How can you write and present a winning business case?

According my experience if you want to be successful must give a better answer or solution to a question or problem! Better mean more agile or less cost that competitors!

Forget competing. Instead, be ‘an alternative’ Offer what you offer but make sure the market wants it. Highlight what you offer that’s ‘an alternative’ to what they offer.

In my experience one has to first describe problem in layman terms. Break the problem into small deliverable solutions. present a small scale model or data sheet. Post that, have clear process and milestones defined along with schedule.

Absolutely, this is a crucial first step. The best advise I can give on this is to be clear, concise, and very much to the point. This part of your business case should merely set the tone for the rest. You want to tell your stakeholders what you’re going to show them, then getting into the intricate details.

Problem definition begins with active listening. Engage deeply to identify the complete scope of need. The most expensive misses to correct derive from incorrectly identifying the need.

Define the OKR and the KPI can help us to move from current situation to favorite! Bad KPI can mislead organization! Define appropriate KPI and motivate the team to reach it is art!

I believe this part can be condensed into an even more simple proposition. You don’t (necessarily) need to do a deep dive into the current situation, the state of the competitive market, the general economic conditions, etc. You want to stay on point and focus on the second part most important (by far): the desired state. What’s your competitive advantage proposition? That’s the desired state. What’s unique about your proposal that will take your idea from the current undesired state, to the future desired state. Or more efficient state, if you want to think about it in those terms.

Data driven solutions naturally add tangible, measurable perspective. If you are not using data then you should be or you will likely be pushed out of the room you are pitching to. Propelling forward relies on a solid foundation. Great to be creative with strategy yet quantify the opportunity and potential reward using data. Evaluation of competition, risk, weaknesses and blockers are essential components. How do you do this? Determine clear proactive solutions that demonstrate reward. Remember that the business case strategic evaluation and solutions can be agile and revised. Having worked with critical reputation cases, any risk must be reassessed every quarter as the landscape evolves.

Data-driven decision making is very important for this step. Collecting data on the competition, the market and market needs, and on market gaps will help better define your prospective business.

Data is the key to define the solutions. I believe this step lays the foundation by identifying the metrics that govern the performance in the current state and defining how the metric should change to reach the desired state.

I don’t agree that this is an necessary part to a business case. You can briefly include a summary of competitors (if you choose to, I personally wouldn’t unless it was an exception) with the broader market summary. What you do NOT want to do is start listing out all the competitors and get stakeholders second guessing if they heard a name that may start second guessing your product. Even if it’s without merit, you don’t want that situation to arise…

Plan B and even C in the ambiguous situation are necessary! According to my experience not perfect but agile decision-making is better than late type! There is not a decision that can satisfy all stakeholders!!

It's important to approach alternative comparisons objectively to avoid misleading stakeholders into making unsuitable decisions. I recommend a scientific approach: have all stakeholders rate and vote on key criteria, resulting in a relatively objective reference point. Based on this outcome, engage in a second-round discussion and reach a final decision, involving project sponsors like board members.

There are different methods to achieve the end-result you desire. Brainstorming on these methods to pick the feasible one is a crucial step. A new business should aim to slve problems as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

Market analysis is important especially depending on the size of the project. Are you able to capture different incentives if a team builds your solutions in one place versus another? Is the an acquisition target that could be folded into the company to simply solve for the problems you are trying to build?

Agree with this, but I wouldn’t simplify it as estimating costs and benefits. I would say you definitely should have a vigorously prepared financial summary, but you should certainly be optimistic with your benefit analysis. You also don’t want to make your pitch sound possibly unrealistic to stakeholders, but you don’t want to sell yourself short on financials because it may also reflect a lack of confidence on your part. This is a fine line you need to walk delicately, but it’s very necessary to drive this part home.

According to my experience, people because of their obsession with perfection and fear of failure cannot estimate the criteria. There is a lot of technic that help decision-maker to have educated gust and in the path we can improve it! Agility is more important than be perfect!

At this stage, seeking a second opinion is essential, especially from financial experts. Estimating costs can be prone to inaccuracies when done by non-specialists. Financial professionals should offer their expertise, while also comprehending the practical business scenarios to ensure that no cost elements are omitted or misrepresented.

The value of the project is crucial to state and important to link with the enterprise vision and roadmap of wholistic development

This step combines financial acumen, comprehensive analysis, and a clear articulation of assumptions and methodologies to provide stakeholders with a compelling picture of the value and feasibility of your proposal. This quantitative approach is vital for making informed decisions and securing the necessary support and resources for your project.

SWOT may appear old-fashioned but I think it works excellent! We can evaluate them for probability and our reaction to them in comparison to the competitors! Although this evaluation sometimes involves error perception by trying and being fair it works!

Use "Risk Matrix" 1. Criteria Definition: Defining risk criteria, including likelihood and impact. Additional criteria may be relevant. 2. Matrix Creation: Create a grid with likelihood (e.g., low to high) on one axis and impact (e.g., low to high) on the other, forming a matrix. 3.Risk Assessment: Identify and assess risks, assigning scores for likelihood and impact, placing them in the matrix cells. 4.Prioritization: High-likelihood, high-impact risks are top priorities, but consider others too. 5. Mitigation Strategies: Develop strategies for high-priority risks, such as avoidance, transfer, reduction, or acceptance. 6. Ongoing Monitoring: Continuously review the matrix. New risks may arise, or existing ones may change.

Assessing risks and uncertainties is crucial. Identify potential threats, evaluate their impact, and plan mitigations. It ensures preparedness for challenges in solution implementation.

Have a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) status indicator and utilize a standard framework for how issues will be escalated and resolved. Pro tip…make sure everyone is aware of what framework and the necessary steps before issues arise. Risk is in every project. If you do not see it, then you are likely the risk.

Don't be afraid to look for risks, as business analysts we need to find everything that may jeopardize the project. Note that there are no perfect projects, but our ability to adapt, avoid and mitigate risks is what ensures a successful one. Plan for contingencies and prioritize what might be dangerous and/or likely to happen and go from there. If you are starting as a BA, don't hesitate to ask your team about previous experiences and lessons learned, that always help to find patterns and weaknesses.

PPT presentations are old-fashioned, but combined with a financial performa it’ll be all you need to make your pitch. Reminder of the key things: -Be clear, concise, and straightforward with the intro pitch -Include only relevant information to support your business case -Don’t get too stuck in “boring” and “useless” details like competitors that don’t matter, statistics you may find interesting but don’t support your overall business proposal, etc. -Financials need to be on-point, don’t under or oversell your benefits -Presentation wise: a nice format goes a long way, but don’t overdo color coding, pictures, etc. In my view, it should still be suit-and-tie professional. It can have color, but that should be the exception, not the rule

Remember that, the same document will not appeal to all people, try to learn about the company culture, methodology and way to work in order to determine the best way to convey information. The most important thing to keep in mind is that whatever you are presenting needs to be understood by everyone in the room. I always remember what Albert Einstein once said: "If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, then you don't understand it yourself"

No one like complicated, you should structure your presentation in clear and concise steps. For example: 1. Background 2. Problem and opportunity 3. Current situation 4. Goals 5. Alternatives to achieve the goals 6. Implementation plans 7. Risk management 8. Measure, review and adjustment plan Present it the top management and key stakeholder by using convincing point form, simple charts, key numbers to justify your business case.

A great pitch goes a long way. Knowing your audience goes even further. Identify who your target audience is, learn what is on their to-do list and sell to it. Everyone has to answer to someone above them and this way you are on the same page. Relationships matter big time.

One thing I have found very important as you present your business case is synthesizing your information and not only summarizing it. Let the question of “So what?” be answered in each step of the communication.

Timeline and Milestones: - Create a project timeline with clear milestones and deadlines. This helps stakeholders understand the project's duration and progress. Alternatives and Comparisons: - Include a section that explores alternative solutions or approaches. Explain why your proposed solution is superior and how it compares to other options. Appendices and Supporting Documents: - Include any additional documents or references that support your case, such as market research reports, testimonials, or technical specifications. Practice and Rehearse: - Practice your presentation multiple times to ensure a clear and confident delivery. Anticipate questions and prepare answers.

One aspect that needs to be added is the Evaluation part wherein you discuss the timelines and control aspect of your solution. In my experience presenting and selling the solution is the easiest part but maintaining and getting a BAU state of the changes you have proposed is something that needs to be planned and tracked accordingly.

I’ve done over $500MM in allocated project work across 4 continents and there are only 2 things that matter (like life): Time: the when Money: the how Best Time solution: let’s buy it Best Money solution: let’s build it (???these do not always hold true…but most of the time they do) You can see that a proper business case addresses these 2 areas and helps guide an audience to the right solution with a clear outcome. Hope this helps! If you like operations and productivity follow me, @Matt Rebell for more.

In addition to the six outlined steps, it's crucial to integrate an ideation stage into your business case development process, leveraging the principles of design thinking methodology. This stage fosters creativity and innovation, allowing you to explore diverse solutions and uncover unique opportunities. Design thinking begins by empathising with your target audience, understanding the problem from their perspective, ideating potential solutions, prototyping, and testing. Therefore, you can tap into fresh perspectives, generate out-of-the-box ideas, and refine your business case to effectively address the problem and embrace the solutions. It's essential to remember that innovation often thrives in the spaces between conventional steps.