Business Case Essentials: A Guide to Structure and Content

The Concise, Complete Introduction to Business Case Analysis.

Business Case Essentials was written in response to requests from consulting clients and seminar participants for a brief but complete outline of what belongs in a business case and why it belongs. It assumes no prior background in finance or business planning. The focus is on questions like these:

Since 1998, Business Case Essentials has helped professionals in all lines of business develop practical answers to such questions. Essentials was first published as a white paper in 1998, and revised in 2006. With nearly one million copies in circulation, Essentials has become one of the world's most frequently cited business case resources. (Search Google for the book's title to see tens of thousands of citations.) Now published as a 100 page book, Business Case Essentials is the leading complete, concise, authoritative guide to what belongs in a business case and why.

Practical Guidance and Proven Methods

Business Case Essentials is the textbook provided to participants in Solution Matrix Business Case seminars. It presents the same structured approach to business case analysis that Solution Matrix Ltd. delivers to organizations like ABB, BP, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, IBM, Microsoft, NASA, NSA, Royal Bank of Canada, the US Department of Defense, and others. Like our companion publication, the Business Case Guide, the Essentials provides practical, step by step guidance and a methodology with proven benefits for case builders and their organizations.

Business Case Essentials Chapters

Chapter 1 - What's a Business Case? A high-level overview of what belongs in a business case and why. Explains the nature of the case and where the proof lies that a recommended action is a good business decision.

Chapter 2 - Introduction and Overview. Building blocks that define the case, including the subject of the case (the proposed action and the business objectives addressed), and the purpose of the case (who will use the case, for what purpose, and what information they need to meet the purpose).

Chapter 3 - Methods and Assumptions. Establishing credibility and making results understandable. Building the comprehensive cost model for the case and establishing the benefits rationale--the reasoning that legitimizes benefits and shows how their value is determined. Also shows how non financial benefits are made tangible and brought into the case.

Chapter 4 - Business Results. The case's reason for being. Interpretation is minimal and the numbers speak for themselves. Includes projected financial results in terms of cash flow outcomes and financial metrics such as NPV and ROI. Also includes expected non financial outcomes.

Chapter 5 - Sensitivity and Risk Analysis. This analysis shows which assumptions are most important in controlling predicted results, and the likelihood that results turn out better or worse than predicted outcomes.

Chapter 6 - Conclusions and Recommendations. Recommendations include practical guidance on how to maximize gains, reduce costs, and minimize risks.