Checklist
The Digital Project
Business Case Checklist
Introduction
How do you go forth to present a new digital experience proposition to your board of directors or other senior stakeholders? The best bet is a business case. With our checklist, we aim to guide you through all the steps in delivering a rock solid business case, with all the important aspects included. So, go ahead and use the Digital Project Business Case Checklist for all it’s worth. Good luck!
A business Case Is
- A short, essential document
- Purposeful
- Supporting business needs
- Overview of pros and cons
- Capturing both quantifiable and non-quantifiable characteristics of a proposed project
A Business Case Is Not
- A lengthy treatise
- Dreamy stream-of-consciousness
- Supporting “cool” stuff
- Solely focusing on positives or negatives
- Only capturing quantifiable or non-quantifiable characteristics
The Essential Structure of a Business Case
The exact structure of a business case depends on the needs of you and your organisation. Check each section that fulfils a purpose for your organisation, and exclude the ones that don’t qualify.
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Executive summary
Provide an essential overview of the issues you want to address, what goal you want to reach, what benefits your organisation can expect, and what specific actions will be performed. -
Situation
Describe your current context, what challenges and opportunities it creates, what impact this has on your organisation. -
Benefits and limitations
Present both financial and non-financial benefits of the proposal for your organisation, as well as any potential and actual limitations. -
Proposed solutions
Identify potential solutions—i.e. CMSs or digital experience platforms—to your challenges, and provide substantial details for your stakeholders with a range of possible options. -
Impacts
List what stakeholders and processes will be impacted by the solution, as well as detailing side-effects. -
Outline plan
Document the implementation approach, timeline, and required resources—all in logical stages. -
Market assessment
Consider political, economic, sociological, technological, and legal factors in your industry, in order to demonstrate a thorough understanding of your key market. -
Governance
Clarify project ownership, project leadership and management, as well as budget, oversight process, and reporting. -
Financial analysis
Outline the forecasted costs and benefits, both total and spend profile over time—together with ROI and NPV. -
Risks assessment
A more in-depth consideration of risks and limitations, where you can summarise all significant risks and opportunities, and how they will be managed.
