Business Case Cost-Benefit Template

Examples that are included in the table are not comprehensive. Add to / remove items from the table
as required.

Ministry: (insert ministry name here)

Initiative: (insert name of initiative here)

QUANTITATIVE COSTS Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total

($000s) ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) ($000s)
Non-Recurring Costs
Hardware
Servers 0
Peripherals/Data centre equipment 0
Desktop (incremental due to project) 0
Telecommunication equipment 0
Software (packaged or custom)
Purchase 0
Facilities
Computer room upgrades 0
Furniture and fixtures 0
Other 0
Project organizational/support costs
Planning (upon approval) 0
Procurement 0
Contract negotiations 0
Labour
Infrastructure 0
Development 0
Business Process owners (users) 0
Management 0
Other labour 0
Other
Training of employees (pre-
implementation) 0
Transition costs (parallel systems) 0
Post implementation reviews 0
Total Non-Recurring Costs 0 0 0 0 0 0

Recurring Costs
Hardware/Software
Software maintenance and upgrades 0
Computer supplies 0
Desktops (incremental to the project)
0
Help Desk support 0
Ongoing Additional Labour
IT staff costs (incl. benefits) 0
User training 0
Other
Telecommunications 0
Office leases 0
Total Recurring Costs 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Costs 0 0 0 0 0 0

QUANTITATIVE BENEFITS Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total

($000s) ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) ($000s)

Revenues
(Enter revenue here) 0
0
0
Total Revenues 0 0 0 0 0 0

Cost Savings
Decreased cost of services provided 0
Savings from Business process
improvements 0
Productivity gains 0
Savings from structural changes 0
Savings from optimized information (or
flow) 0
Decreased information publishing cost
0
Reduced staffing cost (incl. overtime)
0
Reduced staff turnover costs 0
Total Cost Savings 0 0 0 0 0 0

Cost Avoidance
(Enter Cost Avoidance Here) 0
0
0
Total Cost Avoidance 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other Benefits
(Enter Other Benefits Here) 0
0
0
Total Other Benefits 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Benefits 0 0 0 0 0 0

Net Present Value (automatically calculated):

Discount Rate: 5.00% (Do not change)

Present Value of Benefits: $0.00 ($000s)

Present Value of Costs: $0.00 ($000s)

Net Present Value (NPV): $0.00 ($000s)

This table will be filled in automatically from the data on Tab 1 - 'Cost-Benefit Template'.
Copy the data from this table into your business case in the 'Cost-Benefit Analysis' section.

Quantitative Analysis Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total

($000s) ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) ($000s)

BENEFITS
Cost Savings 0 0 0 0 0 0

Cost Avoidance 0 0 0 0 0 0

Revenue 0 0 0 0 0 0

Other 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Benefits 0 0 0 0 0 0

COSTS
Non-Recurring 0 0 0 0 0 0

Recurring 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Costs 0 0 0 0 0 0

Net Benefit or Cost 0 0 0 0 0 0

Present Value of Total Benefits: $0.00

Present Value of Total Costs: $0.00

Net Present Value $0.00

Instructions for Completing This Spreadsheet:

Tab 1 - Cost-Benefit Template

Complete this table in as much detail as possible.

The examples provided in the table are not comprehensive. Add to and
remove from the table as required.

Tab 2 - Summarization

This will be filled in automatically based on the information inputted into Tab 1.
The data in this table should be copied into the table in the Cost-Benefit
Analysis section of the business case.
Additional Guidance

Include ALL Costs:

The proposal should not only include IT costs, but business costs as well.

Business sponsors are ultimately accountable for ensuring that all costs (business and IT) have
been included in the cost-benefit analysis and are clearly identified for decision-makers. Business
resources are responsible for providing any business-related cost estimates (e.g.: internal time and
effort of business process owners, subject matter experts, and management; training costs; internal
project management; etc.)

IT resources are responsible for helping ministries to identify options to address their business need,
and to provide ‘IT-related’ cost estimates to inform the business case (e.g.: hardware, software,
development effort, etc.).

Ministries should develop detailed breakdowns of all the costs and benefits associated with the
proposed new project, including both one-time costs and recurring costs. While ministries will
typically identify the direct costs of planning and implementing the new initiative, they should also
include expected operating/ongoing costs as well.

In the case of a joint or shared services initiative, ministries should include all costs associated with
the project regardless of who pays for it (or components of it).

Describe the Degree of Confidence in Cost Estimates:

The degree of certainty associated with cost estimates typically depends on the amount of up-front
effort invested in exploring options and the proposed solution. To assist decision-makers in their
review of the business case and costs, ministries should describe the efforts undertaken to produce
the cost estimates (e.g.: release of an RFI; completion of an 'Inception' phase; feasibility study; etc.).
This information will indicate the degree of confidence in the cost estimates. If applicable, outline any
next steps and timing for developing more accurate cost estimates if a project is approved.

Include Costs and Benefits for the Entire Analysis Period:

The business case template assumes a five-year cost-benefit analysis scenario, however, where
applicable, costs and benefits should reflect the full life cycle of the initiative (i.e., all the costs and
benefits should be identified for the entire analysis period).

Perform ‘Sensitivity Analysis’ if Needed:

When the amounts and timing of important benefits and costs are uncertain, an analysis should
recognize this uncertainty and address it through appropriate assessments (i.e.: complete multiple
cost-benefit analyses, based on different assumptions).
Calculating Benefits:

Benefits need to be clearly identified. Identification of benefits is often more of a challenge than
identification of costs. It helps to think in terms of outcomes and results rather than just in terms of
outputs. Consider the impact the initiative will have on the end user or stakeholder. For example, does
proceeding with the initiative ultimately result in changed knowledge or behaviors?

It is recognized that it is not always possible to assign a dollar value to the benefits. If a benefit cannot
easily be expressed or translated into a dollar value, it can be described in the 'Qualitative Benefits'
section of the business case. There are, however, ways to measure progress in achieving qualitative
benefits. For each qualitative cost or benefit, identify how progress will be measured. Examples of
measures include: the use of surveys, interviews, and performance benchmarks (e.g.: increase
customer satisfaction survey scores by 10% for 2012-13; reduce turnaround time in processing
application forms by 2 days by January 2010; etc.).

Document Key Assumptions and Explain Calculations:

As instructed in the business case template, all quantitative cost and benefit calculations must be
explained within the business case, along with any variables or assumptions that were used to
calculate each cost and benefit.