Is it clearly stated how any necessary funding will be obtained? On this project, the costs of moving to a new house will be £5,000. Examines some of the technical areas like contracting, procurement rules, state aid issues and other related topics. Even when we’ve managed to cut down what we’re saying, many of us still write in the wrong order. For example, investing money in developing a new software app to bring first to market, might be deemed to bring certain monetary benefits (in terms of sales) which exceeds the costs of investment. Use Case depends on ‘User Actions’ and ‘Response of System’ to the User Actions.It is the documentation of the ‘Actions’ performed by the Actor/User and the corresponding ‘Behaviour’ of the System to the User ‘Actions’. There is only one risk identified here, which is the risk that the couple might lose touch with friends who live close to them right now. Think of it as weighing up the pros and cons and then taking a sensible decision. 4. This is crucial because no organisation has unlimited funds to spend on an unlimited number of projects. project costs and ongoing operational costs) are weighed against the expected benefits over the same time period. Identifying the assets that will transfer from the council, the terms of use, maintenance responsibilities and duration of agreements. The level of detail required within a business case may vary depending on how it is being used. The name of this role is different across organisations, but commonly this role is known as a project sponsor, or project executive. by IAG Webmaster | Nov 9, 2010 | Business Analysis, RDM | 0 comments. Knowledge Train are experts in project management, PRINCE2, agile and change management training and certification. The actual process of creating a business case document would actually be one of the last steps before presenting it. It’s also important to understand how long the investment of resources will take. Under the latest procurement rules it is possible to reserve certain contracts for tendering by organisations that meet certain criteria. This can be used to restrict competition where the council is intending to award a contract to a new PSM. For Each Use Case: 1) Identify the Actors . Typically, in an organisation this activity is a project. At this stage some consideration should be given to what these assets are, as well as: An asset lock is a constitutional provision designed to ensure that the assets of the delivery model (including any profits or other surpluses generated by its activities) are used for the benefit of the community. This section should be clear as to which costs the council is likely to need to cover, and whether any other funding sources are available. To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. There are some instances in which the risk of challenge is much lower – for example, where the new delivery model is owned by the council and therefore subject to the Teckal exemption. This knowledge is vital if the decision-makers are to take a sensible decision about whether to invest in the project. These sections are described in greater detail below. A business case is the most important document on any project. Well, these are in fact something else – they’re called outcomes. That means, remove any waffle, and only include information which helps decision-making. There are usually 2 timescales to consider. Your project sponsor will have to read your business case before they approve it, and you don’t want to make their job any harder than it already is! Can you describe the problem that prompted you to seek our services? The purpose of a business case is to weigh up the costs and benefits of a suggested course of action and thereby present the argument for a new way of delivering library services. It also demonstrated that we were serious about our future and recognised that we would need new skills, particularly financial and commercial skills. You’re probably reading this article because you want to know how to write a business case. How to write a business case The purpose of the business case is communication. A business case may not be required where there is agreement to proceed straight to the business planning phase. The information you have developed while defining your function and undertaking market analysis work can be used to help inform the assumptions that underpin your financial model. The business options which have been considered, including the base business options of do nothing, so something, or do something else; Investment appraisal (or cost benefit analysis); Executive summary – summarizes the key points; The reasons for the project (answers the question ‘Why are we doing this?’); The options considered - e.g. That means that the benefits can be measured later. In particular, it gave finance colleagues in the council confidence that the organisation could survive and thrive as an independent organisation. The spare parts required to fix the heater are recorded on a form which is given to staff to process back in the office. Don’t spend unnecessary time though adding information which isn’t required. The needs of users of the library should be considered, as there may be the potential to offer additional services that meet local demand. You’ve accepted all cookies. The 5 year financial model should also consider any planned efficiencies. This is so that the organisation (or family in this case) knows when the resources will be freed up to work on other projects or activities. Lastly, some sensitivity analysis should be undertaken on the financial model. Before you even start writing your business case, you would need to do a few things first. Rather than being a document or slide deck however, it could equally be in the form of an email. It explores business synergy and strategic fit, as well as considering external factors that may influence. Just as we saw in the previous example, the business case contains 2 timescales – the project timescales (i.e. It helps an organisation be clear about why a project is needed, and what the results of the investment will be. The financial case tests whether the preferred option(s) represent financially viable and sustainable propositions. Your growth strategy will provide particularly relevant information. After all, there will not be enough funds to pay for all the ideas for projects which are floating around the organisation. Also be clear about how the council will control the service for example through a contract. All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, Lessons learnt and critical success factors, Libraries: alternative delivery models toolkit, nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3, Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance and support, Transparency and freedom of information releases, contain clear estimates of timescales involved, identify the benefits that will be delivered by the new model, consider the most suitable procurement route, the council’s strategic aims and objectives, relevant regional and national