can estimate lifecycle costs and document the basis of each estimate.

• Work breakdown structures organise labour, equipment, software and supplier costs
• Bottom-up estimating aggregates resource quantities, rates and contingency allowances
• Analogous estimates use comparable initiatives with documented adjustment factors
• Whole-life costing includes acquisition, operation, maintenance, disposal and renewal
• Cost phasing aligns expenditure forecasts with procurement and implementation schedules
• Estimate confidence ranges reflect data quality, maturity and market uncertainty

Participants can identify, quantify and qualify benefits without overstating expected value.

• Benefits maps connect project outputs to measurable organisational outcomes
• Benefit categories include revenue, cost avoidance, productivity, quality and risk
• Baseline-to-target calculations quantify benefits using transparent operational assumptions
• Double-counting tests identify overlapping productivity, capacity and cost benefits
• Non-financial benefits use indicators, proxy measures and narrative evidence
• Disbenefits identify temporary disruption, displaced costs and adverse impacts

Participants can construct basic cash-flow forecasts and interpret investment performance measures.

• Cash-flow profiles distinguish capital costs, operating costs and benefit timing
• Discount rates convert future cash flows into present values
• Net present value compares discounted benefits against discounted costs
• Internal rate of return indicates implied investment yield
• Payback period identifies time required to recover initial investment
• Nominal and real terms prevent inflation-related calculation errors

Participants can build an auditable financial model and assess funding affordability.

• Spreadsheet model structure separates inputs, calculations, outputs and checks
• Formula auditing traces links, hard-coded values and calculation inconsistencies
• Funding sources distinguish grants, debt, reserves and operating budgets
• Affordability profiles test annual budget capacity and cash constraints
• Scenario analysis compares base, optimistic and downside financial cases
• Model documentation records sources, formula logic, version and owner

Participants can test the resilience of recommendations against uncertain assumptions.

• Sensitivity analysis changes one assumption while holding others constant
• Tornado charts rank variables by influence on net present value
• Break-even analysis identifies thresholds for demand, price or savings
• Scenario planning tests combined changes across key assumptions
• Probability distributions distinguish deterministic estimates from uncertain forecast ranges
• Decision rules specify when revised analysis requires governance escalation

Participants can assess risks, quantify exposure and propose proportionate responses.

• Risk registers capture causes, events, impacts, owners and responses
• Probability-impact matrices prioritise delivery, financial and benefits risks
• Expected monetary value quantifies selected financial risk exposures
• Risk appetite statements guide escalation and contingency decisions
• Response strategies include avoid, reduce, transfer, accept and exploit
• Residual risk assessment tests whether proposed controls are sufficient

Participants can assess commercial approaches and identify procurement implications for the preferred option.

• Make-buy analysis compares internal delivery against external sourcing
• Procurement routes assess competition, timescales, compliance and market capability
• Market sounding tests supplier capacity, pricing structures and delivery interest
• Contract models allocate scope, price, performance and risk responsibilities
• Total cost of ownership informs supplier evaluation beyond purchase price
• Commercial assumptions identify dependencies requiring procurement validation

Participants can define how the preferred option will be governed, delivered and controlled.

• Implementation roadmaps sequence mobilisation, delivery, transition and stabilisation activities
• Milestone plans identify decision points, dependencies and critical approvals
• Governance structures define sponsor, board, project manager and assurance roles
• Stage-gate reviews test continued justification before further resource commitment
• Resource plans identify internal capacity, specialist skills and supplier inputs
• Change control procedures manage scope, cost, schedule and benefit impacts

Participants can establish benefit ownership, measurement methods and post-implementation review arrangements.

• Benefits realisation plans assign owners, measures, targets and review dates
• Benefit dependency networks identify actions required beyond project completion
• Leading indicators reveal whether benefits are likely to materialise
• Benefits registers track forecast, realised, revised and abandoned benefits
• Post-implementation reviews compare actual outcomes against approved business case
• Corrective actions address benefit shortfalls, ownership gaps and data issues

Participants can write clear strategic and economic case sections supported by evidence and appraisal results.

• Executive summaries state the decision, recommendation, value and required approval
• Strategic case narratives connect evidence, objectives, scope and urgency
• Economic case sections explain options, criteria, costs, benefits and risks
• Tables present comparable option data without obscuring decision implications
• Assumption statements specify source, rationale, confidence and validation action
• Recommendation wording distinguishes preferred option from final approval conditions

Participants can complete decision-ready financial, commercial and management case sections.

• Financial case narratives explain affordability, funding and investment metrics
• Commercial case sections state procurement strategy and contractual assumptions
• Management case content covers governance, delivery, risk and benefits control
• Appendices retain detailed calculations while preserving executive readability
• Version control records changes following finance, legal and sponsor review
• Quality reviews test completeness against agreed business case standards

Participants can communicate a recommendation clearly through concise executive documents and visuals.

• Pyramid Principle structures messages from recommendation to supporting evidence
• Decision-focused slide decks foreground choices, consequences and required actions
• Waterfall charts explain movement from baseline to forecast financial outcomes
• Option comparison tables make trade-offs visible to decision makers
• Chart selection matches data type, audience question and decision purpose
• Plain-language editing removes ambiguity, jargon, repetition and unsupported claims

Participants can conduct structured business case reviews and prepare for approval scrutiny.

• Red-team reviews challenge evidence, logic, costs, benefits and risks
• Finance review questions test calculations, assumptions, affordability and sensitivity
• Sponsor review questions test strategic fit, ownership and delivery readiness
• Approval checklists confirm mandatory sections, annexes and sign-offs
• Issue logs record review findings, responses, owners and closure dates
• Decision briefings prepare concise responses to likely panel questions

Participants can build, review and present a complete evidence-based business case for executive approval.

• Complete business case integrates strategic, economic, financial, commercial and management evidence
• Final option appraisal confirms preferred option against criteria and constraints
• Financial model presents lifecycle costs, benefits, NPV and sensitivity results
• Benefits plan assigns measures, owners, dependencies and review milestones
• Peer review identifies material gaps before executive presentation
• Executive presentation defends recommendation, trade-offs, risks and approval request