A strong business case includes all of the following elements:

• A brief, compelling, service-oriented problem statement
• A mission statement or vision of the future that addresses the problem
• A description of the specific objectives to be achieved
• A description and rationale for your preferred approach
• A statement of the benefits that address the concerns of all relevant stakeholders
• Measures for gauging improved performance or progress toward each objective
• A statement of the likely risks of your initiative and how they will addressed
• A basic plan of work with a timeline and key milestones
• A project management plan and names and roles of key managers
• Alternatives considered and how they would or would not work
• Cost estimates and potential sources of funding
• Opposing arguments and your responses to them

Table 1 shows how the analysis described in Chapter 2 contributes data to the business case. The analysis has given you a great deal of information to use in the case-building process. Take advantage of it to help you tell a coherent story about the investment that will turn your ideas into action. However, the business case does not emerge automatically from the analysis. You still need to select and organize the material, put it in context, and do some additional planning (such as developing a high-level work plan and management approach).

Table 1. Building a business case from your analysis
Business case element	Suggested data sources
Problem statement	"Good problem" description
Mission or vision statement	Hopes and fears exercise Strategic framework Visioning
Specific objectives	Environmental scanning Hopes and fears exercise Process analysis Self-assessment Stakeholder analysis Strategic framework
Preferred approach	Cost-benefit analysis Cost-performance analysis MAU model Process analysis Prototyping SWOT analysis Technology awareness sessions
Expected benefits	Cost-benefit analysis Cost-performance analysis Stakeholder analysis
Performance and progress measures	Baseline measures Benchmarking Best and current practice research Process analysis Strategic framework
Risks and ways to address them	News analysis Partisan analysis Positioning charts Prototyping Risk analysis Scenario building Stakeholder analysis Technology awareness sessions
Plan of work, timeline, and key milestones	Draw from all learning during the analysis
Project management and staffing	Draw from all learning during the analysis
Cost estimates and funding sources	Best and current practice research Cost-benefit analysis Cost-performance analysis Stakeholder analysis
Alternatives considered	Benchmarking Best and current practice research Modest, moderate, elaborate alternatives Prototyping Technology awareness sessions
Opposing arguments and responses	Best and current practice research Cost-benefit analysis Cost-performance analysis Partisan analysis Positioning charts Prototyping Risk analysis Stakeholder analysis