The OTR GroupA project can be delivered on time, to budget and to specification, and still leave people asking what changed. That gap is where benefits management lives. Here are four common myths about project benefits, set against published guidance.
First, what is benefits management?
The Association for Project Management (APM) defines benefits management as "the identification, definition, planning, tracking and realisation of benefits". It describes benefits realisation as "the practice of ensuring that benefits are derived from outputs and outcomes". In short, the thing a project builds is not the benefit; the benefit is what the organisation gains from using it.
Myth 1: When the project closes, the benefits have arrived
The guidance says otherwise. APM notes that benefits usually have tangible value, ideally expressed in money, to justify the investment, and that they often appear some time after the change goes live. Success criteria, by contrast, are known at handover. A project can therefore close cleanly while its benefits are still to come.
The Northern Ireland Department of Finance makes a similar point. It describes benefits management as running from the start of an investment until the last projected benefit has been achieved, which may be well after the project team has moved on.
Myth 2: Benefits and success criteria are the same thing
They overlap, but they are not identical. APM defines project success as "the satisfaction of stakeholder needs", measured by the success criteria agreed at the start. Benefits, on the other hand, focus on strategic intent and beneficial change. APM also observes that many projects leave benefits realisation out of their success criteria because another part of the organisation handles it.
That is not necessarily wrong, but it should be a deliberate choice. APM advises keeping a clear link between benefits, success criteria, project objectives and project requirements.
Myth 3: The project manager owns the benefits
Usually not. APM says the sponsor is accountable for benefits realisation, while the project manager is accountable for achieving the project success criteria. The Department of Finance guidance refers to a Senior Responsible Owner as accountable for success, which depends on delivery of the expected benefits. It also lists "a lack of clear ownership of benefits beyond the business case" as a common pitfall.
Myth 4: Benefits management is a business case exercise
It starts there, but it should not stop there. The Department of Finance describes four stages:
- identifying and structuring benefits;
- planning benefits realisation;
- realising and tracking benefits; and
- evaluation of benefits.
Only the first of these is typically written up in the business case. The other three happen as the work proceeds and after it ends.
A short checklist to take away
- Can you state each benefit in terms of change for the organisation, not just something delivered?
- Is each benefit specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time bound? That is the Department of Finance test for a desired benefit.
- Is there a named person accountable for each benefit, including after the project team disbands?
- Do you know who will measure it, how, and when?
- If benefits are outside the project's success criteria, has someone agreed that explicitly?
- Is there a planned point to evaluate whether the benefits actually arrived?
The takeaway
Projects change things; benefits are the reason for changing them. If nobody is looking after them once the project closes, the investment may never be seen to pay off. Asking the six questions above early is a low-cost way to make that less likely.
The OTR Group shares plain-English project delivery, risk and governance insight for project professionals in the UK. This article is general information, not professional advice.