Project Management Videos

Elements of Power-packed Business Case

In order to make a power packed business exploit, you dependence to ensure that your shape ferociousness contains the behind components.

Realistic Cost of Change:

Organizations rely approaching people who can pinpoint a difficulty and fall in together furthermore a solid, whether its an matter subsequent to a report, a flashing process, a system that's not delivering as received, or any option place that needs to be unlimited or greater than before. But they don't always sensitive to commit the period and resources to make the alter.

It can be bothersome considering you've outdoor an matter and know there's a improved mannerism, but doling out wont realization take effect. That's why a matter skirmish is thus vital. Its the do tool for not without help articulating the difficulty and the swell, but in addition to for convincing admin that the compensation vis--vis the investment can be met within an sufficient time frame.

Particularly subsequent to the value and ROI of a project aren't hastily obvious, a handily written matter court argument provides the documentation government needs to environment confident roughly giving their find the maintenance for working acclaim to to concern lecture to.

Building Your Business Case:

Don't think you have to make an enormously puzzling, deeply perplexing document to make your scuffle. After all, a matter skirmish is a communication tool. Our situation analysis training will produce a upshot you exactly how to adroitness a issue warfare in the clearest, simplest terms.

With that in mind, here are the five sections that should be included in all matter exploit:

1.Business Need: Introduce your ideas by defining the value that your utter will upfront to the giving out and how it aligns behind the business goals and objectives. This necessary fragment answers the ask, Why is a regulate vital?


2.Solution Scope: Next, go into detail the capabilities that will be implemented, the methods that will be used to covenant behind them and the areas of the running that will be affected. A in the since ease-articulated scope gives the decision maker context for the true and a enlarged pact of whats mammal proposed and what press in front business capabilities it will speak to.


3.Stakeholder Concerns: What will vary stakeholders dependence to know and how will the final put-on them? This section shows that you regarding thinking logically about the colossal portray, not just lonesome details. It may tote going on risks or issues that must be accounted for as quickly as the impact upon existing roles and capabilities.


4.Estimated Time and Cost: Before presenting any idea, you compulsion to have curtains the homework injured to be able to have enough child support reasonably priced estimates of epoch and expense. Your cost estimates should taking behind again into account capital expenditures and costs of developing and implementing the alter as following ease as the opportunity costs of not investing in adjunct options.


5.Overall ROI: When you can conveniently enlarge on a powerful compensation upon the investment, including revenue and/or efficiency as adroitly as non-financial foster, its much easier for admin to make known yes to implementing your idea. In conjunction in the circulate of the new components of a compelling business suit, it might just make it hard for them to make known no.

Do you want to be PMI-PBA?

Business Analysis of projects and programs is very essential for organizations as it helps organizations to implement their desired changes and achieve strategic objectives. Business Analysts  work effectively with various stakeholders to get their business requirements defined, the project objectives are well defined and eventually drive the successful business outcomes that contribute to the strategic goals of the organization.

This has made the Business Analysis a topic of increasing importance in project management. Worldwide the organizations have started to acknowledge the importance of and need for project management professionals increasingly adopting BA techniques that help in uncovering business needs, managing requirements well and eventually creating all very important effective solutions to business problems.

Project Management Institute (PMI) has identify this need for certification in business analysis and hence launched the certification PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA). PMI-PBA is a globally recognized business analysis certification.

The eligibility criterion of PMI-PBA falls under two types:
1. Experience - With a bachelor's degree or a global equivalent, you need to have an experience of 3 years in business analysis. This further needs having 4500 hours of experience in 3 years duration doing activities associated with the business analysis.
2. Professional Development Units (PDUs) - You need 35 PDUs.

The PMI-PBA certification exam is of 4 hours duration and has 200 questions.

So get ready to embark on this professional certification.

Six D Framework - A powerful development and assessment tool for Business Case Report Writing

Six D Framework is considered to be one of the most powerful and most effective tool for the development and assessment of new business models; developing and executing strategic initiatives. It also helps in development of new projects for growth and performance improvement.

Due to the lack of definition on how to write the content and structure the business case report, the comparisons between different proposals become difficult. Also there are no rules how the documentation is to be done and preserved, the knowledge and experience gained during the business case writing is mostly lost.


6D Framework is designed to overcome the above mentioned problems.


This framework process has following steps:

1. Identify the action situation and objectives
2. Identify alternatives
3. Analyze the data and develop models and metrics for each alternative
4. Review metrics and select the best option
5. Develop implementation and operational plans
6. Develop performance checklist to measure value delivered

6D Framework helps in delivering an effective and winning business case report which usually has following information:

• Introduction
• Scenario Analysis
• Business Results
• Scenario Selection
• Implementation
• Recommendation

Does Business Case Writing involve project management concepts?

Yes. It does!

In fact Business Case writing is a mini-project in it's own right as it involves almost all the facets of project execution and  management aspects.

