Best Practices in Benefit and

Value Realization

Anne T. Donelan
 Best Practices in Benefit and Value Realization

Introductions
Benefit/Value Realization as a Process
and Discipline
PowerSteering Configuration Concepts
Keys to Success
Final Questions

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Benefits realization what is it?

Ensuring that the benefits or value envisioned as a

result of doing a project are in fact achieved.

A methodology for planning and confirming benefits

delivery.

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Ponderings

Are we achieving what we set out to

achieve?
Do you and your teams excel at meeting
your project schedule and key deliverables
but struggle to demonstrate the value
delivered?
What happens post-delivery to drive value
and deliver benefits?

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Analyst findings
Continuous
measurement increases
ROI by 20%.
Companies without a
governance process
never exceeded their
financial benefit
expectations and only met
them 50% of the time.
Source: Leading Analyst Firms
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91% of companies that constantly tracked
their KPIs met or exceeded ROI
expectations, versus 71% that just
checked them once at the end of the
project.
Companies have centralized many project and
improvement activities, but the biggest predictor of
success was the assigning of a senior executive, who
reports to the executive committee, to be in charge of
overall BPI.
60% of the companies that took this approach were
highly satisfied with their results, versus 41% that had
a less senior group and 27% of those that did not use
this approach.
Benefits / value realization adoption

Integral part of advanced PPM practices

Where might benefits / value realization be a good fit?

IT PMO
Operational improvement
Productivity
Transformation
M&A

Methodology sits nicely within existing stage-gate

frameworks as a key discipline

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Benefits realization why it matters

What is our new

Which projects are our
Planning whitespace opportunity
best ones to invest in?
for improvement?

Are we getting what we

What can we change to
Execution Should we continue to thought? Why or why
bring value delivery back
invest in this? not? What are the
on track?
barriers?

Can we assess and

Retrospective/ Which projects delivered
define why that
Celebrate our
improvement well or poorly? successes!
happened?

Better planning leads to better results

Measuring results leads to better outcomes

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Benefits realization maturity model
Levels 1-3 become layers and build
upon the former
Level 0
No benefits / value Level 1
realization

Each project can identify Level 2

and list core benefits
anticipated
Benefits/value realization Level 3
becomes a core part of
Benefit results tracked your project planning
and quantified (KPIs) and execution process
with a standard set of
benefits categories
Benefits strategy
established
Connect planned and in-
process benefits to
strategies
Benefits portfolio
management aligned to
benefits strategy
Benefits platform road
mapping
Ongoing evaluation of
benefits strategies,
processes, criteria, and
KPIs to determine where
new whitespace
opportunity exists for
delivering value/benefit
results

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Benefits realization process stream

Identify and
structure
Define proposed
benefits

How to
achieve at
portfolio and Plan
project levels

Monitor realization
Achieve of benefits

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PowerSteering enables

Visibility into your benefits portfolio

Management of a benefits portfolio
Early awareness of risks affecting benefit delivery
Management of benefits realization beyond project
completion
Benefits realization maturity model progression

Managing this on spreadsheets and external

to project context is challenging!

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Definitions

An advantage delivered to the

Benefit business

Activities or deliverables that need

Enabler to occur for the benefit to be viable

Key Performance Indicator

used to capture and assess the
KPI trend toward accomplishing the
desired benefit

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 Benefit types

Quantifiable and Observable

measurable
Financial impact Behavior
Quality improvement Engagement level
Operational efficiency & Confidence
effectiveness Stress levels
Productivity Morale
Skills improvement Improved collaboration
Total cost of ownership effectiveness

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Enabler categories

People Process

Technology Financial

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 Enablers financial examples

Investments
People Process
Equipment
Expertise

Technology Financial

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 Enablers process examples

Implementing a
knowledge capture
People Process
process
Implementing an
onboarding process
Developing and Technology Financial
implementing a new
manufacturing process

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 Enablers people examples

Making a key hire

Reorganization People Process

Training delivery

Technology Financial

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Enablers technology examples

Systems integrated for

better information flow
People Process
Leveraging mobile
technology
Video conferencing
Technology Financial

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Benefits / value realization architectures

Top Down
Set of defined benefit strategies or outcomes
Set of enabler categories and KPIs
More commonly matured into

Roadmap Visibility
Benefits Portfolio

Bottom Up
Common in organizations where projects are highly diverse
Less standardization, up to each project to define its benefit
realization path
Develop a path to connect to strategies or outcomes as BR
process matures

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Benefits realization portfolio management

Simple Advanced
(aggregate individual initiatives from (meta-data aggregation, insightful
using existing portfolios and the lens of analysis to drive benefits realization
Benefits Realization) planning)

What KPIs are we tracking across What % of our KPIs are on track/off
this set of projects? track relative to target?
What benefits categories are we What benefits categories are we
tracking and how many KPIs? unlikely to achieve?
How many enablers? What does our overall benefits
Amount of benefit by project/ roadmap look like?
program/category? What is our whitespace opportunity?
Which initiatives are good
candidates based on benefits value
projected?
Which initiatives benefits delivery
are at risk? Should we continue
these or reinvest elsewhere?

