Benefits and Cost Logic Chain Before Any Business Case Numbers

Act as a consultant building the logic for a business case. Before anyone puts numbers in a spreadsheet, the chain of cause and effect needs to be agreed.

Proposed initiative: {{INITIATIVE}}
Claimed benefits from the client or sponsor: {{CLAIMED_BENEFITS}}
Costs and efforts known so far: {{KNOWN_COSTS}}
Time horizon: {{HORIZON}}

Create the logic chain:
1. For each claimed benefit, map the chain from activity to output to outcome to financial or non-financial value. Highlight each link where the causation is only assumed.
2. Classify benefits as cost reduction, revenue increase, risk reduction, or non-financial, and flag any double-counting between them.
3. List all categories of cost: one-off, ongoing, internal time, change and training, and risk allowances. Mark categories missing from my list.
4. For each benefit and cost, specify the data needed, the likely owner (role), and a measurement method.
5. Describe the baseline and how we agree it with finance before measuring the benefit.
6. Identify the benefits that are hardest to evidence and recommend whether to exclude them from the headline case.

Do not give any figures, rates or typical returns. Output: a chain table with columns Benefit, Chain, Assumed links, Data needed, Owner; then the cost categories, baseline and exclusion advice.