Business Case
ERM Community Wiki
Simply, a business case is used to justify a project or purchase. Most organizations do not purchase solutions or conduct projects merely because they have spare time, energy, and resources. Instead, the project is designed to provide one or more specific benefits to the organization. Developing a business case is a straightforward process, though often involves difficult decisions and tradeoffs. A Business-Case-Framework is helpful as you begin to formulate your case for electronic records management. In general, you will begin by describing where you are, why you need to change (what are your points of pain), and where you want (need?) to be.
Why You Need Records Management
While most people see the words “records management” and think, “great, just another cost center” that’s no longer accurate. As the courts have ruled that electronic documents are as relevant to eDiscovery as paper documents, records management is a key part of a strategy of containing the costs of eDiscovery. Plus, if information is increasingly the lifeblood of businesses, then that information needs to be managed in a strategic way that allows for the relevant information to be kept for as long as it’s needed and then disposed of when it’s no longer needed. By eliminating paper, records management also has hard dollar savings by decreasing the cost of physical storage and saving time by retrieving records with one click of a mouse rather than thumbing through paper files in a filing cabinet. Printing and filing born digital documents is a waste of money.
The Business-Drivers-for-Electronic-Records-Management can be boiled down to 4:
- Compliance
- Effectiveness
- Efficiency
- Continuity
Too often, organizations are delusional about how effectively they are managing their records. Think you’re doing a good job of managing records? Look over this
10-Item checklist and see for yourself.
The Case for a Business CaseResearch has shown that successful programs of business change have strong support from senior managers in the organization. The ERM program needs to be sponsored by a member of the board or senior executive team. To give their support, senior managers need to be convinced that the ERM program will provide value for money to the organization - and to their areas of the organization. The business case is used to set out a compelling case for change and will help convince senior managers to support the ERM program.
The business case is used to communicate important information, in a consistent way, to people in the organization, as well as to those working on the ERM program. If all stakeholders and team members have the same understanding of what the ERM program seeks to achieve, they will work more effectively together.
Important decisions need to be made during the program as new information becomes available. The decisions will often require approval from individuals or groups such as the chief executive, the finance director, or an investment committee. The business case is updated with new information. The business case can then be used to provide clear recommendations for making decisions to the individuals or groups responsible for them.
Finally, the business case acts as a baseline against which the actual costs and benefits of the program are assessed so as to measure the degree of success achieved. The business case contains information on the expected costs involved in implementing the ERM program, as well as a summary of the expected business benefits. After implementation, actual costs spent and actual benefits achieved can be compared with the expected costs and benefits in the business case. If the results are the same as or better than expected, then the ERM program can be judged a success.
