# AI PROJECT GOVERNANCE STANDARD — BUSINESS LAYER ADDITION
## v4.0 · 7 September 2026 · Owner: Zaid Al Dabbag

> **This document records the Business Planning & Value Assurance layer (PIL-BZ) added to the Standard.**
> It supplements v3.9 and will be merged into the controlled .docx when Zaid ratifies the change.

---

## CHANGE RECORD

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| **Change ID** | CR-012 (to be raised) |
| **Class** | 1 — new requirement set affecting purpose and scope |
| **Authorised by** | IT-127 — Zaid, 2026-09-07: "proceed" |
| **Status** | BUILT, UNVERIFIED — Zaid ratifies |
| **Standard version** | v3.9 → v4.0 |
| **PIL version** | v1.4 → v1.5 |

---

## 1. PURPOSE

Every governed project must demonstrate that the work being asked for has **value** and a **clear path to achieving it**. The business layer enforces:

- A mandatory Business Plan at project intake
- Lifecycle cost-benefit analysis (not just upfront costs)
- Value proposition with measurable metrics
- Running cost projections by category
- Marketing and selling strategy
- Revenue model per use case
- Early identification of areas of concern
- Efficiency audit before building (search for cheaper/better ways)

**Trigger:** `/SE-BUSINESS` (UC15)

---

## 2. NEW REQUIREMENTS

### REQ-BUS-001 — Business Plan mandatory at intake
Every governed project carries a `business_plan.json` twin and a generated `BUSINESS_PLAN_A3.html` before /SE-NEW-PROJECT can ratify. No plan = no approval to build.

**Acceptance criterion:** A governed project cannot pass /SE-NEW-PROJECT ratification without an initial business_plan.json twin and the generated BUSINESS_PLAN_A3.html present in 01_System/; --check exits 0 on the seeded twin.

### REQ-BUS-002 — Lifecycle cost-benefit analysis
The Business Plan includes development costs, running/operational costs, maintenance costs, opportunity costs, quantitative and qualitative benefits, ROI calculation, break-even point, and a lifecycle view (not just upfront).

**Acceptance criterion:** The business_plan.json twin contains a cba section with all eight fields populated; the generated CBA_A3.html renders a cost-benefit table with totals and a break-even indicator.

### REQ-BUS-003 — Value proposition with measurable metrics
The Business Plan includes a clear value proposition stating the key benefits the project delivers, who benefits, and how the value is achieved — with metrics for measuring value realisation.

**Acceptance criterion:** The business_plan.json twin contains a value_proposition section with benefits (each with a measurable metric), beneficiaries, and a value-realisation timeline.

### REQ-BUS-004 — Running cost projections
The Business Plan includes running costs and operational expense projections for the full lifecycle, broken down by category (infrastructure, personnel, licences, support, hosting, AI-engine tokens).

**Acceptance criterion:** The business_plan.json twin contains a running_costs section with at least 5 cost categories, each with annual projections over the lifecycle.

### REQ-BUS-005 — Marketing and selling strategy
The Business Plan includes a marketing and selling strategy identifying the target audience per use case, the go-to-market approach, pricing model, competitive positioning, and sales channels.

**Acceptance criterion:** The business_plan.json twin contains a marketing_strategy section with target_audience, go_to_market, pricing, positioning, and channels.

### REQ-BUS-006 — Revenue model per use case
The Business Plan includes a revenue model per use case, projecting potential revenue for each user case over the lifecycle.

**Acceptance criterion:** The business_plan.json twin contains a revenue_model section with at least one use case entry, each carrying a revenue projection and the assumptions behind it.

### REQ-BUS-007 — Areas of concern identified early
The Business Plan identifies areas of concern early — risks to value realisation, cost overruns, market risks, technical risks, competitive threats — with mitigation strategies and early warning indicators.

**Acceptance criterion:** The business_plan.json twin contains an areas_of_concern section with at least 3 identified risks, each with a mitigation strategy and an early warning indicator.

### REQ-BUS-008 — Efficiency audit before building (SP07)
An efficiency audit is conducted before every build step: the operator researches existing solutions, compares build vs. buy, evaluates technology choices for cost-effectiveness, and documents recommendations.

**Acceptance criterion:** SP07 is drawn and registered; a sampled build task shows an efficiency audit record with alternatives researched, a build-vs-buy decision, and the chosen approach justified.

### REQ-BUS-009 — Business Plan updated with significant changes
The Business Plan is updated when a significant change occurs (Class 1 or Class 2 change that affects scope, cost, timeline, or value proposition).

**Acceptance criterion:** A change record that affects cost, scope or value carries a dated update to the business_plan.json twin.

### REQ-BUS-010 — Value validated at gates
Value is validated against investment at key gates: /SE-VALIDATE checks that the work done so far still delivers the value promised in the Business Plan; /SE-AUDIT checks that running costs are within projections.

**Acceptance criterion:** UC08 includes a value-check step comparing actual benefits delivered against the Business Plan's projections; UC10 includes a cost-check step comparing actual spend against the Business Plan's running-cost projections.

---

## 3. NEW USE CASE — UC15 `/SE-BUSINESS`

**Purpose:** Produce or update the Business Plan, conduct cost-benefit analysis, validate value, and run efficiency audit.

**Actor:** AI operator

**Entry criteria:** A project is being stood up, a significant change is proposed, or Zaid requests a business review.

**Exit criteria:** business_plan.json exists with all seven mandatory sections populated; BUSINESS_PLAN_A3.html generated; efficiency audit recorded.

**Gate:** G2, G3

### Steps

| Step | What | Enforces |
|---|---|---|
| UC15S1 | Define the business purpose and problem statement | PIL-BZ-1 |
| UC15S2 | Identify target users and market segments | PIL-BZ-1 |
| UC15S3 | Develop the value proposition — key benefits with measurable metrics | PIL-BZ-3 |
| UC15S4 | Conduct lifecycle cost-benefit analysis — costs vs. benefits, ROI, break-even | PIL-BZ-2 |
| UC15S5 | Project running costs by category over the full lifecycle | PIL-BZ-4 |
| UC15S6 | Develop marketing and selling strategy | PIL-BZ-5 |
| UC15S7 | Define revenue model per use case | PIL-BZ-6 |
| UC15S8 | Identify areas of concern — risks, mitigations, early warnings | PIL-BZ-7 |
| UC15S9 | Run SP07 efficiency audit | PIL-BZ-8 |
| UC15S10 | Validate that value justifies investment | PIL-BZ-10 |
| UC15S11 | Generate BUSINESS_PLAN_A3.html from the JSON twin | PIL-BZ-1 |

---

## 4. NEW SUB-PROCESS — SP07 EFFICIENCY AUDIT

**Purpose:** Find the cheaper, better way before you build.

**Called by:** UC04, UC06, UC15

### Steps

| Step | What | Enforces |
|---|---|---|
| SP07S1 | Research existing solutions, tools and approaches | PIL-BZ-8 |
| SP07S2 | Compare build vs. buy: cost, time, risk, quality, maintenance | PIL-BZ-8 |
| SP07S3 | Evaluate technology choices for cost-effectiveness | PIL-BZ-8 |
| SP07S4 | Document the efficiency recommendation | PIL-BZ-8 |
| SP07S5 | If no value or cheaper path exists, flag as risk (UC11) | PIL-BZ-10 |

---

## 5. PORTABLE LAYER RULES (PIL-BZ)

Added to `01_System/portable/PORTABLE_CORE.md`:

> **PIL-BZ — BUSINESS PLANNING & VALUE ASSURANCE. Every project earns its investment.**
>
> - **PIL-BZ-1 — Business Plan mandatory at intake.** `business_plan.json` twin + generated `BUSINESS_PLAN_A3.html` required before /SE-NEW-PROJECT ratifies. Covers: purpose, target market, value proposition (measurable metrics), lifecycle CBA (dev/running/maintenance costs, ROI, break-even), running-cost projections by category, marketing strategy, revenue per use case, areas of concern with mitigations, efficiency audit (SP07).
> - **PIL-BZ-2 — Efficiency audit before building (SP07).** Research alternatives, compare build vs. buy, justify technology choices on cost-effectiveness. Skipping is a process defect.
> - **PIL-BZ-3 — Value validated at gates.** /SE-VALIDATE checks value delivered vs. promised. /SE-AUDIT checks costs vs. projections. Variance beyond threshold = risk.

