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Benefits Assessment and Realization

BAR

The Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability is the ability to forecast, realize, and sustain value from IT-enabled change initiatives. The Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability covers:

  • Establishing systematic, objective, and consistent approaches to managing benefits across the full investment life cycle for IT-enabled change — that is, from benefits forecasting and planning, to benefits reviewing and reporting.
  • Identifying and advocating cultural and behavioural changes to maximize the value of IT-enabled change.

Structure

BAR is made up of the following Categories and CBBs. Maturity and Planning are described at both the CC and the CBB level.

ALeadership

Developing a business value mind-set among stakeholders.

A1Value Culture

Create a shared understanding of what constitutes business value for the organization, and a culture focused on creating and sustaining that value.

A2Common Purpose

Create a shared understanding and acceptance of how IT-enabled change programmes contribute to the realization of business value in support of the organization's mission and vision.

BGovernance

The scope of business value management in the organization.

B1Life Cycle Governance

Establish governance structures (evaluation, direction, and monitoring) for benefits management throughout the investment life cycle, from decision-making on the initial concept through to the eventual retirement of assets.

B2Business Case Objective

Use the business case as an aid to management decision-making throughout the investment life cycle.

B3Responsibility and Accountability

Assign individuals who will work to achieve the benefits (responsibility), and assign individuals who will ultimately be answerable for the delivery of benefits (accountability).

B4Relevant Metrics

Define and apply metrics that facilitate management oversight of benefits throughout the investment life cycle.

CBenefits Process

Establishing operational practices to support benefits management.

C1Benefits Planning

Identify, map, and communicate the interdependent outcomes that may affect the business benefits arising from IT-enabled change.

C2Benefits Enablement

Determine the wider organizational change necessary to realize the intended benefits from IT-enabled change.

C3Benefits Review and Harvesting

Establish oversight mechanisms to ensure that the forecasted benefits are delivered, and that the organization avails of any unexpected benefits that arise.

DManagement of Change

How organizational change is effected.

D1Behavioural Change

Recognize, accomplish, and sustain the behavioural changes needed to achieve business benefits.

D2Stakeholder Engagement

Identify and engage relevant stakeholders to achieve the changes necessary for benefits realization.

D3Communication

Communicate the messages needed, and elicit and respond to feedback in order to secure commitment to the benefits realization effort.

EOrganizational Learning

Category E: one CBB associated with Organizational Learning — this determines the ability of the organization to improve and develop its management of benefits.

E1Practice Evolution, Innovation, and Sharing

Encourage the adoption and development of benefits management practices.

Overview

Goal

The Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability aims to forecast, crystalize, and sustain the business benefits arising from IT-enabled change initiatives.

Objectives

  • Increase organizational awareness, understanding, and commitment to the importance of creating a value mind-set/culture and sustaining business value from IT-enabled change.
  • Promote the message that benefits do not come from technology in and of itself, but rather from the change that technology shapes and enables — change that must be led and managed.
  • Focus management on outcomes of IT-enabled change initiatives and measurable benefits rather than on activities.
  • Create management approaches to assess potential benefits and likely costs in a transparent and inclusive manner, with a focus on continual learning and improvement.
  • Define transparent links between IT services and solutions (that is, what is produced or delivered) and their business impact (that is, their expected contribution to business objectives).
  • Manage organizational interactions across complementary actions, such as process redesign, training, cultural/behavioural change, and incentive structures, to deliver and sustain the business benefits enabled by IT.
  • Create a common language for describing business benefits arising from technology — for example, achievement of a business result (or end-outcome) that a stakeholder perceives to be of value (which may not necessarily be of financial value).
  • Broaden employees' focus beyond efficient implementation and operation of technology to include the effective delivery of business benefits from technology implementation and operation across the full life cycle of the investment.

Value

The Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability helps an organization forecast and manage the realization of benefits from IT-enabled change initiatives.

Relevance

The purpose of investing in technology is to enable the organization to do new things or to do existing things more efficiently or effectively1. Technology adds value by supporting business continuity and business change2. However, the realization of the potential value depends not so much on the size of the investment, as on management's effectiveness in leveraging the investment to achieve business results. There is considerable variance in the effectiveness of different organizations in this regard3, and a robust benefits management approach can help ensure that IT resources are used to deliver business value to the organization.

By establishing a mature Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability, an organization can identify, plan for, and manage the delivery of business benefits arising from technology expenditure. It can look beyond the tactical execution of individual IT projects (that is, a focus on the outputs) to the actual achievement of the business benefits (that is, a focus on the outcomes). In summary, a benefits realization capability helps an organization to confirm that it is deriving the expected benefits from IT-enabled change initiatives4.

Scope

Definition

The Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability is the ability to forecast, realize, and sustain value from IT-enabled change initiatives. The Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability covers:

  • Establishing systematic, objective, and consistent approaches to managing benefits across the full investment life cycle for IT-enabled change — that is, from benefits forecasting and planning, to benefits reviewing and reporting.
  • Identifying and advocating cultural and behavioural changes to maximize the value of IT-enabled change.

Improvement Planning

Practices-Outcomes-Metrics (POM)

Representative POMs are described for BAR at each level of maturity.

