Business Case and a Project Plan

In information technology, there are a number of documents, which are used in the running of various projects. Each of these ensures that it handles information that leads to the success of the project. Some of the vital documents that are used in this area include the business case and the project plan (Westland, 2007). Since they are used within the same activity, they tend to possess a number of similarities. However, they also have certain differences that make each of them able to accomplish its desired task.

Comparison and Contrast between the Business Case and the Project Plan

In IT, business cases are used to record the justification provided for the start of the project. In essence, it refers to the concept that is related to the business or the project to offer both the practical and the profitable solutions. In the simplest form of a business case, it defines the position of the business within a particular period. Moreover, it outlines the steps to be taken in order to reach this position (Westland, 2007). On the other hand, a project plan refers to the formal document that is approved in order to guide both the execution and the control of the project.

The business case contains the descriptions of the cost, benefits as well as the impact of the project. In addition, it contains the calculations of the relevant financial cases (Bentley, 2010). Therefore, the main importance of writing a business case is to help those working on a project to obtain its background, history and the context that surrounds the project. In this way, it helps them to limit themselves within the scope of the project in order to achieve the intended goals.

Application of Business Case versus Project plan

A business case plays an essential role in a project since it serves as the blue print in the same way as they are used when building a house. For instance, a business case can be appropriately applied when a company wants to make an investment in the form of a billboard that makes an advertisement for a motel.

In this, it is essential to apply some of the success stories that have been recorded by other motels in the course of their advertisements. On the converse, the project plan is used to document the planning assumptions and the decisions made during the project (Bentley, 2010). For this reason, it helps to facilitate the communication among the stakeholders, and to document the approved scope, schedule baselines and the costs. In this case, the project plan may either be detailed or created in the form of a summary.

Relevance of their archives

The archiving of a business case is essential in the future operations of a business or a project. This document assists in the evaluation of the dynamics of a particular project. Therefore, the success and risk factors can be identified and applied appropriately. Conversely, the archiving of a project plan provides vita details on how the activities of the project were conducted and accomplished within the provided framework. This includes information on the defined stages that were involved to help in the completion as well as the designated resources that contributed to the success of the project. It assists other project managers to determine how objectives were set, deliverables were identified and schedules and plans were made.

Either develop a complete business case for an idea. this may be a real example from your work environment or a fictional example from anywhere you choose. this must be submitted by week seven and i expect it will be based in large part on the results of the previous task from week two, business case template definition. please use the task in week seven for submission of your project. or develop a project plan for the project your business case would have been promoting had you done a business case. you selected a good template,.