Business Case

One of the basic tenets for investment in any organisation is that throwing money at a system that is broken will not fix it but break it even further. Any capital investment should be based on a business case supported by clear objectives, empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and solid data.

The recent commitment of £10 billion to the NHS has been lacking in detail to the investor (taxpayers) as to any forecast outcomes, KPI’s or tangible benefits. There is a danger that this additional financing is a voter pacifying reaction that will be hoovered up by ongoing inefficiency or ploughed into statistic management rather than direct treatment, reducing waiting lists and commitment in R&D.

Private sector initiatives of this nature would go through a process such as DMAIC which would generate and demonstrate a clear plan of action to stakeholders.

Define the issue and objectives

Measure the process – create metrics/benchmark (if you can’t measure it, you can’t change it)

Analyse the data – root cause analysis/remove wastes

Improve the process – generate solutions, plan/shadow test/implement

Control – manage the process, confirm the benefits and value added, measure and review.

Once embedded into an organisational culture tools like DMAIC and SIPOC become second nature: proposed changes or initiatives are supported by clear plans, data, and practical solutions as standard. This does not preclude free thinking or dynamic movement – we can build a path back from a great idea – but reduces the time reversing back and fixing issues on the journey.

Measure twice cut once/Sharpen the Axe