Practice Evolution, Innovation and Sharing
Encourage the adoption, development of, and innovation in benefits management practices.
Improvement Planning
Practices-Outcomes-Metrics (POM)
Representative POMs are described for Practice Evolution, Innovation and Sharing at each level of maturity.
- 2Basic
- Practice
- Provide education related to business value/project management.
- Outcome
- Consistent language and practices are introduced/developed across the organization.
- Metric
- % of project sponsors, benefits owners, and team members engaged in benefits education.
- Practice
- Consistently carry out benefits reviews with a focus on practice adoption and improvement.
- Outcome
- More consistent, effective adoption of benefits practices occurs.
- Metric
- % of projects where benefits reviews that include outcomes related to benefits practice adoption and improvement are carried out.
- 3Intermediate
- Practice
- Define a project team role (e.g., product manager) who is responsible for benefits practices and who is to be the lead for benefits realization.
- Outcome
- A well established approach to having benefits leadership within project teams is evident.
- Metric
- % of projects with formal benefits/product manager role.
- Practice
- Design project teams to include expertise in benefits and the management of change.
- Outcome
- Project teams have expertise to apply benefits practices effectively to the challenges faced by the project.
- Metric
- % of project teams including experienced benefits practitioners.
- Practice
- Plan the movement of people to share benefits assessment and realization expertise across projects.
- Outcome
- Sharing of benefits assessment and realization experience between projects is evident.
- Metric
- % of project teams including experienced benefits practitioners.
- Practice
- Plan adoption of benefits practices as part of project plans.
- Outcome
- Adoption of new and existing benefits practices occurs.
- Metric
- % of projects where benefits practice adoption is included in both plan and benefits reviews.
- 4Advanced
- Practice
- Flag all benefits assessment and realization-related initiatives centrally and coordinate between the different interested organizational functions and/or units.
- Outcomes
- Competing benefits assessment and realization-initiatives are identified early.
- Overlap and duplication of effort is avoided.
- Cross-organizational collaboration on benefits assessment and realization is enhanced.
- Metric
- % of BAR initiatives that involve collaboration between different organizational functions and units.
- Practice
- Incentivize senior managers to provide leadership and to collaborate on benefits realization with other functional and unit managers.
- Outcome
- Benefits realization becomes a cross-functional and organization-wide collaborative practice.
- Metric
- % of managers incentivized to provide leadership and to collaborate with other functions and units on benefits realization.
- Practice
- Support financial management, change management, and portfolio management at the strategic planning level with cross-functional senior management collaboration.
- Outcome
- Financial and change management agendas are integrated into strategic planning and portfolio management.
- Metric
- % of strategic objectives and priorities that include cross-cutting contributions and outcomes.
- Practice
- Incentivize and assess project and programme managers on benefits realization as much as on project/programme delivery metrics related to time, budget, quality, and stakeholder and scope management.
- Outcome
- Benefits are tracked from project initiation to realization by the majority of project and programme managers for most projects.
- Metrics
- % of project/programme managers tracking benefits from project initiation to realization.
- % of project/programme manager recognition and incentives based on BAR.
- Practice
- Align benefits realization with end-to-end contract and partner management.
- Outcome
- Outsourcing supplier selection and service level agreements (SLAs) are designed and managed with a focus on benefits realization.
- Metric
- % of outsourced contracts and performance related SLAs designed to optimize benefits management and realization.
- Practice
- Provide experts/leaders benefits assessment and realization input to project teams to help them adapt and follow through a benefits approach and practices — i.e. with coaching/mentoring.
- Outcome
- Portfolio level/senior leadership roles provide advice as projects are set up and managed — leadership may reflect experience rather than role in the hierarchy.
- Metric
- % of projects getting advice/support in relation to benefits realization.
- Practice
- Run project kick-off workshops with the project team and relevant stakeholders (e.g., steering group) including time to work together to apply key benefits practices to the project and to confirm the approach to benefits realization.
- Outcome
- There is effective adoption of benefits practices as a shared way of working by the team, through work on benefits planning, delivery, and harvesting.
- Metric
- % of projects where a team workshop is run to embed relevant benefits practices in the approach to the project.
- Practice
- Provide for senior leaders to build expertise in leadership/sponsorship of agile, benefits-driven projects.
- Outcome
- Promotion/development criteria and plans include leadership of benefits practice development and benefits-driven projects.
- Metric
- Examples of promotions reflecting benefits leadership.
- Practice
- Plan for phased adoption of benefits practices across the portfolio.
- Outcome
- Gradual development of benefits matures.
- Metric
- Regularly updated maturity development/practice adoption plan.
- Practice
- Encourage innovation in benefits practices and approaches and spotting new opportunities/innovations in benefits assessment and realization.
- Outcome
- Evolution/improvement of benefits practices and related resources occurs.
- Metric
- Benefits practice ideas and improvements coming from practitioners.
- Practice
- Establish a pre-project review of lessons learned from previous or similar projects.
- Outcome
- Sharing of benefits learning between projects occurs.
- Metric
- % of project teams including pre-project review of lessons learned.
- Practice
- Make benefits assessment and realization training widely available and integrated into the professional development plans of managers in a broad range of professions and in functions influential to benefits realization, including those working in finance, strategy/policy, HR, IT, project and portfolio management, and other key areas of operational delivery.
- Outcome
- Benefits assessment and realization as a practice is widely understood right across the organization by most managers in all the key professions that can strongly influence or contribute towards collaborative benefits management.
- Metric
- % of managers from different professions trained in benefits assessment and realization practices who are able to communicate the key concepts in clear and simple terms to their staff and colleagues.
- Practice
- Establish an active internal community of practice to provide leadership for education and continued development related to IT-enabled change and benefits realization.
- Outcome
- Sharing and evolution of practice based on input from practitioners occur.
- Metrics
- Number of active members of an internal BAR community of practice.
- Level of internal community activity (examples of practice, artefacts, improvements etc.).
- 5Optimized
- Practice
- Participate in external active communities of practice to provide leadership for education and continued development related to IT-enabled change and benefits realization.
- Outcome
- Sharing and evolution of practice based on input from practitioners occur.
- Metrics
- Number of active members of an external BAR community of practice.
- Level of external community activity (examples of practice, artefacts, improvements etc.).
- Practice
- Actively engage in reaching out and learning about new benefits practices.
- Outcome
- There is rapid development of benefits maturity.
- Metric
- Attendance at BAR-related conferences; engagement with research; piloting of new practices/improvements within specific projects.
- Practice
- Target initiatives to innovate practices, typically as part of specific projects, portfolio level skills, and capacity planning.
- Outcome
- There is rapid development of benefits maturity.
- Metric
- Portfolio level skills and capacity plan; planning includes management and community.