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People treat benefits as a box to tick on the business case, deflating or inflating them to facilitate project approval.
Even if benefits are properly defined, they are usually forgotten once the project is underway.
Subsequent changes to project scope may impact the viability of the project’s business benefits, resulting in solutions that do not deliver expected value.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

It is rare for project teams or sponsors to be held accountable for managing and/or measuring benefits. The assumption is often that no one will ask if benefits have been realized after the project is closed.
The focus is largely on the project’s schedule, budget, and scope, with little attention paid to the value that the project is meant to deliver to the organization.
Without an objective stakeholder to hold people accountable for defining benefits and demonstrating their delivery, benefits will continue to be treated as red tape.
Sponsors will not take the time to define benefits properly, if at all. The project team will not take the time to ensure they are still achievable as the project progresses. When the project is complete, no one will investigate actual project success.

Impact and Result

The project sponsor and business unit leaders must own project benefits; IT is only accountable for delivering the solution.
IT can play a key role in this process by establishing and supporting a benefits realization process. They can help business unit leaders and sponsors define benefits properly, identify meaningful metrics, and report on benefits realization effectively.
The project management office is ideally suited to facilitate this process by providing tools and templates, and a consistent and comparable view across projects.
Project managers are accountable for delivering the project, not for delivering the benefits of the project itself. However, they must ensure that changes to project scope are assessed for impact on benefits viability.

Measure IT Project Value Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should establish a benefits legitimacy practice, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Measure IT Project Value – Executive Brief

1. Establish benefits legitimacy during portfolio Intake

This phase will help you define a benefits management process to help support effective benefits definition during portfolio intake.

2. Maintain benefits legitimacy throughout project planning and execution

This phase will help you define a process for effective benefits management during project planning and the execution intake phase.

3. Close the deal on project benefits

This phase will help you define a process for effectively tracking and reporting on benefits realization post-project.

Member Testimonials

After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.

9.3/10

Overall Impact

$4,366

Average $ Saved

6

Average Days Saved

Client

Experience

Impact

$ Saved

Days Saved

Testimonial

Sleeman Breweries

Guided Implementation

9/10

$2,000

6

Best: Seeing that Sleeman PMO is on track but also seeing how we can be better (more efficient, provide more value to the organization). Worst: we... Read More

Absa Group Limited

Guided Implementation

9/10

$2,000

2

Kichler Lighting

Guided Implementation

10/10

$9,099

10

There are great tools available. I really like that you provide the framework for benefits realization and suggested KPIs. Travis is very knowledge... Read More

Caesars Entertainment

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

N/A

Helmerich & Payne, Inc.

Guided Implementation

10/10

$991K

23

The Benefits Legitimacy tools and modeling will help guide our company activate a new EPMO department to funnel all ideas, changes, and innovation ... Read More

Westmoreland Mining LLC

Guided Implementation

9/10

N/A

N/A

Social Security Administration

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

N/A

Ugbad has been instrumental with helping me plan and support my organization. I thoroughly enjoy our discussions and her knowledge of PPM is impres... Read More

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc.

Guided Implementation

8/10

N/A

N/A

I got some good suggestions for better ways to structure project benefit forecasting which will help us become more quantified in the business case.

Wings Financial Credit Union

Guided Implementation

8/10

N/A

N/A

Load More Testimonials

Workshop: Measure IT Project Value

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Analyze the Current State of Benefits Management

The Purpose

Assess the current state of benefits management at your organization and establish a realistic target state.
Establish project and portfolio baselines for benefits management.

Key Benefits Achieved

Set achievable workshop goals and align stakeholder expectations.
Establish a solid foundation for benefits management success.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Introductions and overview.

1.2

Discuss attendee expectations and goals.

1.3

Complete Info-Tech’s PPM Current State Scorecard.

Info-Tech’s PPM Current State Scorecard report

1.4

Perform right-wrong-confusing-missing analysis.

Right-wrong-confusing-missing analysis

1.5

Define target state for benefits management.

Stakeholder alignment around workshop goals and target state

1.6

Refine project levels.

Info-Tech’s Project Intake Classification Matrix

Module 2: Establish Benefits Legitimacy During Portfolio Intake

The Purpose

Establish organizationally specific benefit metrics and KPIs.
Develop clear roles and accountabilities for benefits management.

