Please read and make sure you have the knowledge, thanks!

We have about 14 hours for this short paper.

Assignment Overview:

For this assignment, you will drafting a critical document that initiates a project which is the business case. that are often part of initiating a project.  This document provide decision-makers with the information they need to make an informed decision about whether to approve a project or not.

Learning Connection:

This assignment is directly linked to the following key learning outcomes from the course syllabus:

• Preparing or working with a business case

In addition to these key learning outcomes, you will also have the opportunity to evidence the following skills through completing this assignment:

• Critical thinking
• Professional writing
• Problem solving
• Quantitative analysis

Assignment Instructions:

For this assignment, you be using the attached case study (see attached Case Study) to prepare a business case. A specific template, with instructions has been provided for this document (see attached PJM6000_Wk2_AssignmentTemplate). Here are a few notes:

Case Study:

The case study is fairly straightforward. You are part of a team that is trying to decide whether to use internal or external resources for a training project. As part of this case study, you will be preparing the business case which justifies the creation of the project. All the information you need is within the case study, but you will be required to draw reasonable conclusion from the case study, as every detail is not present. Please pay particular attention to the financial details provided, as well as, the considerations at the end of the case study, as it provides you with some ‘hints’ about how to consider various items. In a case study such as this, there are a range of good answers. So don’t think that you have to select one option or the other. The key is to accurately analyze the case, and then provide a recommendation that is based on evidence you provide within the business case.

Assignment Template:

The assignment template contains various sections and can be leveraged for this assignment.

• Business Case
• The business case has eight sections that lead you through an analysis of the case study. Instructions are provided within each section, along with sample questions, which act as prompts. The key to doing a good business case is drawing logical conclusions from the information provided. Take the time to read the case study carefully, allowing for reasonable assumptions on your part to complete the business case template. If this is your first time completing something of this nature, make sure to allow yourself sufficient time.

Below are some key guidelines you will want to ensure you follow in writing the paper. Think of this short list as a quality control checklist, along with the attached grading rubric.

• Each section of template is fully completed
• Calculation supporting conclusions are performed accurately, making use of the financial background data provided
• A clear recommendation is made and supported as part of the business case
• Paper is free of grammatical errors

PJMCase Study

Case Study Background:

Ms. Deidre Jackson, the CEO of Acme Company, was recently given a report published by the Project
Management Institute called the Pulse of the Profession.1 In the report, she learned a startling statistic.
PMI® reported that when projects are poorly managed, approximately $122 million is wasted for every
$1 billion spent (12.2%). Now, her company’s annual expense for projects is much smaller
(approximately $3 million expected in the next 12 months), but if she could experience even a partial
amount of that savings, she could reinvest those savings in future growth.

In order to accomplish this, she believes that she needs to adopt a more formal or mature approach to
managing projects, and she needs to professionalize the project management teams and, specifically, the
project managers. She has a colleague, Xin Xue, from a previous company who was the internal project
management expert in the company who she believes might be able to help, so she gives her a call to get
her take.

Ms. Jackson just finished a long conference call with Ms. Xue, and she now has a better idea of what this
might take in terms of effort and resources to move forward. In short, in Ms. Xue’s opinion, there is a way
to experience the savings that Ms. Jackson hopes for, but it will take some time and investment, so she
thinks they should move forward with maturing their team and management approach, but, as noted, it
will take an investment, so Ms. Jackson needs to be certain that the savings will deliver sufficient
business value. In short, is there a solid, defensible business case for such a project?

Present Situation:

Ms. Jackson emailed you the Pulse of the Profession report over the weekend, and you are now sitting in
her office at 9:00 am on Monday morning. She wants you to develop a business case for implementing a
training program that will lead to maturing the organization’s project management practices. Based on her
work over the weekend to see where some monies may be available for the unexpected project and her
conversation with Ms. Xue, she provides you with the following information:

• The company expects to spend approximately $3,000,000 on project related work over the next
12 months (year 1) and $3,500,000 over the following 12 months (year 2).

