Our business case training is different. 

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Value People provides practitioner-led training and by carefully matching our trainers’ experience and subject matter expertise to your needs, we can specifically tailor courses for our clients. This enables our trainers to draw on their extensive practical experience to enhance your learning.

 

We do not do ‘death by Power Point!’

 

We strive to make our courses interesting and involving for delegates and believe in a varied approach that mixes traditional teaching materials (online and presentations/written material) and group exercises with lively discussion based on trainers’ experience.  We offer bespoke business case training - taking specific examples and tailoring content to meet your needs, or accredited business case training.

 

APMG BETTER BUSINESS CASES ACCREDITATION

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Value People is an APMG accredited ATO offering APMG accredited Better Business Case™ training at Foundation (2 day course) and Practitioner level (additional 2 days).

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A typical 2 day business case training course is structured as follows:

 

Day 1:

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• An overview of the Five Case Model (why is it needed? How is it used? How is it developed?)

• Business cases in context (policies, programmes, projects) with specific reference to the client’s programmes and projects

• Unpacking the Five Case Model:

  • Strategic Case – including developing the ‘case for change’ (business needs – the gap between the expected outcomes and the status quo); identifying benefits, risks, constraints and dependencies

  •  Economic Case – including long-listing and short-listing using the ‘options framework’; economic modelling techniques and principles of cost benefit analysis and the different approaches to apply to economic and financial modelling; and the treatment of benefits, risks and sensitivities in these analyses

  • Commercial Case – including the commercial strategy to procure the required services and process of procurement (and how this interacts with/updates the Economic Case when selecting a preferred supplier) and the ‘balance sheet treatment’ of any assets created

 

These elements are supported using real life examples to demonstrate how these cases are developed in practice and supplemented with group exercises and inter-active discussions throughout the day to provide variety and interest.

 

Day 2:

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• Detailed unpacking of the remaining cases:

  • Financial Case – demonstrating affordability and funding availability, cash flow and accountancy treatment.  We use this as an opportunity to reinforce the difference between the economic and financial cases, which is often confused

  • Management Case – demonstrating deliverability – in particular, the approach to delivering the investment proposal (business case through PBC-SOC-OBC-FBC iterations) and the scrutiny/approval process and the project plan for delivery of the required infrastructure and organisational change.  We also discuss in detail benefits realisation and risk management in this section.

• ‘Fit with best practice’ and discussion of the (often) complex arrangements for assurance, scrutiny and approval – particularly the importance of presentation of the business case to different audiences and striking the right balance of detail/brevity according to the occasion and audience

• Practical group exercises to test understanding and re-inforce learning

• A discussion of ‘what good looks like’

 

If APMG accreditation is required, for the Foundation level, it can be administered in situ or taken online at delegates’ convenience.

 

Practitioner level courses require an additional training day if required immediately following a Foundation course, which includes a more detailed focus on key elements of the business case or development process, such as the scrutiny and approvals process, strategic justification, economic analysis and commercial strategy, as required, with practical exercises in defining ‘spending objectives’ and applying the ‘options framework’ and an open revision session and opportunity to review the core syllabus and/or delve into any specific topic areas in further detail.

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We are happy to consider reviewing relevant sample business case(s) in advance of the course and use this as a teaching aid and to support group discussions to further tailor the approach to delegates’ needs.

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Our open courses can be booked here:

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Better Business Cases™ is a trade mark of Her Majesty's Treasury. All rights reserved.

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