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3.2 Ensuring feasibility: the business case

The project sponsor uses the business case to present clear, concise and compelling reasons to the decision-maker for funding of a project.

A business case, particularly for a large project, typically has a great deal of information, such as project background, purpose, scope, assumptions and costs. From a senior management perspective, there are four major logical components of a business case:

• The reason for the project, to assist in judging the relative priority of the project against other organisational objectives, and to focus the project team during implementation. Preferably, the concept planning stage has already clarified the underlying reason.
• The specification of the project, which clearly and completely describes what is to be delivered, the overall time and cost limits, and the business outcomes those deliverables enable.
• Validation of the project specification and implementation plan: that is, checking that the specific plan put forward is the most appropriate. This includes assessment of options and their relative merits, risks and their management and mitigation, and additional detail and justification of the proposed cost and timeframe.
• The implementation approach, described in sufficient detail to provide confidence that the project is in fact achievable, and to set a means for assessing and monitoring implementation progress.

The project sponsor is accountable for the business cases they endorse. Given the complexity of many business cases, the responsibility of the project sponsor during this stage is generally focused on:

• the appointment of competent staff to develop the business case, and oversight of the development process (discussed in the next sub section); and
• advising on, and approving, important aspects of the business case (discussed in the subsequent sub-sections).

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