| name | business-case |
| compatibility | Claude Code 2.1.220+ |
| description | Business case analysis with ROI, NPV, IRR, payback period, and TCO calculations for investment decisions. Use when building financial justification, cost-benefit analysis, build-vs-buy comparisons, or sensitivity analysis. |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | OrchestKit |
| user-invocable | false |
| disable-model-invocation | false |
| complexity | medium |
| persuasion-type | guidance |
| tags | ["roi","npv","irr","tco","build-vs-buy","financial-analysis","cost-benefit"] |
| context | fork |
| agent | product-strategist |
| metadata | {"category":"document-asset-creation"} |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Glob","Grep","WebFetch","WebSearch"] |
Business Case
Financial frameworks for investment justification and decision support.
When to Use Each Framework
| Framework | Use When |
|---|
| ROI | Quick sanity check; time value of money doesn't matter much |
| NPV | Multi-year investments; gold standard for GO/NO-GO |
| IRR | Comparing projects competing for the same budget |
| Payback Period | Leadership asks "how fast do we break even?" |
| TCO | Build vs. buy; total cost including hidden/ongoing costs |
| Sensitivity Analysis | High uncertainty; need to stress-test assumptions |
Decision Tree
Is the investment multi-year?
YES → Use NPV (+ IRR to compare alternatives)
NO → ROI is sufficient
Is this a build vs. buy decision?
YES → TCO comparison across all three options
NO → Skip TCO, use NPV/ROI
Are assumptions uncertain?
YES → Add sensitivity analysis (3 scenarios)
NO → Base case only
Quick Reference Formulas
ROI = (Net Benefits - Total Costs) / Total Costs × 100%
NPV = Sum(Cash Flow_t / (1 + r)^t) - Initial Investment
r = discount rate (10% enterprise, 15-20% growth, 25-40% startup)
Decision: Accept if NPV > 0
IRR = discount rate where NPV = 0
Decision: Accept if IRR > hurdle rate
Payback Period = Initial Investment / Annual Cash Flow
Benchmarks: SaaS 6-12 mo, Enterprise platform 12-24 mo, Infra 24-36 mo
TCO = CAPEX + (OPEX × years) + Opportunity Cost + Hidden Costs
Business Case Template
# Business Case: [Project Name]
## Executive Summary
[2-3 sentences: what we're investing in and expected return]
## Financial Analysis
### Investment Required
| Item | One-Time | Annual |
|------|----------|--------|
| Development | $X | |
| License / SaaS | | $X |
| Implementation | $X | |
| Training | $X | |
| Maintenance | | $X |
| **Total** | **$X** | **$X** |
### Expected Benefits
| Benefit | Annual Value | Confidence |
|---------|--------------|------------|
| Time savings (X hrs × $Y/hr) | $X | High |
| Error reduction | $X | Medium |
| Revenue uplift | $X | Low |
| | | |
| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 3-Year TCO | $X |
| NPV (10% discount) | $X |
| IRR | X% |
| Payback Period | X months |
| ROI | X% |
| Scenario | Discount Rate | Year 1 Benefits | NPV |
|----------|---------------|-----------------|-----|
| Base case | 10% | $X | $X |
| Conservative | 15% | $X × 0.75 | $X |
| Optimistic | 8% | $X × 1.25 | $X |
| Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|-------------|--------|------------|
| | | | |
[GO / NO-GO] — [one-sentence rationale]
