Benefits Assessment and Realisation
The Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability is the ability to establish an outcomes focus for the selection and management of IT-enabled business change initiatives to ensure that their potential value is delivered. BAR addresses the cultural and behavioural change needed to create and to sustain value from those initiatives. In this way, BAR ensures that business benefits are planned, dynamically adjusted, and actually achieved.
Structure
BAR is made up of the following Categories and CBBs. Maturity and Planning are described at both the CC and the CBB level.
- AValue Leadership
- A1Value Culture
Create a shared understanding of what constitutes business value for the organisation, 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.
- BBenefits Governance
- 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 Role
Use the business case as an aid to management decision-making throughout the investment life cycle.
- B3Roles, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities
Define and reinforce the roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities for benefits realization throughout the life cycle of investments.
- B4Relevant Metrics
Define and apply metrics that facilitate management oversight of benefits throughout the investment life cycle.
- CBenefits Process
- C1Benefits Planning
Identify, structure, quantify, and plan the interdependent outcomes and business benefits of IT-enabled change initiatives, and make explicit the means by which they will be achieved.
- C2Benefits Enablement
Create and sustain the mind-set and supporting practices to enable the organizational change necessary to realize the intended benefits from investments.
- C3Benefits Harvesting
Ensure that planned benefits are being delivered and, when necessary, take appropriate action to ensure that they are delivered.
- DManagement of Change
- D1Behavioural Change
Recognize, accomplish, and sustain the behavioural change required to achieve business benefits.
- D2Stakeholder Engagement
Identify the stakeholders required for benefits realization and engage with them to achieve the necessary changes.
- D3Communication
Communicate the messages required to secure commitment for the benefits realization effort.
- EOrganizational Learning
- E1Practice Evolution, Innovation and Sharing
Encourage the adoption, development of, and innovation in benefits management practices.
Overview
Goal & Objectives
An effective Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability aims to:
- Increase organizational awareness, understanding, and commitment to creating a value mind-set/culture and sustaining value from IT-enabled business change across the full life cycle of the investment.
- Promote the message that benefits do not come from technology itself, but rather from the change that technology shapes and enables.
- Manage how organizational change is effected to achieve business benefits.
- Focus management on outcomes of IT-enabled change initiatives and measurable benefits rather than on change activities.
- Create a common language for describing business benefits from IT.
- Promote understanding of the potential business benefits from innovation, collaboration, flexibility, and agility enabled through the adoption of digital technologies and approaches.
- Optimize the flow of benefits to support the organization‘s strategy.
Scope
Definition
The Benefits Assessment and Realization (BAR) capability is the ability to establish an outcomes focus for the selection and management of IT-enabled business change initiatives to ensure that their potential value is delivered. BAR addresses the cultural and behavioural change needed to create and to sustain value from those initiatives. In this way, BAR ensures that business benefits are planned, dynamically adjusted, and actually achieved.
Improvement Planning
Practices-Outcomes-Metrics (POM)
Representative POMs are described for BAR at each level of maturity.
- 2Basic
- Practice
- Define what constitutes value for the organization.
- Outcome
- There is growing awareness that technology is a ‘means to an end‘.
- Metric
- The organization has a formal business value definition.
- Practice
- Use basic financial outcome-oriented measures of benefits.
- Outcome
- The financial benefits created can be evaluated.
- Metric
- % of investments with a post implementation benefits evaluation.
- Practice
- Prepare a basic benefits plan for some projects/programmes.
- Outcome
- A basic benefits plan is available for some projects/programmes.
- Metric
- % of projects/programmes that are supported by a benefits plan.
- 3Intermediate
- Practice
- Use a common business value language to set the context of all projects in the wider strategic context.
- Outcome
- The relevance of all programmes to the overall corporate mission is understood.
- Metric
- % of senior managers who can articulate the contribution of the IT-enabled change programme.
- Practice
- Activate a stakeholder engagement plan.
- Outcome
- Outline stakeholder engagement plans are in place.
- Metric
- % of benefits plans with a detailed stakeholder engagement plan.
- 4Advanced
- Practice
- Embed benefits management practices throughout the full life cycle of an investment.
- Outcome
- Benefits planning, enablement, harvesting, and review are governed and managed across the full life cycle.
- Metric
- % of the investment life cycle with governance applied.
- Practice
- Identify emerging un-forecasted benefits.
- Outcome
- There is an additional benefits action plan.
- Metric
- Number of additional business benefits generated by the project.
- Practice
- Establish pre-project reviews of ‘lessons learned’ from previous or similar projects.
- Outcome
- Sharing of benefits learning between projects occurs.
- Metric
- % of project teams including a pre-project ‘lessons learned’ review.
- 5Optimized
- Practice
- Embed benefits thinking across the investment life cycle.
- Outcome
- Targeted benefits are achieved in most investments.
- Metric
- % of investments achieving business benefit targets.
- Practice
- Actively participate and provide thought leadership in external BAR communities of practice.
- Outcome
- Sharing and evolution of practice occurs based on input from practitioners.
- Metric
- Number of active members of an external BAR community of practice.
Reference
History
This capability was introduced in Revision 18.04 as an update to Benefits Assessment and Realization (16).