Journey Mapping
Part of Customer experience prioritisation
Building a business case for a service improvement
Build a service-improvement case around a customer problem, baseline, credible options, costs, benefits, risks and a clear decision request.
A service-improvement business case should show the customer problem, credible options, the resources each option needs and the outcomes that would justify the investment. It should support a decision even when some benefits cannot responsibly be turned into dollars.
Establish the problem and baseline
Define the affected task and where it fails. In a hypothetical appointment service, some people might receive a booking confirmation yet remain unsure whether the appointment suits their referral. Check where the failure occurs before proposing a new booking platform.
Record what is known now: relevant task volume, confirmed failures, repeat contacts, customer time and operational work, where suitable records exist. Keep the date range and population with each figure.
If the team has only a few accounts, describe them as accounts rather than an estimate of prevalence. Establish a baseline for the customer outcome the proposal aims to change.
Compare realistic options
Include the current route as a base case and describe its likely consequences if nothing changes. Then assess proportionate alternatives, such as clearer eligibility information, a change to staff review or a system change. These are hypothetical options; the right set depends on the actual cause.
| Dimension | Question for the case |
|---|---|
| Customer outcome | What should the person be able to do or know afterwards? |
| Delivery | What must change, who owns it and what dependencies exist? |
| Cost | What one-off and ongoing work or expenditure is expected? |
| Benefit | Which customer and organisational effects are plausible, and which are evidenced? |
| Risk | What could fail, shift work elsewhere or exclude a group? |
| Evidence | Which assumption needs checking before commitment? |
Released staff time is not automatically a cash saving; it may instead provide capacity for other work. Keep customer time and access visible even when they are not monetised. State assumptions beside estimates and show how the decision changes if they prove optimistic.
Comparing Realistic Options for Appointment Service Improvement
- OptionCurrent process (no change)
- Clearer eligibility informationLow cost, low risk, improves clarity but does not fix booking errors
- Staff review of bookingsModerate cost, depends on staff availability; may reduce errors but increases workload
- System change (new booking platform)High cost, long implementation; addresses root cause if booking accuracy is the issue
Explain how the change would produce the benefit
A revised message may cost less than a system change, but it helps only if the booking itself is correct and uncertainty is the main problem. State that assumption. If bookings are wrong, changing the message alone is unlikely to deliver the intended result.
Name the customer outcome measure and when it can be checked. In the hypothetical appointment case, the team might check whether people can identify the appropriate appointment and whether the booking record supports that answer. Submission counts or favourable comments on the message answer narrower questions.
Make a decision request
Ask the decision maker to approve a specific next step: a bounded investigation, a limited change or a larger investment. Give a cost or resource amount only when it has been estimated. State the owner, review point, critical uncertainty and condition for stopping or revising the work.
Update the case when evidence, costs or scope changes. Delivery is a milestone; the proposed benefit still needs to be checked against the customer outcome.
Steps to Build a Service Improvement Business Case
- Define the customer problem and establish a baselineIdentify where the service fails and record current metrics
- Compare realistic optionsEvaluate alternatives including the status quo and their impacts
- Explain how each option drives benefitLink changes to measurable customer outcomes
- Make a clear decision requestAsk approval for a bounded next step with defined criteria