2Basic
  • Practice
    Promote agreement among relevant stakeholders on the definition of business value.
    Outcome
    Consensus grows that technology is only a means to an end — its purpose is to contribute to specified business objectives.
    Metric
    Percentage of heads of business units that sign-off on a common definition of business value.
  • Practice
    Mandate a standard business case template for all IT investments.
    Outcome
    A common format for business plans allows investments to be compared on a cost/benefit basis.
    Metric
    Percentage of investments using the approved business case template.
  • Practice
    Assign accountability for realizing benefits to IT programme managers.
    Outcomes
    • Benefits are actively considered before, during, and after project implementation.
    • Consistent benefits management practices are gradually adopted.
    Metric
    Percentage of programmes with formal accountability assigned.
  • Practice
    Establish a benefits plan to record and monitor forecasted benefits, identify their owners, and track results.
    Outcome
    Benefits can be actively managed while the programme is in progress (as opposed to only at the end).
    Metric
    Percentage of programmes for which a benefits plan is available.
  • Practice
    Include details of how benefits were managed in the post-implementation reviews for all major programmes.
    Outcome
    Lessons learned can inform the management of future programmes.
    Metric
    Percentage of programmes/projects on which a review of benefits is carried out within six months of implementation.
3Intermediate
  • Practice
    Express the impact of technology expenditure on business value, using widely understood business-relevant language.
    Outcome
    IT-enabled change programmes are consistently linked to their business objectives.
    Metric
    Percentage of IT-enabled change programmes that articulate their contribution to business value.
  • Practice
    Engage stakeholders by using a benefits plan, highlighting the need for behavioural change to ensure successful delivery of business value.
    Outcome
    Adequately engaged stakeholders understand how benefits can be realized and are more likely to be committed to making the necessary organizational changes.
    Metric
    Percentage of key stakeholder groups engaged.
  • Practices
    • Establish a standardized governance framework for benefits planning, enablement, and review.
    • This should include approaches/practices, roles and responsibilities, organizational structures, information requirements, and supporting tools.
    Outcome
    Major Programmes can be managed as programmes of business change, with clear ownership of and accountability for benefits realization.
    Metric
    Percentage of programmes managed under a standardized governance framework.
  • Practice
    Require a benefits map and benefits plan to be included as part of the standard business case.
    Outcomes
    • A robust business plan is created, with a focus on the realization of business benefits.
    • Risks and dependencies that have the potential to affect the realization of benefits are identified.
    Metric
    Percentage of business cases that include a benefits map and a benefits plan.
  • Practice
    For larger projects, conduct a baseline measurement on indicators defined in the business case before technology deployment, and another measurement after deployment.
    Outcome
    The forecasted benefits are objectively validated and confirmed.
    Metrics
    • Percentage of projects with pre- and post-deployment indicator measurements.
    • Realized value as a percentage of forecasted value.
4Advanced
  • Practice
    Assign and incentivize accountability for realizing the benefits of technology expenditure across relevant business units.
    Outcome
    Benefits realization is likely to be more successful, as it depends on wider organizational change.
    Metrics
    • Percentage of programmes where accountability for achieving benefits has been accepted by relevant stakeholders.
    • Percentage of projects where benefits are fully realized.
  • Practice
    Require business cases to be revisited during and after project deployment to confirm that the forecasted benefits are actually accruing.
    Outcome
    Business cases become more thorough and realistic, because of the increased likelihood of them being revisited during and after deployment.
    Metric
    Percentage of approved programmes whose business case forecasts are checked during and after deployment.
  • Practice
    Train change agents and benefits owners to deal with behavioural issues relating to organizational change and development.
    Outcome
    Expertise is developed to support stakeholder engagement and behavioural change initiatives.
    Metric
    Percentage of trained benefits delivery stakeholders.
  • Practice
    Implement education, mentoring, and reward/sanction systems to discourage ‘old’ behaviour and encourage and embed ‘new’ behaviour to align with IT-enabled change.
    Outcome
    Business benefits are increasingly realized as individuals understand what is expected of them, and have the skills, knowledge, and motivation to perform their roles in the new way.
    Metrics
    • Percentage of employees who have received appropriate support.
    • Percentage of employees whose personal objectives are linked to the achievement of business benefits
5Optimized
  • Practice
    Actively promote participation in benefits management communities of practice.
    Outcome
    By sharing benefits management practices with others, the organization can learn from others' experiences and adapt its practices as appropriate.
    Metric
    Percentage of proven practices from external sources validated for potential use internally.
  • Practice
    Recognize and celebrate successful demonstrations of business value delivery.
    Outcome
    The business value culture is continually reinforced as people learn of and from success stories.
    Metric
    Number of exemplars that are showcased.
  • Practice
    Regularly review the effectiveness and relevance of the business value indicators.
    Outcome
    Technology investments continue to target the objectives of the organization.
    Metric
    Number of reviews of business value indicators.
  • Practice
    Continually record the actual realization rate for forecasted benefits.
    Outcome
    The accuracy of past forecasts affects the organization's confidence in the business cases for future investment.
    Metric
    Percentage of projects where benefits are tracked throughout their life cycle.

Reference

History

This capability was introduced in Revision 16 as a new critical capability.

It was deprecated in Revision 18.04, being updated by Benefits Assessment and Realisation (18.04).