Business Case Development
Are you achieving all the business benefits from your projects?
In today's challenging economic climate it is more important than
ever to demonstrate positive returns on IT project spending. While
a business case provides financial justification for an IT investment
decision, it must also evaluate the project idea on other perspectives
important to your company. For instance, how does the requested IT
project align with your corporate goals, or how does the proposed
project comply with your company's defined technical architecture?
A well developed business case can be the most important deliverable
in your project to ensure success, as it helps define the opportunity,
determine the priority and analyze alternatives before presenting your
final recommendations and kicking off the project.
What is the value and benefit of this project investment?
Generally the biggest challenge to a successful project is convincing
key business stakeholders of the value. Initiatives that require a
significant investment in time and capital need to be substantiated by a
business case that spells out the expected business value. Building an
effective business case takes knowledge of implementation costs, the
market, pricing strategies, and an objective viewpoint.
JCS' research shows that non-discretionary IT spend continues to
creep upward, absorbing large proportions of scarce information
technology budgets for maintenance and support activities. This "IT
budget trap" limits the dollars available to invest in discretionary IT
initiatives that would add value to the business, making a business case
all the more critical to ensure the money is being spent on the right
projects.
JCS excels in business case development. We work with your team
to systematically analyze tangible and intangible benefits, and ensure
that all the various components of cost and effort are incorporated. We
can help you bring all the facts together into a cohesive story that can
be used to find funding and resources prior to implementation - and to
analyze the value of the project once it's complete.
The development, value and benefit of a business case is not a
destination, as much as it is a journey in partnership between IT and
the business.