Don't be intimidated by a new type of document
You've just found out you have to write a business case / memo / minutes / cabinet paper when you've never written one before.
This can be a terrifying moment. "What even is a business case? What goes in one? Should it be formal or informal? How long should it be?"
At this point in your panic journey, a voice emerges through the fog. It's mine.
"Same cake; different icing."
How do you write this new kind of document?
The same way you write every document.
1. What goal does your document need to achieve?
2. Who's the reader?
3. What questions will the reader need you to answer before they help you achieve your goal?
Example – business case
1. Goal: a decision about whether to continue to the next stage of the work
2. Reader: decision makers
3. Readers' questions: What's the piece of work supposed to achieve? How does that align with our strategy? What options have we got? Which option is the most economical, easy to implement, and likely to achieve our goals?
Example – minutes
1. Goal: everyone does what they agreed to do, and people who weren't at the meeting know what we discussed
2. Readers: team members who were there and a few who weren't
3. Readers' questions: What was discussed? What decisions did we make? Who's doing what, and by when?
Example – cabinet paper
1. Goal: the minister's proposal is accepted, along with the decisions needed to put it into effect
2. Readers: cabinet ministers
3. Readers' questions: What's the proposal? How does it align with our commitments? What's the rationale for it? Is the plan to implement it going to be effective?
Same cake, people. Different icing.
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