(Insert Project/Program Name)
BENEFITS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
TEMPLATE
Prepared for:
(Insert Project/Program Board Name)
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AMENDMENT LOG
REVISION HISTORY
Version
Date
Author
Comments/ Change
APPROVAL
Name
Role
Signature
Date
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CONTENTS
AMENDMENT LOG
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CONTENTS
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PURPOSE OF THIS STRATEGY
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BENEFITS MANAGEMENT IN THE XXX PROJECT/PROGRAM – WHY?
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PLANNING THE BENEFITS
3.1 IDENTIFYING AND MAPPING THE BENEFITS
3.2 SETTING BENEFIT PRIORITIES
3.3 BENEFIT PROFILES
3.4 BENEFIT REALISATION PLAN
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REALISING THE BENEFITS
4.1 EXECUTING THE BENEFIT REALISATION PLAN
4.2 REVIEWING AND EVALUATING BENEFIT REALISATION
4.3 GLOSSARY OF SPECIFIC BENEFITS MANAGEMENT TERMINOLOGY
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ATTACHMENT A: CHECKLIST OF DETAILED ACTIVITIES TO MANAGE
PRE- TRANSITION, TRANSITION AND POST TRANSITION.
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1
PURPOSE OF THIS STRATEGY
This Benefits Management Strategy sets out the approach and framework that
the XXX Project/Program will use to manage the realisation and delivery of
benefits.
It provides direction and information in terms of:
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The purpose of benefits management in the XXX Project/Program;
The approach to benefits planning, which includes how benefits are
identified, defined and prioritised;
The approach for the benefits realisation management process (after
benefits planning), and the criteria against which the effectiveness of
that process is to be measured;
The functions, roles and responsibilities of those involved in benefits
planning and benefit realisation;
When and how reviews and assessments concerned with measuring
benefit realisation will be carried out, and who is to be involved;
Measurement methods and steps that will be used to monitor and
assess the realisation of benefits;
The tool(s), system(s) and source(s) of information that may be used to
enable benefit measurement; and
The use and definition of any benefits management terminology that is
specific to the XXX Project/Program and the (Agency) context.
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BENEFITS MANAGEMENT IN THE XXX PROJECT/
PROGRAM – WHY?
The key objectives of benefits management in the XXX Project/Program is to:
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Provide ongoing alignment and clear links between the XXX
Project/Program, the (Agency) Strategic Plan and ultimately, the
initiative endorsed by government;
Ensure that benefits are identified, defined, and clearly linked to
(Agency) outcomes;
Ensure that the desired benefits are achievable and verifiable (and that
they can, and will be measured);
Ensure that the affected parts of the (Agency) business areas
understand their responsibilities and the critical role they play in benefit
realisation, and are able to commit to undertaking those activities;
Actively drive (rather than leave to chance) the process of realising
benefits, which includes actively measuring, tracking and recording
benefits during the period of benefits realisation; and
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Provide a “benefits roadmap” that serves as a continuing focus for the
delivery of the Project/Program and the necessary changes that need to
occur in the (Agency) operational areas.
Tip: This strategy should be reviewed on a regular basis to make sure that
things are still being done as intended. A good time to do this is when the XXX
Project/Program conducts a Benefits Review.
The “key objectives” that are listed in the previous paragraph provide a
good checklist for determining how well the Project/Program is
“managing benefits”.
Use it to check whether things are being forgotten or whether
management actions have gone off-the-track and are starting to miss
the point.
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PLANNING THE BENEFITS
Sound and realistic planning of benefits will be essential to the eventual success
of the XXX Project/Program.
Benefits Planning is an ongoing and iterative activity, especially when the
Project/Program (later on) considers or implements change(s) that are likely to
impact on its vision, business case, blueprint, and/or project/program plan.
Fig 1: The sequence of steps
to be followed in benefits
planning
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3.1
IDENTIFYING AND M APPING THE BENEFITS
The XXX Project/Program is required to establish and maintain a Benefits
Map* that captures and illustrates the relationships between the outputs that
the projects are producing; the business changes that are needed to take on
the new capability; the outcome(s) that are expected from the successful
conduct of those business changes; the benefits (intermediate and end
benefits) that are anticipated to be realised because of those outcomes; and
the (Agency) strategic objective(s) that will be achieved as a result.
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Fig 2: Benefit Map – Categories
* Tip: The Benefits Map is very handy piece of information that shows at a
glance all the relationships between what the projects are producing, what
changes need to be made in the business, the corresponding outcomes, and
what benefits are anticipated to be delivered as a result.
