(Writing Effective Business Cases for Business Development, Project Portfolio Environments and Individual Initiatives)

• A Systems Approach to Creating and Managing Business Cases Encompassing Business Development, Project, Program, Portfolio Management and PMOs

This course presents the AIPMO 9C’s, an innovative, 21st-century principle-based lifecycle-based approach to business case structures, content, and the case building process.  AIPMO has designed the framework with experts to cover and integrate projects, programs and portfolios using a systems approach to business case writing, that supports Agile, waterfall, and hybrid methodologies. See figure 1. The 9C’s principle-based framework when implemented, will be benchmarkable against AIPMO’s principle-based maturity model which is in based on current research and in development.

Attendees will use the business cases exercises on the course. However, time is set aside for people to bring their own cases and work on these, with the potential for coaching input from the facilitator and support from other course participants.

• Business development managers, marketing and product managers who support their clients in making business decisions
• PMO/IT Directors/Directors, Portfolio managers, and senior management
• Finance Controllers, PMO Core team members
• Senior project/program management professionals
• Senior consultants (involved in projects and/or organizational change)
• Engineers and subject matter experts involved in writing business cases
• Business and university school faculty
• Those responsible for compliance with government regulations or for working with regulatory agencies

• Explain the importance of a framework approach to creating robust business cases
• Articulate the importance of systems thinking in developing business cases
• Assess how to define business case principles and the importance of principles within the business case framework. Analyze how principle-driven case building facilitates agile development and agile management
• Analyze how business cases are created in a project/program portfolio environment including agile, traditional and hybrid environments
• Recognize and mitigate the risks of business case manipulation, cognitive bias, cognitive dissonance
• Compare your business cases and the surrounding environment with AIPMO’s Business Case Maturity Model and synthesize value by aligning good practices
• Assess how to create a business case service from a PMO perspective and how to determine the capabilities to run this service for projects and programs

Classroom training: 5 days

The training approach includes:

• Lecture
• Team exercises
• Group discussions
• Detailed five-day case study
• Presentations and role play
• Personal coaching
• Examination – Part I –   one hour with 30 multiple choice questions, Part II, 45 minutes with three scenarios and three multiple choice questions for each scenario

• Ideally some experience in PMO, project, program, portfolio management
• Basic knowledge of Excel® (data entry and formulas) and a basic understanding of finance
• Ideally some exposure to business cases

• Tests are given at the end of each part of the course, moderated by the instructor
• Part I – open book exam 30 multiple choice questions – duration 45 minutes
• Part II – open book exam – three scenarios, each with three multiple choice questions – duration 45 minutes

• The exam will be marked in class. If there are any borderline attendees – the instructor will review their case study exercise work to determine if they understand how to meet exercise and case-building requirements. If the instructor judges that borderline attendees understand sufficiently, then they will receive their certification(s).

  Note: The use of an IBM® compatible laptop is required throughout the course with Microsoft® Office® Windows® version, ideally the latest versions. A number of Excel® files will be provided with worked solutions and examples of tools. NB: Office® for Mac® software may not support every function in the course that is demonstrated in Excel® for Windows®.