We have all been there, and have had to create a business case. But, there are so many different types of business cases out there. These range in size and depth, from the Consultant’s five-inch thick business case to the scribblings on the back of a napkin. There are different types of business cases required, depending on the oganziation’s size, stage in market, and attitude to risk. This session will examine the various components of a business case, and the participants will be asked to share their best practices and war stories. Come prepared to listen, and to share your experiences.

1. LET’S TALK BUSINESS CASES
STEVE CASTRUCCI
JULY 25TH
T ED ROGERS SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT,
RYERSON UNIVERSITY
ProductCamp
2015
www.productcamptoronto.wordpress.com

2. Keep those ideas coming

3. Business Case – A Process
Problem DefinitionCorporate Strategy
Product Vision
Target Market, Positioning,
Value Proposition, Uniqueness
Product Definition
Features, User Experience, Roadmap
Build Estimates
Sales Forecasts
Pricing, Go-to-Market Approach,
Competition
Architecture, Phases,
Resources
Marketing Plans
Collateral, Lead Generation,
Web Site, Campaigns,
Launch Plans, Sales Tools
Business Plan
Profit Projections, Staffing, ROI,
Cash Flow
Goals, Objectives, SWOT

4. Pragmatic Marketing
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5. 280 Group
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6. Under 10 Consulting
RefineDesign & deliverDefine
Product
Promotion
Sales
Operations
Business
Market
Business
Market
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7. Business Case – A Process
Problem DefinitionCorporate Strategy
Product Vision
Target Market, Positioning,
Value Proposition, Uniqueness
Product Definition
Features, User Experience, Roadmap
Build Estimates
Sales Forecasts
Pricing, Go-to-Market Approach,
Competition
Architecture, Phases,
Resources
Marketing Plans
Collateral, Lead Generation,
Web Site, Campaigns,
Launch Plans, Sales Tools
Business Plan
Profit Projections, Staffing, ROI,
Cash Flow
Goals, Objectives, SWOT
Go to Conclusion

8.  What are the best sources of learning about the market?
 Do market analysts help in this situation?
 What are the best ways to survey your customers?
 How do you determine if users or organizations will pay
for this solution?
Problem Definition - Discussion
Return to Business Case

9.  How do you stay on track as part of the Corporate
Strategy?
 How much depth should a vision go into?
 Difference between vision and positioning?
 Sample – 5 slides, more than one diagram/image
 Problem
 Current state
 Vision
 Value Proposition
 Roadmap
Product Vision - Discussion
Return to Business Case

10. Sample Product Management Positioning
 For <Target Audience>
 Who want to do <Task>
 <Product Name> is <Product Category>
 That <Major Features>
 And provides <Value Proposition and Benefits>
 Unlike other products, it <Distinctive Competence>
Product Vision - Discussion
Return to Business Case

11.  How detailed do you go with the product definition?
 How do you describe the features?
 At this stage, what technology do you describe?
 Do you develop roadmap or phases at this stage?
 What is the relationship of the full product to the
business case product?
Product Definition - Discussion
Return to Business Case

12.  How much detail do you go into?
 How important is it that you have buy-in from technology
teams?
 How do you handle estimates if a vendor is involved?
 What type of contingency do you add?
 If Agile, do you have Story Points at this stage?
Build Estimates - Discussion
Return to Business Case

13.  Very tightly tied to Sales Go-To-Market strategy
 How much detail do you go into for future campaigns?
 Define the digital and web site journey
 Be sure to consider all the lead generation ideas, and a
budget and estimate for each
 Support documentation is required – have budget for
those materials
Marketing Plans - Discussion
Return to Business Case

14.  What is the Go-To-Market strategy?
 Do you know the Sales Journey for the customer?
 How important is Sales buy-in?
 How do you get Sales buy in?
 What are some strategies for a first customer?
 Are you considering a channel strategy as well?
Sales Forecasts - Discussion
Return to Business Case

15.  How important is it to get complete buy-in?
 Are there different levels of detail for the business plan?
 If so, what are they?
 How does the business plan get incorporated into
corporate budgets?
 Which financial indicator is used most often?
 What are the situations when a business plan get rubber
stamped?
Business Plan - Discussion
Return to Business Case

16. Business Case – A Process
Problem DefinitionCorporate Strategy
Product Vision
Target Market, Positioning,
Value Proposition, Uniqueness
Product Definition
Features, User Experience, Roadmap
Build Estimates
Sales Forecasts
Pricing, Go-to-Market Approach,
Competition
Architecture, Phases,
Resources
Marketing Plans
Collateral, Lead Generation,
Web Site, Campaigns,
Launch Plans, Sales Tools
Business Plan
Profit Projections, Staffing, ROI,
Cash Flow
Goals, Objectives, SWOT

17.  There are many different flavours of business plan
 What is your organization's appetite for risk?
 It is key to follow up after six months to see if your
assumptions are valid
 Learning tool
 Time to make course corrections if they have not been done
 How often and what is the best time to change the
business plan?
Conclusions

18. Questions

19. LET’S TALK BUSINESS CASES
STEVE CASTRUCCI
CASTRUCC@PATHCOM.COM
JULY 25TH
T E D R O G E R S S C H O O L O F M A N A G E M E N T ,
R Y E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y
ProductCamp
2015
www.productcamptoronto.wordpress.com