Aligning projects with strategic goals is essential, and PRINCE2’s four-step business case technique—Develop, Check, Maintain, Confirm—offers project leaders a clear roadmap to justify and guide decisions across the project lifecycle.
This structured approach ensures initiatives remain viable, valuable, and strategically sound from start to finish.
#ProjectManagement #PRINCE2 #BusinessCase #Leadership #PMO
Learn the PRINCE2 7 business case technique with a clear four-step guide—develop, check, maintain, confirm—to keep projects aligned with business goals.
PRINCE2’s Four-Step Technique for Business Case Management:
A Practical Guide for Project Leaders
In project management, ensuring that initiatives remain aligned with business objectives is crucial.
PRINCE2 offers a structured approach to business case management through its four-step technique: Develop, Check, Maintain, and Confirm. This method provides a clear framework for justifying and guiding projects throughout their lifecycle.
Understanding the PRINCE2 Business Case
The business case in PRINCE2 serves as the foundation for decision-making, ensuring that projects are desirable, viable, and achievable. It is not a static document but evolves as the project progresses, reflecting changes in scope, risks, and benefits.
Step 1: Develop – Crafting the Initial Justification
The development phase begins with the project mandate, which outlines the initial idea and its alignment with organizational goals.
This mandate leads to the creation of the outline business case, forming part of the project brief. During the initiation stage, this outline is expanded into a detailed business case, incorporating cost estimates, timelines, and risk assessments.
Key considerations during development include evaluating options such as:
- Do nothing differently: Maintaining the current state.
- Do the minimum: Implementing minimal changes to achieve objectives.
- Do more than the minimum: Pursuing comprehensive changes for maximum benefit.
Analyzing these options helps stakeholders determine the most beneficial course of action.
Step 2: Check – Ensuring Ongoing Viability
Regularly reviewing the business case is essential to confirm that the project remains worthwhile. The project board assesses the business case at key decision points, such as:
- End of the starting up a project process.
- End of the initiating a project process.
- End of each stage.
- When assessing exception plans.
Project managers also review the business case during progress assessments, risk evaluations, and stakeholder consultations. Techniques like sensitivity analysis can identify dependencies on specific benefits, informing risk management and planning.
Step 3: Maintain – Keeping the Business Case Current
Maintaining the business case involves updating it with actual progress, costs, and realized benefits at the end of each stage.
This practice ensures that the business case reflects the project’s current status and forecasts. Implementing version control allows for tracking changes and referencing previous iterations.
Step 4: Confirm – Verifying Benefit Realization
Confirmation focuses on assessing whether the intended benefits have been achieved. This step often occurs post-project, during benefits reviews conducted by the business.
The senior user, responsible for specifying benefits, plays a key role in confirming their realization. The benefits management approach outlines actions to ensure outcomes are achieved and benefits are realized, often extending beyond the project’s life.
Tailoring the Approach
While PRINCE2 provides a structured technique, organizations may tailor the approach to fit their specific needs. Any alternative procedures should be documented in the project initiation documentation, ensuring transparency and alignment with organizational practices.
The Benefits of PRINCE2 7 Business Case Technique
Implementing PRINCE2’s four-step business case management technique offers a disciplined approach to project justification and oversight.
By developing, checking, maintaining, and confirming the business case, project leaders can ensure that initiatives deliver value and align with strategic objectives. Engaging with these practices fosters informed decision-making and enhances project success.
For professionals seeking to strengthen their project management capabilities, understanding and applying PRINCE2’s business case management technique is a valuable step.
Check out Projex Academy’s low, low price for our PeopleCert Accredited Foundation and Practitioner PRINCE2 7th Edition Masterclasses
PRINCE2 Foundation Masterclass
PRINCE2® is a globally recognized project management framework. By completing both the Foundation and Practitioner courses through our self-paced e-learning, you will develop an understanding of the methodology and learn how to effectively adapt it to any project.
This PRINCE2 FOUNDATION course is a prerequisite for more advanced PRINCE2 certifications, such as PRINCE2 Practitioner. If you just want to sit your Foundation Exam then this is the perfect course for you – paced for home study, including study guides and sample exam questions with answers.
This PRINCE2 Foundation Course is also included in the PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner Masterclass.
Quality
This course offers the PRINCE2® 7 Foundation element of your certification only. This is a PeopleCert Accredited Course and guarantees to take you from PRINCE2 Novice to PRINCE2 Foundation Expert with our famous video learning, study guides and practice exams.
Speed
PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) Foundation is an entry-level certification in project management that covers the basic principles and terminology of the PRINCE2 methodology.
Cost
PRINCE2 is a structured project management approach that is widely used in the UK and internationally. The Foundation certification demonstrates a solid understanding of the PRINCE2 framework and its processes, principles, practices, and techniques.
PRINCE2® 7 Foundation and Practitioner
Learn PRINCE2® 7 Foundation and Practitioner Online
** Enhance your PRINCE2 career now **
PRINCE2® Masterclass gives you the skills necessary to manage projects effectively and achieve your objectives.
PRINCE2® is a globally recognized project management framework. By completing both the Foundation and Practitioner courses through our self-paced e-learning, you will develop an understanding of the methodology and learn how to effectively adapt it to any project. The PRINCE2® 7 Foundation and Practitioner Masterclass is PeopleCert Accredited and guarantees to take you from PRINCE2 Novice to PRINCE2 Practitioner with our famous video learning, study guides and practice exams.
What Does the Masterclass Cover?
The PRINCE2 Foundation examination assesses your knowledge and comprehension of the PRINCE2 project management methodology as detailed in the syllabus. The PRINCE2 Practitioner examination, on the other hand, gauges your ability to apply and tailor the PRINCE2 method. Candidates who pass the Practitioner exam should be able to start implementing the method on an actual project with some guidance. However, their effectiveness may differ based on their experience in project management, the complexity of the project, and the level of support they receive in their work environment.
