Rapidly developing business cases to allow great decision making in Councils

Introduction?

Councils are tasked with making strategic investment decisions that deliver maximum community benefit. However, traditional business case development is often slow, resource-intensive, and inefficient. Without a streamlined approach, delays can obstruct timely decisions on vital projects, limiting their impact.?

To address this challenge, councils need a rapid, high-quality business case development process that enables agile decision-making. Terra Firma’s expertise in delivering efficient, well-structured business cases empowers councils to act swiftly and effectively. This case study examines how Terra Firma partnered with a local council to develop eleven comprehensive business cases within six weeks, ensuring informed and timely project decisions.?

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Background?

To stay ahead of citizen expectations and ensure key technology project benefits were understood and initiated, the council recognised that its business and IT processes, governance frameworks and systems required uplifting to meet optimal standards of service and operational management. This would allow the council to meet citizen demands and expected residential growth.?

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Our Approach?

Terra Firma adapted it’s rapid business case delivery model to ensure eleven preliminary business cases could be developed quickly and to a high level of expected quality.??

Terra Firma consultants utilised Essential8 and ITIL framework principles, applying agile-based delivery to ensure deadlines were met and that outputs were of the highest quality.?

• Governance: Quickly adapted to the council’s new IT project approval governance process and developed a new business case template?

• Team Approach: Terra Firma provided a team of business analysis consultants to ensure rapid delivery.?

• Stakeholder Engagement: Worked closely with key stakeholders for each business case project area and facilitated sessions with stakeholders to obtain a clear understanding of expectations for each business case as well as internal guidelines and expectations. Stakeholders included sponsor, IT lead, business leads, senior leaders and ePMO team.?

• Desktop Research: Performed online information reviews for knowledge context, and to establish industry costs and feasible savings.?

• Prioritise Activities: Identified and developed critical and complex business cases to be developed earlier to ensure sufficient time for review and approval.?

• Agile Delivery: Employed agile-based delivery processes throughout the engagement for delivery, drafting, review, approval and finalisation.?

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Outcomes & Benefits to Council?

Terra Firma’s work resulted in a range of exciting, sustainable benefits to the council as follows:?

• Accelerated Results: Use of short format business case templates enabled the council to expedite funding approval, procurement processes and reaching the green light stage.?

• Quality Outcomes: Process improvements, crisp requirements,?

• Budgeting & Future Planning: Effectively able to budget and plan future initiatives with a better understanding of project prioritisation and timing.??

• Project Planning: Pre-planning activities were highlighted to ensure the council was well placed to have suitable project structures, including a simplified prioritisation tool to assist the council in identifying highest priority projects.?

• Resource Planning: Improved understanding of resource capability requirements with sufficient lead time to establish resource acquisition processes by the next financial year.??

• Business Benefits: Identified critical benefits that would support the community and council employees?

• Financial Benefits: Identified potential savings that would be realised by implementing the developed projects.?

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How We Can Help Your Council?

Terra Firma is an accredited partner on appropriate local government panels in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland making us the trusted partner for your transformation needs.?

If you would like to know more information on how Terra Firma can assist you with defining your business requirements and benefits please contact Corey Nixon on 0419 980 650 or Megan Buxton on 0429 918 944.? You can also contact us through the Terra Firma website or LinkedIn.?

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