<!-- Investment case (NPV summary) · from Chapter 12 of The Product 360 Handbook -->

# Investment case · [Initiative] · [Date]

**Owner:** [PM]   **Finance partner:** [name]   **Decision maker:** [name]   **Decision needed by:** [date]

## Decision asked
[One sentence: approve $[ ] for [scope] through [first gate].]

## Options
| Option | Description | Baseline assumption |
|---|---|---|
| Do nothing | | [Realistic baseline, including erosion if competitors move] |
| Option A | | |
| Option B (staged) | | |

## Key assumptions
| Driver | Value | Evidence | Confidence (H/M/L) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adoption (customers, ramp) | | | |
| Price and value metric | | | |
| Gross margin (including inference) | | | |
| Cost to build | | | |
| Cost to run | | | |
| Time to first revenue | | | |

## Cash flow summary (by year, versus do-nothing baseline)
| | Year 0 | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incremental revenue | | | | | |
| Incremental gross profit | | | | | |
| Investment | | | | | |
| Erosion avoided versus baseline | | | | | |
| Net cash flow | | | | | |

## Results
- Discount rate (from finance): [ ]%
- NPV: $[ ]   Payback: [ ] months   IRR (if finance uses it): [ ]%
- NPV against a flat baseline, for comparison: $[ ]

## Sensitivity (top three drivers)
| Driver | Value at which NPV reaches zero | How far that is from the base case |
|---|---|---|
| | | |

## Scenarios
| Scenario | Key differences | NPV |
|---|---|---|
| Downside | | |
| Base | | |
| Upside | | |

## Stage gates and kill criteria
| Gate | Date | Evidence required to continue | Kill or pivot if |
|---|---|---|---|
| | | | |

## Value not in the numbers
- Strategic options this creates (flexibility):
- Risks not modeled: