For years, many projects have been declared “successful” for meeting schedule and budget targets, even when their outcomes did not generate the expected value for the organization. In industrial and engineering environments, where investments are substantial and technical risks significant, this perspective is increasingly insufficient. Today, the true indicator of a project’s success is not only how it is executed, but how much real value it delivers and what return on investment (ROI) it is capable of generating.
In this context, business analysis becomes a key discipline for connecting strategic objectives with the project’s technical and operational decisions. More than a documentary exercise, business analysis makes it possible to understand real needs, evaluate alternatives, prioritize solutions, and anticipate economic impacts from the earliest stages. When properly integrated, it acts as a protection mechanism for ROI, helping to avoid misaligned investments, late changes, and solutions that meet technical requirements but fail to generate sustainable business benefits.
Business analysis and its impact on return on investment
Business analysis is a structured discipline aimed at identifying real business problems, defining needs, evaluating options, and recommending solutions that generate measurable value. Industrial and engineering projects are typically characterized by narrow margins for error and significant investments; for these reasons, this discipline plays a critical role in linking technical decisions with expected economic outcomes.
The impact of business analysis on return on investment lies in the fact that it acts before capital is committed. A solid business analysis makes it possible to answer questions such as: Is the proposed solution truly necessary? Are there more efficient alternatives? Does the expected benefit justify the investment? What risks could affect the return? By addressing these questions systematically, resources are not invested in initiatives that meet technical objectives but fail to generate sustainable value for the organization.
Unlike project management, which focuses on executing what has been defined, business analysis focuses on correctly defining what should be executed. This reduces the risk of scope creep, rework, and late changes—factors that typically deteriorate ROI. In addition, by prioritizing requirements based on value rather than solely on technical criteria, business analysis helps concentrate investment on what truly impacts the project’s financial and operational results.
In the following video from TechcanvassAcademy, you can get an illustrative overview of the essence of business analysis and the roles of the people involved in this business discipline.
What is Business Analysis?
Business analysis throughout the project life cycle
The value of business analysis is maximized when it is continuously integrated throughout the project life cycle, rather than treated as a one-time initiation activity. In the identification and formulation phase, business analysis makes it possible to translate a strategic need into clear objectives, assess technical and economic feasibility, and compare solution scenarios considering costs, benefits, risks, and operational constraints. Decisions made at this stage determine a large portion of the project’s future ROI.
During planning and execution, business analysis plays a key role in requirements management and validation. It ensures that the technical solutions developed respond to business needs and that proposed changes are evaluated in terms of economic impact, not only technical feasibility. This approach prevents the incorporation of modifications that increase costs and timelines without providing proportional value.
At the closing and transition-to-operations stage, business analysis facilitates benefits verification by comparing the results achieved with the expected benefits defined at the outset. This traceability between objectives, requirements, and outcomes makes it possible to evaluate the project’s actual return on investment and generate lessons learned that strengthen decision-making in future initiatives. In this way, business analysis becomes a key enabler of sustainable, value-oriented projects.
Business analysis in industrial and engineering projects
Industrial and engineering projects present characteristics that clearly differentiate them from other types of initiatives: high investment amounts, long life cycles, strong dependence on physical assets, multiple technical disciplines, and significant exposure to operational, environmental, and safety risks. In this context, business analysis ceases to be a theoretical exercise and becomes an essential element for protecting return on investment.
In this type of project, business analysis makes it possible to align engineering decisions with the organization’s strategic and financial objectives. This involves evaluating not only the technically optimal solution, but the one that offers the best balance among performance, total life-cycle cost, risk, and operational flexibility. An oversized solution or one designed without a comprehensive vision may comply with technical standards yet negatively affect ROI.
Furthermore, business analysis helps manage the inherent complexity of these projects by facilitating the early identification of critical interfaces, regulatory constraints, and operational dependencies. By integrating variables such as maintainability, reliability, safety, and sustainability from the initial phases, hidden costs that typically arise during construction or operation are reduced. In this way, business analysis acts as a bridge between engineering, operations, and business, ensuring that each technical decision contributes to the project’s expected value.
Business analysis tools to maximize ROI
To maximize return on investment, business analysis relies on a set of tools that structure decisions, evaluate alternatives, and prioritize initiatives based on value. Among the most relevant are cost–benefit analysis techniques, which compare the required investment with the expected economic and operational benefits, considering not only initial costs but also operating, maintenance, and end-of-life costs.
Another key tool is feasibility analysis, which integrates technical, financial, regulatory, and operational aspects to determine whether an initiative is sustainable over time. Complementarily, value models and scenario analysis make it possible to assess how variations in critical variables—such as prices, demand, technical risks, or operating conditions—may impact the project’s ROI.
Value-based requirements prioritization is also fundamental. Tools such as prioritization matrices, as well as the application of multicriteria models, help focus resources on functionalities and solutions that generate greater economic impact, avoiding marginal investments. Finally, structured risk management, through dynamic matrices and sensitivity analysis, makes it possible to anticipate events that could erode return on investment and define preventive actions from early stages. Taken together, these tools transform business analysis into a practical and effective mechanism for maximizing the value of industrial and engineering projects.
Conclusions
In industrial and engineering projects, true success is not measured solely by meeting deadlines and budgets, but by the ability to generate sustainable value and a real return on investment. In this context, business analysis is consolidated as a key discipline to ensure that technical, operational, and financial decisions are aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives.
Integrating business analysis from the early stages of the project makes it possible to identify real needs, evaluate alternatives using economic criteria, and manage risks that often compromise ROI. Throughout the project life cycle, this discipline acts as a value control mechanism, preventing scope creep, late changes, and solutions that, although technically viable, do not provide benefits proportional to the investment made.
In light of the above, strengthening business analysis capabilities is not an option, but a necessary condition for improving the quality of decisions, optimizing capital use, and maximizing return on investment in high-impact projects.
References
- International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). (2015). A guide to the business analysis body of knowledge (BABOK® Guide) (3rd ed.). IIBA.
- Project Management Institute (PMI). (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (7th ed.). PMI.
- ISO. (2018). ISO 21502: Project, programme and portfolio management — Guidance on project management. International Organization for Standardization.
- Kerzner, H. (2017). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling (12th ed.). Wiley.
- Turner, J. R. (2014). The handbook of project-based management. McGraw-Hill Education.