Fractals – Designing a Business Case

By Eugenio, on July 16th, 2009

Sustaining and pressuring forces

I am proposing the analogy between project’s documents and fractals, because geometrical rules could help in the process of introducing common methods of measurement. It, therefore, makes easier to set up and manage a PMO and then a program.
Hard facts, emotions, little dirtier secrets (previous mistakes), interpretation of marketing, analysis, new legislations are among the real drivers for the projects. However, all these elements, sometimes a mix of them, shall be transformed in something rational.

Focusing on “rational” aspects

Ratio is based on comparison. All different and multifarious elements forming a project shall be counted and or measured using a common standard. It could be money and days.
The usage of geometric shapes could improve the production, recognition and subsequent approval of documents based on graphs (e.g. Gantt).
This approach leaves out a lot of issues that are classified as “soft-options”. These have to be dealt with maneuvering space within the budget allowance and a close monitoring from the Sponsor (a good post from Ron Rosenhead)

How to “design” a Business Case

In my previous post, this document has been presented as a self-sustained list of topics describing the project’s motivation.
Henceforth a series of posts will be dedicated to develop each element (Reasons, Options, Benefits Expected, Risks, Costs, Timescale, Investment Appraisal, and Evaluation) using the fractals’ concept.

Reasons (Business needs)

Maintaining our hypothetical CRM project, the questions proposed on the previous post have to be focused on this environment:

Where are located the salespeople?
Do they deal with the same line of products?
Is there just one currency used?
Which is the existing workflow after the order? (Assuming is JIT)
Which is the actual system for recording calls and developing follow-up?

A suggestion how forces can creates shapes

Behind each of these questions (this is an extremely small sample of the real set), there are the stakeholders. The rules that form the organization are wired in the persons’ behaviors. This is one of the “soft-options” elements that shall be considered, much earlier than the simple plans for training. The users will form a jury that can condemn a technical good result, just for not having being properly sold.

We can assume that the most important driver is the standardization of procedures through different countries.
In this situation, the technical issues (e.g. networking) shall be blended with financial aspects like currency markets.

Getting the picture

In the previous post, it has been hinted how to transform requests into more “visible” lines. The whole lot can take the form of a “complex” figure.
The concept could be explained using vertex for representing each “Reason” that will be connected – for example, to create a star. In this way, there are two “geometrical” elements for each “Reason“:

Height – can be easily associate to importance (impact to the business) that dictates the priority.

Steepness (angle between the base and the slope) – would measure the base (i.e. support from stakeholders). This gives an idea about the number and urgence/importance of required functions.

In our example, each “Reason” takes the shape of a triangle (the basic geometrical figure). Its area can lodge the capacites; these are to be viewed as vectors :

Direction: offers the compatibility of the “request” within the “Reason”

Magnitude: it could be the added business value or the impact on the workflow (saved costs)

The magnitude’s figures be easily ordered for further analyses.

Conclusion

The picture of the business environment, in terms easily connectable with figures, makes easier to present the subsequent hypothesis.

“My subject enlarges itself, becomes methodized and define, and the whole, though it be long, stands almost complete and finished in my mind, so that I can survey it, like a fine picture or a beautiful statute, at a glance.“
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart