Introduction
A business case is the first step toward committing to a new idea. This document starts by outlining a high-level problem the business is experiencing. Then, it proposes a solution that will address the issue and contribute to a better future for the company.
In this article, we’ll cover how to write a business case so you can confidently pitch your next innovation to decision-makers.
What’s a Business Case?
A business case describes a company’s problem and proposes a solution. The goal of this outline is to convince decision-makers and other key stakeholders that a project is worth exploring. As a result, business cases are typically high-level overviews that focus on broad ideas, objectives and outcomes.
Project managers typically draw up business cases before they begin formal project planning to avoid wasting time on a proposal that gets turned down. Often, managers outline business cases in a document, but they can also be formal presentations or quick elevator pitches. Regardless, most follow a basic template: They point out a problem, propose a strategy to address it and estimate what it will cost to implement.
Why Do You Need a Business Case?
From clear communication to better planning, business cases serve the following purposes.
Shares Ideas With Executives
A well-crafted business case provides a clear rationale for your proposal, making it easier for decision-makers to understand its potential impact. By presenting data, analyses and anticipated outcomes, this outline fosters meaningful discussions with company leaders. And when executives grasp the strategic value of your initiative, they can make informed decisions about it.
Lets You Evaluate Your Options
Creating a business case is both for you and for the people you’re trying to convince. While you write one, you’ll collect research and discuss it with peers to discover new ways to refine your approach. You may also find that your solution is flawed. At that point, you can adapt or abandon it before wasting time and energy.
Aligns Stakeholder Expectations
A business case is a straightforward way to communicate your ideas to everyone involved in the proposed project. Before starting project work, all stakeholders must clearly understand their roles, so your business case should outline the expected objectives and outcomes for each of them.
Supports Future Documents
If your business case is approved, it provides an excellent starting point for every document you’ll create to advance the project. For example, one of your first steps will be to build a more comprehensive project plan, and you can pull the timeline and scope from your business case to start it. The same goes for the documents you’ll need to requisition headcounts, plan meetings and create case studies.
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When To Use a Business Case
One of the biggest benefits of creating a business case is that it transforms vague ideas into a coherent proposal. You should draft one before committing yourself or anyone else to a project plan, so start it early. When you have a great project plan, turn it into a business case right away. This will help you organize and clarify your thoughts so you can explain them clearly to others.
How To Write a Business Case (With Examples)
Here’s a step-by-step process for turning your ideas into a cohesive, detailed business case. We'll use the following example to illustrate this process: Monica leads a team of customer support representatives. Her company makes an app for organizing digital content like photos, videos and documents. After the app’s launch, she notices that support call volume is gradually increasing and determines that poor user documentation is the cause.
1. Start With a Business Case Template
Search online for a template that contains everything you need in a business case, such as an executive summary, a problem statement and a project definition. Following a clear, premade structure helps you organize your ideas and ensures you don’t miss important details.
There are a few great options on the Scribe Gallery, where you can also find templates for the other project documents you’ll need later.
Monica searches the Scribe Gallery and finds the business action plan template. She removes the placeholder information at the top and gives her document a title and date.
2. State the Problem
Most business case templates begin with an executive summary. Skip that for now — you’ll return to it after you’ve developed everything you need to summarize.
Start by describing the problem and illustrating how it affects the company. Consider the big picture, as even seemingly benign obstacles often have far-reaching consequences. Think of all the ripple effects that the problem causes and research them. Gather reports and statistics that quantify how the issue affects business needs.
Monica would fill in the “Situation Analysis” part of her business case template with a problem statement that reads:
Our user documentation doesn’t provide detailed instructions for troubleshooting user problems. As a result, call volumes are 25% above expectations. 50% of callers mention they’re frustrated with the lack of good documentation. This may be one reason we’re experiencing a low 30-day user retention rate (4%).
3. Provide a Solution
Propose a solution that could address the concern. Keep your suggestion to the smallest scope needed to solve the issue without wasting resources. To make your idea easier to understand, frame it with an example illustrating how your recommendation solves the problem.
Monica’s solution would fit under the “Action Plan” heading in her business case template and might read like this:
We should use a tool like Scribe to generate better user documentation. Our support agents are already following customer processes whenever they handle a support call, so they can turn on Scribe to automatically create guides for the online help center. For example, 30% of our support calls are about syncing cloud accounts. If our user documentation included a step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots, we could lower our support call volume by up to 30%.
4. Outline a Business Plan
Define the scope, timeline and objectives required to develop your proposed solution. Break each objective into milestones that clearly illustrate a path from ideation to completion. Keep it high-level — you don’t need to write a whole business playbook, just enough to outline each milestone.
Monica would put this information in the “Implementation” section of the business case template. She might lay out the milestones like so:
- Sign up for a Scribe Enterprise account.
- Install Scribe on every support agent device.
- Train support agents.
- Insert the necessary steps into SOPs.
- Set up a database of existing Scribes to avoid duplication.
- Establish a workflow with the website team to add Scribes to the documentation hub.
5. Justify Requirements
Describe the investment required to achieve the business plan, such as budget and headcount, and justify that investment. Walk your audience through a cost-benefit analysis showing how the investment will improve revenue, lower costs or optimize efficiency. Wherever possible, use verifiable data that accurately quantifies the costs and benefits. If you need to estimate anything, be conservative.
Monica would fill in the “Implementation” section of her business case template by describing what it would take to carry out her solution:
Scribe offers Enterprise customers custom pricing, which comes with the security and collaboration features we need. If the only thing separating us from our competitors is poor user documentation, fixing it can help us improve our 30-day user retention rates to reach the industry average of 6–7%.
6. Describe Outcomes
Describe what will happen if decision-makers choose to implement your proposed strategy. Illustrate precisely how the business will benefit from solving the problem with your solution and suggest ways to measure those benefits. For this part, focus on long-term outcomes that help executives fit the idea into the company’s larger narrative.
Monica would use the “Monitoring and Evaluation” part of her business plan template to describe her plan’s outcomes. She might start it like this:
With better user documentation, we’ll grow a larger, more loyal user base that’s more likely to purchase higher subscription tiers and less likely to call the support team. As a result, we’ll experience increased revenue and lower support costs.
7. Write an Executive Summary
Now that you’ve laid everything out, go back to the top of your business case template and write an executive summary that combines it into one concise paragraph. Use elements from each section of your business case to subtly guide executives through the ideas you’ll present.
Monica might write an executive summary that looks like this:
Our user documentation doesn’t provide detailed instructions for troubleshooting user problems. As a result, call volumes are 25% above expectations, and our 30-day user retention rate is only 4%. To solve this problem, we should use a tool like Scribe to generate better user documentation. With clear guides, we’ll grow a larger, more loyal user base, leading to higher 30-day user retention rates, increased revenue and lower support costs.
Document Like a Pro With Scribe
Authoring a business case is the first step in proposing company-wide solutions, so take advantage of the best tools to get it right.
Scribe’s AI Writer for Small Businesses can show stakeholders how your proposal will improve company processes. Turn on Scribe and follow your plan’s suggested steps — AI will generate text and capture screenshots to turn your idea into an engaging walkthrough.
Monica could create a document demonstrating how to use Scribe. Company leaders would see how easy it is, making them more interested in generating comprehensive user guides through the platform.
Add value and professionalism to your business case today with Scribe.
