INFOSYS 220 Chap.2 Business Cases and Feasibility
Business Cases and Feasibility
Make the reason to act testable
A business case gives decision makers a disciplined basis for authorising investigation or investment. It separates the business need from the proposed feature, identifies stakeholders, states high level requirements, describes expected value and records constraints or special issues.
Persuasion depends on evidence: the case should compare acting with not acting, identify alternatives, state resource implications and define how success will be recognised.
Tangible value can be measured directly, while intangible value still needs a credible indicator rather than an untestable adjective.
Use feasibility as a comparative screen
Technical feasibility asks whether the necessary technology and capability can support the proposal. Economic feasibility compares expected benefits and costs.
Organisational feasibility considers strategic fit, stakeholder support, skills and change effects. Feasibility does not prove certainty. It exposes assumptions, risks and differences between alternatives so an approval body can decide whether to proceed, revise, defer or stop.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Business need versus proposed solution
- 02
Stakeholders, requirements, value and constraints in a business case
- 03
Tangible and intangible value with measurable indicators
- 04
Technical, economic and organisational feasibility
- 05
Alternatives, assumptions and risks of action or inaction
- 06
Evidence led recommendations for approval decisions
Worked example · free
Turn a queue complaint into a decision case
- 2Rewrite the feature request as a business need.
- 2Operationalise one expected value.
- 3Ask technical, economic and organisational questions.
- 1State a provisional recommendation.
Key terms
- Business Case
- An evidence based argument explaining why a change deserves approval and resources.
- Business Need
- The problem or opportunity that creates the reason to consider change.
- Business Requirement
- A high level capability or goal that an approved solution should satisfy.
- Tangible Value
- A benefit that can be measured directly in money, time, volume or another observable unit.
- Intangible Value
- A benefit such as trust or experience that requires an indirect but credible indicator.
- Feasibility
- A comparative judgement about whether an option can succeed within relevant constraints.
Business Cases and Feasibility FAQ
Why not begin with the requested feature?
A feature is one possible response, while the need explains the outcome that matters. Beginning with the feature can hide cheaper or safer alternatives and make success impossible to judge independently. A sound case preserves the need, then compares options against evidence and constraints.
Does economic feasibility require only a return figure?
No. A financial indicator can support the case, but assumptions, timing, uncertainty, recurring costs and nonfinancial value also matter. Decision makers need to understand what creates the estimate, which benefits can be measured and how the option compares with doing nothing or choosing another response.
How can intangible value be assessed?
Choose an observable proxy linked to the value claim. Trust might be explored through complaint themes, repeat use or a carefully designed survey. The proxy should have a collection method, baseline and review period. Calling a benefit intangible does not excuse vague or circular measurement.
What makes a recommendation persuasive?
A persuasive recommendation states the need, decision criteria, evidence, material assumptions, risks and alternatives before explaining why one option fits. It also states how success will be measured. Confidence should match the evidence; unresolved feasibility questions should appear as conditions or next investigations.
Exam move
Practise business cases by banning solution words from your first draft. Take three feature requests and rewrite each as a problem or opportunity with an affected stakeholder and observable consequence. For one case, create five headings: stakeholders, need, high level requirements, value, and constraints. Under value, write one direct measure and one indirect indicator with a baseline and review time.
Then build a feasibility matrix with technical, economic and organisational columns. Place evidence, assumptions and unknowns in separate rows so an optimistic guess cannot masquerade as fact. Compare at least three alternatives, including doing nothing for a defined period. Write a recommendation that uses the same criteria for every option and includes a condition for the weakest evidence area.
Review the recommendation backwards: can every claimed benefit trace to the need, and can every major cost or risk trace to an option? For timed practice, explain in four sentences why a requested tool is not itself a business need. Then add the strongest counterargument for your recommendation. This trains balanced persuasion instead of promotional writing.
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