The case study presented in this chapter describes an organisation that is in need of a business case for its IT investment. Working through this case study will give the reader an opportunity of putting into practice the concepts discussed in the earlier chapters.

In order to illustrate the fact that many of the issues involved in preparing a business case need to be addressed and understood from the perspective of a number of different stakeholders, the case study is presented as a series of recollections from different members of the organisation's management.

Close examination of the details of the case study will reveal a wide range of business outcome issues, including costs and benefits, as well as the other dimensions of the business case, including stakeholders, strategy, technology and risk.

In thinking about the preparation of a business case for this IT investment, it needs to be remembered that there is no one correct way of presenting a business case and that the organisation's business culture is important in this respect.

Some suggestions as to how the business case for Proton Electronics could be presented are available from the Butterworth-Heinemann Web site at http://www.bh.com/samples.