Boosting Business Benefits

The book covers the four fundamentals in avoiding benefit realisation disasters.  They are:

1. ensure investments align with organisational objectives and this alignment is clear and transparent.
2. ensure each funded initiative provides the best value-for-money approach to address the objective. Integrate value management into the culture.
3.  avoid commitment to investments with long delivery timeframes, preferring wherever possible to fund shorter stages and reassess on the basis of progress and environmental changes. In other words – Plan-Do-Check-Act
4.  implement effective governance. This is a top-down requirement with senior managers leading by example through accountability structures. Supporting arrangements include effective reward-recognition processes and the consistent use of proven delivery frameworks with adequate staff training.

Why read Boosting Business Benefits?

• It is useful, interesting and very readable.
• It is written by consultants in the field.
• It contains valuable insights.
• Sample templates are given in an appendix.

Given that benefits are the justification for undertaking investment initiatives, they need to be managed!

Contributing authors include Merete Sorensen, a Sydney based economist who has helped introduce sound practices at ASIC.
Bob Hudson from Fujitsu, a contributor to The Information Paradox, has provided a great example of benefits management on a Telco project.
Dr Christopher Worsley explains the restrictions around cost-benefit analysis and proposes a different decision framework more suited to many organisations.
Benefits Institute consultants, Darilyn Evans and Alison Cesaro provide their own tips on aspects of programme management which will improve benefits outcomes.
Graham Colborne from Projetics looks at roles in benefits management and provides a project example.