When is the right time to write a business case?

questions and answers

• Is this the right time to be writing a business case? Does it fulfil a need that the organisation has?

• Has any work like this been undertaken before - successful or not?
• Has the senior management been primed to the issue of preservation?
• What evidence is there that senior management would be receptive to a business case
• What is the cycle of decision making / budgets in the organisation? What is the best point in this planning cycle to make a business case?
• What can you do in the short term - can you triage your collection? Damage control

• What components are available now (staff/storage)? When will these components become available?

long term vision/approach

       short term components - staff, storage, etc 

• Is the technology mature enough to deliver preservation
• Will new solutions emerge that simplify the problem
• Is the organisation nimble enough to respond to a problem?
• What is the budget forecast - should we be looking to a short term project or a longer term commitment

   further information
       link to maturity assessement tools and approaches (e.g. AIDA).