• Based on her conversations with Ms. Xue, she believes the cost of training and implementing a
more mature model will be approximately $175,000 as an initial investment

• Conservatively, she believes that the company will experience a savings of 3 percent in the first
year and 4.5 percent in the second year

• Although the company will experience these savings for many more years in her opinion, she
wants to show that the company will receive a sufficient savings within the first 2 years to justify
this investment within the business case

• On most investments, the company would expect to see a return of 11½ – 12 percent (internal rate
of return), and the cost of money (discount rate) is 6 percent.

1 Including in assigned reading for Week 1.

Ms. Jackson has to prepare a business case to share with her Board of Directors at the next quarterly
board meeting. There are seven board members including the Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary, and
members of the Compliance Committee, The Chairman of the Board, Lou Jackson, is typically resistant
to investing money in these types of initiatives so it is important that the business case is well defined.

Ms. Jackson is considering having Jaitan Darshana, her internal PM who has a long tenure with the
organization, assist her with the preparation of the business case but she is concerned that Jaitan may be
resistant to the idea.

Business Case Assignment Instructions & Considerations

You have been tasked by Ms. Jackson with drafting a business case for this potential initiative, and she
has provided you with a template to use (see template attached to assignment instructions). She provides
you with the following comments related to each section of the template, but she tells you that you will
need to sharpen and expand on the ideas that she has provided. She expects your final draft to be ready to
take to the company’s Board of Directors for review and approval by week’s end.

• Background and Business Problem
o She believes this has been covered in the contents of your initial conversation, where she

provided you with background information (see above case study material)
• Strategic Case

o She states that this is strategically tied to the company’s goal of becoming more project
oriented, as they believe this will allow for more efficient and effective work, leading to
the company being able to grow in a more scalable manner.

• Project Overview
o In addition to what she has stated above, if the business case is approved, then she

believes the basic project would be an 8 – 10 week training program for all project
managers and team members that would train them in the adoption of a more mature
project management model, and it would include some mentorships by the trainer. She
believes this would cost a total of $175,000.

• Expected Benefits
o The expected benefits would be increased efficiencies and effectiveness, as noted above.

• Financial Considerations
o She has provided you with the investment amount to provide financial support for the

investment
• Risks

o She has asked you to look at primarily risks associated with the overall initiative, not
necessarily those focused on the training aspect of the project. The CEO is concerned
about potential disruptions to current projects that are already in flight.

• Timeline
o Based on her conversations with Ms. Xue, she believes the project execution could begin

within 60 – 90 days, depending on the path chosen for moving forward
• Recommendations and Next Steps

o She has asked you to consider all the relevant data you have collected and put into the
business case, and then provide a succinctly stated and well-supported recommendation
and concrete next steps if the proposal is accepted

General Case Considerations for Business Case:

o It is expected that you will need to make reasonable assumptions in completing the
business case, so rely on the case study as guide. This is similar to how projects are
conceived in the real world. We have a basic set of factors, and then we must make
reasonable assumptions as we progress forward.

Business Case[footnoteRef:1] [1: This document is based on an expanded business case template provided by www.projectmanagementdocs.com. ]

Project Name: _________________________________

1.0 Background & Business Problem

This section should briefly describe how the current situation has been arrived at and, and it should briefly describe the business problem that the proposed project will address. This section should not describe how the problem will be addressed, but only what the problem is.

2.0 Strategic Case

All projects should support the organization’s strategy and strategic plans in order to add value and maintain executive and organizational support. This section provides an overview of the organizational strategic plans that are related to the project. Essentially, where does this project fit in helping the organizational achieve its goals? This section should also list the business goals and objectives which are supported by the project and how the project will address them.

3.0 Project Overview

This section describes high-level information about the project to include a description (high level scope), assumptions, and constraints.

4.0 Expected Benefits

This section should describe the anticipated outcome if the proposed project or initiative is implemented. It should include how the project will benefit the business and describe what the end state of the project should be.

5.0 Financial Considerations

Many consider this one of the most important parts of a business case as it is often the costs or savings a project yields which win final approval to go forward. It is important to quantify the financial benefits of the project as much as possible in the business case. This is usually done in the form of a cost benefit analysis. The purpose of this is to illustrate the costs of the project and compare them with the benefits and savings to determine if the project is worth pursuing.