Just like any planning information, it should be maintained. Use it to
capture where things are up to and record any approved changes. It is
also a useful tool for the project/program board to understand what
impact their decisions are likely to have on the project/program,
especially if things need to change or are “not running to plan”.
3.2
SETTING BENEFIT PRIORITIES
Prioritising the delivery of benefits ensures that the (Agency) derives the right
benefits sooner rather than later, but also that it derives value faster by having
its most important needs, if they can be delivered, being met earlier.
Setting benefit priorities is a part of benefit planning (and re-planning), and is
required to be done each time the project/program considers a change in its
plans, reviews progress, or responds to an issue impacting on benefits.
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To be clear of what is driving the priorities, the project/program is to, at a
minimum, conduct an analysis of “benefits vs impact on business area” and also
be clear about who is being impacted (i.e. through a benefit / stakeholder
matrix). This analysis should be revisited during any benefit (re)planning event
(e.g. when stakeholder expectations change) or when there is a move to
change the scope of what the project/program is delivering.
Remember: The schedule of when benefits are expected is managed in detail
through the project/program’s Benefit Realisation Plan.
Any change to benefit priorities should be reflected and managed in
the Benefits Realisation Plan.
BENEFIT PROFILES
3.3
A Benefit Profile enables everyone concerned with the project/program to be
clear about what the benefit is; where it will occur; who is involved and what
must done to achieve it; and finally, how we know that we have achieved it.
The Benefit Profiles, once approved, help define the scope of why the
project/program is running and constantly guides not only the things that the
project/program need to deliver, but also the changes that the operational
managers need to make in the day-to-day business to bring those capabilities
“to life” (i.e. the Business Change Managers).
At a minimum, a Benefit Profile is to record:
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Description - What precisely is the benefit?
Observation - What verifiable differences will be observable before
and after the project/program having been run?
Attribution - Where do we expect the Benefit to occur? Is the
ownership for the making the changes in the operational areas clear
and agreed? Does the benefit really result from our project/program?
Measurement - How and when will the achievement of the benefit
be measured?
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The XXX Project/Program is required to maintain and apply change control to all
Benefit Profiles once they have been approved. Once approved, these should only
change with the approval of the XXX Project/Program Board (BoM).
Remember: The expected benefits are an important part of the
project/program’s Business Case. Any change to these (once approved)
should only be done with the approval of the project/program board (or even
higher in the organisation).
When Benefit Profiles change, the project/program’s business case
should be reviewed to understand the impact.
BENEFIT REALISATION PLAN
3.4
The project/program is to manage, track and control the realisation of benefits
through the project/program’s Benefits Realisation Plan.
It can best be thought of as a schedule of resourced activities focused on
achieving the benefits and the transition that needs to occur in the
(Agency) operational areas, as distinct to the project/program’s plan,
which is focused on the delivery of the project/program.
The Benefits Realisation Plan is to be maintained by the XXX Project/Program
Office, and is managed in detail by the XXX Benefits Manager working in
conjunction with the identified Business Change Manager(s) (typically the
(Agency) operational managers or coordinators managing the business change or
transition in their areas).
At a minimum, the plan is required to contain and provide information on:
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A schedule that details when each benefit or groups of benefits
(including any dis-benefits) will be realized;
Milestones for the conduct of Benefits Review(s), to determine progress
and inform questions about the likelihood of ongoing success in the
future;
Dates when specific outcomes (i.e. business transition(s)) that will bring
about benefits, are planned to be achieved;
Any and all dependencies; and
Details of the necessary handover and embedding activities necessary
to realise any benefits occurring after the project/program has closed.
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Tip: Just like it is important to gauge and report on the status and progress of
what the project/programs are delivering, it is just as important to report on
the status and progress of what is happening in the operational areas, and
how much benefit is actually being “realised”.
Often this is considered to be “hard to do”, and therefore is often not done.
The Benefit Realisation Plan along with the project/program plan
should be tracked, controlled and reported on. A good habit is to
see, and treat these, as equals in the day-to-day management of the
project/program.
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REALISING THE BENEFITS
Benefits need to be managed from their initial identification all the way through
to their successful “realisation”.
An important part of “Realising the Benefits” is essentially about the XXX Benefits
Manager and (Agency) Business Change Managers monitoring the
project/program to make sure that the deliverables that they are producing can
“do the job” and that the things they are delivering can be integrated into the
(Agency) business and operational areas (so that the benefits that were planned
for earlier, can be realised).
