Benefits Planning
Identify, map, and communicate the interdependent outcomes that may affect the business benefits arising from IT-enabled change.
Improvement Planning
Practices-Outcomes-Metrics (POM)
Representative POMs are described for Benefits Planning at each level of maturity.
- 1Initial
- Practice
- Quantify cost and benefits in an ad hoc way.
- Practice
- No formal business case practices in place.
- Practice
- Identify benefits in an ad hoc way
- Outcome
- Benefits, if identified, are usually only summary financial projections.
- 2Basic
- Practice
- Identify benefits at the end outcome level, with basic mapping of benefits.
- Outcomes
- There is high-level identification of benefits (end outcome level) with simple benefits mapping.
- Benefits are described in general terms, but not specific enough to achieve a clear focus on their ultimate delivery, measurement or verification.
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes that define benefits at least on a high-level.
- Practice
- Identify metrics, targets, KPIs for some outcomes within benefits maps.
- Outcome
- Some metrics are defined, if not comprehensively and consistently.
- Metric
- % of outcomes with associated metrics.
- Practice
- Establish a benefits/change register to record forecasted benefits and to define owners and metrics.
- Outcome
- A benefits/change register is used to define each benefit, specify owner accountability, and how the outcome is being measured (metrics).
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes for which a benefits owner is identified.
- Practice
- Prepare a basic benefits plan for some projects/programmes.
- Outcome
- Basic benefits tracking for some projects/programmes is facilitated.
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes that are supported by a benefits plan.
- Practice
- Make a standard business case a requirement for all IT-enabled investments that balances costs and high-level benefits.
- Outcomes
- There is a common format for business plans, allowing comparison of investments on a cost/benefit basis.
- A cost focus is often limited to technology delivery and related costs.
- Metric
- % of investments using approved business case format.
- Practice
- Identify strategic drivers for benefits realization.
- Outcome
- There is an ability to justify projects/actions in terms of strategic drivers, and the ability to link benefits to those drivers in general terms only.
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes where strategic drivers are identified.
- 3Intermediate
- Practice
- Establish relevant metrics, targets, and KPIs for most intermediate and strategic outcomes within benefits maps.
- Outcome
- Relevant targets are established for most outcomes.
- Metric
- % of Benefits registers where metrics, targets and KPIs are defined.
- Practice
- Establish a detailed benefits/change register.
- Outcome
- The benefits/change registers' format and detail are routinely consistent across programmes in terms of specific description, metrics, targets, milestone dates, baselines, metrics and accountabilities.
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes that use comprehensive and consistent benefits registers for their projects.
- Practice
- Prepare a formal benefits plan for most change initiatives (plan includes benefits map and benefits register, and coordinates actions by IT and the Business).
- Outcomes
- A formal benefits plan (including benefits map and benefits register) is prepared for most change initiatives.
- There are integrated IT and Business coordinated actions to deliver benefits.
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes that are supported by a robust benefits plan.
- Practice
- Mandate a benefits map and benefits plan as part of the standard business case.
- Outcome
- A robust business plan exists that focuses justification on the achievement of benefits.
- Metric
- % of business cases that include benefits map and benefits plan.
- Practices
- Identify and map outcomes, changes and benefits using a structured or recognized mapping technique.
- Apply mapping either at the programme level or at a broad business benefit level.
- Outcomes
- There is identification of dependencies between benefits and mapping of benefits to goals.
- Benefits maps include all outcome and business change dependencies leading to business benefits.
- Prioritization of the portfolio is now possible based on the benefits map, but not consistently practised.
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes that use structured benefits mapping.
- Practice
- Establish the relationship and interactions between benefits and the changes necessary in the business, technology, processes, the organization, and stakeholders (BTOPS) to achieve the benefits.
- Outcome
- The business changes which are necessary and sufficent for benefits realization are identified and mapped.
- Metric
- % of benefits maps that include required changes in all five categories: Business, Technology, Organization, Process, Stakeholders.
- 4Advanced
- Practice
- Forecast cost savings and commit into operational budgets.
- Outcome
- Accountability for benefits delivery is established.
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes where forecasts are booked into budgets.
- Practice
- Use the benefits plan as the driver of the overall project/programme plan.
- Outcome
- The benefits plan is used as the basis for decisions (such as stage-gating) within the overall project/programme plan.
- Metric
- % of project/programme plans that are benefits led.
- Practice
- Apply benefits mapping at both strategic and programme levels and mandate for benefits plans and business cases.
- Outcomes
- Detailed benefits maps are used for designated levels of change initiatives.
- Benefits maps are incorporated into the benefits plan.
- Benefits maps are routinely used in business plans.
- Metric
- % of the change portfolio with benefits mapping evident in projects, programmes and business plans.
- Practice
- Prioritize the portfolio of IT investments based on benefits maps.
- Outcome
- Benefit mapping is a key factor in determining the relative priority of new change investment proposals.
- Metric
- % of proposed projects/programmes where benefits are used to determine priority.
- Practices
- Formalize a Benefits Plan.
- Identify relevant metrics, targets and risks associated with all BTOPS changes.
- Outcome
- The benefits plan is used and managed as an integral part of the programme/project plan.
- Metric
- % of programme and project plans with distinct benefits plan included.
- 5Optimized
- Practice
- Manage the performance of the portfolio of IT investments based on benefits maps.
- Outcome
- Benefit planning processes are integrated with organization-wide portfolio planning and performance management systems, allowing for continual re-evaluation of both individual programmes and the overall portfolio to optimize benefits and maximize value.
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes where benefits planning processes are integrated with organization-wide planning and performance management systems.