What is benefits management?
Managing the intangible
The management of benefits is more than a case of keeping an occasional eye on what is likely to be achieved. Benefits management that really works is a case of continual, active focusing, refinement and optimisation.
Planning to succeed
Good benefits management begins in understanding and getting buy-in for the real aims of the programme. This takes effort as in general the true aims are hidden behind surrogate aims. In order to deliver these aims it is important to first clear away the confusion and cross talk which is habitually cloud stakeholder understanding.
Clear aims, create derive from a clear understanding of the intended benefits. In turn they create clear critical success factors and tracable key performance indicators.
It is important to note that as most programmes have tacit and abstract aims, so the process of translating those into explicit measureable quantities requires the formation of carefully determined and tracable connections. These sets of defined quantities, connections and tracable structure take on the role akin to the work breakdown structure in project management.
The benefits manager
Although a benefits led programme is by type a responsibility of all - conventional hierarchy tends to require a focus and point of accountability to bring lines of responsibility to a focus. This is the Benefits Manager. They work with a project manager to ensure that not only is the project concerned kept within time and budget constraints, but that the project delivers the maximum benefit with the minimum adverse consequences.
In general good benefit management seeks to ensure that not are the original aims delivered as cost effectively as possible, but that attendent emergent benefits of the work are recognised, captured and nurtured. It is extremely unusual for and programme of work to only deliver the originally expected benefits - a good benefits manager will seek to ensure that opportunities are not wasted.
Adapting to change
During the implementation phase of the project the benefits manager does not take a passive role. Benefits management is critically involved in monitoring, understanding and evolving the implementation activities. It ensures that not only do the original aims remain the led of the work, but that those benefits are not lost through working to the project plan over the benefits realisation.
Benefit led projects tend to retain and employ greater flexibility and resiliance than conventional programmes. The aim at all times is to maximise the benefits - to be led by them. In this the benefits manager takes on the responsibility for smoothing the necessary changes and prioritising effort.
At all stages, the key aspect of benefits management is the understanding and maintained tracability of actions back to desired benefits and the aims of the work. Key to benefits management is the ability at all stages to understand the situation with regard to those benefits and the effect of actions.
Its is only through this that a programme can truly be called benefit led.