BUSINESS CASE TEMPLATE - British Columbia



|BUSINESS CASE TEMPLATE |

|1. |Background |

| | |Identification of the problem, opportunity or need – what is the current situation? |

|2. |Strategic and Operational Considerations |

| | |Strategic factors that may influence this initiative |

| | | |What are the high-level goals and objectives? |

| | | |How does this potential project “fit” within the department, ministry or government strategic plans? |

| | | |Project / Procurement manager’s knowledge of the industry and market conditions – How could this affect this particular project initiative?|

| | |Researching other organizations / jurisdictions for similar project initiatives |

| | |Consider the following: |

| | | |Access project information, plans, processes, project structure etc. |

| | | |Critical success Factors identified on a similar project. |

| | | |Project costing information. |

| | | |Benefits achieved (access similar cost / benefit analyses). |

| | | |The other organizations’ after action report – what problems were addressed and how would they have done it differently / lessons learned? |

| | | |Are there any impacts on other government-funded agencies (e.g. other government agencies identified as a current or future recipient, |

| | | |directly or indirectly, of this project)? |

| | |Factors potentially affecting capital and operating costs |

| | | |What are the most significant factors that may affect project capital (non-recurring) and operating (recurring) costs? |

| | | |Are there start-up costs? If so, what could be the impact on budget planning? |

| | |Identify the Critical Success Factors of this project |

| | | |Consider those “macro” factors that could relate to the overall project scope, time considerations, cost and quality (do not consider |

| | | |options at this point). |

| | | |These factors should provide a broad overview of key considerations that could affect the success of the project. |

| | | |Once these factors have been identified, it should allow planners to begin the process of identifying specific project evaluation criteria |

| | | |(see Section 3 below). |

|3. |Evaluation Criteria |

| | |Establish the evaluation criteria for the options analysis |

| | | |What is the basis or rationale for these criteria? |

| | | |Use objective criteria as much as possible; however realize that when dealing with human related projects, subjective criteria will need to|

| | | |be established. |

| | | |You need to establish these criteria BEFORE you begin your analysis of the potential options or solutions. |

| | | |If short-listed options, what is the new process to evaluate and rank these tentative short-listed options? |

| | | |Note: Political, economical or social factors must be considered in order to ensure the viability of the suggested or preferred options. |

|4. |Development of Options |

| | |The Base-Case Scenario (A reference to which you can make a meaningful comparison) |

| | | |What would the “status quo” or “do nothing” option result in? |

| | | |The base-case should be a feasible option indicating how the problem could be resolved over a specific time period if the recommended |

| | | |option is NOT implemented. |

| | |Generate Options and / or Alternative Solutions |

| | | |Have all viable options and / or alternative solutions, including the Base-Case, been considered? What are they? |

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|October 10, 2007 |

|BUSINESS CASE TEMPLATE (cont’d) |

|4. |Development of Options (cont’d) |

| | | |What are the main opportunities with each viable option? |

| | | |What are the key Critical Success Factors for each viable option? |

| | | |Have all limitations and constraints been identified and rationalized? |

| | |Stakeholder Influence and Effect |

| | | |Have all internal and external stakeholders been identified? |

| | | |Analyze the influences and impacts for each and all stakeholders. |

| | | |Evaluate the stakeholder impact of each option. |

| | | |Where possible, which options take advantage of partnerships and shared service opportunities and subsequent costs? |

| | |What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Option |

| | | |Have all political, economic and social factors been considered? |

| | | |Section 5 will focus on the high level risks associated with each option. |

|5. |Strategic Risk Assessment |

| | |Risk Analysis of the Potential Business Opportunity |

| | | |It is essential to establish the following risk framework for this initial high level analysis: |

| | | | |Establish the Context – What is the scope of the potential requirement, service or product? Consider geographical / social / |

| | | | |political / economic environments. What are the major opportunities in doing this project? |

| | | | | |Think in terms of high-level service delivery strategies, market and / or industry conditions, security and safety, serving the |

| | | | | |public interest, etc. For example, could your project objective in itself cause you to consider a specific risk issue? |

| | | | |Have all major project / program risks been identified? |

| | | | |Have all major risks with each option been identified? |

| | | | |What is the relationship between the identified project Critical Success Factors and potential risks for both the project as a whole |

| | | | |and for each viable option? |

| | | | |Have all risks with each potentially impacted stakeholder been identified? |

