02 / Decide · Investment frame
Business Case Assessment
An independent business case review before you commit: options, benefits, risk and readiness, tested by people with no stake in the answer.
The problem
The case has momentum before it has scrutiny
By the time a business case reaches approval it has momentum. Months of work sit behind it, the sponsor is committed, and the milestone is in the plan. Everyone close to it wants it to proceed.
That makes business case quality hard to judge from inside. Approval readiness gets measured by whether the document is complete, not whether the investment is sound. Options were narrowed early, benefits were set to clear the threshold, and the risks that could sink the case sit in an appendix.
None of this means the people involved did poor work. It means the process that produced the case cannot also be the test of it. An independent business case review is that test.
Who it's for
Sponsors and approvers
This assessment is for sponsors and approvers ahead of a major commitment: a final investment decision, a stage gate, or a board approval on a capital project.
It is most valuable when the investment is large relative to what the organisation normally approves, when the case has changed substantially since the last gate, or when the decision is contested.
What we do
What we test
We assess a single investment decision in focus.
Sponsor clarity
whether the problem, the intent and the ownership of the outcome are clear.
Options analysis
whether genuine alternatives were tested, or one answer was dressed as three.
Benefits realism
whether the value in the case survives contact with the evidence behind it.
Risk and readiness
whether the major risks are understood and priced, and whether the organisation is ready to deliver what it is about to approve.
What you get
An independent view, before you commit
An independent view on whether the investment is genuinely ready to proceed, and what to resolve before it does.
Findings you can take to the committee, in plain language, with the reasoning shown.
Related work
Resources / ESG
Helping leaders weigh value beyond the financials
A repeatable framework to weigh financial, environmental and community value in major investment decisions.
Resources
Making major-project performance predictable
A consistent investment framework that gave leaders confidence the business case would be delivered.
Facing this problem?
A short, confidential conversation is the fastest way to find out if we can help.