Читать книгу Project Management For Dummies - Stanley E. Portny - Страница 46

The initial information describing a proposed project is often presented in a business case, which may contain, but isn’t limited to, the following:

 High-level statement of the business needsReason action is neededStatement of business problem or opportunity the proposed project will addressStakeholders affected (see Chapter 4 for details on stakeholders)How it fits into the organization’s (product) roadmapScope of proposed project (see Chapter 5 for information on scope statements)

 Analysis of situationStatement of organizational goals, strategies, and objectivesStatement of the root causes behind the problem or factors helping to create the opportunityDiscussion of the organization’s current performance in this area compared with the desired performanceIdentification of known risks for the project (see Chapter 10 for more on handling risk)Identification of critical success factors for the projectIdentification of the decision criteria for choosing among the different possible options for addressing the situation

 Discussion of the recommended course of action to pursue in the project

If necessary, a formal needs assessment may be conducted to clarify the business needs to which this project relates. A needs assessment (also called a gap analysis) is a formal study to determine the actions an organization must take to move from the currently existing situation to what’s desired in the future. This study consists of the following components:

1 Defining the aspect of organizational operations you want to address and the measures you’ll use to describe performance in this area (this identifies the subject of your analysis)

2 Determining the current values of the measures you selected in the first step (this defines the current state)

3 Defining the values of the measures you would like to have exist in the future (this describes the desired state)

4 Identifying the gaps that exist and need to be filled between current state and future state

5 Proposing actions that will help the organization move toward the desired future situation (these are the steps to get from current state to future state)

The organization’s goal is to fund those projects that, when successfully completed, would provide the greatest benefits to the organization and have the greatest chances of being completed successfully. Therefore, the business case should do the following:

 Clearly describe the project’s intended outcomes

 Identify the organization’s mission, goals, and operating objectives that’ll be affected by the project’s results

 Identify other projects addressing the same or similar issues that have been completed, are underway, are being planned, or are being proposed and clearly explain why this project will provide greater benefit when completed and has a greater likelihood of being successfully completed

The business case should be prepared by a person who is external to the project, such as a senior manager of the unit on which the project will focus or a product manager if one exists. The project initiator or sponsor should be at a level where they can procure funding and commit resources to the project.

When you’re thinking about submitting a possible project for consideration, be sure to check for existing organization processes or procedures to which your submission must conform. In particular, look for information about the following items:

 Dates by which your submission must be received

 Topics that must be addressed and/or formats in which your submission should be prepared

 Criteria (and relative weightings) that’ll be used to evaluate your submission