building a business case for content management systems
DESCRIPTION
Building a Business Case for Content Management Systems. Presented by Brian Moran. Key Points. No difference between CMS and any other large-scale business decision Do your research and be prepared for tough questions Sell it without selling it – let them come to the conclusion - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Building a Business Casefor
Content Management Systems
Presented byBrian Moran
Key Points
• No difference between CMS and any other large-scale business decision
• Do your research and be prepared for tough questions
• Sell it without selling it – let them come to the conclusion
• Sell it again, but this time be direct
What is a Business Case (BC)?
A structured proposal for business improvement that functions as a decision package for organizational decision-makers. A business case includes an analysis of business process performance and associated needs or problems, proposed alternative solutions, assumptions, constraints, and a risk-adjusted cost-benefit analysis.
[GAO]
BC Broken Down
1. A structured proposal for organizational decision-makers
2. It includes an analysis of business process and associated needs
3. Proposes alternative solutions4. Includes a risk-adjusted cost-
benefit analysis, with identified assumptions and constraints
BC Broken Down
1. A structured proposal for organizational decision-makers
2. It includes an analysis of business process and associated needs
3. Proposes alternative solutions4. Includes a risk-adjusted cost-
benefit analysis, with identified assumptions and constraints
Proposal for decision-makers
• Factors to consider:– What drives decisions in your
organization?– Who are the key players in
decision making and how do you cultivate their buy-in?
– What was the last project, of similar scale, that made it through this gauntlet? Is the individual who crafted the proposal around?
Proposal for decision-makers• My approach:
– Found a well networked staff member and used them as a conduit to the stakeholders
– Performed a stakeholder analysis– Kept program area executives
involved in the analysis– Kept program area executives and
their staff apprised of all developments along the way
BC Broken Down
1. A structured proposal for organizational decision-makers
2. It includes an analysis of business process and associated needs
3. Proposes alternative solutions4. Includes a risk-adjusted cost-
benefit analysis, with identified assumptions and constraints
Analysis of business process and associated needs
• Factors to consider:– How is content currently managed?
Are your procedures codified?– Are the key decisions makers
knowledgeable of the current process?
– Do they see the same problems you see with the current process?
– Are they convinced the problems are so severe that it warrants a multi-year million dollar initiative ?
Analysis of business process and associated needs• My approach:
– Performed business process analysis
– Codified manual processes– Exposed flaws in processes to
stakeholders– Uncovered a deep desire for
decentralized management of content coupled with a strong desire for improved quality assurance
BC Broken Down
1. A structured proposal for organizational decision-makers
2. It includes an analysis of business process and associated needs
3. Proposes alternative solutions
4. Includes a risk-adjusted cost-benefit analysis, with identified assumptions and constraints
Propose alternative solutions• Factors to consider:
– What scale?• Large scale – workflows, versioning,
integration with portal• Medium scale – rudimentary workflows,
versioning• Small scale – decentralized content
editing
– What’s the feasibility of obtaining the required budget?
– What happens if you do nothing?
Propose alternative solutions• My approach:
– Used rough cut requirements in an RFI
– Reviewed products and determined scale
– Enumerated scalar differences– Included do nothing as an
alternative – with risks associated with this alternative
BC Broken Down
1. A structured proposal for organizational decision-makers
2. It includes an analysis of business process and associated needs
3. Proposes alternative solutions
4. Includes a risk-adjusted cost-benefit analysis, with identified assumptions and constraints
Cost-benefit analysis
• Factors to consider:– Benefits
• Are there increased returns from other investments?
• Can this be leveraged for other things in the pipeline?
• Are you plagued with process related errors?
• Do you have any COOP requirements?– Costs
• Size of site• Training• Number of users • Implementation costs• Content Migration
Cost-benefit analysis
• My approach:– Benefits
• Reaffirmed what they concluded during the stakeholder analysis. The project was a means to:– improve process inefficiencies,– reduce Web production costs,– reduce human error,– accelerate content delivery times, and– decentralize content control.
– Costs• Provided ROI % [ (Discounted Benefits – discounted costs) / discounted costs] x 100
Cost-benefit analysisWhat is average salary (per hour) of staff that handles the posting of documents ? $$
How many times (average) does each pose documents per day? #
How long (average) does it take to retrieve the paper document? #
How many times (average) does each person prepare/send communications on this topic per day? ##
YOUR TOTAL MANUAL PROCESSING COSTS TODAY (PER YEAR) $$
YOUR ANNUAL POTENTIAL RETURN (SAVINGS) $$
RETURN ON INVESTMENT - MONTHS UNTIL SAVINGS EXCEED INVESTMENT $$
FIVE YEAR RETURN ON INVESTMENTS $$
Cost Analysis Assumptions
Time to retrieve documents #
Time to post documents #
Typical CMS Implementation Costs - Small Scale System $$
Typical CMS Implementation Costs - Medium Scale System $$
Typical CMS Implementation Costs - Large Enterprise System - $$
Typical Reduction in XXX Costs of XXX $$
Typical Reduction in XXX Costs of XXX $$
Typical Reduction in Time Spent on Web postings #
