Assignment 4: Project Business Case

Assignment Introduction

Now that your project team has settled on an idea to work on, it’s time to formalize a plan. A good business plan will help you and the stakeholders involved in your organization (e.g., INF 151 and the course staff) determine whether or not the project is worth pursuing. Building a case for your project idea, not only serves to convince those around you, but also your team. So don’t skip the details. This is your opportunity to weigh all aspects of the project idea. Give equal consideration to the disadvantages as you do the advantages.

Assignment Details

To get started, create a new document in your group’s stage directory and name it TEAMNAME-assignment-4-businesscase. Ensure that your course instructors have edit permissions.

You should be targeting around 1,000-1,500 words (not including tables, figures, and other data) for your business case. You should adhere to some formal structure, but the details of your case will vary from project to project. At a minimum, complete the following sections to the best of your ability:

Note

If you are functioning as a startup, then you will frame your responses around the system you plan to build. If you are an agency or consultancy, then you will frame your responses around the organization you have formed (not the projects you are working on).

Introduction

You will most likely be able to adapt some of your project description here. Should also include a brief background (where did this idea come from, etc.)

Business Objective

What do you hope to accomplish by creating this product or service?

Problem or Opportunity Statement

What problem will this project solve?

What opportunity exists for this project to address?

Assumptions and Constraints

What assumptions are you making about the development of the project?

What constraints do you foresee influencing or otherwise affecting the work?

Options and Recommendations

What are the different ways your project could be carried out?

Which do you recommend?

Requirements

What are the high-level actions required to complete this project?

Budget

How much will the project cost?

What resources will you need?

Schedule

What are the preliminary goals and deadlines for the project?

Risk Assessment

What risks to project completion do you foresee?

Appendix

Include any materials necessary to support your case, including financial tables, figures, and images.

For additional details on the above components revisit Chapter 3 in your course textbook. In particular, review the sample business case covered in Table 3.2.

Submitting

Once you have completed your business case, move the document to the final directory in your team repository and submit a link to the doc to the Assignment 4 page on Canvas.

Ensure that all course staff have been added as members of your group directory and have edit permissions on your documents.

Grading

This assignment is worth 5 pts or 5 percent of your total grade. You must complete all requirements for this assignment accurately and on time to receive credit. A breakdown of how each section will be assessed can be found in the rubric associated with this assignment on Canvas.