How to set up a professional business case to run successful projects.

Define the problem.

Every project needs a problem to solve. Even if the project is about something positive (such as improving an internal process), it will still need to address a problem. Any project that aims to add value to your business needs to have a problem to solve. Doing this will help you to focus on the core reasons for the project and make it easier for the stakeholders to understand why the project is important.

If you’re not sure where to start, try asking yourself these questions:

What problems are preventing the business from achieving its goals?

What are the top three problems that need solving as soon as possible?

What problems or points of frustration do customers report experiencing?

What recurring problems do your team members report experiencing?

What recurring complaints do your customers report experiencing?

What points of frustration or problems do your team members report experiencing that could be easily fixed?

What points of frustration or problems do your customers report experiencing that could be easily fixed?

What problems are on the “low-hanging fruit” list?

What opportunities does the business have to grow?

What are the business’s “wants and wishes” for the future?

Do your research.

When you’re putting together a business case, one of the most important things is to do your research. This will help you to create a detailed outline of the goals of your project. The first thing you should do is to reach out to key stakeholders. You’ll want to do this to identify the goals of your project and to understand why it’s important. There are many ways you can approach this.

You can do an email chain with key stakeholders, you can use a project management software like Trello to create a “stakeholder map”, or you can do a simple Google Doc with a table that outlines who you’re reaching out to and what you’re asking them.

When reaching out to stakeholders, make sure to ask them specific questions about the goals of the project and what the business case should include. This will make it easier for them to provide helpful input and will ensure that your business case is focused and detailed.

Identify the key stakeholders.

Once you’ve done your research and reached out to stakeholders, you’ll want to identify the key stakeholders. These are the people whose input is most critical to the success of the project. Every project will have a different set of key stakeholders. In some projects, it may be one or two people; in others, it may be a larger group. Depending on the project, key stakeholders could include anyone in your organization, such as senior managers, members of the board, company owners, or investors.

Outline the goals of the project.

The next step in putting together a business case is to outline the goals of the project. There will be a specific goal for your project that will determine whether the project is a good investment or not. For example, if the goals of your project are to increase sales by 10% and decrease customer support tickets by 25%, it will be much easier for stakeholders to understand the value of the project.

If you’re not sure where to start, try asking yourself these questions: What do we want to achieve with this project? What do we want to accomplish by doing this project? What do we want to produce by doing this project? What do we want to gain from doing this project?

What do we want the end result to look like? What do we want the impact of this project to be? What do we want the net result of this project to be? What do we want it to produce? What do we want it to yield? What do we want it to create?

Describe the benefits of the project.

The next step in putting together a business case is to detail the benefits of the project. When you’re outlining the benefits of your project, you want to be specific. You want to be able to clearly and concisely explain how the project will add value to the business.

For example, if the benefits of your project include reducing customer support tickets by 25%, increasing sales by 10%, and increasing employee productivity by 5%, it will be much easier for the stakeholders to understand the value of the project.

Once again, if you’re not sure where to start, try asking yourself these questions: W

hat benefits will this bring to the business?

How will this benefit business?

How does this benefit the business?

What value does this add to the business?

What value does this create for the business? What is the value of this?

What is the worth of this?

What are the benefits of this?

List the risks of the project.

Once you’ve outlined the benefits of the project, you need to list the risks of the project. Any project will have some level of risk associated with it, and it’s important to acknowledge and outline these risks in your business case. Once again, if you’re not sure where to start, try asking yourself these questions:

What might go wrong with this project?

What are the risks of this project?

What are the possible downsides to this project?

What are the possible drawbacks to this project?

What could go wrong with this project?

Describe the project timeline.

The final step in putting together a business case is to describe the project timeline. You want to be as detailed as possible when you outline the timeline for your project. This will help stakeholders to get a better sense of how long the project will take and what is involved. If you’re not sure where to start, try asking yourself these questions:

When do you want to start? When do you want to complete it?

When is the ideal timeline? When is the best time to start?

When is the best time to finish? When is the best timeline?

When is the optimal timeline? When is the best date to start? When is the best date to finish?

When is the best date to start the project? When is the best date to finish the project? When do you want to start the project?

When do you want to finish the project?

When do you want to start this project?

When do you want to finish this project?

Present your case in a convincing way.

Once you’ve outlined the goals of your project and created a timeline of when you want to start and finish, you need to present your case in a convincing way. Once again, if you’re not sure where to start, try asking yourself these questions:

How would you describe this project to someone who hasn’t read the business case yet?

How would you explain this project to someone who is brand new to the business? What would your elevator pitch be for this project?

Who would be the ideal person to read your business case?

What would be the best way to present your business case? How would you present your business case?

What would be the best way to present your business case?

What would the ideal presentation look like?

What would the perfect business case look like?

What would the ideal business case look like?

What would the best business case look like?

What would the perfect business case contain?

Conclusion

A business case is an important document that has the ability to make or break your project. If you want to get a project off the ground, it’s important to know how to set up a professional business case. Before you dive into the details of your project, you need to list out all possible risks. This will help you to determine whether your project is feasible. If you list out the risks and they can be mitigated, then you’re on the right track. If not, your project may not be worth the investment.