Before we created the Autocase family of TBL-CBA software, our team of economists, along with engineers and architects conducted numerous custom assessments as consultants. Our collective knowledge is now reflected in Autocase, but, we have to admit, there were some moments along the way when we were caught off-guard and ran into some tricky traps: practices, policies and thinking that might have derailed us. We hope the following 10 will guide those interested in TBL-CBA but we also suspect that they will resonate with our fellow practitioners.

1.     Re-Inventing the Wheel

Cost-benefit analysis is a time-tested methodology. It was invented over a century ago, was standardized after World War II, and has been refined since. So, there’s no excuse not to use, as a starting point, existing national government guidance on methodologies and data (the US, Canadian, UK, Australia, and European Commission’s documents are particularly robust). These guidelines will also assist your efforts on how to be “MECE” – Mutually Exclusive and Comprehensively Exhaustive.

Click here if you would like an infographic of the Top Ten TBL-CBA Traps.