Captain's Log Entry 7576.4—Everyone involved with the business case wants to know up front how many hours and how much labor the case will require. They also want to know if the results will be worth the time and effort. Answers to these questions depend directly on the Business Case Maturity Level of the organization.
Business Case Maturity level resides in the skills and knowledge of the organization's individuals. Maturity level affects business case results: practical guidance for increasing gains, reducing costs, and reducing risk.
Business Case Maturity Level matters because everyone involved with your business case is likely to have serious questions about the case-building process. As a result, the project manager, outside consultant, and senior managers all want to know what they are in for! And they want to know if the results are going to be worth the effort.
Does Business Case Maturity Level Matter?
You might expect the answers to depend on such things as the scope of the project or action under analysis, or the size of the funding request. Answers are in fact easy to predict, but they usually depend little on those factors.
Those involved in building the case will want to know, specifically:
- How long will it take to build the business case?
- How many labor hours should we budget for case building?
- Will case results give decision makers the understanding and confidence they need to take action?
Answers to these questions are easy to predict—if you know the group's Business Case Maturity Level.
