Business Case Development.docx

Business Case Development.docx

《Business Case Development.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《Business Case Development.docx（81页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

BusinessCaseDevelopment

BusinessCaseDevelopment

GetStarted

Whatwouldyoudo?

SydneyPungerheadsthetraininganddevelopmentgroupatSatelliteElectronics.Satellite'sleadershiprecentlydecidedtochangeitssalesstrategyfromselling"products"toselling"solutions."Tosupportthenewstrategy,Sydney'sgroupwillneedtoprovideservicessuchasdevelopingandimplementingnewtrainingforthesalesstaff.Sydney'sbossaskshertoprepareabusinesscasetosupportthehiringoftwonewemployeestohelptrainthestaff.Sydneyisn'tsurethisisthebestcourseofaction.

Whatwouldyoudo?

Sydney'sbossmadethecommonmistakeofignoringauniverseofpossibilitiesandthinkingaboutabusinesscaseasameanstojustifyadesiredcourseofaction.Instead,Sydneyshouldbuildacasearoundhowthecompanycanbestcreateandsupplynewtrainingtothesalesstaff.Bythinkingabouttheopportunity,insteadofjustonewayofapproachingit,Sydneyislikelytocomeupwithabetterrecommendation.Aspartoftheprocess,Sydneyshouldconsidermultiplealternatives,includingremainingwiththestatusquo.ItmayturnoutthatSydney'scompanywoulddobetterbyfocusingoneliminatingcurrenttrainingprojectsthantryingtoexpandthestafftotakeonnewones.

Inthistopic,you'lllearnhowtobuildabusinesscasetoexploremultiplealternativesbeforemakingarecommendationtosupportaparticularoption.You'lllearnhowtodefinetheopportunity,identifyandanalyzealternatives,andpresentyourfinalrecommendationtokeystakeholders.

Howdoyoudecideonthebestcourseofactionforyourcompanytotakeadvantageofnewopportunities?

Bybuildingabusinesscase.

|Next»

GetStarted

TopicObjectives

Thistopicprovidesaframeworkforbuildingabusinesscase.You'lllearnhowto:

∙Clearlydefinetheopportunityyou'llwanttoaddressinyourbusinesscase

∙Identifyandanalyzearangeofalternatives

∙Recommendoneoptionandassessitsrisks

∙Createahigh-levelimplementationplanforyourproposedalternative

∙Communicateyourcasetokeystakeholders

«Previous|Next»

GetStarted

AbouttheMentor

JuneParadiseMaul

PresidentofAdvantageValue,aconsultingandeducationcompany,Dr.JuneParadiseMaulhasexperienceleadinglarge-scalechangeaswellaslineorganizations,havingbeenChiefLearningOfficeratQwestandhavingheldseniormanagementpositionsatAT&T.Dr.Maulhastaughtexecutivedevelopmentprogramsincorporationsandgraduatelevelbusinessandleadershipprograms—incorporatingstrategicplanning,balancedscorecard,strategicleadership,virtualworkplace,decisionmaking,andcreativeresourcingintoeducationinitiatives.Sheisinvitedtospeakgloballyonleadership,strategicplanning,andcreativeresourcing.Dr.MaulreceivedherBachelorofScienceinAsianStudiesandGeologyfromM.I.T.andherDoctorateinScienceandHumanitiesfromRutgers.

«Previous|Next:

Learn»

Learn

«Previous:

GetStarted|Next»

BusinessCaseBasics

Whatisabusinesscase?

Perhapsyou'vebeenmanagingaprojectandyou'veconcludedthatacquiringsomenewsoftwarewouldhelpyourcompanycutcostsandincreaseefficiencies.Orperhapsyouwanttohireseveralnewemployeesorbuyanewpieceofequipmentforyourgroup.

You'vepresentedyourproposaltoyourboss,andheresponded,"You'llneedtomakethebusinesscaseforitbeforewecanconsiderit."

You'rehappytooblige—butyou'renotsurewhat,precisely,abusinesscaseconsistsoforhowtogoaboutcreatingone.Youwonder,"Doeshemeanabusinessplan?

"Butabusinesscasediffersinimportantwaysfromabusinessplan.Yourfirststepinbuildingacaseforyourgreatideaistounderstandthedifference.

«Previous|Next»

Businesscasevs.businessplan

Abusinesscaseanswersthequestion:

"Whathappensifwetakethiscourseofaction?

"

Forexample,ifyourunitisconsideringexpandingsalestoanewmarket,yourbossmightask,"Whichofthreealternativemarketsshouldweinvestintocreatethemostvalue—andshouldweevenmakethisinvestment?

"

Managersatalllevelscreatebusinesscasestogainsupportforallmannerofdecisions,toinitiateaction,ortoobtainresourcesforaninitiative.

Abusinessplan,ontheotherhand,describeshowanorganizationorbusinessunitplanstonavigatesuccessfullythroughitsownuniquecompetitiveenvironment.Businessplansfeaturelong-rangeprojectionsofrevenues,expenses,businessstrategy,andotherinformation.Typically,managersandexecutivesusebusinessplanstosecurefinancingfrominvestorsortoplanstrategyexecution.

«Previous|Next»

RelatedTopic

BusinessPlanDevelopment

Whentocreateabusinesscase

Doyouneedtodemonstrateaproduct'svalue?