Key Benefits Achieved

An articulation of project benefits and measurements.
Clear checkpoints for benefits communication during the project are defined.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Map the current portfolio intake process.

2.2

Establish project sponsor responsibilities and accountabilities for benefits management.

Info-Tech’s Project Sponsor Role Description Template

2.3

Develop organizationally specific benefit metrics and KPIs.

Info-Tech’s Benefits Commitment Form Template

2.4

Integrate intake legitimacy into portfolio intake processes.

Intake legitimacy process flow and RASCI chart
Intake legitimacy SOP

Module 3: Maintain Benefits Legitimacy Throughout Project Planning and Execution

The Purpose

Develop a customized SOP for benefits management during project planning and execution.

Key Benefits Achieved

Ensure that all changes to the project have been recorded and benefits have been updated in preparation for deployment.
Updated benefits expectations are included in the final sign-off package.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Map current project management process and audit project management documentation.

Customized project management toolkit

3.2

Identify appropriate benefits control points.

Info-Tech’s Project Benefits Documentation Workbook

3.3

Customize project management documentation to integrate benefits.

Deployment of legitimacy process flow and RASCI chart

3.4

Develop a deployment legitimacy process flow.

Deployment of legitimacy SOP

Module 4: Close the Deal on Project Benefits

The Purpose

Develop a post-project benefits realization process.

Key Benefits Achieved

Clear project sponsorship accountabilities for post-project benefits tracking and reporting.
A portfolio level benefits tracking tool for reporting on benefits attainment.

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Identify appropriate benefits control points in the post-project process.

4.2

Configure Info-Tech’s Portfolio Benefits Tracking Tool.

Info-Tech’s Portfolio Benefits Tracking Tool

4.3

Define a post-project benefits reporting process.

Post-Project legitimacy process flow and RASCI chart

4.4

Formalize protocol for reporting on, and course correcting, benefit lags.

4.5

Develop a post-project legitimacy process flow.

Post-Project Legitimacy SOP
Info-Tech’s Benefits Legitimacy Handbook
Info-Tech’s Benefits Legitimacy Workflow Template

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

Table of Contents

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Guided Implementation 1: Establish benefits legitimacy during portfolio intake

Call 1: Scoping call.
Call 2: Establish a job description for project sponsors.
Call 3: Customize the metrics in the Benefits Commitment Form Template.
Call 4: Develop a process flow for intake legitimacy and clarify roles and responsibilities.

Guided Implementation 2: Maintain benefits legitimacy throughout project planning and execution

Call 1: Review how benefits are managed within the project management lifecycle.
Call 2: Integrate benefits management tactics and tools into your existing project management processes.
Call 3: Develop a process flow for deployment legitimacy and clarify roles and responsibilities.

Guided Implementation 3: Close the deal on project benefits

Call 1: Review and pilot Info-Tech’s Portfolio Benefits Tracking Tool.
Call 2: Define a post-project benefits reporting process.
Call 3: Establish protocol for analyzing benefit lags.
Call 4: Develop a process flow for post-project legitimacy and clarify roles and responsibilities.

Authors

Travis Duncan

Barry Cousins

Michael Gyssels

Contributors

Sandra Ellis, Principal of Electric Technology Deployment, Pacific Gas & Electric Company
Rory Friedman, Vice President of Operations, ILLUMITI
Ralph Gardiner, Director, Kaihen
Brenda Hobbs, Director of Enterprise Information Management, Barrick Gold Corporation
Gerry Holmes, Director of Information Technology, Canadian Cancer Society
Bashar Kellow, Senior Project Manager, Entergy Services, Inc.
Susan Kozik, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Group Health Cooperative
Charles Stevens, Principal and Managing Director, Anderson Worth Management Consulting

Search Code: 75860
Last Revised: April 5, 2019

TAGS:

Benefits Realization, Benefits Realisation, Root Cause Analysis, Lag, Benefits Delivery, Benefits Realization Management, Benefits Management, BRM, Benefit Metrics, PPM, Portfolio Management Project Management, Video, Whiteboard, Whiteboard Series

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