Cost Benefit Analysis

What it does

This skill guides an agent through building a rigorous business case using a benefits-realization framework. It provides a step-by-step workflow to define the decision, categorize one-time and recurring costs, map outputs to benefits and business objectives, quantify benefits over a multi-year horizon, and calculate NPV, ROI, and payback period. The skill emphasizes tracing intangible benefits to proxy metrics and owning realization with named stakeholders.

When to use it

Apply this skill when a user asks for a cost-benefit analysis, business case, ROI calculation, investment appraisal, or help deciding build vs buy. It triggers for queries like "cost-benefit analysis", "is this worth it", "payback period", or "total cost of ownership." Use it to produce executive summaries, financial tables, sensitivity analyses, and recommendations.

What's included

• Scripts: templates for year-by-year cost/benefit tables and NPV/ROI calculations (document-style outputs).
• References: Best-practice checklist (benefits mapping, TCO, sensitivity analysis) and example document structure for an output CBA.
• Instructions: how to run risk adjustments, probability-weight benefits, and present a recommendation based on risk-adjusted NPV.

Compatible agents

Generalist assistants and business-analysis workflows; works without special tooling and is suitable for agents that can produce structured markdown reports and tables.