Business Case Process

John DiNofrio
Gary Graybill

April 8, 2003
 Overview
• The Business Case is a standardized
management tool that captures planning
information about a new project.
• It is constructed by the originator, the
sponsor, and the performing organization
to document business decisions.
• It should be used to help decide if a
project/program proceeds.

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 Business Case Objectives
• The Business Case is the basis of a presentation to
decision makers so they may make more informed
decisions.
• It is a formal document that is reviewed and signed
by the originator, sponsor, and the performing
organization to ensure all parties understand and
agree on their roles and responsibilities.
• It should be signed by decision makers to approve
and grant authority to proceed.

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 Business Case Requirements
• Business Case needs to be developed:
– External New Business
• DOT other than FAA
• Other Government Agencies – Military, State and Local Gov’t., etc.
• Industry
• Academia
• International
– New Projects valued at over $50K
• Example - VizSim Lab
• Business Cases are not required:
– Existing Projects and Customers
– Projects with PDs
– Follow-on to Existing Projects

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 Business Case Timeline
Due Diligence (Initial Discussions)
           

Business Case Development

           

Review/Approval Cycle
               

• Due Diligence – Begins with initial discussions to determine project

feasibility
• Business Case Development – Begins when “players” begin to formalize
and document business decisions. This cycle ends when all are satisfied
with the documented decisions and sign the Business Case.
• Review/Approval – Begins with the development of the Business Case
Presentation and ends after the Business Case is presented and approved.

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 Business Case Process
• Each LOB personally commits to ensuring
business cases are developed
• Each LOB will develop their own process to track
and approve business cases
• All business cases that go to the SLT for
approval will be maintained by LOB and ACF
– Tech Center wide initiatives
– Initiatives that require funding outside of LOB budget
– Initiatives > $$$
• On a quarterly basis, the number of business
cases developed and ROI will be tracked for
measurement reporting

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 ACF’s Roles & Responsibility
• Assist the originator, the sponsor, and the
performing organization in developing the
business case
• Provide support to the SLT and LOB staff
throughout decision making process
• Provide support to the originator in
developing the financial case for the
program/project

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 Next Steps
• SLT and LOB ensure that business cases
accompany project requests.
• LOB develop internal process to carry
business case from due-diligence to
approval.
• ACF develops corporate processes..
• Begin tracking business cases and ROI’s
for corporate measurement reporting.

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 Summary
• The Business Case process establishes a standard
procedure for documenting new business opportunities.
• Business Cases are required for:
– External New Business Opportunities (i.e. other than FAA)
– New Projects valued at over $50K (i.e. VizSim Lab)
• The Business Case ensures buy-in from project
stakeholders and grants approval to proceed.
• The Business Case Template provides guidelines as well
as format instructions.
• It is available now!
• Suggestions for Business Case Template improvement
should be made to ACF-1.

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Backup
 Business Case Contents
• The Business Case contains key information to support
informed management decisions
– Describes the project and approach (What is this Project
about?)
– Lists organizational stakeholders (Who is involved?)
• Sponsor (funder)
• Originator (if different from performer)
• Performer
• Stakeholder
• Benefactor
• Competitors
– Lists Benefits (Why do this Project?)
• Relevance to Corporate Goals
• Intrinsic or Derived

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 Business Case Contents
(Continued)
– Costs (How much will this cost?)
• Resource Requirements
• Facility Requirements (e.g. Laboratories)
• Other (Materials, Equipment, etc.)
– Revenue (How much will it bring in?)
– Schedule (How long will the project take?)
– Risks (What could cause the Project to fail?)
– Assumptions (What constants are required for success?)
– Summary
– Recommendations (Request for signature authorizing
approval to proceed.)

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 Business Case
Cover Page Sample

William J. Hughes Technical Center

Business Case

Surface Movement Advisor (SMA)

Extended Deployment
 

February 24, 2003

 
Originator:
 
Darrell Woods
Enhanced Traffic Management System
(ETMS)/ Surface Movement Advisor (SMA)
Group Manager ACB-720

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 Business Case
Table of Contents Sample
 
Executive Summary
8.0 Mission Relevance to Goals
1.0 Project Name 8.1 FAA Goals
2.0 Business Case Participants 8.2 ARA Goals
2.1 Originator/Requestor 8.3 Technical Center Goals
2.2 Performer/Acquirer 9.0 Benefits
2.3 Sponsor 9.1 Intrinsic or Derived Benefits
2.4 Stakeholders, Customers (internal and 9.2 Measurable Benefits
external) 10.0 Cost and Benefit Analysis
3.0 Competitors 11.0 Assumptions and Risks
4.0 Situational Assessment (Current State) 11.1 Project Assumptions
and Problem Statement 11.2 Risk Assessment
4.1 Project Description and Scope 11.2.1 Adverse Impact Of Not Performing The
4.2 Proposed Solution/Approach Project
5.0 Resource Requirements 11.3 Risk Summary
6.0 Timeline / Milestones 12.0 Conclusions and Recommendations
7.0 Financial Assessment 13.0 Approvals and Authorizations
7.1 Costs 14.0. Document Change History

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 Sample Financial Assessment
VizSim Lab

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