Outside of monitoring, the XXX Benefits Manager and (Agency) Business
Change Managers also need to carry out activities that prepare and support
the (Agency) areas that are undergoing transition. This is in addition to the
work needed to track, “push” and measure the benefits as they are occurring.
4.1
EXECUTING THE BENEFIT REALISATION PLAN
The Benefit Realisation Plan is used to track the realisation of benefits
across the XXX Project/Program. It also sets the frequency of the
“review” controls. The plan is executed under the control of the XXX
Project/Program by the project/program’s assigned Business Change
Managers and the Benefits Manager in the project/program office.
Like “Benefits Planning”, the process of Realising Benefits is made up of
ongoing and iterative management activities that require the
project/program to work together with members of the project/program
board, operational (Agency) areas, its stakeholders and other
projects/programs upon which the project/program is dependent or a
contributor to. These activities will take time, consume resources and
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require control (not unlike activities being undertaken by the
project/program’s projects to deliver capability).
At a minimum, “executing the Benefit Realisation Plan” requires
that the following scheduled activities take place:
 Benefit measurement activities (before, during and after a transition);
 Handover / acceptance and embedding activities (beyond the mere
 Implementation of a project’s deliverable);
 The conduct of benefit reviews; and
 Sustainment activities (to “sustain” the ongoing realisation of a benefit).
A checklist of detailed activities to be undertaken to manage the pre-transition,
transition and post transition phases of Benefits Realisation is provided at
Attachment A.
Tip: The information assembled during benefits planning will be essential to
guiding and controlling the benefit realisation activities of the XXX
Project/Program.
Expect that there will be variance between what is actually achieved
and what was planned. Refer back to the Benefit Map, Benefit
Profiles, Blueprint, Business Case and other plans to guide your next
steps.
4.2
REVIEWING AND EVALUATING BENEFIT REALISATION
A critical requirement during the execution of the Benefits Realisation Plan is to
ensure that measurements are actually being taken. The taking of measurements
allows the project/program to determine the extent to which benefits are being
realised, and to also identify any issues that may be precluding them from
happening.
To be effective, measurements are to be made pre and post the transition (i.e.
when the capabilities are transferred by the projects/programs to the operational
areas). In some cases, where agreed, “post measurements” may occur after the
XXX project/program has closed. This recognises that some benefits may take
years to fully realise. Where this happens, the XXX Project/Program is to ensure
that the responsibilities for measurement are transferred to an appropriate
(Agency) corporate area as part of its project/program closure activities.
The measurement approach that the XXX Project/Program intends to use to
measure its benefits should be clearly explained in the Benefit Profiles and any
supporting planning information. At a minimum, there should be clarity around
the tools, systems, information sources (and responsibilities) that will be used
to perform the measurements.
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Tip: Using the same measurement tools and approach before and after a
transition provides much greater confidence that a change has occurred.
Also remember that just because a benefit may be difficult to measure, it
should nonetheless be done. Proxy measures (i.e. indirect measures) and
even quantitative measures are better than none at all.
If a benefit cannot be measured it usually does not exist, and
therefore cannot be claimed by the project/program.
For each project/program benefit, a measure or set of measures will need
to be devised to describe and prove the delivery of the benefits outlined in
the Business Case.
The tools for measurement may include:
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Existing (Agency) information, reporting, business systems;
Measurement systems that are intended to be / must be designed into the
delivered capability (e.g. a new reporting process/tool); and
Independent manual measurement tools such as surveys or
interviews, audits or health checks, (Agency) database queries.
This is not an inclusive list as there are a multitude of ways to measure benefits.
Importantly, the project/program needs to balance the way it intends to measure
against the backdrop of delivery and the impact on day-to-day (Agency)
operations. In all cases, measurement activities should pass the test of being
worthwhile and fit for-the-purpose for which they are intended. The
project/program should also be mindful that what is expected is a cost-effective,
lean approach to measurement that leads to a demonstration of realised benefits
and does not negatively impact on the continuation of the day-to-day conduct of
(Agency) operations.
To enable measurements to be taken later on, the project/program is required to
maintain all document-based tools and “instructions for measurement” within its
information system(s). This will ensure that they can be replicated and drawn on
when needed later on in the project/program.
Important: Consider the following critical success factors when planning and
managing benefit delivery:
Clear ownership of benefits;
Each benefit needs to be owned by an appropriate individual. Look for the position
or individual whose KPIs will be affected if the benefit is not realised!
