Building a Business Case

Before an initiative can be approved through gate review, approvers need enough information to make a confident go/no-go decision. StartConsole provides a set of structured fields on each initiative for capturing this information. Filling them in thoroughly is the difference between a fast approval and repeated rounds of back-and-forth.

Business case fields on an initiative

Open the initiative form (New Initiative or Edit on an existing one). The following fields make up the business case:

Field	What to enter
Expected Value	The financial or strategic value this initiative will deliver on completion. Enter a number in your organization's currency, or agree a proxy metric with your finance team if the value is non-financial.
Allocated Budget	The approved spend for this initiative. This should match the number approved in your internal budget process.
Strategic Alignment	Select the pillar and link to the specific OKR key result this initiative directly supports. This shows approvers how the work connects to strategy.
Risk Level	Select Low, Medium, or High. Use High for initiatives with significant technical complexity, external dependencies, or delivery track record concerns.

Writing the problem statement and proposed solution

The main Description field on an initiative is where you write the narrative business case. Structure it in two parts:

1. Problem statement — describe the current situation and why it requires investment. Be specific: include data, customer evidence, or financial impact where available.
2. Proposed solution — describe what the initiative will deliver and how it addresses the problem. Include key assumptions and any known constraints.

Attaching supporting files

To attach documents (business case PDFs, feasibility studies, financial models):