Business Case Essentials: A Guide to Structure and Content

The world's most frequently cited business case resource.

by Marty J. Schmidt, ISBN 978-1-929500-03-1,
103 pages. US$48. 3rd Edition, July 2009.

The world's most frequently cited business case resource

The concise, complete introduction to business case analysis. Assumes no prior background in finance or business planning. Printed, eBook (PDF), and Kindle editions available.

How do I prove that one choice is the best business decision?
How do I show that all relevant costs and benefits are included? That alternative action proposals are compared fairly?
How do I establish value for benefits—even non financial benefits?
How do I build a "business case" when I am in government, or a non profit organization?
How do I minimize risk and show management how to maximize business results?

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

Excellent! Business Case Essentials is exactly what it says it is, one of the few practical references on business cases available...an essential first step in a comprehensive business library, and should be stocked on the shelves of every company looking to maintain a critical advantage in these shifting waters of economic growth and recovery.
Eric Jones, BookReview.com (Read the review).

Order Essentials as a PDF Ebook from Solution Matrix Ltd. and download today!	Order the printed edition of Essentials from Solution Matrix Ltd. for shipment today!

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Proven methods and proven benefits 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 we deliver to organizations like ABB, BP, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, IBM, McDonald's, Microsoft, NASA, NSA, Royal Bank of Canada, the US Department of Defense, SAP, and others. LIke our companion publication, the Business Case Guide, the Essentials provides a methodology and a framework with proven benefits for case builders and their organizations.

Business Case Essentials or Business Case Guide? Business Case Essentials (103 pages) is a concise, complete introduction to business case analysis for those in private industry, government, or non profit organizations. Essentials focuses on what belongs in a busines case and why. The Business Case Guide (254 pages) presents the same proven business case structure and content, with additional in-depth focus on the case building process and cost/benefit estimation. Order both eBooks online:
Business Case Guide + Business Case Essentials, US $99.00

Click to read and download Business Case Essentials Table of Contents and Chapter 1.

Students and instructors, write for information on review copies and academic pricess for all Solution Matrix products. Or search all Amazon.com textbooks and Amazon.com student center.

Business Case Essentials Contents

Chapter 1 - What's a Business Case?

Chapter 1 presents a high-level overview of what belongs in a business case and why. Topics include

• Essential Elements
•  Start with a Subject and Purpose
     –  The Subject: What the Case is About
     –  Business Case Purpose
•  Defining Success
     – Credibility
     – Practical Value
     – Accuracy
• Scenarios Make the Case

Chapter 2 - Introduction and Overview

Chapter 2 presents the "building blocks" that define the case.

• Title and subtitle
• Author and recipients
•  Date
•  Executive Summary
•  Disclaimer
•  Subject Statement
     – Name the Proposed Action
     –  List the Scenarios
     –  Identify Business Objectives
     – Describe the Proposed Action
• Purpose Statement
• The Situation

Chapter 3 - Methods and Assumptions

Chapter 3 presents the building blocks that establish case credibility and make the results understandable.

• Financial Metrics
• Benefits Rationale
     – Benefits Terminology
     –  Making Objectives Tangible
     –  Targets for Objectives
    – Financial Value for Non Financial Objectives
• Assumptions
     –  Major Assumptions
     –  Are Assumptions Necessary?
     –  Keeping Assumptions and Explanations in View
• Scope and Boundaries
• Cost Model
     –  Two Approaches to Cost Modeling
     –  The Resource Based Cost Model
     –  The Activity Based Cost Model
     –  Which Approach: Resource Activity Based Model?
     –  Cost Items for Cash Flow Statements
• Data Sources

Chapter 4 - Business Results

Building blocks in this section are the case's reason for being. Here, interpretation is minimized and the numbers speak for themselves.

• Cash Flow Model
     –  Negative and Positive Numbers
     –  Cost Savings and Avoided Costs as Benefits
     – Year 0 for Immediate Inflows or Outflows
     –  Where is Projected Income (or Earnings/Profits?
     –  Categories for the Cash Flow Statement
     – Should Business Case Projections Include Taxes?
     –  Where Do the Cash Flow Figures Comes From?
     – Example: Modeling and Estimating Initial Training Costs
•  Analysis of Results
• Non Financial Results

Chapter 5 - Sensitivity and Risk Analysis

Case readers need to know which assumptions are most important in controlling predicted results, and the likelihood that results will turn out differently from predicted.

• Sensitivity Analysis
     –  Making Assumptions: Point Estimates vs. Ranges
     –  Simple Sensitivity Analysis
     –  Sensitivity Analysis With Monte Carlo Simulation
• Risk Analysis
     –  Probabilities for Assumptions
     –  Risk Analysis With Monte Carlo Simulation
     –  Analysis of Full Value vs. Incremental Cash Flow Results
     –  Maximizing Results and Minimizing Uncertainty
     – Sensitivity and Risk Analysis for Non Financial Benefits and Costs

Chapter 6 - Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions and recommendations may be obvious to those who propose and develop the case, but for the wider audience, they need to be developed—clearly and concretely. Credibility and acceptance can be enhanced throughout the case-building project, but they still need reinforcement in the final presentation.

• Conclusions
• Recommendations

Index

Further Informatoin

About the Author

Marty J. Schmidt is President and Founder of Solution Matrix Ltd. Dr. Schmidt has twenty years business experience, managing software development, international marketing and sales support, and, (since 1987) management consulting on business issues. He is a recognized authority on the application of cost/benefit analysis and business case development.

He also taught graduate and undergraduate statistics at the University of New Hampshire, is the author of a college textbook on statistics, and publishes often on professional management and business issues. He holds the Ph.D. degree from Purdue University and the M.B.A. from Babson College.

Solution Matrix Ltd. is a leading authority on business case design and development. The Guide is a single resource for the same tools, methods, and expertise that Solution Matrix Ltd. delivers to companies and organizations like IBM, Ericsson, SAP, Microsoft, NASA, NSA, the US Department of Defense, and the Federal Government of Canada.

Product details

Business Case Essentials
by Marty J. Schmidt, MBA, PhD
ISBN 978-1-929500-02-4, 103 pages

Order Essentials as a PDF Ebook from Solution Matrix Ltd. and download today!	Order the printed edition of Essentials from Solution Matrix Ltd. for shipment today!

Or, order the printed or Amazon Kindle edition of Essentials from Amazon.com

Students and instructors, write for information on review copies and academic pricess for all Solution Matrix products. Or search all Amazon.com textbooks and Amazon.com student center.

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Business Case Essentials: A Guide to Structure and Content

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