policies, strategies and plans, investigation and set up costs (including staff time and establishment costs), stranded costs that will be realised by the council after the new model is established, reduced dependence on council income (if desirable/required), social impact and social value realised through the delivery of the library service’s new function, whether the pension scheme is open or closed, for example, for example whether new joiners are able to access the scheme or are offered alternative pension provision, the employer’s contribution rate (ECR) must be considered - an actuarial assessment is usually undertaken to determine this, the status of the LGPS, it may currently be in deficit, if this is the case, the council and delivery model would be required to agree a risk share agreement to demonstrate who is responsible for past and future liabilities, requiring the new delivery model to take full responsibility for this deficit risks setting the delivery model up to fail, procurement (process for the council to contract with Inspire), central services - costing and desegregation, the way in which assets could be transferred from the council to the delivery model (for example lease or transfer of freehold), upkeep and replacement of assets - how this responsibility would be shared between the council and the delivery model, possible arrangements regarding maintenance responsibilities, tax breaks, including enhanced capital allowances, the use or sale of a state asset for free or at less than market price, to be clear on the benefits to the wider council as well as to the service, clearly identify the risks and how they will be managed so stakeholders and decision makers can be reassured, summarise what the options are and how they have been assessed during the options appraisal stage to come to the recommended approach, have a thorough/robust strategy that can evidence ability to generate income, support from staff and the public is really important and will require honest and open communications, use evidence from services that have left a council to reassure stakeholders on technical matters, for example TUPE. evaluating how much money could be made from the investment. A business case should weigh up the competing options which have been considered. break-even analysis and cash-flow conventions)? However, the couple will spend an additional £2,000/year for every year over which the business case is calculated. The development of a business case is sometimes (but not always) required by the council. This might have serious consequences for the recipients of aid (such as the new delivery model) and the delivery of policy objectives. The first example is one which you might find useful for taking decisions in your personal life. Forget the UI (for now) When writing use case steps, exclude details about button clicks, text boxes, … Let’s look at an example. First, the timescale of the project or activity – in this case 3 months to find a new house and move there. With just one or two writers, the tone and style of the business case will remain consistent. These agreements are likely to include the following: Confirming the nature of the services to be delivered over a given period, in addition to the contract fee. But what about the reduced errors, rescheduled appointments and customer contract cancellations? First, the timescale of the project or activity – in this case 3 months to find a new house and move there. Write the steps in a use case in an easy-to-understand narrative. Depending upon its needs, your organisation may have different business case templates, each one used for different scales of projects. The way in which pension liabilities could be shared between the council and the delivery model must be considered. We will look into some specific purpose, which will distinguish it from other four diagrams.Use case diagrams are used to gather the requirements of a system including internal andexterna… This article explains how to write a business case. You can download an example business case template here. In fact, there’s two problems here – the local school and John’s long commute. After all, there is usually more than one option. the time it will take to complete the project) and the benefits realization timescales (i.e. A business case is the most important document you will ever need to write for a project. Before approving it, they need to have confidence that the problems have been addressed and the right solution has been selected, that the benefits are achievable and realistic, when the investment will pay off, and how big will the return on investment be. When the decision is taken whether to invest in this project, the total costs (i.e. This document is sometimes considered through formal decision-making processes within the council. Risks are the uncertain things which may or may not happen during the period of the investment. The cost of both transitioning to the new delivery model and developing the library service within the new structure should be considered, from the perspective of the council and the new service. Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone. Agile Business Analysis Courses (AgileBA). saving time traveling to your office, or your children able to go to a better school. However, as you have seen in this article, a business case is something which you can find useful when taking major decisions in your own personal life. It explains why your organisation will invest time and resources into a project. A+ AIRLINES CASE. This site uses cookies to enhance your user experience. It’s not the same as a risk which implies something uncertain. If you change formats between use cases, it will look disorganized and will be harder to understand for readers as well. The benefits of a project or activity are the positive things you’re going to get back in return for your investment of time and money. Are the benefits clearly identified and justified? Alternatively, if you prefer to self-study, choose from a range of project management online courses, including a PRINCE2 online course or an agile project management online course. In this case it’s 5 years until the kids leave school. This section may also consider some technical areas, such as the legal form of the new organisation, its proposed governance structure, the mechanism for contracting services, and transfer of any assets to the new delivery model. The model will outline anticipated levels of income and expenditure and should calculate profit and loss and cash flow over the 5 year period. 