Is it okay to Iteratively develop and maintain a Business Case?
Mohammad KhanDeputy Vice President, Program Management| MetLife BangladeshDhaka, Bangladesh
In PMBOK 6th edition on page 29 it is said that "These two documents are interdependent and iteratively developed and maintained throughout the life cycle of the project." Here the documents referred to are Business Case and Benefits Management Plan.
My understanding is that, Business case is developed in pre-project phase and used to get approval of a project to go ahead with. My question is that how can the Business Case be iteratively developed once it is approved? It contains business justifications of a project. Business justification cannot change over time. There might have new data over the course of the project to support the justification.
What is your thought? Am I wrong somewhere? Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The explanation is inside the 1.2.6 PROJECT MANAGEMENT BUSINESS DOCUMENTS paragraph itself and its associated figure 1-8. As you mentioned both documents are created before a project exists and the role accountable for that is the Business Analyst. Let me say that this modification was included in the intention to integrate the business analyst role plus the BRM Practice Guide. The point is both documents are taking into account by the project manager as inputs for some activities mainly if you have a project governance process in place. But becuase the limited information a project manager has both documents are maintained and developed on top of the project. I mean, the project manager is not accountable for creating and/or maintaining the business case and/or the business management plan. With all that said, it will always depends on organizational internal process. For example, in my actual work place, BRM role is on charge of both and project managers help on keep both alive thanks the project information provided.
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1 reply by Mohammad Khan
Jan 03, 2020 6:52 AM
Mohammad Khan
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Hi Sergio,
What you said is clear to me. Thanks for sharing this.
But my point was that Project is always approved once and for that Business Case is developed once as well. So my question was how can the business case be iteratively developed and maintained? My understanding is, it cannot.
Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Mohammad
Interesting your question
Thanks for sharing
One of the inputs to the Project Charter is the Business Case and Benefit Management Plan.
In an adaptive or hybrid development approach is the business case static (closed after approval) or dynamic (iteratively developed)?
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Jan 02, 2020 6:34 AM
Sergio Luis Conte
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@Luis, sorry if the question is not for me but here I go. Is not about adaptative, hybrid or other process model. If about the life cycle process defined on the model. I mean, you have life cycles process like iterative, incremental, iterative-incremental (which some people call agile) based on adaptative process model. No matter that, the business case and the benefit management plan must be on top of that. In fact, both can cover more than one project where each of those projects are running using different life cycle process. I am writting this not becuase "academic", because the practice including it my actual work place.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Jan 02, 2020 6:29 AM
Replying to Luis Branco
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Dear Mohammad
Interesting your question
Thanks for sharing
One of the inputs to the Project Charter is the Business Case and Benefit Management Plan.
In an adaptive or hybrid development approach is the business case static (closed after approval) or dynamic (iteratively developed)?
@Luis, sorry if the question is not for me but here I go. Is not about adaptative, hybrid or other process model. If about the life cycle process defined on the model. I mean, you have life cycles process like iterative, incremental, iterative-incremental (which some people call agile) based on adaptative process model. No matter that, the business case and the benefit management plan must be on top of that. In fact, both can cover more than one project where each of those projects are running using different life cycle process. I am writting this not becuase "academic", because the practice including it my actual work place. Saving Changes...
While I have not developed/maintained a business case across 2-4 week sprints, I have been in the position where I've developed enough of a business case to get the project started, and then, as we learned more through Initiation, updated the business case to reflect what we had learned. Taking this approach, there is a chance that you will significantly change your project, or close it because it is not worth pursuing, but I'd rather that than lock down the business case and pursue a project that shouldn't be pursued.
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1 reply by Mohammad Khan
Jan 03, 2020 7:02 AM
Mohammad Khan
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Hi Aaron,
What you meant is lessons learned about Business Case development from previous projects. But for the same project do the business case developed iteratively?
In theory, the Business Case should have enough information to help the project team create the Charter and other processes including the project management plan, which is of course updated as the project goes on.
In practice however, I have rarely seen a Business Case so complete and comprehensive that would make a tear of joy roll down your cheek. This is where the PMs experience and soft skills shine through. You have to decide (may be along with the Sponsor) when the information available is good enough to get the gears in motion. Saving Changes...
Mohammad KhanDeputy Vice President, Program Management| MetLife BangladeshDhaka, Bangladesh
Jan 02, 2020 6:16 AM
Replying to Sergio Luis Conte
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The explanation is inside the 1.2.6 PROJECT MANAGEMENT BUSINESS DOCUMENTS paragraph itself and its associated figure 1-8. As you mentioned both documents are created before a project exists and the role accountable for that is the Business Analyst. Let me say that this modification was included in the intention to integrate the business analyst role plus the BRM Practice Guide. The point is both documents are taking into account by the project manager as inputs for some activities mainly if you have a project governance process in place. But becuase the limited information a project manager has both documents are maintained and developed on top of the project. I mean, the project manager is not accountable for creating and/or maintaining the business case and/or the business management plan. With all that said, it will always depends on organizational internal process. For example, in my actual work place, BRM role is on charge of both and project managers help on keep both alive thanks the project information provided.
