It’s a myth that writing a business case requires only a rational understanding of the business decision in question.  Understanding the financial drivers and quantifying them is only half the battle.

To write a proper business case, we must also understand and evaluate the political and emotional factors at play.  This is because a business case is used for both political and emotional purposes. Let’s delve a bit deeper in these two areas.

Political
Politics can kill almost any business decision.  To fully understand the political landscape, first, you must gain insight into what’s driving the most pressing executive decisions.  This will heavily impact the direction of the business case.  For each identified opportunity, you should create a risk profile on the potential financial results if the opportunity is not acted upon.  Furthermore, within the business case, we must demonstrate the an integrated approach across the organization must be taken.

Emotional
Similar to the political nuances, because a business case will likely impact many different stakeholders and their jobs, it is an emotional topic.  The business case analyst should gain credibility and develop rapport with key decision makers and executives.  Within the business case, you should set milestones that will create career wins for those involved if the identified opportunities are acted upon.  The business case should be written, such that it envelops a vision of what the company could become.

If these political and emotional factors are being accounted for, the business case development process will be much smoother.  Access to people and data will come more easily if those providing these resources know their political agenda and emotional sensitivities are being acknowledged in the business case.  Furthermore, eventual buy-in to the finalized business case will also be obtained more easily.  On the other hand, without the political and emotional factors at bay, even the strongest rational business case won’t ever make it past the analyst’s desk.  Instead, it will die a death by a thousand pin pricks.