A business case is a structured proposal for business change that is justified in terms of costs and benefits. It is a typical prerequisite for the initiation of a large project and is explicitly required by many Project Management Methodologies.

The Business Case addresses, at a high level, the business need that the project seeks to resolve. It includes the reasons for the project, the expected business benefits, the options considered (with reasons for rejecting or carrying forward each option), the expected costs of the project, a gap analysis and the expected risks.

In almost all cases the option of doing nothing should be included with the costs and risks of inactivity along with the differences (costs, risks, outcomes etc) between doing nothing and the proposed project.

It is from this that the justification for the project is derived.

The case will be reviewed at the initiation of the project (before the go/no-go decision is made) and periodically during the running of the project (e.g. at stage or sub-project boundaries) to ensure that:

   1. The business case is still valid, i.e. the business need still exists.
   2. The project is still on track to deliver the solution to the business need.

As a result of this review the project may be terminated or future parts amended. The business case may also be subject to amendment if the review concludes that the business need has abated or changed, this will have a knock on effect on the project.