May 25th, 2009 by Rob Llewellyn

An area which many programmes seem to lack is Benefits Management. This seems a bit silly when the fundamental reason for beginning a programme is to realise benefits through change; whether it’s to do things in a new way or to do things that will influence others to change.

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in London has defined MSP principles that include emphasis on Benefits Management (BM) with the following keys stages:

BM Process

BM Strategy

Identifying Benefits

A Quantification of Benefits

A Set of Benefit Profiles

Benefit Modelling

Benefits Realisation Plan

The Review of Benefit Realisation

The Responsibilities for Benefits Managements

As benefits are the quantification of the change delivered by a programme, the benefits should be used to help direct and make decisions throughout the course of the programme.

During the course of our Programme Management roles we will have determined the critical measures and indicators of success and made arrangements to ensure the programme remains appropriate and on track to deliver the intended outcomes and benefits.

We should continue to check that:

- The planned outcomes remain realistically achievable;

- The planned outcomes are not changed in scope, relationship or value;

- All the main stakeholders remain committed and confident that outcomes will be achieved when planned;

- The plan for achieving outcomes is being managed effectively;

- The plan is monitored against agreed performance measures/key performance indicators and any problems resolved promptly.

Where key benefits have been properly identified, e.g. increased efficiency or more effective service delivery, these benefits should be properly managed in the same way. We should be able to define exactly what a benefit will deliver in a way that can be measured, using realistic timescales, risks and costs. Every benefit must be linked to planned outcomes and every benefit must be assigned to an owner who is responsible and accountable for its eventual realisation.

In very large programmes of work, a business change manager will often coordinate the benefits realisation on behalf of the business areas owning those benefits.

Business, change management, Consulting, leadership, Management, program management, programme management, project management