The Business Case Executive Summary

The executive summary is the single most important part of the business case document.

he executive summary is the single most important part of the business case document.

It is the part of the document that most people will read first, if not the only part, and it's the only part that's likely to be read by all decision makers.

The executive summary should focus on:

• why the project is necessary and why it is the best solution
• the most important reasons for recommending the project
• the most important benefits of the project to the organization
• the costs of the project and major disadvantages, if any
• how the project relates to the corporate strategy

The executive summary reports on organizational issues and outcomes of the business case rather than the reasoning behind it.

There is no need to include assumptions and constraints (unless they are key), background (except for perhaps one sentence), analysis, or technical descriptions.

The executive summary should have a concise length and summary format to enable the reader to quickly understand the project plans.

When writing the executive summary, keep these guidelines in mind:

• write the executive summary so that it is accessible to anyone from the janitor to the chairman of the board
• organize the information in the executive summary into bulleted or numbered points for ease of reading
• keep the executive summary short – 1 to 2 pages for the first 25 pages of the business case document and an additional page for each 50 pages thereafter
• develop the executive summary after the rest of the document has been completed

QUESTION

Mark works in the Sales Department of a company that sells digital products and services.

He is writing a business case to look for funding to install a new voice messaging system in the company.

Identify the information that Mark should include in the executive summary.

1. Newark Message Network will reduce overall costs and increase customer satisfaction and revenue opportunities.
2. Sales analysis reveals that 50 calls drop off the sales line every day. This amounts to lost revenue from sales of $1.5 million per annum.
3. Newark Message Network will develop corporate strategy by improving the image of the organization.
4. A total of 40% of 800 polled customers stated that they were satisfied with the after-sale service at the company.
5. All payoff area calculations reflect 75% of full-year benefits for Year 1 of this analysis, rather than 100%.

The first option is a benefit to the organization and should be included in the summary.

Option 2: This option is incorrect. The summary should not contain background information and analysis.

The second option shows how the project relates to corporate strategy and should be included in the summary.

The summary should not contain analysis.

The fourth option information contains analysis, which should be dealt with in the main body of the business case rather than in the executive summary.

I have been teaching and training agents, team leaders, supervisors, managers and admins of call centers and other businesses in BPO related fields. This series, comes as a result of that experience. I have more than 4,000 modules that I plan on sharing here. This is # 006-17

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