Having skimmed over the new BRM practice guide from PMI, I thought it might be interesting to start a discussion thread on the blockers to realizing benefits from projects.
So when you think about your current client or organization, what is the biggest impediment to realizing benefits from projects?
For example, is it one or more of the following?
a) Lack of formal project justification via a business case or similar artifact
b) Benefits are not objectively identified in the business case
c) No one takes ownership for tracking & monitoring benefit realization during and after the project
d) There is no consequence for a business owner not realizing the benefits
e) Project delivery itself is poor so the outputs of projects rarely are delivered within expected constraints
What other causes might there be? Saving Changes...
Sandra MooneyScrum Master - Data Analytics Release Train - Hadoop Development Team| State Farm InsuranceBloomington, Il, United States
Benefits are not objectively identified in the business case as well as No one takes ownership for tracking & monitoring benefit realization during and after the project Saving Changes...
Paulo RoqueChartered Civil Engineer, PMP| BECHTELSetubal, Portugal
Some examples of effective blockers to realizing benefits from projects in the organization are as follows:
- When the benefits stated in the business case are unclear, diffuse and out of step with the organization strategy;
- When there’s a lack of engagement to measure the project benefits stated in the business case in a continuous manner;
- Nobody in the Organization is accountable for achieving the project benefits as per the business case, or those benefits are not being tracked and none corrective actions are being taken when failure to realize the stated project benefits occurs, for example due to the sudden loss of relevance of the project deliverables. Saving Changes...
RAJESH K LProject Manager, PMP| Bharat Electronics, Bengaluru, IndiaBengaluru, Karnataka, India
Project Goals & Objectives have a direct bearing on benefits realised out of project. Saving Changes...
"d) There is no consequence for a business owner not realizing the benefits" - the issue is there is rarely an "owner" of the benefits realization. Saving Changes...
Having to complete a bunch of plans for one of our strategic initiatives, I find myself having to learn all I can about BRM. What I find again, which is typical for most of my PM related searches, is lots of talk, and very little in terms of substance and actual tangible attributes that I can take and apply. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Benefits are realized much later after the project closes. While the performance indicators are managed by a unit, the project team is disbanded and nowhere to be found.
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1 reply by Steve Ratkaj
Jan 24, 2020 8:24 AM
Steve Ratkaj
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Stéphane;
I would tend to agree in most cases your statement is correct, with our strategic initiative which we are treating as a project, I can say there are almost "immediate" or what could be called intermediate benefits.
As an example, within our organization, PMs, and their associated budgets must also include all costs pertaining to training of their staff. A properly written BRP, would encapsulate this HR component of the project staff's career objectives, as beginning of year objectives, mid-year, and year-end reviews are conducted.
Additionally, "internal benefits" could be measured using the traditional metrics of time, cost, scope, and quality throughout the entire project lifecycle.
Think of an organization such as ours with literally hundreds of projects. Would senior management not want to know of the "internal benefits" that should be "realized" during all project stages?
I believe this component of PM has largely been ignored, but there seems to be a resurgence in this area, and for very good reason.
Saving Changes...
Deepesh RammoorthyICT Project Manager ( PMP®AgilePM®Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®))| Australian Red Cross Blood ServiceTarneit, Vic, Australia
Hi Kiron
I have seen C and D most commonly in my projects Saving Changes...
I have mainly seen B), C) and D). I have to say that once B or C are not done D is impossible. Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
a) not having the correct KPI's in place to measure the success
b) not following proper change management to ensure maximum user adoption Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Kiron
Interesting your question
Thanks for sharing
In the organizations I work with, and in general, the biggest impediment to realizing and obtaining the benefits of the project are:
- Benefits are not objectively identified in the business case
- No one takes ownership for tracking & monitoring benefit realization during and after the project
- There is no consequence for a business owner not realizing the benefits Saving Changes...
