Software ImplementationProgram & Project Management

6 Steps to Building a Business Case for Project Management Software

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Written by:
Katherine McDermott - Guest Contributor

Published | Updated on
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Using the right business case for project management software improves data-driven decision-making and efficiency.

For small to medium-sized business leaders tasked with discovering and implementing the right project management (PM) software, establishing a strong business case helps gain approval from decision-makers. Clarifying the need, goals, outcomes, and budget for executives offers clarity into how the software will be used and what outcomes it will drive. Without a value-driven business case, your request might not get approved.

A business case paints a clear, to-the-point picture of why new software is needed, and for small businesses, project management is a critical capability. PM software improves team collaboration, increases efficiency, keeps initiatives on task, creates simplified project reporting and analytics, and helps time-constrained small teams get more done. In this article, we’ll detail how to build a strong business case for new PM software.

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Your 6-step guide to building a business case for project management software

While this might seem like a lot of steps to simply make an argument for new software, it’s actually very simple to build a business case for any type of major purchase. According to Gartner’s "The Must-Have Components of Procurement Technology Business Cases," only 17% of procurement requests are approved, so making a strong business case for project management software upfront is critical.[1] Following these steps will increase your chances of success when it comes to getting the green light for new software. You can even download a free business case template to get started.

1. State the challenge

First, establish the reason and the need for PM software. In Gartner’s "The Must-Have Components of Procurement Technology Business Cases," experts recommend explaining three core elements: The Why, The Unacceptable Status Quo, and The Urgency.[1]

These three components help establish both the challenge and the need for PM software. Explain why the current approach is no longer sufficient and the urgency behind why this challenge needs to be addressed now versus later. This type of detail also provides visibility to leaders who are perhaps not in the weeds of the day-to-day tasks. It helps the executive suite understand why the status quo is no longer functioning and a new solution is needed.

It also offers clarity around why a new solution is needed as soon as possible. In times of tighter budgets or limited team bandwidth, executives might wonder if this is a purchase that could be put off to a later date. Emphasizing the need for an urgent solution helps make the case for answering “why now?”

2. Provide a solution

Now, it’s time to make the case for the specific solution. Decision makers might have different objectives than the everyday users of this software, so it’s important to bridge the gap. In Gartner’s "Make Quality-Related Technology Business Cases Personally Resonant for Decision Makers," research shows that decision-makers struggle to identify the need for non-customer-facing software.[2] While most of their priorities revolve around revenue generation, not every software procurement is meant to drive sales.

While it might feel like a safe decision to default to any kind of cost savings, other high-value drivers include speed and agility improvements, increased revenue, and enhanced employee productivity. Connect the dots for leaders in helping them understand how a specific PM tool solves these unique problems.

Include details such as:

  • Features and capabilities the tool should provide.

  • Method of deployment; is it cloud-based or installed/on-premise?

  • Other technology considerations; consider data migration, integration with other business software, and downtime.

  • Processes and workflows that will change and how this will impact different stakeholders and teams.

3. Outline costs for investment in project management software

The next step is probably the section that most decision-makers are paying the closest attention to. Most leaders will be heavily invested in the cost of the software and the implementation. Not only does this include financial investments, but the people, time, and effort needed to onboard and implement a new technology.

When outlining critical resources, many procurement teams underestimate resource requirements, are too optimistic about other parties’ estimates, and focus too much on the financial costs. Especially if you solely rely on the facts and figures from the project management software vendor itself, you run the risk of over-emphasizing financial investments.

Ideally, blend the facts and figures from the vendor with your own analysis and deep understanding of team members, departments, and company culture. Also, erring on the side of caution when in doubt is a simple but highly effective way to avoid these pitfalls.

Also, outline items such as:

  • Tangible costs - the annual cost of investment, number of software licenses needed, etc.

  • Intangible costs - time required to implement and learn a new system and the loss of productivity during that time.

  • Total cost of ownership - the long-term cost of the investment along with the cost of operations to show the investment’s value over time.

