Activity

1. You will be given a role to play: project sponsor or project team member.

2. As the sponsor, you will make all the necessary assumptions to provide information to
your team members.

3. Team members will work on the developing business documents: business case;
project benefit plan, for the project the sponsor will assign.
Conducting our Needs Assessment
 What a Needs Assessment is

To be
discussed The Needs Assessment process

today…

Planning your Needs Assessment

 A Needs Assessment
Needs Assessment describes the work necessary to define a business need, decide on an
approach to address that need, and determine whether the organization should invest in
the proposed change.

It includes work that should be done before a project is initiated, to make sure the project
will bring enough business value to the organization.
Point to note…

Not necessarily mandated by the project

management methodology.
It can either be requested by the business or
recommended by the business analyst.
 Get a high-level understanding of the current
Get environment, gather information from the right
stakeholders and analyze it.

Collect more detailed data: interviews

Collect stakeholders; review existing documentation etc.
Conducting and analyze for a clearer picture of the situation.

a Assess Assess (or help to arrive at) organizational goals

and objectives.
Needs
Assessment Arrive at a conclusion on what is currently and
Arrive what is desired – gap identification.

Recommend a solution: will be a confirmation of

Recommend the proposed project or recommend another if
need be.
 Have a success
Metric
metric.

Evaluate options
Evaluate
against the metric.
Selecting an
option Select the highest
evaluated option (could
Select be your project
justified)

Make a strong
Justify justification to the
Client
Critical Systems Needs
Assessments use a Life-
Cycle feedback Process
to Ensure Customers Get
the Best Solutions the
Industry has to Offer
Example of needs assessment for facilities
development project in town
Team Activity
1. What do you want to achieve with your Needs Assessment?
2. What stakeholders will be involved?
3. What is their interest and what information can they provide you to help you
arrive at the business case?
4. When are you going to meet them?
5. What document reviews do you need to conduct? When will you conduct it?
6. How are you going to analyse the data you get?
7. What form will your report take?
 First section but last to be written; short summary of the entire
Executive Summary
business case.

1.00 Finance
To identify the financial implications for the project / predict cash
1.10 Financial Appraisal
flow
1.20 Sensitivity Analysis Concerns project risk - consider alternative futures

2.00 Project Definition

2.10 Background Information To give clear introduction to business case
2.20 Business Objective What is your goal/ how will the project support the business strategy
2.30 Benefits & Limitations Helps to explain why the project is needed
Business Option Identification &
2.40 Identify potential solutions to the problem
Case Selection
Scope, Impact & Work needed to deliver the business objectives / project's scope &
Template 2.50
Interdependencies boundaries
2.60 Outline Plan Provides summary of the main activities
Complete understanding of the marketplace in which business would
2.70 Market Assessment
operate
2.80 Risk Assessment Summary of significant risks and opportunities and they are managed
2.90 Project Approach How the project will be tackled - to be outsourced or in-house
2.10 Purchasing Strategy How project is to be financed - to buy, lease - procurement process

3.00 Project Organization

Governance framework that will support the project through each
3.10 Project Governance
stage
3.20 Progress Reporting How project progress is recorded
What PMI say about Needs Assessment
22 – January – 2020