| | | | |Do the potential risks outweigh the potential opportunities or vice versa? |

| | | |NOTE: Once this higher-level risk assessment has been completed for each option or alternative, an eventual full risk assessment on the |

| | | |preferred option will need to be completed as part of the eventual solicitation planning. The Manager, Insurance and Bonds can assist in |

| | | |providing specific Risk Management / Treatment tools for your particular project to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment. |

|6. |Cost / Benefit Analysis |

| | |Quantitative (Tangible) Analysis – Financial Benefits and Costs |

| | | |Full cost analysis – All possible costs and benefits resulting from this business opportunity need to be analyzed for each viable |

| | | |alternative or option, including the CBA of maintaining the status quo. Incremental and variable cost analysis may be required. |

| | | |Timeframe / timelines – Identify an approximate timeframe or timeline over which both the costs and benefits can be analyzed. Consider the|

| | | |project or program expected lifecycle from start-up to achieving the expected benefits. |

| | | |Costs – Identify all associated costs incurred by stakeholders over the project or program anticipated timeframe including: |

| | | | |Direct costs – cost associated with the project itself. |

| | | | |Indirect costs – costs that would normally occur whether the project was there or not (standard overhead costs associated with the |

| | | | |organization). |

| | | | |Initial costs – set-up / start-up costs. |

| | | | |Capital costs – non-recurring. |

| | | | |Operating costs – recurring. |

| | | |Benefits – Identify all quantifiable (tangible) benefits related to all stakeholders over the project or program timeframe, including when |

| | | |these benefits will be achieved and received, the beneficiary of these benefits and the certainty of these benefits |

| | | |(probable – most likely, possible – somewhat likely, and potential – maybe). |

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|October 10, 2007 |

|BUSINESS CASE TEMPLATE (cont’d) |

|6. |Cost / Benefit Analysis (cont’d) |

| | |Qualitative (Intangible) Analysis – Non-Financial Benefits and Costs |

| | | |Non-Quantifiable Analysis – Some of the costs or benefits may not be quantifiable and therefore difficult to attach a dollar value to. A |

| | | |non-quantifiable benefit could be increased customer satisfaction or staff work ethic and performance. A non-quantifiable cost could be |

| | | |reduced client satisfaction and / or government ministry image. Analysis of these non-quantifiable benefits and costs can be subjective |

| | | |and need rationalization. |

| | | |Quantifiable Benefits – It is important to try to put these non-quantifiable costs into quantifiable benefits. For example increased |

| | | |customer satisfaction will probably lead to higher revenue (or improved departmental processes), which will translate into increased staff |

| | | |moral and productivity etc. |

| | | |Documentation – It is essential to document all quantitative and qualitative assumptions that were used to determine any costs and benefits|

| | | |for all alternatives or options. |

|7. |Recommendations and Proposed Implementation Strategy |

| | |What are the key conclusions and recommendations to senior decision-making authorities and funding agencies resulting from the business case |

| | |analysis, planning and evaluation? |

| | |What option(s) mitigation strategies and implementation strategies are most likely to successfully address the problem, issue or business |

| | |opportunity? |

| | |Overview of the proposal rationale – why is this the preferred solution? |

| | |What is likely to happen over time if the preferred option or solution is NOT adopted or implemented? |

| | |What are the specific features of the “roll-out” of the recommended solution, considering time of approval, solicitation method (e.g. alternative |

| | |service delivery and type of solicitation) and the estimated time of planning, negotiating and executing the project / procurement strategy and |

| | |plan (broad scope)? |

|8. |Project Description |

| | |Key elements of Project Description / Proposed Solution |

| | | |What is the Scope of Work Statement? – A broad overview that provides the following: |

| | | | |Project description, goals and objectives. |

| | | | |Suggested project sponsor. |

| | | | |Key stakeholders (both internal and external). |

| | | | |Brief description of the service or work to be performed. |

| | | | |A list of the measurable project deliverables that are anticipated. |

| | | | |Critical time factors / considerations. |

| | | | |Financial information (project costs and revenues, and sources and uses of funding). |

| | | |The project description should also include what is “out of scope”, i.e. specific issues, items, services etc. that should be excluded. |

| | | |A summation of the major risk exposures including both project and procurement and contract management exposures. |

| | | |Note: A complete and comprehensive Risk Assessment must be completed during the procurement and contract management planning phase (prior |

| | | |to solicitation). |

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|October 10, 2007 |

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