5. Use case plays a significant role in the distinct phases of Software Development Life Cycle. The term business case frequently refers to a written document that is submitted for review or presented at a meeting, but can also apply to an informal, spoken proposal. But she doesn't have any user account. The basis of the case would usually involve a 5 year financial model which makes a range of assumptions around likely levels of future costs and income. Writing a business use case document is pretty simple and this will serve as a checklist to confirm the features of your application. State aid is any advantage granted by public authorities (including councils) through state resources on a selective basis to any organisations that could potentially distort competition and trade in the European Union. Identify who is going to be using the website. When scoping service requirements, needs of other important stakeholders should be considered (such as Friends Groups, library users, councillors and community groups). Typically the management case would cover the following areas: Likely timescales for establishment of the new organisation, with consideration given to how the different activities relate to each other. In the process we ran 2 councillor workshops on the legal form and the contracting arrangements to ensure councillors were able to have cross party involvement. The rules can be complex and getting it wrong can mean recovery of state aid and suspension or withdrawal of aid schemes. The Use Case Document is a business document which provides a story of how a system, and its actors, will be utilized to achieve a specific goal. Outlines a financial case and implications for the preferred option. The costs of doing the project or activity is the next important bit of information. A business case may not be required where there is agreement to proceed straight to the business planning phase. There are several things you can use to check whether your business case is adequate or not. The use case description is a written account of the sequence of steps performed by an analyst to accomplish a complete business transaction. The management case tests the feasibility of the preferred option, in terms of its deliverability within various tolerances. By attending this course, you will save precious time preparing business cases, and will gain the strategic thinking skills and commercial competence to present a business case in a format that helps decision owners make well informed decisions. Benefits should be measurable and quantifiable. State aid rules can (among other things) apply to: The rules can apply to funding given to charities, public authorities and other non-profit making bodies where they are involved in commercial activities. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. A business use case is described in technology-free terminology which treats the business process as a black box and describes the business process that is used by its business actors, while an ordinary use case is normally described at the system functionality level and specifies the function or the service that the system provides for the user. That’s because it justifies the investment. Does the business case include operations and maintenance costs and risks? This document covers the business actors (or system), goals, pre-conditions, post-conditions, basic flow, alternate flow, options, exceptions of each and every business flow of the system under requirements. Once written, a business case may simply need minor revisions to deploy or embrace a new process or idea. By absorbing the meaning of use case diagrams, alternate flows and basic flows, you will be able to apply use cases to your projects. This might include areas such as: The fit of the preferred option will be considered against these areas within the strategic case, and this will demonstrate any potential benefits of the preferred option when compared with the doing nothing or other options. Whatever form your business case takes, remember one thing – it will help you or your organisation take sensible decisions about committing time and resources to a project or activity. With so many competing claims being made on scarce funds, organisations need the assurance that the decision they are taking is the right one. This is done by exploring the strategic context and drivers for the library service’s delivery model. To ace your DIY case study, follow these tips: Choose your voice carefully Depending on your brand and the content of the case study, you can write it in either the first or third person. This shows that the company will start to get a return on its investment sometime towards the end of year 2. 2. Business cases can take many forms – digital or analogue. The resources available to undertake the new venture should also be considered in depth. A business use case identifies the sequence of actions that need to be performed by the business to provide a meaningful, observable result to the end user. Each option is summarized and the reason why option 3 is the preferred option has been stated. Does the business case include project costs and risks? What you should always remember is that a business case does not have to be a huge long document. A business case is the justification for some activity (e.g. Aren’t they benefits? It is helpful to consider this from a number of perspectives, including: Whether there is any change to the services the council would consider funding for delivery on an ongoing basis. These are the project costs. For government organisations, justification is probably not a commercial one, but could be based upon giving value for money to achieve certain benefits. The CEO’s of the current library service delivery models have identified the following learning points in relation to the business case process. In this article we’ll give you 2 business case examples, provide you with a simple business cas… Outcomes are the results of the changes which come about by using the new handheld devices. Are the reasons for the project consistent with the corporate, portfolio or programme management strategies? It’s the opposite of a benefit! While staff are employed by the council, this liability remains the responsibility of the council. Is the project plan aligned with the business case? These are available as online or as classroom courses. A use case describes a specific business goal to be satisfied by the system to be built. The purpose of a business case is simple – it’s used to justify an investment in an activity. Use Cases may or may not result in achieving a goal by the ‘Actor/User’ on interactions with the system.In Use Case… Explain contingencies for when the goal cannot be achieved. It removes the scope for members to make speculative capital gains resulting from the dissolution, disposal or conversion of the society into a company. That way, they can filter out the bad ideas for projects, and only fund projects which will contribute to strategic goals. We’ve now saved 33% but have enhanced and strengthened the service. They should think about state aid early and seek advice to avoid problems and save time. Equally, a business case could be written by hand on a whiteboard or flipchart, or on the back of a cigarette packet! Imagine a heating repair services company that uses a paper-based set of forms filled in by an engineer during site visits. The final business case document should provide a clear narrative around the rationale for the preferred delivery model and highlight the relative