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This is the Benefit Owner);
Benefits must be measurable;
If a benefit can not be measured it can not be managed, and so fails one of the
critical validation tests of a benefit;
Benefits arise from changes; and
Be clear of where changes need to occur in (Agency) that will give rise to
an outcome from which you are expecting benefits. These changes need
be actively managed by individuals in these areas! (these are the Business
Change Managers - sure they exist and are performing their functions).
In addition to doing “ongoing measurements” of each benefit, the XXX
Project/Program is to ensure that it performs formal reviews that take stock and
make an assessment of “benefits realisation” across the project/program. These
Benefit Reviews are to include an End-Tranche-Review, which is to be conducted
at the end of each of the project/program’s delivery “tranches”.
Where a tranche is expected to exceed 12 months in duration, a Mid-Tranche
Review is also warranted. The requirement for mid-tranche review is at the
SRO’s discretion on advice from the project/program manager, and therefore
may be conducted at any time during a tranche.
Tip: Remember to optimise and look for other benefits as part of your normal
benefit review process.
An example checklist for undertaking a Benefit Review, and an End (or mid)
Tranche Review is covered in the best-practice guidance booklet Think MSP
(available to the XXX Project/Program Office).
TM
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Tip: During any formal review, there is a significant benefit in also reviewing
the performance of the Benefits Realisation Plan to determine its
effectiveness and efficiency.
The Benefits Realisation Plan is a dynamic piece of management
information. It should be reviewed to make sure that it remains
relevant and achievable.
4.3
GLOSSARY OF SPECIFIC BENEFITS MANAGEMENT TERMINOLOGY
BoM – Board of Management. This is the XXX Project/Program Board.
SRO – The Senior Responsible Owner. This is the single individual who has the
responsibility for ensuring that the XXX Project/Program meets its objectives and
delivers the projected benefits. This is the chair of the BoM.
Project/Program Manager – This is the role that is responsible
for the set-up, management and delivery of the XXX Project/Program.
Benefits Manager – This is the individual that is responsible within the XXX
Project/Program Office for providing the centre of expertise in implementing
this strategy, managing the benefit planning information, and ensuring that
benefit realisation plan is implemented.
Benefit Owners – These are the individuals in the (Agency) who have a direct
interest in the benefit being delivered. A good rule of thumb is that these are the
individuals who head up the areas whose KPIs will be affected if the benefit is not
realised.
Business Change Managers – These are the individuals who are responsible
to the Project/Program for managing the required changes in the operational
areas, (i.e. after taking on the capabilities being delivered by the
Project/Program’s). Also sometimes referred to as Change Agents.
Project/Program Office – the individuals in the XXX Project/Program
Office. Its function is to serve as the information hub for the Project/Program
and support the Project/Program Board, Project/Program Manager and
Business Change Managers in managing and controlling the delivery of
capability and benefits.
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ATTACHMENT A: CHECKLIST OF DETAILED ACTIVITIES TO
MANAGE PRE-TRANSITION, TRANSITION AND POST
TRANSITION.
As the project/programs approach completion, the (Agency) areas need
to be prepared for implementing the deliverables that they are handing
over.
 Manage the pre-transition. This is about the analysis;
 preparation and planning for the business transformation;
 Establish benefits measurements (if they do not already exist);
 Monitor benefits realisation in the projects. (I.e. maintain a
benefits focus on the projects. Escalate if adjustments are
required);
 Plan the transition (if they are not already planned);
 Communicate the change to the business / operational areas;
and
 Assess and establish the readiness for change of the business /
 operational area(s).
As the project/programs handover the capability, the (Agency) areas will
need to manage the acceptance of the new capabilities into their way of
working. Manage the transition:
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Initiate the transition into the business / operational areas
(remembering that business-as-usual needs to be maintained
and should not be placed at risk);
Establish any required support arrangements (which may be
above and beyond that what was originally planned for);
Enact the transition (i.e. continue the transition into the business
/
Operational areas until it is done);
Manage the achievement of the outcome detailed in the plan;
and
Reviewing the outcome of the transition (and be prepared to feed
back shortfalls or opportunities).
As the (Agency) areas bed down and stabilise the new capabilities into part
of their normal day-to-day work environment, the project/program will need
to measure and understand what has been achieved and what is still
outstanding. Manage post transition:
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Measure the benefits;
Decommission old systems / practices when ready to do so;
Respond and feedback changing requirements; and
Monitor and report on benefit realisation.
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