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PRACTICAL APPROACH
WITHIN POWERSTEERING
Conceptual approaches

Organizational KPIs
Usable when an organization
has a standard set of
strategic KPIs toward which
its planning toward and
tracking.

Project KPIs
Useful when projects each
have individual KPIs they are
tracking against rather than
contributing to an
organizational KPI.

Combined
Perfectly valid to adopt both
concepts if your organization
is mature enough with Value/
Benefit realization to do so.

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PowerSteering benefits architecture
(organizational KPIs)

Enabler
Benefit 1
1A In this architecture, each
Enabler project has a set of
Project 1B
ABC benefits unique to it,
Enabler
2A enablers unique to those
Benefit 2
Enabler
KPI 1
benefits.
2B
KPI 2

The organization manages

KPI 3
to a standardized, overall
Enabler 3A
KPI 4 set of KPIs.
Benefit 3 Enabler 3B
KPI 5
Enabler It is suitable for an
3C
Project
XYZ
KPI 6
organization whose KPIs
Enabler 4A
are easily standardized.
Benefit 4 Enabler 4B

Enabler 4C

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PowerSteering benefits architecture
(non-standard KPIs)

Enabler 1A KPIs

Benefit 1 Enabler 1B KPIs

Enabler 1C KPIs
Project
ABC
Enabler 2A KPIs
In this architecture, each project
Benefit 2 Enabler 2B KPIs has a set of benefits unique to it,
Enabler 2C KPIs enablers unique to those
benefits, and KPIs unique to
those enablers.
Enabler 3A KPIs

Benefit 3 Enabler 3B KPIs It is suitable for an organization

Enabler 3C KPIs whose KPIs are non-standard.
Project
XYZ
Enabler 4A KPIs

Benefit 4 Enabler 4B KPIs

Enabler 4C KPIs

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PowerSteering benefits architecture
(combined)
Enabler KPIs
1A
Enabler KPIs
Benefit 1 1B
Enabler KPIs
1C
Outcome 1 Project
Enabler
2A
KPIs
This architecture
Benefit 2
Enabler
2B KPIs employs both
Enabler
KPIs
concepts; individual
2C
project KPIs and
Enabler KPIs
connects to outcomes
3A
Enabler
and / or organizational
Benefit 3 KPIs
3B KPIs.
Enabler KPIs
3C
Outcome 2 Project
Enabler KPIs
4A
Enabler
Benefit 4 4B KPIs

Enabler
4C KPIs

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Organizational KPI dashboard

KPI Name # # % benefits Est value

projects launching on track driven
w/in 30 ($MM USD)
days
Improve supply 10 2 50% $2.5
chain consistency
Increase line 15 0 30% $5.6
productivity
Reduce 5 1 90% $1.8
production waste
Talent 18 2 80% $9.4
management

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 KPI summary page organizational KPI

Core KPI details

Example summary panel; what details are driving

this overall KPI?

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KEYS TO SUCCESS
Success factors

Start measuring
Fit for purpose
Process definition and governance
Develop clear internal guidance and
playbooks with examples relevant to your
business
Develop this as a discipline

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What are companies current aspirations?

Level 0
No benefits/value Level 1
realization

Each project can identify Level 2

and list core benefits
anticipated
Benefits/value realization Level 3
becomes a core part of
Benefit results tracked and your project planning and
quantified (KPIs) execution process with a
standard set of benefits
categories
Benefits strategy
established
Connect planned and in-
process benefits to
strategies
Benefits portfolio
management aligned to
benefits strategy
Benefits platform
roadmapping
Ongoing evaluation of
benefits strategies,
processes, criteria, and
KPIs to determine where
new whitespace
opportunity exists for
delivering value/benefit
results

Were finding most organizations aspire to

confidently achieve a solid Level 1

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Level 1 is achievable!

Start small appropriate subset of projects

Define benefits
Identify enablers that help achieve those benefits
Identify KPIs to monitor if benefit is measurable
Monitor during project execution

What do you need in PowerSteering to do this?

Distinct object types (Benefit, Enabler, KPI)
Benefits form
Enabler form
KPI form This gives you a good
KPI capture measure springboard for
Summary panels
maturing into Level 2
Portfolios
Reports

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 Q&A

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