Realise the Benefits
Organisations do not implement projects to come in on time and budget, they implement them to solve problems and deliver benefits.
Are we better off now that the project is completed?
What will it do for you?
So the project is now complete and the team has moved onto another project. This is typical and the sponsor may be asking – was it worth it? Did we solve the problem?
Sometimes a project is a failure – over budget and time but did deliver the benefits. Long after the project has been completed and paid for what is left is the result – the benefits.
Realising benefits can come during, straight after or sometimes several months after a project has been completed.
It is perhaps the most important phase of the framework.
To realise benefits relies heavily on change management and also on a benefits realisation plan that should have been developed with the business case.
This stage of the framework concentrates on implementing the benefits realisation plan by tracking the benefits and making adjustments as required.
We map the benefits using the 8 benefit areas above and divide them into:
• Measurable – there is data that can be captured to track the benefit
• Assessable – an assessment is made to ensure the benefit has been delivered
These are normally tracked until they are delivered or the sponsor has decided not to continue tracking the benefits.
By tracking the benefits and making adjustments, if necessary, ensures you get what you were going to get.
Outcomes
Next steps
