Business Cases Training Overview
This Writing Effective Business Cases training course teaches attendees how to develop business cases that support their strategic business recommendations with sound budgeting and financial back-up. Students learn to make high-impact recommendations that receive full management support.
Location and Pricing
Accelebrate offers instructor-led enterprise training for groups of 3 or more online or at your site. Most Accelebrate classes can be flexibly scheduled for your group, including delivery in half-day segments across a week or set of weeks. To receive a customized proposal and price quote for private corporate training on-site or online, please contact us.
In addition, some courses are available as live, instructor-led training from one of our partners.
Objectives
- Understand the role of the business analyst within the business case process
- Understand the main professional associations and standards that support business analysts
- Understand the benefits of business case creation
- Explore how to define the business need
- Support the enterprise to determine how to optimally invest in the right project initiatives
- Identify stakeholders and their significance to the pre-project activities
- Understand the importance of analyzing the enterprise
- Describe and explore the activities performed to assess the current business environment
- Describe a ‘future’ state environment including how to identify gaps in enterprise capabilities
- Define the scope of a solution
- Determine viable solution options
- Evaluate solution options, including feasibility and risk analysis
- Understand the purpose of conducting a feasibility assessment
- Discuss and practice a number of business analysis techniques that support the business case process
- Use the components of a business case
- Describe how the business case supports decision-makers in making go/no-go decisions
- Demonstrate how to assemble the output from pre-project activities into a well-structured business case
- Present business cases to top-level managers and obtaining buy-in
- Leverage methods for preparing for challenges during business case delivery
Prerequisites
All students should have taken Introduction to Business Analysis or have equivalent experience.
Outline
Expand All | Collapse All
Introduction
- What is Business Analysis
- Polling Question
- International Institute of Business Analysis
- BABOK® Guide Components
- Project Management Institute
- Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide
- BABOK® Guide Knowledge Areas
- Benefits of Business Analysis
- Polling Question
- A Business Analyst can Influence Project Success Factors
- Challenges of Business Analysis
- Purpose of a Business Case
- Define the Business Case Elements
- What to Look Out For
- Who is Involved
Pre-Project Activities and the Business
- The Definition of a Business Analyst
- The Role of a Business Analyst
- Responsibilities of a BA
- BA Role vs. PM Role
- Business Analysis vs. Systems Analysis
- Business Analysis Competencies
- Polling Question
- Business Analyst Role and Stakeholders
- Afternoon
- What is a Stakeholder?
- The Importance of Stakeholders
- Stakeholder Identification
- Tips for Identifying Stakeholders
- Other Stakeholder Tips
- Stakeholder Identification/Analysis
- Stakeholder Map
- Stakeholder Matrix & Onion Diagrams
- Stakeholder Map
- Onion Diagram
- Study the Enterprise?
- What is Enterprise Architecture?
- What is Strategy Analysis?
- Strategy Analysis
- Purpose
- When to Perform Strategy Analysis
- Strategic Planning
The Needs Assessment Process
- Business Need
- Define Business Need
- The Needs Assessment Process
- Problem or Opportunity
- Understanding Why
- Situation Statements
- Business Need and Current State
- Determine the Stakeholders
- Polling Question
- Goals and Objectives
- Polling Question
- Define Business Need Techniques
- Definition of Strategy Analysis
- When Business Strategy is not Driving Project Definition
- Typical Project Profile
- The Executive Paradox
- The solution to the Paradox
- The Four “Ares” 96
- Understand How to Create a Business Model
- Business Model Example
- The Business Case Approach
- Financial and Strategic Measurement Tools
Determining the Required Capabilities and Defining Solution Scope
- Business Need and Current State
- Purpose of Analyzing the Current State
- Analyzing Current Capabilities and Process
- Capabilities Defined
- Techniques for Analyzing the Current State
- Define the Future State
- Define the Future State
- Techniques for Defining the Future State
- Assess Capability Gaps
- Stakeholders Involved when Reviewing Capability Gaps
- Defining Solution Scope
- Determining Scope Boundary
- How to Define Solution Scope
- Defining Solution Scope
- Project Scope and Product Scope
- Scope Modeling
- Techniques Used to Define Scope
- Define Scope Boundaries
- Modeling Scope: Context Diagram
- Communicating Solution Scope to Stakeholders
- Stakeholders Participating in Scope Activities
Assessing Feasibility and Proposing Solution Options
- Financial Analysis
- Purpose of Financial Analysis
- Costs versus Benefits
- Financial Models
- Timing for Assessing Financial Benefits
- Afternoon
- Risk
- Assessing Risks
- Risk Process
- Risk Analysis
- Capturing and Categorizing Risks
- Risk Strategies
- Tolerance for Risk
- Determining Solution Options
- Solution Option Process
- Determining and Analyzing Solution Options
- Brainstorming
- Conducting an Outcomes Focused Brainstorming Session
- Stakeholders Involved in Determining Solution Options
- Feasibility Analysis
- Solution Approach Definition
Packaging and Presenting the Business Case
- Module Learning Objectives
- Circumventing a Business Case
- Documenting the Business Case
- Value of the Business Case Process
- Business Case Components
- Business Case Techniques
- Build a Convincing Business Case
- Packaging the Business Case
- Planning Business Case Delivery
- Information and Communication Needs in the Business Case Process
- Presenting your Business Case
Conclusion
Training Materials
All Business Analysis training students receive comprehensive courseware.
Software Requirements
For in-person deliveries, attendees do not need computers for this course. We will provide full classroom setup instructions that will include seating in small groups, with supplies such as flipcharts, sticky notes, markers, and pens for the attendees and a projector and Internet connection for the instructor's laptop.
Online deliveries for this interactive training will use an online meeting platform (such as Zoom, WebEx, GoTo, or Teams) to have face-to-face contact online, including use of breakout rooms for group activities.
