Overview

A Lean Business Case is an artifact prescribed by SAFe that captures the results from analysis done in the Analysis phase of the Kanban process. Ultimately, it is used to make a go/no-go decision for a Portfolio Epic or a Solution Epic .

To learn more, visit the Scaled Agile Framework topic on Epic.

Artifact Template

The Lean Business Case has a corresponding artifact template that can be used when you create a new Lean Business Case artifact. The template reminds you about the things you should consider when crafting the business case. The template looks like this:

[Epic Name] Business Case

Epic Description

<Derived from the Epic Hypothesis Statement in the linked Epic>

Outcomes Hypothesis: 

<Describe how the success of the Epic will be measured>.

For example

• 10% gain in share of enterprise agile market
• 5% improvement in performance

In Scope

• ...
• ...
• ...

Out of Scope

• ...
• ...
• ...

Non-Functional Requirements

• ...
• ...

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Features

• <Feature or Capability>
• ...
• ...

Additional Potential Features

• <Feature or Capability>
• ...
• ...

Stakeholders/Sponsors

<List the key business sponsors who will be supporting the initiative>

Users & Markets Affected

<Describe the user community of the solution and/or any markets affected>

Products, Programs & Services Affected

<Identify the products, programs, services, teams, departments, etc., that will be (potentially) impacted by this Epic>

Impact on Sales, Distribution, Deployment

<Describe any impact on how the solution/product is sold, distributed or deployed>

Analysis Summary

<Brief summary of the analysis that has been completed to create this initial business case>

Incremental Implementation Strategy

<Epics are defined as a single whole, but each epic undergoes incremental implementation. Describe it here.>

Sequencing & Dependencies

<Describe any constraints for sequencing the Epic and identify any potential dependencies with other Epics.>

Milestones & Checkpoints

<Identify potential milestones or checkpoints for re-evaluation of this Epic.>

Attachments

<Attach any supporting docs.>

Attributes

The Lean Business Case artifact type defines the following custom attributes:

• Estimated Completion Date - Date when the related Epic is estimated to be complete. This could reflect MVP only if desired.
• Estimated Cost (MVP) - Cost (dollars or resources) of delivery of MVP capabilities for the related Epic.
• Estimated Story Points (MVP) - Story Points estimated for delivery of MVP capabilities for the related Epic.
• Funnel Entry Date - Date when the related Epic entered the Funnel.
• Go/No-Go Decision - Captures the Go/No-Go decision.
• Outsourced Development (T/F) - Indicates whether or not development is wholly or partially outsourced
• Owner - The owner of the artifact
• Status - The status of the artifact (see States below)

States

The Lightweight Business Case artifact type has this workflow:

• Draft - Initial state of the artifact
• Under Review - Indicates that the artifact is being reviewed by the Portfolio team
• In Playback - Indicates that the artifact is being reviewed with stakeholders and customers for feedback
• Approved - Indicates that it is approved by the Portfolio team as well as stakeholders/customers
• Rejected - Indicates that the artifact is rejected and no further work will be done
• Deprecated - Indicates that the artifact has been deprecated and there may possibly be a newer version of it

Traceability