Business Case Writing: Build Proposals for Approval

Compare alternatives, assess costs and benefits, and present an investment recommendation with risks and assumptions.

Created byDr. Law Payne

Last updated 11/2026

English

What you'll learn

Define the business problem and the decision you need a sponsor to make.
Compare credible options, including the cost and benefits of each.
Explain key assumptions and test how uncertainty affects your recommendation.
Write a business case with a clear recommendation and next step.

Course content

2 sections • 10 lectures • 1h 50m total length

The Decision and the First Useful Result10:45
Identify the scheduling problem behind a request for new software. Define what counts as a schedule change, when the work starts and ends, and how you would measure it. Use the worksheet to estimate annual labor value at three, five, and eight hours per week.
Problem in Practice11:20
Decide which scheduling change Elmstead should fund. Use the worksheet to calculate weekly labor exposure and annual planning value for two documented problems. Estimate the staff time and potential recovery from a shared record, then include a service outcome in your recommendation.
Alternatives and the Evidence Behind It11:29
Compare Elmstead’s current route, a shared confirmation workflow, and a software trial on the same basis. Use the alternatives worksheet to hold outcomes and review points consistent, then compare first-year net workflow hours with software capacity value at two levels of weekly time saved.
Benefits Without Hidden Assumptions11:06
Trace each benefit claim to a change people make in the work. Use the worksheet to reconcile baseline, pilot, and net recurring minutes, then include setup in the first-year estimate. Test a lower-benefit scenario and explain when reduced overtime would create a cash saving.
The Foundation Case and Your First Deliverable10:59
Write a one-page proposal Elmstead can authorize. Lead with the action, its limit, the approving person, and the review date. Use the workshop worksheet to compare the current route, workflow replication, and a software trial, and explain which evidence is still needed for a larger commitment.

Costs Through a Worked Case10:47
Build a trial budget that separates cash outlay from staff capacity. Compare the 12-hour plan with the 14-hour plan that includes closeout, then recalculate when four hours require overtime. Use the worksheet to identify a protected task that could constrain staffing.
Uncertainty and Practical Constraints10:55
Find the threshold at which your recommendation changes. Calculate software’s labor break-even point and the savings needed to match the shared workflow. Use the worksheet to compare two, five, and eight saved hours per week, state excluded costs, and identify a constraint that could prevent the test.
Recommendation and Progress Checks10:56
Use Elmstead’s first review to test both benefits and hidden maintenance costs. Calculate gross and net capacity released per week and update the first-year estimate. Compare both coverage rates and explain what a one-event difference can support in a short sample.
A Second Case With a Different Constraint10:44
Compare Elmstead’s recurring capacity question with Brindle’s continuity decision. Use the comparative worksheet to estimate three-year costs under the current fallback, a fully effective spare, and a service option that prevents one or two disruptions. Identify the evidence each sponsor needs.
The Complete Application Workshop11:02
Draft two one-page funding requests with different approval limits. Calculate Elmstead’s two payback estimates and Brindle’s charge scenario, then identify the assumptions that could change each recommendation. State what each sponsor can authorize now and when the larger decision comes back.

Requirements

Bring an initiative you want to evaluate, or use the fictional case and exercises.

Description

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Picture the meeting where your proposal goes up for approval.

You’ve done the research. Then someone asks what happens if the team keeps the current process for another quarter. Someone else wants to know which numbers you’ve verified and which ones you’re still estimating. Can your proposal answer both questions without another week of work?

I designed this course to help you write a business case that can stand up to that conversation. You'll work through decisions about evidence, costs, operational capacity and implementation so the reader can see what they are approving and why.

What you’ll build

A clear problem statement and a baseline your reader can check.
A comparison of realistic alternatives, including the current approach.
A recommendation with visible cost and benefit assumptions, risks and trade-offs.
A practical pilot and review plan that tells the sponsor what evidence to expect next.

Who I designed this for

This course is for managers, analysts, consultants and project leads who need to secure an investment, a pilot, or staff time for a proposal. It's also for anyone who has been asked to make a promising idea concrete enough for another person to approve.

How you’ll practice

I’m Dr. Law Payne. I drew on my graduate training in business to design worksheets and worked examples that let you rehearse the decisions yourself. Use the materials as you go, then bring the same structure to a proposal you are already writing.

Enroll with one decision you need your sponsor to make. Build a case they can examine, discuss and act on.

Who this course is for:

Managers, analysts, and project leads who need to build a business case for decision-makers.

Business Case Writing: Build Proposals for Approval

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Foundations and First Decisions5 lectures • 56min

Applied Practice and Case Workshop5 lectures • 54min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: