What is this?
A Business Case is used to document the justification for the undertaking of a project, based on the estimated costs (of development, implementation and incremental ongoing operations and maintenance costs) against the anticipated benefits to be gained and offset by any associated risks. It should outline how and when the anticipated benefits can be measured.
The Executive is said to ‘own’ the Business Case for the project as they secure the funding for the project and represent the business interests.
Why it’s useful?
This template is free if you have purchased our official PRINCE2 course as defined by the PRINCE2 Project Management methodology.
Whilst you can find this template in Appendix A of the official PRINCE2 manual, of course you may not have purchased a manual, or you may just prefer to have an electronic version of it.
How to use it?
This is a ‘vanilla’ template that accompanies the PRINCE2 methodology and is used as the basis for PRINCE2 exams.
Whilst you can use it in its vanilla format we recommend that you think about tailoring it (as suggested by the method itself) bearing in mind the following:
- Industry / organizational specific terminology
- Size / complexity of project
- If the project is part of a programme
- Any existing templates in your organization
The outline Business Case is developed in the Starting up a Project by the Project Manager on behalf of the Executive. It is refined by the Initiating a Project process. The Directing a Project process covers the approval and re-affirmation of the Business Case.
The Business Case is used by the Controlling a Stage process when assessing impacts of issues and risks. It is reviewed and updated at the end of each management stage by the Managing a Stage Boundary process, and at the end of the project by the Closing a Project process.
