Business Case Club Blog #4: The importance of a well-defined Project Brief
- gbp group
- Oct 7, 2024
- 4 min read
Our experience in developing Business Cases has meant we’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly! We’ve encountered multiple projects where insufficient time was spent on getting the right level of detail, buy-in and approval at Project Brief stage. This has led to significant delays, sometimes lasting months or even years, and has cost thousands of pounds.
Before committing time and resources to a deliver a Business Case, it’s essential to test the necessity and priority of your project. Ideally, it should be mission critical. Producing a comprehensive Project Brief is key to securing executive support and approval, which in turn ensures that you can acquire the necessary resources and senior backing to navigate the inevitable challenges ahead.
A well-crafted Project Brief provides clarity and establishes a common understanding of the “what, why, who, when and where” of your project. This clarity helps mitigate risks, reduce confusion, and ultimately save time and money. Moreover, it fosters excitement, buy-in, and momentum among stakeholders.
The quality of your Project Brief directly impacts the success of your project! So, before moving forward, ensure that you have:
Defined the Project Brief, clearly specifying spending objectives to meet the need?
Robustly examined and tested the project (e.g. high level economic / financial analysis)?
Genuinely received the right level of buy-in, support and approval to move to the next stage of the project.
A Project Brief is created by the Project Director or Manager and approved by the Executive. It is a one-off document that may fall by the wayside as the project progresses, as it gets replaced by a PID (Project Initiation Document) and any subsequent business cases (SOC,OBC,FBC) as the project (hopefully!) progresses. This brief should be a user-friendly document (short and concise, similar to “a pitch”) that outlines the critical components of your project.
The Critical Components of a Project Brief:
1. WHAT? (the outcome):
What are /is the project's:
Objectives, scope, critical success factors?
Outcomes, benefits, impact?
Approach and key processes (e.g. admin, co-ordination, technology, document management)
Risks, issues, constraints and dependencies? How can each be controlled, managed and mitigated?
What are the gaps, grey areas and red flags?
How will you monitor and report project performance e.g. against objectives, benefits, etc?
2. WHY? (the need)
What is the problem (articulated and clearly defined, setting out symptoms, causes and needs)?
Be clear on what is required to deliver the project’s aim.
Get everyone on the same page.
3. WHO? (the people)
Who needs to be involved?
Who are the key stakeholders and leaders?
Who are the customers and what are their needs?
Who will manage and deliver the project?
What resource / capability is needed?
Set out processes for effective communication, coordination and collaboration and who will deliver them.
Set out roles and responsibilities and who will fulfil them (if known).
To avoid misunderstanding and disappointment, start managing your sponsor's expectations.
The key to effective stakeholder management is communication:
- Establish regular and timely updates using multiple channels.
- Start to apply soft skills to navigate networks and key people like listening, negotiation, persuasion and influence.
4. WHEN & WHERE? (the time and place)
Gain agreement for key deliverables, milestones and timescales.
Assess the timing of the Business Case stages.
Conduct a high-level financial analysis which will set expectations and help focus and define the brief.
What is the solution? Why is it needed, how can it be solved, what resources are needed and how much will it cost?
✏️ Top Tip: Take your time at Project Brief stage to save time and money at Business Case stage. We recommend that you REALLY test the necessity, priority and key decision makers support for your project before you jump into the business case stage and spend thousands of pounds.
⭐Success Story: Delivering a new Medical Centre for the people of Stourport
As part of our work supporting the Wyre Forest Health Partnership (WFHP) in Stourport on the development of a new Healthy Living Centre, a significant amount of engagement across a wide range of stakeholders, patients, local population, politicians (and many more!) has taken place.
The vision has evolved, and the scheme has developed over time, but the single thread of providing health facilities to the local population, continues to drive the project forward.
✏️ Top Tip: Ensure that the Business Case – as a project in its own right – is properly funded, monitored and measured.
Need help now?
Arrange a conversation with our expert Business Case Team. Contact Ian Sabini, Managing Consultant on: ian@gbpconsult.co.uk
Coming up next in our series of Business Case Club Blogs:
Curious to find out more or have a pressing question?
Tell us what topics you'd like explored in more detail in an upcoming webinar by filling out this brief form.
Comments