Most ITSM business cases fail for one simple reason.
They focus on process maturity instead of commercial impact.
Boards don’t fund “better workflows”.
Executives don’t approve “best practice alignment”.
They approve investments that reduce risk, strengthen control, improve productivity and protect margin.
If you're preparing a proposal for ITSM improvement - whether it’s CMDB, Change, Self-Service, Service Desk uplift or data confidence - your success will depend on how clearly you translate operational friction into measurable business value.
Here is a practical five-phase model we use at SMS to help organisations build defensible ITSM business cases that stand up to executive scrutiny.
Every strong business case begins with clarity.
Not generic statements like:
Executives respond to operational friction.
For example:
If you can’t clearly articulate where control is weak or effort is wasted, you can’t justify investment.
The first step is establishing a clean baseline of operational risk and inefficiency.
This is where most ITSM business cases fall apart.
They stop at describing pain — without quantifying impact.
Executives fund maths, not emotion.
For example:
You don’t need perfect numbers.
You need directional modelling that translates operational friction into:
Once friction is expressed in commercial terms, the conversation shifts from “nice to have” to “necessary”.
Now that the impact is clear, you define the controlled response.
This is where structure matters.
A credible business case must outline:
At SMS, we often see organisations jump straight to tool reconfiguration without first stabilising data, clarifying ownership or aligning operating models.
Improvement must be positioned as operational stabilisation - not cosmetic enhancement.
Executives are not buying process refinement.
They are funding improved control.
Outcomes must be specific.
Not:
Instead:
The difference between approval and rejection often sits here.
If outcomes feel abstract, funding stalls.
If outcomes feel measurable and operationally grounded, momentum builds.
Now bring the case together.
Present clearly:
Frame the discussion as:
When structured properly, ITSM improvement is not discretionary spend.
It is a rational, controlled investment in operational resilience.
And in most cases, the cost of doing nothing is higher than the investment required.
Through working with more than 60 organisations across retail, government and enterprise environments, we consistently see three common issues:
When these gaps exist, executive confidence drops.
When they are addressed clearly and commercially, approval becomes significantly easier.
Building a business case for ITSM improvement is difficult.
Benefits can feel intangible.
Metrics can feel soft.
Data may be imperfect.
But control, productivity and risk are never intangible.
When positioned correctly, ITSM improvement becomes a discussion about:
That conversation resonates at board level.
To make this practical, I’ve recorded a short walkthrough of the model below.
In this video, I step through each phase of the framework and explain how to translate operational friction into a commercially grounded ITSM business case - the kind that stands up in executive discussions.
If you’re currently preparing a proposal or reviewing investment priorities, this will give you a clear structure to work from.
👉 Watch the video to see the 5 Steps in action
Stop asking for budget based on best practice.
Start presenting a business case grounded in commercial reality.
ITSM isn’t a cost discussion.
It’s a control discussion.
If you're preparing a business case for ITSM improvement and want it pressure-tested before presenting to leadership, reach out to Service Management Specialists.
We’re happy to provide structured guidance - whether you ultimately work with us or not.