Doyouhaveprojectstoprioritizeorneednewresources?

Ifso,it'stimetobuildabusinesscase.

KeyIdea

Inmanyways,theprocessofbuildingabusinesscaseissimilartosolvingaproblem.

Forexample,supposeyoudon'thaveenoughstafftoaccomplishyourresponsibilities,oryoubelievethatyourcompany'scompetitorsusemoreefficientprocessesthatallowthemtohavelowercoststhanyourfirmdoes.

Developingabusinesscasewouldnotonlyhelpyouidentifypotentialsolutionstosuchproblems,itwouldalsohelpyou"sell"yourideastokeydecisionmakers.

Abusinesscaseisusefulwhenyouwantto:

∙Demonstratethevalueaproposedproductorservicewouldgenerateforyourorganization,

∙Prioritizeprojectswithinyourgroupandidentifywhichonestoeliminate,

∙Demonstratethevalueofaproductorservicetoacustomertomakeasale,

∙Obtainadditionalresourcesforanewproject,initiative,ororganization,

∙Modifyanexistingoffering,

∙Investinanewcapability,suchasasoftwareprogramortraining,

∙Ordecidewhethertooutsourceaparticularfunction.

«Previous|Next»

Thecomplexityofabusinesscase

It'snottheplanthatisimportant,

it'stheplanning.

—Dr.GraemeEdwards

Asyoumightimagine,buildingabusinesscaseforarelativelysimpledecision—suchaswhethertobuyanewcopierforyourdepartmentand,ifso,whichonetoselect—isaprettystraightforwardprocess.Butwhenyou'remakingacaseforamoreexpensive,complexcourseofaction,theprocessrequiresmorethought.

Asyou'lldiscover,thistopicusesafairlysophisticatedexampleforillustrativepurposes—soyoucanseehowtheentireprocessofcreatingabusinesscaseunfolds.Inyourrole,youmaynotneedtogatherasmuchinformationasshownintheexampleorusecomplexnumericalanalysis.Whileabusinesscasesimilartotheexampleusedinthetopicmaytake10to15daystocomplete,yourbusinesscasemaytakeyouonlyacoupleofdays.

«Previous|Next»

Theprocessvs.theproduct

Still,itisimportanttodistinguishbetweentheprocessofbuildingabusinesscaseandtheproductyoudelivertodecisionmakersandstakeholders.Theproductisadocumentorpresentation.Manyorganizationshavetheirowntemplatesandspecificguidelinesforhowtocreatethisproduct—includinghowtoformattheinformation,howtotreatgraphics,andsoforth.

Thistopicfocusesontheprocessofgatheringthenecessaryinformation,analyzingit,andpreparingtosellyourideas.Afterall,buildingabusinesscaseisaboutidentifyingandconsideringmultiplealternativesbeforemakingawell-informedrecommendationtosupportoneoption.Thecreationofadocumentorpresentationisthefinalstepinthisprocess—andcanhappenonlyafteryou'vecompletedtheearliersteps.

«Previous|Next»

Howtobuildabusinesscase

Businesscasescanbeusedtodemonstrateawidevarietyofsolutions.However,theprocessyou'llusetobuildeachcaseshouldbethesame.

KeyIdea

Regardlessoftheformatofyourdocument,youcanusethefollowingstepstoprepareyourcase:

∙Step1:

Definetheopportunity—Describethesituationandthebusinessobjectivesthatyourproposalwillimpact.

∙Step2:

Identifythealternatives—Brainstormmultipleapproachesandthenchoosethreetofourtoanalyze.

∙Step3:

Gatherdataandchooseatimeframe—Gatherinformationabouteachalternativeandestimatehowlongeachoptionwilltaketoimplement.

∙Step4:

Analyzedata—Analyzehowyouroptionswillaffectthebusinessobjectivesyou'vedefined.

∙Step5:

Chooseanalternativeandassesstherisks—Makearecommendationbasedonyouranalysesandevaluatehowyouwillmitigateanyrisksassociatedwithyourrecommendation.

∙Step6:

Createahigh-levelimplementationplan—Identify,atahighlevel,howyouwillachieveyourgoalsandwhowillbeaccountableforeachmilestone.Spelloutwhenyouexpecttoseebenefits.

∙Step7:

Communicateyourcase—Createadocumentand/orapresentationtosellyourrecommendationtodecisionmakers.

Youwillneedtocompleteeachofthesestepstobuildastrongbusinesscase.However,thedepthofanalysisanddocumentationnecessarytosupportyourcasewilllikelyvary,dependingontheproposedinitiative'sscope,organizationalimpact,andrisk.

«Previous|Next»

DefiningtheOpportunity

Identifytheproblem

Thefirststepinbuildingabusinesscaseisidentifyingtheproblemyouwanttosolveoropportunityyouwanttoseize.Evenifyourbosshastheideaandasksyoutobuildthebusinesscaseforit,youwillstillneedasolidunderstandingoftheissueathand.

Considerhowyouwoulddescribethefollowingsituation,whichwillbeusedasanexamplethroughoutthistopic:

SatelliteElectronics'newstrategywillrequirethat200salesstafflearnhowtoidentifycustomers'needsanddefinethebestsolution,orsetofproductsandservices,tomeetthoseneeds.Acompetitorthatrecentlyadoptedthisapproach