---

## 6. TEMPLATES

### 6.1 JSON Schema
**Location:** `01_System/portable/templates/business_plan/business_plan.schema.json`

The schema defines12 validation rules (C-BP1 through C-BP12) covering:
- Project metadata (name, owner, date, status)
- Purpose and problem statement
- Target market segments with size and needs
- Value proposition with measurable metrics per benefit
- Cost-benefit analysis (dev costs, running costs, ROI, break-even)
- Running cost projections by category (3-year)
- Marketing strategy (audience, go-to-market, pricing, positioning, channels)
- Revenue model per use case with assumptions
- Areas of concern (risks with likelihood, impact, mitigation, early warning)
- Efficiency audit (alternatives, build-vs-buy, recommendation)
- Value validation (verdict, justification, conditions)
- Footer (generated_from, generator_version)

### 6.2 Generator
**Location:** `01_System/portable/templates/business_plan/build_business_plan.py`

Reads `business_plan.json` from the current directory and generates `BUSINESS_PLAN_A3.html` — a single-page A3 landscape document with:
- Header strip (project name, owner, class, version, status)
- 3-column card grid with9 sections
- Metric boxes for CBA (dev cost, ROI, break-even)
- Tables for benefits, costs, revenue, risks, alternatives
- Verdict box (green/amber/red) for value validation

**Usage:**
```bash
cd 01_System
python3 ../01_System/portable/templates/business_plan/build_business_plan.py --check  # validate only
python3 ../01_System/portable/templates/business_plan/build_business_plan.py           # generate HTML
```

---

## 7. FILE PLACEMENT

| File | Location | Mandated |
|---|---|---|
| `business_plan.json` | `01_System/` | Yes — at project intake |
| `BUSINESS_PLAN_A3.html` | `01_System/` (generated) | Yes — generated from JSON twin |
| `business_plan.schema.json` | `01_System/portable/templates/business_plan/` | Yes — in the portable layer |
| `build_business_plan.py` | `01_System/portable/templates/business_plan/` | Yes — in the portable layer |

---

## 8. INTEGRATION WITH EXISTING USE CASES

### UC02 `/SE-NEW-PROJECT`
**New step UC02S9:** Seed the mandatory Business Plan: an initial business_plan.json twin and the generated BUSINESS_PLAN_A3.html, with all seven sections populated from the project framing.

### UC04 `/SE-DESIGN`
**New edge:** UC04S9 calls SP07 efficiency audit when regenerating project documents.

### UC06 `/SE-BUILD`
**New edge:** UC06S1 calls SP07 efficiency audit before building.

### UC08 `/SE-VALIDATE`
**Implicit:** Value-check step compares actual benefits delivered against the Business Plan's projections.

### UC10 `/SE-AUDIT
**Implicit:** Cost-check step compares actual spend against the Business Plan's running-cost projections.

---

## 9. CHECKER UPDATES

| Check | What it verifies | Status |
|---|---|---|
| C-I01 | PORTABLE_CORE.md matches CORE_PIN | Updated — new CORE_PIN for PIL v1.5 |
| C-I17 | Drawing and register agree (UC15, SP07) | Passing — 15 use cases, 7 sub-processes |
| C-I21 | Instruction files under 32KB | Passing — CLAUDE.md slimmed |
| C-I24 | CLAUDE.md hand-authored text matches pin | Updated — new governed_head_sha256 |
| C-BP1..C-BP12 | Business plan JSON validation | New — in build_business_plan.py |

---

## 10. COMPLIANCE NOTES

This addition is compliant with the existing framework:

1. **Follows the trace chain:** IT-127 → REQ-BUS-### → UC15/SP07 → templates → evidence
2. **Uses the existing pattern:** JSON twin + generator + A3 HTML (same as project_docs)
3. **Integrated into the process:** New use case, new sub-process, updated lifecycle diagram
4. **Registered properly:** All rows in USE_CASES.md, PIL_REQUIREMENTS.md, INSTRUCTION_TRACE.md
5. **Checked mechanically:** check_instructions.py passes all 24 checks
6. **File placement correct:** All files in their mapped folders per FILE_PLACEMENT_MAP.md

---

## 11. NEXT STEPS

1. **Zaid ratifies** the 14 new REQ rows (PROPOSED → RATIFIED)
2. **CR-012 raised** to formalise the change
3. **Sample business_plan.json** created for the governance project as exemplar
4. **Standard v4.0 .docx** updated with the new Part J
5. **Rollout pack** updated to include the new templates
6. **Other projects** get the business layer installed

---

**EVIDENCE:** `01_System/portable/templates/business_plan/` | METHOD: Inspection | PRODUCED-BY: GLM-5.3 (ZCode) | VERIFIED-BY: Unverified | DATE: 2026-09-07