Planning for the Business Case

1
Planning for the Business Case
2
Planning

• What resources will your project require to
  succeed as a business?
• Materials
• Equipment
• Personnel
• Marketing Sales

3
Business Case

• What will it cost?
• Expenses
• What is it worth?
• Revenue Projection
• How long will it take you to succeed?
• When does revenue exceed expenses?

4
Making the Case for Money

• Self-funded
• Contract work
• Project funding (corporate/internal)
• Private funding (angels)
• Bridge funding
• Venture Capital
• Big risk/big reward

5
Exercise Mental Math

• What will you do with
• 10K
• 150K
• 15M

6
Appropriateness Matrix

• Journal of Electronic Publishing,
• University of Michigan
• Michael Jensen
• Jensen's Matrix (September 1998)
• Over the last several hundred years, physical
  containers defined the dissemination medium and
  thus defined the cost recovery models of every
  textual publishing enterprise.
• Cost recovery is destiny.
• An organization's mission should dictate
  cost-recovery models therefore the mission
  becomes the destiny.

7
What Choices Are Appropriate?

• Which Digital Format?
• Why Publish?
• What form of Content?
• What kind of Personnel?
• Do I Print?
• Is there a larger Context?
• Examine the Matrix

8
Strategic Context


9
Technology

• Capabilities of current Technology
• What are the core requirements?
• What is the Feasibility/Risk involved in your
  approach?
• How to balance Complexity and Control
• Maintenance

10
Information

• How to organize the information
• How will you or anyone develop the information?
• What about Packaging and Presentation?
• What sources are there for the information?

11
Users

• How can you describe the user?
• How many different groups of users are there?
• Who values this product?
• What kind of experience does the user have?
• What kind of interface is appropriate?
• What kind of tasks do they want to perform?

12
Business Organization

• How do the goals of project fit with the mission
  of the organization?
• What are the risks and benefits?
• What are the costs and commitment?
• How can I get the support I need?
• What kind of staffing is needed?
• How to prepare for marketing and sales?
• How to target channels of distribution?

13
Internet Public Library

• The Quest for a Sustainable Model
• Internet Public Library http//www.ipl.org/
• Analysis The Internet Public Library by Lorrie
  LeJeune in Journal of Electronic Publishing
• IPL Mission Statement

14
Commercial Models

• Advertising
• Targeted vs Broad
• Direct Pay
• Subscription
• Per piece
• Member-services
• Acquisition

15
Non-commercial Models

• Will communities support online publications or
  services that serve them?
• Will government funding or community funding
  support services that cannot or should not be
  commercialized?