In PRINCE2®, the Business Case is developed at the beginning of the project and maintained throughout the life of the project, being formally verified by the Project Board at each key decision point, such as end stage assessments, and confirmed throughout the period that the benefits accrue.
In this context:
Develop | means getting the right information upon which decisions can be made |
Verify | means assessing whether the project is (still) worthwhile |
Maintain | means to update the Business Case with actual costs and benefits and current forecasts for costs and benefits |
Confirm | means assessing whether the intended benefits have been (or will be) realized. Confirming benefits will mostly take place post-project |
The Business Case is at the centre of any impact assessment of risks, issues and changes by asking the question: how will this risk, issue or change affect the viability of the Business Case and the business objectives and benefits being sought?