Learn how to create a business case and secure funding to invest in project management software.
You will need to present a business case to convince executives that you are looking to buy your team’s first PM software or upgrade your current system.
Many business leaders believe PM technology is crucial to their business’ success. However, budgets are tight. Executives must make strategic decisions about which projects to fund and which ones they should put on the backburner.
We’ll show you how to build a business case in six steps. This will make it difficult for even the most frugal decision maker to pull off.
We have also created a template for business cases (free download). to help you prepare your presentation.
The 6-step guide to building a business case in favor of project management software
These steps are based on Gartner’s 360-Degree Business Case Development Method (full report available for Gartner clients).
These guidelines will help to communicate the benefits of investment more effectively. This will improve your chances of securing funding and securing executive sponsorship.
1. Describe the challenge
You must immediately highlight how PM software can help you solve the problems you are facing and/or achieve the goals you have in mind. It’s important to connect the problems you face to the interests of the executives to whom you are presenting. It shouldn’t be difficult to connect your team/department goals with strategic business objectives (e.g., growth or savings targets).
If your audience is primarily concerned about saving money, then you should focus on how the problem(s), which you are facing, cost the organization money due operational inefficiencies, project delays, and so forth.
You should also address the reasons why you need to act now to fix these issues and instill a sense urgency in decision-makers.
If your audience is primarily concerned about savings, then tell them how many inefficiencies the organization has experienced up to now and how much inaction they will incur if the investment is not funded.
KEY TAKEAWAY: When you present your business case to executives align it with their interests (i.e. the business objectives that are linked to their individual success). This will help them see the investment in PM software not only as a tool to help them achieve their goals but also as a tool to help their business achieve its larger objectives. Offer a solution
Now that you have their attention, present your executives with a plan on how you will use PM software to solve the problem you are facing. Highlight how PM software addresses your specific pain points and not just how it supports you current processes.
This is where the trick lies. This is why you should invest in PM software, rather than leveraging another tool or existing business software.
Your plan should also consider the technology, people, and processes that will be impacted by the investment.
KEY TAKEAWAY: When you present your solution, describe how you will use PM software to address your problems (e.g. features you need, preferred deployment methods) and why investing in PM software is crucial to solving the issues you are facing (e.g. what does PM software offer that another tool doesn’t). Estimate the costs of investing in PM software
Next, you will need to reduce the cost of PM software.
*You may not yet have price quotes from vendors, but you can get an idea of what your peers budget annually and how much they plan to spend per user licence from our resear.
