What do we mean by ‘justification’ and why is it important?
• All projects and programmes have reasons for being initiated. These reasons need to be clearly
understood, and agreed, by those involved from the outset.
• Every project or programme should start with a formal instruction which articulates why the project
needs to be set up in the first place.
• This can come in different formats, but it is usually in the form of a mandate or a problem statement,
however in some cases it could just be a verbal request.
• Justification identifies the purpose of undertaking a project or programme. It evaluates the overall
cost (of development, implementation and on-going operational support) against the expected
benefits to be gained, and offsets against any associated risks of introducing the change in order to
assess it’s overall viability.
• The results of undertaking this justification process are captured in a business case - a living document
which should be periodically revisited throughout the life of a project/programme