Business Case Essentials: A Guide to Structure and Content

The Concise, Complete Introduction to Business Case Analysis.

Business Case Essentials was written in response to requests from consulting clients and seminar participants for a brief but complete outline of what belongs in a business case and why it belongs. It assumes no prior background in finance or business planning. The focus is on questions like these:

* How do I prove that one choice is the best business decision?
* How do I show that all important costs and benefits are included?
* How do I show that alternative action proposals are compared fairly?
* How do I establish value for benefits--even non financial benefits?
* How do I build a business case when I am in a government or non profit organization?
* How do I minimize risk and show management how to maximize business results?

Since 1998, Business Case Essentials has helped professionals in all lines of business develop practical answers to such questions. Essentials was first published as a white paper in 1998, and revised in 2006. With nearly one million copies in circulation, Essentials has become one of the world's most frequently cited business case resources. (Search Google for the book's title to see tens of thousands of citations.) Now published as a 100 page book, Business Case Essentials is the leading complete, concise, authoritative guide to what belongs in a business case and why.

Practical Guidance and Proven Methods

Business Case Essentials is the textbook provided to participants in Solution Matrix Business Case seminars. It presents the same structured approach to business case analysis that Solution Matrix Ltd. delivers to organizations like ABB, BP, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, IBM, Microsoft, NASA, NSA, Royal Bank of Canada, the US Department of Defense, and others. Like our companion publication, the Business Case Guide, the Essentials provides practical, step by step guidance and a methodology with proven benefits for case builders and their organizations.

Business Case Essentials Chapters

Chapter 1 - What's a Business Case? A high-level overview of what belongs in a business case and why. Explains the nature of the case and where the proof lies that a recommended action is a good business decision.

Chapter 2 - Introduction and Overview. Building blocks that define the case, including the subject of the case (the proposed action and the business objectives addressed), and the purpose of the case (who will use the case, for what purpose, and what information they need to meet the purpose).

Chapter 3 - Methods and Assumptions. Establishing credibility and making results understandable. Building the comprehensive cost model for the case and establishing the benefits rationale--the reasoning that legitimizes benefits and shows how their value is determined. Also shows how non financial benefits are made tangible and brought into the case.

Chapter 4 - Business Results. The case's reason for being. Interpretation is minimal and the numbers speak for themselves. Includes projected financial results in terms of cash flow outcomes and financial metrics such as NPV and ROI. Also includes expected non financial outcomes.

Chapter 5 - Sensitivity and Risk Analysis. This analysis shows which assumptions are most important in controlling predicted results, and the likelihood that results turn out better or worse than predicted outcomes.

Chapter 6 - Conclusions and Recommendations. Recommendations include practical guidance on how to maximize gains, reduce costs, and minimize risks.

Business Case Essentials by Marty J. Schmidt

Rating: Excellent!

The economic downturn has sent a lot of companies back to the drawing board. Not to mention our continual shift to an all digital, internet reliant nation that's pushing out the old royalty. Goodbye Blockbuster, hello Netflix. Any business student understands the crucial importance of timing when it comes to submitting new ideas to corporations, non-profit companies, or government institutions. Perhaps nobody understands this more than Marty J. Schmidt, founder of Solution Matrix Ltd. on Wall Street, a consulting firm that specializes in cost/benefit analyses. He s just released a third edition book on the subject, Business Case Essentials, which outlines everything necessary to understanding how to put together a solid business case.

The small, roughly 100-page book is tightly packed with information laid out in text book fashion which might easily supplement a full business textbook for upper lever college economic courses. It opens with an easy-enough explanation of what a business case is. Schmidt smartly likens it to a court case, which sounds provocative to readers when you imagine the kind of courtroom presentations seen on shows like Law & Order, or Boston Legal. You are essentially saddled with the burden of proof in demonstrating the short-term and long-term outcomes of your proposal, as well as putting the company's current methods on trial. In doing so, Schmidt lends constant focus on accuracy, using a fictional company called Aerofirma Aerospace Assemblies to exemplify his methods.

This is not a read-through book, but an advanced text book for serious readers committed to learning the material. That said, the information presented is absolutely invaluable to anyone willing to put in the time to learn it. The author outlines what should go into each section of the business case, and how to present the information. He dedicates brief lessons to hearty subjects like Financial Metrics, Cash Flow Statements, Cost Models, as they pertain to business cases but these sections are brief, and a larger understanding will be required for how to obtain numbers, how to calculate probability, and so on. This is why I describe Business Case Essentials as an upper-level business text. Thankfully, Schmidt provides adequate footnotes about further reading for less experienced students.

Business Case Essentials is exactly what it says it is, and since it's one of the few practical references on business cases available, it's well worth the $49 dollar price tag. As further editions are published by Solution Matrix Ltd. it's easy to imagine areas expanded and added for full coverage of basic knowledge and skills required to put together a business case. However, since Schmidt's goal is conciseness, Business Case Essentials hits the mark with same accuracy that the author expects of his readers. Business Case Essentials is an essential first step in a comprehensive business library, and should be stocked on the shelves of every company looking to maintain a critical advantage in these shifting waters of economic growth and recovery.

(Eric Jones, Book Review.com)