The Benefits of Benefits Management

A short exercise

Start with the End in Mind

Why did Wellington fight at Waterloo?

It’s not only what you do, it’s also why you choose to do it

B) Use up the old gunpowder

before its sell-by date

A) Defeat Napoleon convincingly

and remove France as a threat to

European peace

C) A failed insurance scam to

get a new horse

Answer: A (if you didn’t pick A you are not taking this seriously)

The measurable improvement resulting from an outcome perceived as an advantage by one or more stakeholders, which contributes towards one or more organisational objective(s).

APMG Managing Benefits 2012

The simple definition:A benefit is a result that a stakeholder perceives to be of value

What is it all for?What is a benefit?

The Benefits Dependency Network

MEANS WAYS ENDS

• These are the areas to consider.

• What people, processes and technology are in use?

• Who are the stakeholders who get benefit?

• What does the organisation want to achieve?

• What business environment is it in?

The

Enterprise

Benefits Management in Portfolio Management

•The project’s aim is to embed BM into The Enterprise’s portfolio

•Your task is to define the Objectives and Benefits half of a Benefits Dependency Network

•You have 15 minutes

Benefits Management in Portfolio Management

•Having determined the Objectives and Benefits, now complete other half of the Benefits Dependency Network and make the links from Enabler through to Objective

•You have 15 minutes

Observations

• Lack of radical change• SMART implies small - strategic objectives get de-scoped

• BM to validate / justify existing plans

• Inappropriate benefits

• BDN helps rationalisation• The amount of activity required to deliver each benefit

• The validity of projects mapped to strategic objectives

• Re-defined objectives

• Iteration works

Discussion