Write a business case or decision paper

A bigger decision needs a proper paper: options, costs, risks and a recommendation. Get the structure filled in from your notes, with the gaps marked.

Updated 17 Oct 2026

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The prompt · ChatGPT

Help me write a business case or decision paper.

The decision: [what needs deciding, by whom, by when]
Options: [including "do nothing"]
What I know about each: [costs, benefits, risks, time]
My recommendation: [if I have one]

Ask me up to 3 short questions first if anything important is missing. Wait for my answers.

Then:
1. A summary: decision needed, recommendation, cost, benefit.
2. Background in 5 lines.
3. An options table: cost, benefit, risk, time, for each option.
4. The recommendation and why, with the main risks and how to manage them.
5. Next steps if approved.
6. A list of every figure I still need to supply.

Only use what I've told you, leave blanks for anything I haven't given, and don't invent facts, dates or results. UK English.

Stay in this ChatGPT chat. Do not turn on apps or connectors, and do not use memory from another chat.

A short example

Fill the blanks, then paste. what needs deciding, by whom, by when: a short note you already have. including "do nothing": a short note you already have. Leave the rest of the prompt as written.

You type the decision, the options and what you know about each.

The assistant asks about costs, benefits, risks and who decides.

You get a business case with an options table, a recommendation and the gaps to fill.

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What happens

Use ChatGPT to write a business case or decision paper

A bigger decision needs a proper paper: options, costs, risks and a recommendation. Get the structure filled in from your notes, with the gaps marked.

Tools

Paste the prompt, fill the blanks, copy the draft.

ChatGPT — required. Drafts from the text you paste. Nothing is sent.

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