Hi Sergio,
What you said is clear to me. Thanks for sharing this.
But my point was that Project is always approved once and for that Business Case is developed once as well. So my question was how can the business case be iteratively developed and maintained? My understanding is, it cannot.
...
2 replies by Mohammad Khan and Sergio Luis Conte
Jan 03, 2020 7:13 AM
Sergio Luis Conte
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The project is approved once the investment is approved and that is materialized by approving the business case. But the business case is on top the project becuase the business case is relating to the solution where the project is just a component inside the solution. Then, business case is something "alive" that still remains in this state aftter the project ends (there is a specific activity inside the business analysis standards and practice about that). So, the business case has to be maintained. On the other side, a business case can be elaborated iteratively because parts of the solution can be added to it. It will demand to create new projects or to change the approved projects. All this things related to business case monitoring are in charge of the business analyst role and the process that supports that is the project governance process. Roles aware on that are mainly the program manager and portfolio manager roles.
Jan 04, 2020 6:09 AM
Mohammad Khan
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Hi Sergio,
Thank you for the explanation. It is now clear to me. The statement I liked to most is "The business case is relating to the solution where the project is just a component inside the solution."
Saving Changes...
Mohammad KhanDeputy Vice President, Program Management| MetLife BangladeshDhaka, Bangladesh
Jan 02, 2020 10:43 AM
Replying to Aaron Porter
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While I have not developed/maintained a business case across 2-4 week sprints, I have been in the position where I've developed enough of a business case to get the project started, and then, as we learned more through Initiation, updated the business case to reflect what we had learned. Taking this approach, there is a chance that you will significantly change your project, or close it because it is not worth pursuing, but I'd rather that than lock down the business case and pursue a project that shouldn't be pursued.
Hi Aaron,
What you meant is lessons learned about Business Case development from previous projects. But for the same project do the business case developed iteratively?
...
1 reply by Aaron Porter
Jan 03, 2020 11:31 AM
Aaron Porter
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What I meant is that if the business case significantly changes, you may end up running a different project (whether or not you formally close the initial project). However, I have been assigned to projects with a minimal business case that was updated as the project progressed and more information was gathered to support the business case. Project Sponsors don't always wait for a complete business case to start a project.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Jan 03, 2020 6:52 AM
Replying to Mohammad Khan
...
Hi Sergio,
What you said is clear to me. Thanks for sharing this.
But my point was that Project is always approved once and for that Business Case is developed once as well. So my question was how can the business case be iteratively developed and maintained? My understanding is, it cannot.
The project is approved once the investment is approved and that is materialized by approving the business case. But the business case is on top the project becuase the business case is relating to the solution where the project is just a component inside the solution. Then, business case is something "alive" that still remains in this state aftter the project ends (there is a specific activity inside the business analysis standards and practice about that). So, the business case has to be maintained. On the other side, a business case can be elaborated iteratively because parts of the solution can be added to it. It will demand to create new projects or to change the approved projects. All this things related to business case monitoring are in charge of the business analyst role and the process that supports that is the project governance process. Roles aware on that are mainly the program manager and portfolio manager roles. Saving Changes...
Business cases are often developed iteratively in large projects.
It is important not to invest too much money in a project until it is understood whether or not the BC is positive. Early on, the BC may be developed by a small few people with knowledge in the subject using rough numbers and assumptions. If it looks positive, then more money may be invested to investigate further prior to full commitment.
As detail is added to the definition of the project deliverables, the understanding of required work will change over time, and thus so will the BC. Likewise, other factors may change such as the market which can drive the sellable price and quantity of the end product that the market will purchase. The known performance capabilities of the product can also change with improved knowledge making the product more or less marketable. These factors all affect the BC.
Large projects may go through a “gated” process where there are periodic reviews to determine if it should continue or if doing so is a waste of money. At each gated review, the BC is updated based on the current project state and reviewed to ensure it still justifies continued investment. The BC is then not only used to initiate a project, but to ensure there is justification is still valid over time.
I manage a portfolio of cost reduction projects which often start out showing they have an excellent BC. Once we get vendor quotes or complete engineering analysis, the BC is reviewed and often the new cost or savings data significantly alter the Return on Investment. Saving Changes...
Hi Aaron,
What you meant is lessons learned about Business Case development from previous projects. But for the same project do the business case developed iteratively?
What I meant is that if the business case significantly changes, you may end up running a different project (whether or not you formally close the initial project). However, I have been assigned to projects with a minimal business case that was updated as the project progressed and more information was gathered to support the business case. Project Sponsors don't always wait for a complete business case to start a project. Saving Changes...
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