Planning frameworkBusiness

Lean Business Case

A concise, structured argument for investing in a particular initiative or course of action — covering the problem, proposed solution, expected benefits, costs, risks, and recommended next steps on a single page or short document.

About Lean Business Case

A lean business case is a short, structured argument for investing in an initiative. It sets out the problem, the proposed solution, the expected benefits, the costs, the risks and the recommended next steps, usually on a single page or in a brief document.

Its purpose is to give decision-makers what they need to say yes, no or not yet without wading through a lengthy report. Keeping it short forces the author to be clear about what matters and makes it easier to compare competing proposals.

At a glance

Category: Business

How it is structured

A lean business case is built from a small number of fixed sections: the problem or opportunity, the proposed solution, the benefits and how they will be measured, the costs and resources required, the main risks and how they will be handled, and the recommendation with next steps.

Each section is written to answer a question the reader will have. The problem explains why act at all; the solution and benefits explain what changes; the costs and risks explain what it takes; and the recommendation makes the request explicit.

Use cases

Securing budget
Present a proposal to a finance committee or sponsor in a format that is quick to read and easy to challenge.
Prioritising initiatives
Write the same short case for several ideas so leaders can compare them like for like.
Gating a project
Use the case as a checkpoint to confirm an initiative is still worth pursuing before the next phase starts.

How to use it

Define the problemDescribe the issue or opportunity, who is affected and what it currently costs or prevents.
Outline the solutionSay what you propose to do and, briefly, why this option over the alternatives.
Quantify benefits and costsEstimate the value gained and the money, time and people required, stating the assumptions behind the numbers.
Identify risksList the main threats to success with a mitigation or contingency for each.
Make a clear recommendationState the decision you want and the immediate next steps if it is approved.

Tips and common mistakes

Write for a reader who has five minutes. Lead with the recommendation and the headline numbers.
Be explicit about assumptions. A number without its basis invites distrust.
Include the option of doing nothing so the cost of inaction is visible.

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