The TwoTech approach to strategy and business performance is to assess proposed projects on the roadmap or projects within a lines of business through a holistic Business Case approach. A Business Case defines the value a project will deliver. Costs and benefits are key reference points, but other elements -- reasons, alternatives, drawbacks, timescale, risks, and opportunities -- contribute significantly to presenting a solid and coherent Business Case. The Business Case is a key driver for the project as a whole, and will be vital to guide the project governance team (project sponsor and decision-makers) in making go/no-go assessments.

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It is common to think that a Business Case is fixed, and should not change during the project. In fact, virtually every section of the Business Case can change. Hence, the Business Case have to be reviewed regularly (and updated as necessary), so the key stakeholders have up-to-date information to determine the project's viability. As it is dynamic document, it is the responsibility of the project manager and the owner of the Business Case (usually the project's sponsor) to regularly monitor those elements to determine if the justification for the project has in any way been diminished (“should the project be stopped or reduced in scope?”) or enhanced (“would it be worthwhile to invest more resources to deliver this project”).

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Additionally, a good Business Case contains more than the specifics of the particular project. It also contains the context for the project. The context provides an account of the “operational environment” in which the project's value is defined. If external forces change that context, then the foundation upon which the Business Case is built may no longer support the need for the project itself. Thus the context too may change during the project, and alter the justification for doing the project. If the context is omitted, the project may continue along, oblivious to the fact that it may not longer be relevant or viable.

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A Business Case can take many forms. The following are several examples:

• ROI (Return on Investment): Spending time and money in development is expected to deliver far more money than went into the project.

• Strategic: The project supports the Organization's strategy and/or Mission (which may not always be about short term, or dollar-for-dollar returns).

• Investment: Developing new products in the laboratory, for eventual ("we hope") expansion into money-making products.

• Values: This is a variation on Strategy/Mission -- where the organization's social values are agreed, as part of the corporate culture, to be one of the organization's common expectations and goals.

• Research: "We will probably lose money on this project, but we will learn a lot that will help use set the organization's future direction."

• Efficiency: A variant of ROI, the project is done to improve the organization's operational processes.

• Compliance (Regulatory/Statutory/Fiduciary): A project is required for the organization to comply with external regulations.

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TwoTech provides business leaders with forward-looking business strategy and consulting services that help drive sustainable competitive advantage and profitability. With deep experience and expertise in business transformation and process improvement, we work closely with clients to build a compelling Business Case for change, devise a detailed implementation roadmap, efficiently and effectively manage the change process, and measure process against relevant metrics.