One Simple Hack to do Business Case Writing like a Pro

Whether you are a start-up or well-settled business establishment, there is one common phase you have to go through before starting out any project i.e. Business Case Writing.
It is an immensely important step to be taken in the very early stages of a project that highlights all the necessary resources to be involved, their cost and management, backup resources and most importantly the timeline. Also, the expected benefits and overall influence on business make a part of an effective business case.

“A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task.”
This is how Wikipedia says it crisp and clear about the business case. It is usually proposed as a well-drafted document, but nowadays, it is often proposed as presentations.
An impressive business case is the one that includes both quantifiable and non-quantifiable aspects of a project in absolute terms.

Why Writing A Business Case Is Important?
A business case holds significance because it helps to evaluate the value of a project and its respective returns for a company in a concise manner. Moreover, it outlines the performance indicators for the entire workforce involved in a particular project. This further helps decision-making bodies to recognize individual potential while pushing their limits to a whole new level with extended responsibilities on the table.
With a well-defined business case, it becomes quite easy to have an idea about:

•  Awaiting business opportunities (while some refer them as problems)
•  Positive outcomes 
•  Risks or setbacks 
•  Total costs to be incurred (including all the investments and appraisals)
•  Turn Around Time
•  Backups or failure-escapes, and
•  The undefined capability of the workforce to deliver expected results.

A document so critical obviously needs great precision to work with. It won’t be an easy task. And, let’s face it, sometimes even experienced professionals fail to do business case writing aptly. 
This blog will reveal that one simple hack – which will help you through this significant phase like a pro.

The hack is to break down the entire case into seven important questions including:

Q1: Why the project worth making an investment?
You should gather enough details and information about the project, and present it in simple and easy-to-comprehend language so that every other member of the decision-making committee can understand why you are proposing that project.

Q2: What objective will the project serve to the organization?
With anything proposed in a business establishment, there is a need to brief the future state that a particular project or step is going to bring. Make sure you define the project objective clearly to avoid any hassles in later phases.

Q3: How the project will improve the current situation of your organization?
Next, in the queue comes a compelling argument about the benefits of the project. Make your draft more convincing using graphical representations showing the current scenario and the improvements everyone can expect in the near future.

Q4: What are the different possibilities to execute the project?
Now that everyone is convinced about the outcomes of the project, the next question lies afore you is HOW. You have to give a detailed presentation underlining all the possible options that can be looked upon for successful completion of the project.

Q5: What are the parameters to measure the success ratio?
Once a project is started, it becomes pivotal to define certain parameters to help measuring the success rate. This helps you to know whether you are moving ahead in right direction or there is a need to switch to some other alternative to reach paramount.

Q6: What external resources will be required for project success?
It is often a case that your organization may not have adequate resources required for the project execution. Be sure you have briefed all such external resources well in advance so to ensure their availability at the time of need.

Q7: How much time will be required and what next it triggers?
Last but not the least; you have to come up with a specified range of time for your project. As this helps in distribution of resources and making cost estimations for the additional resources required. 
Additionally, you should define the next steps once the project is completed. After all, growth is a continuous process. You just cannot stop after setting just one milestone. Keep moving, keep setting new milestones.
Once you will be able to answer these seven questions in your with complete consideration, Congratulations! You did your business case writing task well.

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