benefits and dis-benefits across the 5 cases. Susan: She is a publisher who would like to give advertisements online. This is done using a business case. The commercial case outlines the procurement and contracting implications of the preferred model. Or, perhaps you’re thinking of moving house so your family can enjoy a better life. However, a business case being used for the decision to proceed with a new model will need to: Development of a coherent and realistic business case and, subsequently, business plan was key. This should consider aspects such as commissioning arrangements, an assessment of the current marketplace, and how the new service will be planned and managed in accordance with relevant procurement regulations. We use cookies to collect information about how you use GOV.UK. How to Write Case Studies. Special offer available on BCS Business Analysis Foundation online course. Development teams can use business process model to visually document business work flows, and associate use cases with those business processes for modeling the desired features to be achieved by the system. What is a business plan? One major risk has been identified in this example, but on your project, there could be many risks. In some instances a full public procurement exercise is needed. Alternatively, if your council follows a project methodology such as PRINCE2, the business case can be developed using that methodology. What Should Be in a Business Case? Perhaps an alternative option would have been for John to change his job to one nearer their current house. Typical costs that may be considered include: Typical benefits that may be considered include: For senior officers their acceptance was through a business case to make savings rather than full appreciation of the mutual journey, which became an issue when considering disaggregation of central support services. Or, perhaps you’re thinking of moving house so your family can enjoy a better life. Describe the basic course in the description for the use case. Again, there are 2 costs – project costs and the ongoing operational costs over the benefits realization timescale. If we had stayed in house it would have led to cuts, closures and managed decline. However, this definition is too generic to describe the purpose, as other four diagrams (activity, sequence, collaboration, and Statechart) also have the same purpose. There are four steps necessary to write a business case, which are as follows: Research your market, competition and alternatives Compare and finalize your approaches Compile the data and present your strategies, goals and options Is it clear how the benefits will be realized? It’s initiated by an actor, provides value to that actor, and is a goal of the actor working in that system. If the council intends to provide assistance, you should first check whether or not the assistance is likely to be deemed as state aid. Attend our half-day virtual training on how to write a compelling business case. The expected benefits of reduced overheads are clearly stated. We write as if we’re still writing up scientific experiments, starting with the aims and building up to the conclusions. This could take the form of a Cabinet meeting or a group of senior leaders or management colleague. It is important to consider what risks are associated with the establishment of the new delivery model, their likely impact, and any mitigations that could be used to manage them. Buy any virtual course and get a FREE online Change Management Foundation course! Should the intention be to establish a new delivery model, it will be in the position to apply for Admitted Body Status, enabling staff who are members of the LGPS to continue with their pension arrangements. For an organisation to decide if an investment is worthwhile, however, there are several different ways in which it can decide about the investment. The council risks setting the delivery model up to fail if it expects the delivery model to cover part or all of this liability, particularly if the delivery model is required to make redundancies as a result of funding decisions made by the council. Please read our cookie policy for more information. For a project in an organisation, this is usually referred to as the operational costs of maintaining and operating the projects outputs e.g. You’re probably reading this article because you want to know how to write a business case. That way it cuts out the noise and provides decision-makers with just the right information to enable them to take sensible decisions. You can change your cookie settings at any time. “This use case starts when…” and “This use case ends when…” because what happens when you start to write all those steps is you find all these variations. Is it clearly defined what will judged a successful outcome? You will need to weigh up the pros and cons of moving. Registered societies can adopt a voluntary asset lock, but only community benefit societies have the option of adopting a statutory asset lock. They are: The next section covers the seventh stage of the process - developing a business plan. The purpose of use case diagram is to capture the dynamic aspect of a system. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk. Offer ends midnight Sunday! These might include assets such as property and equipment, along with less tangible resources such as staff time in setting up the new delivery model. The technical issues that caused us most problems included: Staff transferring from the council to any new entity will have built up redundancy liabilities (note – these liabilities will not materialise unless redundancies are made). Where possible, you should engage with these stakeholders before the meeting to ensure they have an opportunity to air any concerns or ask any questions. For your case study to do well, you must include just the right information that is necessary for that particular project and presents it to the client. A business plan is a written document which describes your business, your … Without a rock-solid business case your project is unlikely to get a return on investment. Make sure you have your facts about the case study straight by asking your client some detailed questions and then carefully documenting the answers: The Initial Problem. Performance related requirements will be identified. In fact, it should be as short as possible, and only include the most important information. To download a business case template, click here. We found that councillors were very concerned about this. It weighs up the timescales, costs and risks of doing the activity against the benefits to be gained. As you can see from the example, the first thing to be clear about in a business case is the reason for doing the project or activity. Let’s now look at this example business case. Perhaps your organisation is embarking on a major project to develop a new product. We have developed a (downloadable) financial model template to support you during this process. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form.