6.0 Risks

What the risks that you anticipate based on your analysis of the proposed solutions (i.e. project)? These are not the specific risks associated with your project’s performance, such as the project being delivered late, but are risks associated with whether or not the proposed solution will actually address the business problem you have identified above.

7.0 Timeline

What is the high level timeline from this point forward? For instance, if the next step is to charter a project, how long until the results of the project are realized and the business problem is resolved?

8.0 Recommendations and Next Steps

This section summarizes the recommendation(s) of the person(s) responsible for preparing the business case. How do you recommend that the organization proceed based on your analysis? As for next steps, should the project be chartered, or should a different outcome result from the analysis?

*Be sure to remove the instructions before you submit your completed statement.

Business Case
1

Project Name: _________________________________

1.0 Background

& Business Problem

This section should briefly describe how the current situation has been arrived at and, and it

should briefly describe the business
problem that the proposed project will address. This section should not describe how the problem will be addressed,
but
only
what the problem is.

2.0 Strategic Case

All projects should support the organization’s strategy and strategic plans in order to add value and maintain executive and
organizational support. This section provides an overview of the organizational strategic plans that are related to the proj
ect.
Essentially, where does this project fit in helping the organizational achieve its goals?

This section should also list the business
goals and objectives which are supported by the project and how the project will address them.

3.0 Project Overview

This section describes high
–
level information about the project to include a description

(high level scope), assumptions, and
constraints
.

4.0 Expected Benefits

This section should describe the anticipated outcome if the proposed project or
initiative is implemented. It should include how
the project will benefit the business and describe what the end state of the project should be.

5.0 Financial Considerations

Many consider this one of the most important parts of a business case as it

is often the costs or savings a project yields which
win final approval to go forward. It is important to quantify the financial benefits of the project as much as possible in t
he
business case. This is usually done in the form of a cost benefit analysi
s. The purpose of this is to illustrate the costs of the
project and compare them with the benefits and savings to determine if the project is worth pursuing.

6.0 Risks

What the risks that you anticipate based on your analysis of the proposed solutions (i.e. project)? These are not the specifi
c risks
associated with your project’s performance, such as the project being delivered late, but are risks associated with whether

or not
the proposed solution will actually address the business problem you have identified above.

1
This document is based on
an expanded business case template provided by
www.projectmanagementdocs.com
.

Business Case
1

Project Name: _________________________________

1.0 Background & Business Problem

This section should briefly describe how the current situation has been arrived at and, and it should briefly describe the business
problem that the proposed project will address. This section should not describe how the problem will be addressed, but only
what the problem is.

2.0 Strategic Case

All projects should support the organization’s strategy and strategic plans in order to add value and maintain executive and
organizational support. This section provides an overview of the organizational strategic plans that are related to the project.
Essentially, where does this project fit in helping the organizational achieve its goals? This section should also list the business
goals and objectives which are supported by the project and how the project will address them.

3.0 Project Overview

This section describes high-level information about the project to include a description (high level scope), assumptions, and
constraints.

4.0 Expected Benefits

This section should describe the anticipated outcome if the proposed project or initiative is implemented. It should include how
the project will benefit the business and describe what the end state of the project should be.

5.0 Financial Considerations

Many consider this one of the most important parts of a business case as it is often the costs or savings a project yields which
win final approval to go forward. It is important to quantify the financial benefits of the project as much as possible in the
business case. This is usually done in the form of a cost benefit analysis. The purpose of this is to illustrate the costs of the
project and compare them with the benefits and savings to determine if the project is worth pursuing.

6.0 Risks

What the risks that you anticipate based on your analysis of the proposed solutions (i.e. project)? These are not the specific risks
associated with your project’s performance, such as the project being delivered late, but are risks associated with whether or not
the proposed solution will actually address the business problem you have identified above.

