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Why it's important to have a project strategy and business case

Today’s competitive business market calls for good strategy and a persuasive business case to get the ball rolling. Here's how.

John Sherman

2017-09-17

Have you ever heard the phrase – by failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail? Well, this isn’t just true when it comes to life. It’s also crucial when it comes to business. You could have the best idea in the world, but if you don’t have a game plan, it’s not going to work out.

After all, a football team doesn’t go into a big game without tactics and an offensive strategy – so why would you attempt to promote your business idea without a plan?

Having a project strategy makes you think out and plan the steps you need to transform your business vision and idea into a reality. Of course, in the business world, you need backing and investment, which is where having a detailed business case comes into play.

A business case is the bread and butter of any successful business venture. Senior managers are always concerned with the stability of their organization and its future success – any new proposal that creates change needs to be examined carefully.

The people at the top always need convincing and you’ve got to show your idea’s potential. Your business case is going to be the powerful selling tool that will put you in the driving seat and show your project is exactly what they need.

Today’s competitive business market calls for good strategy and a persuasive business case to get the ball rolling.

That’s why it’s important to offer employees the chance to learn how they can implement their bright ideas into successful business ventures through project strategy and a business case.

The course

This Project Strategy and Business Case course is all about how you can get your idea off the ground and running and make it stand out from the crowd.

The interactive e-learning materials explain how important strategy is and advises how you can plan and implement a business case to secure resources, backing and investment.

The course is delivered through easy to understand video sections:

Project strategy

This section demonstrates the importance of having a game plan, comparing business to a game of chess and poker. It’s all about having a plan that lets the player win the game.

This also applies to managing projects – you need a strategy to plan your actions and deal with any situations that arise in the course of business.

The course highlights how problems and implications can arise at any time, but a strategy will prepare you for handling anything and still let you achieve your goals.

Business case

This next topic discusses how your business case will be the key document that senior management looks at to figure out the success of a project.

Your business case is how you persuade everybody about the benefits of your project and how it justifies using precious resources and investment.

This section points out that some organizations have their own template and format for businesses cases and you should check this out before you start yours.

The content details the six important sections of all business cases:

An Executive Summary – this is the quick and snappy abstract of the project, which covers all the main objectives.
The Objectives – this sets out the reasons for the project and what problems it’s setting out to solve.
Possible Options – this is where you lay out all the options for addressing the problems, with benefits, costs and risks, as well as using data to support your answers.
Your Recommendation – here you give your audience the best option you’ve chosen for solving the problem.
Implementation Plan – this is where you’ll share an outline of your project and the resources it needs, with cost and risk analysis, as well as a realistic timescale.
Conclusion – this section will be the last chance to persuade everybody your project is the best.

Project Strategy and Business Case – Summary

This section helps employees digest the information they’ve learned in the course videos, overviewing the importance of using project strategy as a way to communicate your business plan.

Project Strategy and Business Case – Actionable Advice

The material ends with a way to use the knowledge learned in this e-learning course. It advices to start with your own small project to test your skills and build up towards getting ready for larger projects.

What’s included

This interactive e-learning course boasts animated and colorful videos to portray its message, as well as an engaging voice-over to inspire employees and keep their interest with the content. The slides are also easy to read for understanding information effectively.

Why project strategy and having a business case is important

They say a goal without a plan is just a wish. That’s why you’ve to have a well-planned strategy for your business project, in order for it to work and be successful.

Having a strategy’s important for moving in the right direction and handling any unexpected problems that come your way. After creating your path, you can use your business case to communicate your ideas people further up the chain.

A thorough business case will give your project the best possible start and allow key stakeholders to see your plans clearly. It’s your one chance to sell your project and prove why it should be backed and why it deserves investment.

If you’re employees know the importance of using project strategy and creating a detailed business case, your organization will enjoy an endless supply of new and credible business ventures that might just be the next big thing.