4. Outline benefits from an investment in project management software

After outlining everything it will take to onboard and implement this new software, it’s time to highlight the benefits. This is a critical component of a strong business case, and one of the areas leaders will scrutinize closely.

Overall, outline benefits to the company’s key performance indicators (KPIs) instead of relying on vague, marketing-heavy language. Describe tangible and intangible benefits such as money saved or breaking down silos. Intangible benefits like improvements in collaboration, productivity, and efficiency are hard to describe, but they are often some of the strongest long-term benefits of new software.

/ More tips

  • Circulate your facts and figures to different internal stakeholders to see what resonates.

  • Analyze previously successful business cases to see examples of what works and what doesn’t.

  • Illustrate a range of outcomes versus a rigid ideal scenario.

  • Specifically for project management tools, a single source of truth will have trickle-down effects across all departments in terms of visibility, data, integrity, and decision-making.

5. Provide a timeline

Working with a proper timeline for adequate research and comparison helps minimize buyer regret. According to Capterra’s 2024 Tech Trends Survey*, 34% of software buyers who experienced purchase regret had difficulty with training and onboarding, and another 32% faced difficult or slow technical implementation. It’s certainly not unusual to have challenges around implementation and onboarding, but it is smart to plan for those in your timeline.

Establishing an accurate timeline is key for two reasons:

  1. The benefits of project management software won’t be seen immediately. Executives should receive a heads-up that the efficiency and productivity improvements will take a few months or weeks to shake out.

  2. Along those lines, your organization will feel the cost of the PM software and the hours associated with implementation and adoption before seeing results. A PM implementation is a heavy lift, and ensuring 100% adoption across different teams is the majority of the battle. Productivity will dip in the meantime.

Without a timeline in sight like this, executives can incorrectly mislabel an investment as a failure before even seeing the full results.

6. Leverage change management

Change management is an overall framework for managing the people's side of change. While the technical implementation is critical, encouraging team members to adopt new technology and providing them with the training and support to do so is equally important. Change management includes thorough communication, training, progress, monitoring, and more – all with the goal of guiding successful organizational change.

Once you feel confident about the previous sections outlined in your business case, it’s time to describe what might happen if your organizational change effort fails. It’s time to confront this reality head-on and detail a plan for executives. Create a plan with optimal change management tools, including communication, plans, leveraging, super users, and culture hacks.

Also, proactively acknowledging your business’s unique pitfalls when it comes to software adoption is key. Maybe it’s difficult for a specific department to adopt a new process change, or perhaps product data is extremely messy and disorganized. Knowing the unique pitfalls of your organization will help you plan accordingly and build executive confidence that implementation will stay on track.

Making a strong business case for project management software

For small businesses, time is money, and project management helps teams stay focused, increase productivity, and get more done. The right project management software can be a game changer for your business, but leadership has to be bought in from the beginning. By crafting a strong business case, software buyers can provide clarity around the need for new PM software.

By stating the challenge, offering a solution, outlining the investment and benefits, working with a proper timeline, and utilizing change management, executives can feel confident about the investment and implementation of technical software. If the executive leaders fully understand that results will take time to show and there could be hiccups along the way, your future self will thank you for making a strong business case.

Begin your project management software search by checking out a few directories like best project management software to see what other businesses in your industry think. Then, begin booking demos or sourcing quotes from a handful of top contenders.


Survey methodology

* Capterra’s 2024 Tech Trends Survey was designed to understand the timeline, organizational challenges, adoption & budget, vendor research behaviors, ROI expectations, satisfaction levels for software buyers, and how they relate to buyer’s remorse.

The survey was conducted online in July 2023 among 3,484 respondents from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, India, Germany, Brazil, and Japan, with businesses across multiple industries and company sizes (5 or more employees). Respondents were screened to ensure their involvement in software purchasing decisions.


Looking for Project Management software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Project Management software solutions.

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About the Author

Katherine McDermott Headshot

Katherine McDermott is a product marketing expert in B2B technology and SaaS.

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