When building a business case, many managers pick an early solution and fail to explore additional possibilities. Others fail to consider the status quo as an alternative. To avoid these traps, bring together the people who will be affected by the outcome of your proposal — these may be customers, frontline workers, or managers in other departments. Ask them to brainstorm alternatives. To generate as many ideas as possible, record everything without judgment or discussing pros and cons. Once you have a full list, move on to assessing which are feasible.
Adapted from the Harvard ManageMentor Online Module: Business Case Development.
