DEVELOPING THE BUSINESS CASE-PART ONE

Clients of successful construction projects have a clear vision and delivery strategy from the outset. Clients need to identify the business requirements that a proposed project will fulfill and determine how the project sits within their overall business strategy. A clear vision for a project, which states the objectives and outcomes, is critical in justifying it in terms of investment and building the business case.

The objectives and outcomes should be tested as the project progresses to check that it is still on track and that assumptions made in the business case remain valid. The gateway reviews, which some clients use to check the status of their projects at different stages of their maturity, provide the opportunity to verify and validate that a project still meets the requirements of the business case. The reviews should be used to ensure that the strategic intent and objectives are still being followed and are still valid. A method known as "system engineering" can assist greatly with this approach and is becoming more widely used by clients.

Clients should ensure that the budget provided in the business case is realistic and delivers best value. They should use whole-life costing, which involves considering planning, development, implementation, operation and decommissioning cost from the outset.

Sustainability and health and safety aspects should also be considered for a project as a whole. Value engineering is a tool which should be considered throughout a project to ensure that the most economically advantageous methods and materials are used and that the appropriate quality is being maintained.