Strategic commercial interventions: business case development principles

4. Governance & Sign-off Arrangements

1. Understand your governance – do you even need a business case?

• Will the SG official / AO / Scottish Ministers be making the decision? If the money doesn't come from SG nor there is a budget implication for SG, you may not be the right person to write this business case.
• Documents, tools, techniques that may help
  • Governance structure chart specific to your project

2. Gather the right people around the table – who has the data and expertise you need?

• Policy area, Sponsorship team, business/asset, SGLD, OCEA, Finance Business Partners, Subsidy Control, Project Board, SRO, SARG, external advisors and even more people and groups may all need to support the work or be involved. Do you and they understand the task / objective? Do you know how to engage with them? Do they have capacity to give input timely? Do they, at the very short glance, see any gaps, issues or barriers that will need addressed?
• Documents, tools, techniques that may help
  • RACI matrix specific to your stakeholders
  • Workshop / initiation meeting

3. Write and confirm Strategic Outline Case – is there an appetite to be looking into this?

• Do the SG official/ AO / Scottish Ministers agree that now is the right time to be considering options to solve this problem? Writing a business case at pace is a time-demanding and resource-intensive effort, so ensuring that writing it right now will bring value is crucial.
• Documents, tools, techniques that may help
  • A submission outlining the problem, suggesting writing a Business Case to assess the available options against the Critical Success Factors is likely to contain information required by a SOC

4. Write Outline Business Case – how do the options compare?

• Do you clearly evidence what the options are, how they meet the CSFs and what their pros and cons are? Do you openly state any limitations or gaps in the evidence base?
• Is everyone included clear on the ask, the timescales and their role and responsibility in writing the OBC? In addition to the experts' input, writing the OBC will require compiling and editing of a lengthy and complex document.
• Does your Strategic Case make the case for change and show strategic fit?
• Does your Economic Case appraise the social, environmental and economic costs, benefits and risks for the short-listed options and identifies the preferred option?
• Does your Commercial Case show that the preferred way forward is commercially deliverable and CMO-compliant?
• Does your Financial Case show that the preferred option is affordable?
• Does your Management Case demonstrate that the preferred option is possible to implement/deliver? ·
• Documents, tools, techniques that may help
  • Clear timeline
  • Check-in meetings
  • KANBAN / sprints
  • Commissioning Workshop

5. Decide on Preferred option – are the right people making the decision in the right way and based on the right information?

• Do the decision makers / AO / Ministers approve of the OBC and preferred option as a way forward? The OBC does not need to be perfect, some of their comments may be addressed at a Full Business Case stage as you continue working on the business case.
• Documents, tools, techniques that may help
  • Robust record of clearance, discussions and decision-making

6. Write a Full Business Case – are you ready to press 'GO' and deliver / implement?

• Do you have a complete, robust, well-articulated evidence that clearly show why this decision is the best possible one and a full plan to ensure its implementation / delivery success?
• Documents, tools, techniques that may help
  • Second pair of eyes from someone who was not very close to the project for proofreading and quality assurance

7. Secure approval – pressing GO!

• Do the SG official / AO / Ministers approve of the FBC and want to begin delivery / implementation?
• Documents, tools, techniques that may help
  • Robust record of clearance, discussions and decision-making
  • PPM tools for implementation, delivery and monitoring

8. Implement – do the doing!

• Documents, tools, techniques that may help
  • PPM tools, particularly delivery plan, benefits management and lessons learned exercises