business case - Transport Futures Institute

Role of strategy in solving everyday transport challenges

Let us start with defining strategy. What is strategy? A strategy is a longer term direction to achieve a particular goal. For example, the vision for road safety is ‘No person should be killed or seriously injured on Australia’s roads’ and the strategy to achieve that includes ‘adopting the safe system approach – safe roads, safe speeds, safe … Read more

Should Your Business Case Emphasise Qualitative Assessment?

by Phil Charles

Let’s start with quantitative analysis like benefit-cost analysis (BCA) – there is a lot of experience behind this quantitative approach and is supported, mandated even, by central funding agencies, particularly Treasury departments. So, let me start with BCA. This method is only as good as the data behind the analysis, which usually depends on demand … Read more

What will be the ‘new normal’ for transport?

by Phil Charles

Much of the work of transport professionals involves delivering projects. Setting up the foundation is key to success – whether a planning project or business case or a technical or infrastructure delivery project. I’ve been thinking about what transport will look like in the ‘new’ normal – whenever and whatever that looks like. Currently, the traffic … Read more

Use DICE to beat the odds in Project Management

by Phil Charles

Successful project management use DICE factors to beat the odds. Ask four different project managers what are the critical factors of successful delivered projects and you will probably get four different answers. This is because they each would have different lessons learned from their own experience. Extensive research by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found … Read more

What are the key steps in managing transport outcomes?

by Phil Charles

In a constrained transport funding context, it is more and more important to be able to manage projects and programs to achieve the greatest impact and make efficient use of limited resources. This requires us to identify and manage transport outcomes, do more with less, and ensure the greatest value for money. At the whole … Read more

Seven success principles for transport business cases

by Phil Charles

Investment appraisal is about deciding the option that promises the best return, relative to the risk of failure involved. What are the success principles that help you in developing a robust business case? For a private investor considering an investment, the project option that returns the best profit, relative to the amount invested and the … Read more

How to Write an Executive Summary for your Business Case

by Phil Charles

Being asked to write an executive summary for a business case proposal may be a daunting prospect if you’ve never done it before. It is much more straightforward when you keep some simple concepts in mind as outlined below. Intended Audience Firstly, it is very important to know your audience. The intended audience for an … Read more

Ten Ways Professionals Can Influence Decisions

by Phil Charles

Today’s professional is expected to work smarter and work harder. But what does working smarter and harder means? Professional practice effects how you are perceived by your peers and management: who you are, what you’ve got to offer, how viable your ideas are, and how well you present them. It is what makes people listen … Read more

Are you a rational or biased professional?

by Phil Charles

We like to think we are rational decision-making professionals. But the research shows we all have a vast number of biases. Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of behaviour, which means we deviate from making rational judgments. Many of these biases are mental shortcuts, called heuristics, that our brain uses to help us make decisions. Wikipedia … Read more

Estimating patronage demand for public transport: optimism or exaggeration?

by Phil Charles

Large public transport projects require patronage demand estimates for planning and investment purposes. While patronage forecasting has been in use for over 50 years, providing the basis for determining the best option to a transport problem and guide investment decisions, they are more often than not, wrong!

Forecasts involve large data collection and analysis exercises using sophisticated strategic transport models to produce forecasts and estimates. Understanding and making judgements on critical assumptions in these models is complex and there are only a very limited number of experienced public transport forecasting professionals.