Posted: September 17th, 2017

Preparing a Business Case

Preparing a Business Case

This assignment is worth 10% of your total grade.
• Word limit: Maximum 2000 words
• Submission: Submit via Learnline as a single MS Word Document. No
Attachments will be accepted.
Background
Through a gracious alumni donation, Charles Darwin University has been
gifted $50,000 to be used specifically for a student’s entrepreneurial
endeavour. It has been left up to the CDU representative to oversee the
business case submissions and ascertain whether they are indeed viable
and worthy of funding.
In order to receive the funding the project must meet the following criteria*:
• It must benefit the community – either the community as a whole or a
select segment of the population.
• It must be in Australia, Darwin if possible.
• It must be a unique endeavor (i.e. no franchises)
• It must be completed within one (1) year.
• It must have a budget between $25,000 and $50,000
• It must generate income (though not necessarily break even in the first
year.)
• It must relate to your area of study (degree program)
• All statements must have legitimate references.
• The lecturer from Charles Darwin University is your project sponsor.
Introduction to Project Management
Business Case Proposal
1. Assessment Coversheet (as provided on Learnline)
2. Title page
a. Project title
b. Name and student number
c. Tutorial group
3. Table of Contents
4. Executive summary
5. Overview
a. Business objectives of this proposal
• Identify the problem to be solved or need to be filled.
• How does it benefit the community?
• What are the expected outputs?
b. Performance measurement (quantifiable)
6. Current situation and market opportunities
a. Market analysis
§? Describe the current market and/or trends.
§? Is there a market for this project?
b. SWOT analysis
c. Output analysis
§? Summarise the market in relation to the SWOT analysis.
§? Describe the specific target market and where this project
stands in relation to that market?
7. Project requirements
a. List and describe the requirements needed to carry out this project.
b. List and describe the possible assumptions for this project.
c. List and describe the constraints for this project.
8. Budget estimate and financial analysis
a. How much does it cost? (Main costs and overall budget)
b. Detail the return on investment and payback period.
9. Risk assessment
a. Discuss the risks involved in implementing this proposal and how they will
be managed.
10. Schedule Estimates
a. How long will it take to complete the project?
b. List and describe the major milestones.
11. Conclusion
12. References
PLEASE PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE REQUIREMENTS AND MARKING CRITERIA
Requirements (10 points)
• Project Requirements:

What are the requirements to carry out this project?
• Assumptions:

Have you assumed anything to be true for the project?
• Constraints:

Are they are restrictions to the project?
• Project requirements are not accurately identified; most assumptions and constraints are irrelevant

• Most project requirements are accurately identified; most assumptions and constraints are relevant and presented in a proper manner; missing 3 or 4 details

• Most project requirements are accurately identified; most assumptions and constraints are relevant and presented in an coherent manner; missing 1 or 2 details

• Project requirements are accurately identified; all assumptions and constraints are relevant and presented in a coherent manner

• Project requirements are accurately identified; all assumptions and constraints are relevant and presented in an excellent and concise manner

0 – 4.5     5- 5.5     6 – 7     7.5 – 8     8.5 – 10
Financial Analysis (15 points)
• Budget Estimate:

How much does this project cost?
• ROI and Payback Period:

What is the Return on Investment and payback period of this project?
• Budget estimate is unrealistic and inaccurate and missing out evidences to back up the cost
• Calculations are not done correctly

• A somewhat accurate and realistic estimate is done but missing out 3 to 4 evidences to back up the cost
• Calculations are mostly correct and acceptable

• A fairly accurate and realistic estimate of the project is given; missing out 1 or 2 evidences to back up the cost
• Calculations are done correctly and realistic

• An accurate and realistic estimate is given with evidence to back up the cost
• Calculations are done correctly and realistic

• A very accurate and realistic estimate of the project is given with evidence to back up the cost
• Calculations are done correctly and realistic

0 – 7     7.5 – 8     9 – 11     11.5 – 12.5     13 – 15
Risk Assessment (10 points)
• Risk Identification:

What are some of the risks associated with the project?
• Risk Management:

How do you manage the risks?
• Risks are not correctly identified and written in a non-coherent manner
• Risk management is not practical

• Almost all risks are correctly identified and discussed in a clear manner, missing out a few details
• Risk management is somewhat practical but contains a few errors

• Almost all risks are correctly identified and discussed in a well written manner, missing out a few details
• Proper risk management is in place with fairly accurate and realistic measures

• All risks are correctly identified and discussed in a detailed manner.
• Proper risk management is in place with accurate and realistic measures.

• All risks are correctly identified and discussed in a concise manner.
• Proper risk management is in place with accurate and realistic measures.

0 – 4.5     5- 5.5     6 – 7     7.5 – 8     8.5 – 10
Timescales (10 points)
• Duration:

How long is the project?
• Gantt Chart:

Are the milestones clearly shown on the Gantt Chart?
• Missing 3 or more important milestones
• Gantt chart is not done properly and missing out the necessary information

• Missing 2 important milestones
• Gantt chart has the necessary information but missing out a few details

• Missing 1 important milestone
• Gantt chart has most of the necessary information presented in a clear manner

• Includes most crucial milestones and segments are well written
• Gantt chart has all the necessary information presented in a very good manner

• All necessary milestones are correctly identified and included.
• Gantt chart has all the necessary information presented in an excellent manner

0 – 4.5     5- 5.5     6 – 7     7.5 – 8     8.5 – 10