1
This document is based on an expanded business case template provided by www.projectmanagementdocs.com.

Week2 Assignment: Business Case, Project Charter, and Stakeholder Analysis

Grading Rubric

Failing Below

Average

Average Above Average Superior

0 – 60 (F

range)

70 – 79 (C

range)

80 – 89 (B

range)

90 – 93 (A-

range)

94 – 100 (A range)

Topical

Content &

Focus (60%)

Templates

submitted

are

either

incomplete or

do not address

the required

material in

each

respective

section. Only

a few

stakeholders

and/or

stakeholder

groups

mentioned or

referred to in

case study are

accurately

identified.

Templates
submitted are

mostly

complete, but

possibly lack

a few key

details or

information

required for a

couple of

sections. Most

stakeholders
and/or
stakeholder
groups
mentioned or
referred to in
case study are
accurately
identified.
Templates

submitted

are complete

and each

section,

including an

accurately

performed

financial

analysis, is

covered in a

thorough

and

well

considered

manner,

paying

particular

attention to

the

instructional

prompts and

questions in

each section.

Additionally,

all

stakeholders
and/or
stakeholder
groups
mentioned or
referred to in
Templates
submitted are

not only

completed in an

excellent

manner but also

show a deeper

analysis and

understanding of

the nuances of

the case through

the use of

evidence and

support from the

case study

Templates submitted

are completed in an

excellent and thorough

manner, show a deep

analysis of the case

study through support

from the case study,

and evidence strong

business acumen and

judgment evidenced

through the analysis

and recommendations

being contextually

relevant and linked to

the details of the case

study in a clear

manner.

case study
are
accurately

identified.

Personal

Competencies

(15%)

 Critical

thinking

 Professiona

l

Writing

 Problem

Solving

 Quantitativ

e Analysis

Submission

reflects little

to no

applicable

personal

competencies

Submission

reflects a

minimal

applicable
personal
competencies
Submission

reflects both

applicable
personal

competencie

s in an

acceptable

manner

Submission

strongly reflects

applicable
personal

competencies

integrated

throughout the

assignment

Submission reflects an

excellent use of

applicable personal

competencies

integrated throughout

the paper in a way that

synthesizes the

personal competencies

Grammar

(10%)

Writing

contains

numerous

errors in

spelling,

grammar,

sentence

structure, etc.

that

interfere

with

comprehensio

n. The reader

is un

able to

understand

some of the

intended

meaning.

Frequent

errors in
spelling,
grammar,
sentence

structure,

and/or other

writing

conventions

that distract

the reader.

Minimal

errors in
spelling,
grammar,
sentence

structure

and/or other
writing
conventions

but the

reader is

able to
understand

what the

writer

meant.

All work

grammatically

correct with rare

misspellings.

All work

grammatically correct

with rare misspellings.

Clarity (10%)

Sentence

construction,

word choice,

lack of

Sentence

construction

and word

choice

Minor

sentence
construction
and word

Expresses ideas

and opinions

clearly and

concisely in a

Expresses ideas and

opinions clearly and

concisely in a manner

transitions,

and/or

sequencing of

ideas makes

reading/unders

tanding

difficult. Style

and/or format

are

inappropriate

for the

assignment.

interferes with

clarity.

Transitions

between

paragraphs

may be

choppy and

difficult to

follow.

choice issues

sometime

interfere

with clarity.

Transitions
between
paragraphs

are generally

easy to

follow.

Appropriate

conventions

of style and

format are

used

consistently.

manner

appropriate to

the assignment.

appropriate to the

assignment.

Formatting

(5%)

NOTE: Gross

failure to

provide

PROPER

citations and

references –

particularly

with regard to

direct quotes –

will result in

sanctions as

outlined in the

academic

honesty policy.

Multiple

errors in

formatting and

document is

not formatted

in a manner

consistent

with the

template

provided.

A few errors

in formatting

and

presentation

of material is

mostly
consistent
with the
template

provided. Or

assignment

instructions

are left in

submission.

Rare errors

in formatting
and

formatting is

consistent

through the

submission

and in

alignment

with the

template.

Virtually no

errors in

formatting.

Virtually no errors in

formatting.