Thursday, November 30, 2017

Word of the Day: business case

Word of the Day WhatIs.com
Daily updates on the latest technology terms |November 30, 2017
business case

A business case is a written or verbal argument that is intended to educate a decision maker and convince them to take some kind of action. When written, the document itself is sometimes referred to as a business case.

At its simplest, a business case could be a spoken suggestion. Short-term actions leading to immediate, measurable and substantial benefits are generally the easiest to argue. For example, if a restaurant's manager notices that the business doesn't make enough money on Sunday evenings to cover operational costs, presenting that fact to the owner may be compelling enough to make the business case for closing the restaurant at 5 p.m. on Sundays.

For more complex issues, a business case should be presented in a carefully constructed document that provides the reader with information about the risks and rewards involved in taking action and, conversely, not taking action. A well-crafted business case explores all feasible approaches to a given problem so that responsible parties can select which option serves the organization best.

Standard components of a business case include:

 

Executive summary
This high-level view explains, in a condensed form and plain language, the problem that the proposed project is intended to solve, possible solutions, the desired outcome, resources required to achieve the desired outcome and the anticipated return on investment (ROI).

The problem statement
This section clearly identifies what issue needs to be addressed.

Analysis of the situation
This section provides more context, explaining how the problem came about and what the repercussions would be if no action was taken. The conclusion of the analysis should lead naturally to the next section.

Options
In this section, the writer identifies potential solutions to the problem and provides sufficient detail for the reader to understand them.

Cost-benefit analysis
This section evaluates the costs and benefits for each potential option, including the proposed solution to the problem and any likely alternatives -- which include, of course, taking no action at all.

Recommendation
In this section, the writer makes a recommendation for how to address the issue described in the problem statement.

Project proposal

This section provides the reader with details about how the recommended solution will be carried out. It includes estimates of required resources, including personnel, time and budget.

Quote of the Day

"While ideally a business case should be established first, customers sometimes look to start by doing a proof of concept or a pilot." - Srinivas Bhagavatula

 

Trending Terms

ROI
business rules management
venture capital
stakeholder
acquisition plan
project charter

 
Learning Center

How do you measure collaboration ROI?
Unified communications expert Jon Arnold discusses what metrics are needed to measure collaboration ROI in a UC platform deployment.

User behavior analytics: Building a business case for enterprises
User behavior analytics is an emerging security technology that involves several components. Here's what enterprises should know.

Making the business case for your IoT initiative
Without a clear ROI, IoT may never make an impact. Mindtree's Srinivas Bhagavatula offers five questions to ask when determining the business case for IoT.

The business case for mobile app development platforms
Mobile app development platforms are a wise strategy in today's mobile world, and these five use cases can help buyers make the best purchasing argument.

Crafting a cloud business case execs can't resist
While the cloud offers a range of benefits to the enterprise, not all business leaders are on board with a cloud migration. Luckily, a solid cloud business case can change their mind.

Writing for Business

Can you show me some of the case studies on results-only work environments? You haven't sold me yet but I'm ___________.
a. interested
b. not uninterested
Answer

 

Stay In Touch
For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com

 

Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed!

 

FOLLOW US

TwitterRSS
About This E-Newsletter
This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for.
TechTarget

TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com

Copyright 2016 TechTarget. All rights reserved.

No comments: