Boosting Business Success
Every enterprise should aim at tapping into and exploiting the opportunities or projects that yield the most value, a concept we define as opportunity prioritisation. This approach results in a hierarchy of opportunities, each paired with a succinct business case. Nevertheless, some businesses might need further support in fully elaborating their existing opportunities.
Effective Opportunity Evaluation
The formality level of opportunity evaluation can vary based on the audience. The success probability significantly multiplies with each hour devoted to the qualification process. Essential to this success are:
- a project definition that highlights: strategic alignment, competitive advantage and organisational impact
- the project scope
- a comprehensive definition of the benefits the opportunity will deliver
- the financial costs and benefits of implementation and typically an IRR
- a project strategy to ensure successful implementation
- the risks associated with the implementation and how they will be managed / mitigated
- an impact assessment considering staff, processes, technology and customers
Business Cases that Maximise Success
While there are no absolute guarantees, help from experienced professionals who have crafted numerous business cases across various industries can optimise the success of any opportunity. Business cases will qualify the opportunity and minimise risk. As a decision-maker in your company, it’s crucial to mitigate opportunity risk.
The Importance of a Business Case
Sadly, a significant number of opportunities aren’t pursued or fulfilled because the business case didn’t adequately portray the whole picture. It’s not an overly complicated process, yet the creation of a clear, concise document that narrates the full story often determines whether an opportunity or project gets the green light.
The idea might seem intimidating, but the business case only needs to be comprehensive enough to convince your stakeholders that you’ve thoroughly examined the opportunity. Mini-business cases are suitable for low-investment opportunities, but as the investment increases, so does the complexity and thoroughness of the business case.
Navigating Business Cases
No business case is inherently easy, but it’s worth noting that most failures occur when qualifying tangible and intangible benefits. Every year, NineDots develops over 10 intricate business cases, and invariably, the internal Subject Matter Experts encounter difficulties in identifying all the benefits.
Contact NineDots for easing the process of qualifying opportunities and discovering how benefits can be actualised.