Acquisition, Development and Implementation · Topic 1 of 4
Project Governance and the Business Case
Project roles and governance, scheduling and estimation, earned value, the business case, feasibility analysis and benefits realization for IS projects.
- 3 min
- The sponsor owns the business case; the steering committee oversees.
- Critical path = longest dependent chain; it sets the end date.
- Function point analysis estimates size; earned value tracks progress objectively.
What it is
Project governance gives a project clear ownership, decision rights and oversight so it delivers what the business needs. The business case justifies the investment: it states the problem, the options, the costs, the expected benefits and the risks. Feasibility analysis checks whether a proposed solution can work before money is committed.
How it works
Project roles
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Project sponsor | Senior business owner; provides funding, owns the business case and benefits |
| Steering committee | Oversees the project, approves major changes, resolves issues |
| Project manager | Plans and runs day-to-day work, reports status |
| Project team | Delivers the work |
| Quality assurance | Checks that standards and processes are followed |
| User management | Defines requirements and accepts the result |
Planning and control techniques
| Technique | Use |
|---|---|
| Work breakdown structure (WBS) | Splits the project into manageable deliverables |
| Gantt chart | Shows tasks against time |
| Critical path method (CPM) | Finds the longest chain of dependent tasks; any delay there delays the project |
| PERT | Estimates durations from optimistic, most likely and pessimistic values |
| Function point analysis | Estimates software size from inputs, outputs, inquiries, files and interfaces |
| Earned value analysis | Compares planned value, earned value and actual cost to show schedule and cost variance |
| Timeboxing | Fixes a time period and adjusts scope to fit |
Earned value gives an objective view of progress: a project that has spent 70 percent of its budget but earned only 40 percent of its planned value is in trouble, whatever the status report says.
Change control in projects
Scope changes must go through a formal change control process with impact on cost, time and risk assessed and approved by the steering committee. Uncontrolled scope creep is a leading cause of project failure.
The business case and feasibility
A feasibility study looks at several angles:
| Feasibility | Question |
|---|---|
| Economic | Do the benefits justify the costs? |
| Technical | Can it be built with available technology? |
| Operational | Can the organization run and support it? |
| Legal and regulatory | Does it meet the requirements that apply? |
| Schedule | Can it be delivered in time? |
The business case uses measures such as return on investment (ROI), net present value (NPV), payback period and total cost of ownership, and names the benefits and their owners. It should be reviewed at key stages: if costs rise or benefits shrink, the project may need to change or stop.
The business case is a living document. When a question describes a project whose costs have doubled, the answer is to revisit the business case with the sponsor, not to keep going because money has already been spent.
How the exam asks about this
- "Who owns the business case and benefits?" The project sponsor.
- "Which technique shows the tasks that determine the project's end date?" Critical path method.
- "Status reports say on track, but costs exceed earned value." Earned value analysis reveals the real position.
What to remember for the exam
- The sponsor owns the business case; the steering committee oversees.
- Critical path = longest dependent chain; it sets the end date.
- Function point analysis estimates size; earned value tracks progress objectively.
- Feasibility: economic, technical, operational, legal and schedule.
- Re-examine the business case at every major stage.
Money already spent (a sunk cost) is not a reason to continue a project whose business case no longer holds.
Common mistakes
Making the project manager accountable for benefits. The sponsor is.
Allowing scope changes without impact analysis.
Treating the business case as approved once and forgotten.
Check yourself
What does the critical path show?
The longest sequence of dependent tasks, which determines the earliest project completion date.
Which feasibility type asks whether benefits justify costs?
Economic feasibility.
What should happen when a project's expected benefits fall sharply?
The business case should be reviewed with the sponsor and steering committee to decide whether to change, continue or stop.
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