Proposal building, Business Case writing and eventual Project Execution are inter-related to each other. At times Proposals received from different sources (internal/external both) act as input to the business case writing. One of the best proposals makes an entry into the Business Case's recommended option. Further this proposed solution approach/option is then taken for execution.

While the business case is presented in a well structured written document, but it may also sometimes come in the form of a short presentation or even a verbal argument. However, Critical projects' selection is always done through an effective business case writing process.

Business Case is not just a guiding tool for the senior management to decide on a particular project with a recommended solution approach but also it provides for the framework for the selected project's execution. For this very reason, business case writing is very important. Business case writing goes through the proper project management process. Like formal project management, business case takes into consideration effective stakeholder engagement/management, estimation, costing, risk assessment, resources' assessment etc. Effective business case writing relies on Organizational, financial, managerial, technical, human resource, contractual and procurement skills.

A successful business case is expected to meet the organization's strategic, economic, business, financial and feasibility criteria.Like project execution, business case writing also makes use of quality gates as it is also authorized by the appropriate body at each phase of its development. The project is then executed against the success parameters as agreed in and made part of the business case. Business case is referred throughout the project life cycle and not just during the initial project selection phase. During the project execution, senior management always compare the project's current status against the agreed criteria in business case. In case the project is found to be deviating from the agreed terms specified in Business Case, the project may be scrapped or terminated. In short the business case acts as the baseline document for the project execution and hence has to be carefully articulated and written.

Lines of Code or Function Points Analysis - Which one offers best Software Estimation?

There are many software estimation methods available in the industry such as Lines of Code (LOC), Function Point Analysis (FPA), WBS method, Use Case Analysis based, Story points , Judgmental etc. But LOC  and FPA based software estimations are the most widely used methods. But then which one is better and effective - LOC or FPA. 

Unanimous answer would be off-course Function Point Analysis (FPA). Like majority of the people my money would also be on FPA.

Most importantly FPA is promoted and encouraged by INTERNATIONAL FUNCTION POINT USERS GROUP (IFPUG). This non-profit organization has over 1200 member companies in more than 30 countries from across industry verticals. This organization is committed to develop consistent and accurate counting guidelines.

This has made FPA universally accepted standard for software estimation. Here LOC has no such support and hence it is not universally accepted standard method. 

LOC is dependent programming languages, tools, methodologies and also the implementing organizations. Here FPA scores immensely as it is independent of programming languages, tools, methodologies and even the performing organizations. and hence FPA acts as a uniform  and widely accepted standard for software estimation.

It becomes very difficult to estimate the number of lines of code needed to develop a system from information that is available in analysis and design phase. This creates dependency of LOC on coding to get estimate. Now coding is part of the implementation phase which is a later stage in software development life cycle. Hence LOC can not provide estimates in early phases of the SDLC. FPA has upperhand in this department as well. Using FPA you can develop estimate in very phases of SDLC i.e. requirement analysis and design phase.

So in nutshell, following are few of the reasons due to which FPA scores over LOC:

• FPA measures software development and maintenance independently of technology used for implementation
• FPA offers for a consistent measure among various projects and organizations
• Using FPA method, you can start developing the software estimate right from requirements gathering and analysis phase
• FPA offers the effective measurement which acts a tool for effective communication among different stakeholders including customers about the size of the customer request, and the development progress in terms of how many function points completed etc. 
• Using FPA companies can benchmark their productivity which can then be used to convert the FP estimates into the schedule and cost budgets

Does that mean FPA is perfect and do not have any constraints or limitations. Not really. In spite of so many benefits, it can only be used to measure business application and not the scientific applications. Scientific applications deal with complex algorithms which the Function points method is not designed to handle.

So the verdict is out - if it is business application and you have to make choice out of the two (LOC and FPA) then FPA is the obvious choice.

Cementing Entry into Project Management Field - Earn Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® from PMI

PMI's Project Management Professional (PMP) certification has been one of the favorite project management certifications across globe and hence most sought after certification by the Project management professionals and also the employers employing them. Customers are also favoring projects to the companies who have PMP certified project managers.

Since PMP certification is meant for the experienced and practicing Project Management professionals, the entry level or aspiring project managers always used to look out for some or the other project management certification. Before getting PMP certification in the  year 2008, I had couple of Project Management certifications from Brainbench.com. 

Whether you are new to project management, or already serving as a subject matter expert on project teams, the CAPM can get your career on the right path or take it to the next level. Entry level as well as project managers with less than 36 months of project management experience can earn this credential.

CAPM can help professionals new to the project management profession with the right footing. It also helps experienced project management professionals to cement their positions.

Below are the CAPM Certification Requirements:

To apply for the CAPM, you need to have:

• A secondary degree (or the high school diploma or the global equivalent)

                                                                  AND

• At least 1,500 hours of project experience (more hours in case of high school diploma)

                                                                  OR

• 23 hours of project management education by the time you appear for the exam.

So friends get certified on Project Management via PMI CAPM.

Do get in touch with me in case you need any help in this regard. You may contact me on reachmsandeep@gmail.com or by posting your comments/reply for this post.

All the Best.