Kursbeschreibung

Defining the Business Needs and Solution Scope applies an approach to using business analysis skills in the change initiative, or even before. Prior to launching an initiative to affect any sort of organisational change it is essential to be clear about the desired business outcomes, determine a solution scope, identify and assess all the viable options, scrutinise each of the options and then make sure all that is involved in the change initiative, including required costs, resources and risks, is fully understood.  

The business case establishes the framework for a successful change by revealing all of the potential pitfalls and tells executives the whole story before the investment is made.  A good business case is honest, unbiased, objective and well-socialised; key stakeholders contribute and review before it is formally presented.  

The skills of business analysis can help many professionals identify the right types of solutions to solve their business challenges and build the business cases to justify those recommendations. Defining the Business Needs and Solution Scope is an intermediate to advanced course designed to provide the knowledge needed to begin working on identifying business needs and analysing the benefits of various solution options to help limit the choices before work gets underway or even before the solution work is chartered. In particular, this course “precedes” the typical project lifecycle as it sets up the benefits, value and possibilities that the change may bring, which then become the focus of the initiation phase of a project to implement those changes and execute the strategy.  

This course can help anyone who needs to understand how effective projects and programmes align with organisational strategy and confer benefits that solve business problems or who makes decisions or informs those who make decisions on which projects and programmes to invest in.  

In diesem Kurs lernen Sie

• Explain how the concepts of business needs and value drive change initiatives
• Describe the importance of business cases to solution recommendation
• Use current state analysis to identify business needs, goals, and objectives
• Relate the discipline of benefits management to solution recommendation
• Utilise stakeholder and capability analysis to plan future states
• Conduct feasibility assessments on solution alternatives
• Develop and present business cases for or against potential solutions

Kursinhalte

• Benefits Management

  What is benefits management

  What is a benefit

  Roles in benefits management

  Identify potential benefits and dis-benefits

  Quantify the benefits

  Portfolio level benefits

  Identify stakeholders in benefits managements

  Benefits mapping

  Benefits realisation plan

  Planned and emergent benefits

   
• Define the Current State

  Define the current situation

  Facts

  Issues and concerns

  Ask the right questions

  Analyse the current state

  Define the business need in terms of prioritised problems and opportunities

  The Business Case: Communicating the Current State and Business Need

   
• Define the Solution Scope

  Future state vision

  Identify and describe stakeholder needs

  Required capabilities

  Conditions and constraints about the solution

  Link capabilities to goals

  Refine the solution scope in terms of who, what, where, when, why and how

• Driving Toward Business Value

  Business value and business need

  Value proposition

  Types of business needs

  Value stream, value chain

  Who, what, where, when, why and how

   
• Establish Business Goals and Objectives

  Begin with the end in mind

  Strategic vision and alignment

  Prioritised business goals

  Participants in business goal development

  Types of goals

  SMART business objectives

  The balanced scorecard

  Goal hierarchy

  Goal prioritisation

  Approval of the business objectives

   
• Financial Analysis

  Cost-benefit and Financial Analysis

  Patterns of planned business value

  Estimate benefits

  Estimate costs

  Costs to acquire the solution

  Costs to live with the solution

  Financial analysis and indicators

   
• Identify and Assess Alternatives

  Identify alternative solutions

  Determine the viable and non-viable alternatives

  Analyse the feasibility of the viable alternatives

  Organisational feasibility

  Technical feasibility

  Economic feasibility

  Real options analysis

  Identify alternative solution approaches

  Describe the change strategy

  Refine the future state

   
• Putting the Business Case in Context

  Approvals

  Benefits Management

  Making a No Decision

  After approval

  Revisiting the business case during development

   

• Risk Analysis

  Risks to business value

  Identify risks

  Business risks

  Technology risks

  Project risks

  Risk theory

  Risk management

  Risk tolerance

  Risk impact scale

  Risk log

  Allowance for risk contingency

   
• The Business Case

  Purpose of a business case

  Content and structure of a business case

  Participant roles in the business case

  Characteristics of a good business case