Business Case Template: GenAI Investment

Instructions: Fill in each section using your analysis from the ROI framework. Delete instructional text (shown in italics) before sharing. Sections marked [REQUIRED] must be completed; others are optional based on your audience.

Business Case: [Project Name]

Prepared by: [Name, Title] Date: [Date] Version: [1.0] Status: [Draft / Under Review / Final]

Executive Summary [REQUIRED]

Write this last. 3–5 sentences covering: what we’re proposing, the key financial outcome, and the recommendation. Executives often read only this section.

Proposal: Deploy [GenAI solution] to [solve specific problem] for [team/audience].

Financial Outcome: This initiative is projected to deliver $[X] in net benefits over 3 years at a total investment of $[Y], representing a [Z%] ROI with break-even in Month [N].

Recommendation: Approve Phase 1 investment of $[amount] to [scope of Phase 1].

Problem Statement [REQUIRED]

Describe the business problem you’re solving. Quantify the current cost/impact where possible. Avoid jumping to solutions here.

Current State

Why Now

What makes this the right time to invest? Has something changed — market, competition, scale, technology cost?

Proposed Solution [REQUIRED]

Describe what you’re building or buying. Keep it non-technical enough for a business audience.

Solution Description

[2–3 paragraphs describing what the AI solution does, what problem it solves, and how employees will interact with it]

Scope

| In Scope | Out of Scope | |—|—| | [Item] | [Item] | | [Item] | [Item] |

Key Assumptions

Financial Analysis [REQUIRED]

Investment Summary

Cost Category Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
Development $[X] — — $[X]
Integration $[X] — — $[X]
Training $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
Infrastructure (monthly × 12) $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
API/Model costs (monthly × 12) $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
Maintenance $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
Governance/Legal $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
Total Cost $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]

Benefits Summary

Benefit Category Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
Labor savings $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
Process cost reduction $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
Productivity gains $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
Revenue growth $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
Risk mitigation $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]
Total Benefits $[X] $[X] $[X] $[X]

ROI Summary

Metric Value
3-Year Net Benefit $[X]
3-Year ROI [X]%
Break-Even Month Month [N]
Payback Period [N] months
NPV (at [X]% discount rate) $[X]

Scenario Analysis

Scenario Assumptions 3-Year ROI Break-Even
Pessimistic 50% of benefits, 130% of costs [X]% Month [N]
Realistic (Base Case) 80% of benefits, 110% of costs [X]% Month [N]
Optimistic 100% of benefits, 100% of costs [X]% Month [N]

Implementation Plan [REQUIRED]

Phases

Phase 1: Foundation (Months 1–[N])

Phase 2: Rollout (Months [N+1]–[N])

Phase 3: Scale & Optimize (Months [N+1]+)

Resource Requirements

Role Responsibility FTE / Time Commitment
Product Owner Driving requirements and acceptance [X]% of time
Engineering Lead Technical architecture and delivery [X] FTE
[Role] [Responsibility] [Commitment]

Success Metrics [REQUIRED]

Define what success looks like. Be specific and measurable.

Metric Baseline 6-Month Target 12-Month Target Owner
[Primary metric] [Value] [Value] [Value] [Name]
[Secondary metric] [Value] [Value] [Value] [Name]
[Cost metric] [Value] [Value] [Value] [Name]

Risk Assessment

Risk Likelihood Impact Mitigation
Low user adoption Medium High Change management program, champions network
Development cost overrun Medium Medium Fixed-scope Phase 1, weekly cost tracking
AI accuracy below target Low-Medium High Accuracy thresholds in go/no-go criteria
Data quality issues Medium Medium Data audit before build begins
Regulatory/compliance blockers Low High Legal review in Phase 1
[Custom risk] [L/M/H] [L/M/H] [Mitigation]

Build vs. Buy Analysis (Optional)

Option Description Pros Cons Cost
Build (custom) [Description] [Pros] [Cons] $[X]
Buy (vendor) [Description] [Pros] [Cons] $[X]
Hybrid [Description] [Pros] [Cons] $[X]

Recommendation: [Selected option and rationale]

Alternatives Considered (Optional)

Show you considered alternatives before recommending GenAI.

Alternative Why Considered Why Not Recommended
[Process improvement] [Reason] [Reason]
[Traditional automation] [Reason] [Reason]
[Hire additional staff] [Reason] [Reason]

Approval Request [REQUIRED]

Item Amount
Phase 1 Budget Request $[X]
Expected Board/Committee [Name]
Decision Needed By [Date]
Project Start Date [Date]

Requested Approvals

Name Title Signature Date
       
       
       

Appendices