Farhad AbdollahyanManaging Director| Cyrus Associados Apoio em ProjetosSao Paulo, Sp, Brazil
Given that PM's manage a temporary initiative - a project - that may not coincide with the benefit realisation life cycle, what is really the role of PM? Saving Changes...
En fait, le document considère que les responsabilités de realisation des bénéfices sont attribuables aux propriétaires des bénéfices ou des affaires:
"Benefits or Business Owner - Takes overall responsibility for monitoring and measuring benefits and ensuring they are achieved." (Page 13). Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
What a great subject. Ideally, the planned benefits were vetted in the business case/justification process prior to it becoming an official project. And we all hope that those benefits, value, and justification is documented clearly in the business case. We also certainly hope that all proper groups were enlisted in those conversations - architecture, risk, compliance, legal, security; along with the business and impacted systems/groups. That said, once an activated project, the project manager should remain in-tune with the expected value benefits and ensure transparency of the execution and have a point of reference with the stakeholders as change requests and scope creep becomes a factor in the project execution. The project manager can keep the appropriate parties 'connected' and bring them together if need be. With the project managers recommendation, effective communication, and influence, they can help to reign in the requests and draw the conversation back to the original problem to be solved that garnered the project in the first place.
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1 reply by Farhad Abdollahyan
Feb 16, 2018 8:18 PM
Farhad Abdollahyan
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Dear Andrew,
Very good and rational explanation of what a PM does during the project that if I understood from your text is of monitoring and reporting nature concerning benefits as defined in the business case.
However, in most of the cases the PM is neither the owner of the business case nor continues on board when the project deliverables (outputs) are handed over and the project organisation is dismantled.
In other words, PM is not responsible for the remaining benefits realisation management that will result from the outcome of using the capabilities, assets and solutions (project outputs) by users and Business-as-usual operations.
Saving Changes...
Farhad AbdollahyanManaging Director| Cyrus Associados Apoio em ProjetosSao Paulo, Sp, Brazil
Feb 16, 2018 4:09 PM
Replying to Drew Craig
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What a great subject. Ideally, the planned benefits were vetted in the business case/justification process prior to it becoming an official project. And we all hope that those benefits, value, and justification is documented clearly in the business case. We also certainly hope that all proper groups were enlisted in those conversations - architecture, risk, compliance, legal, security; along with the business and impacted systems/groups. That said, once an activated project, the project manager should remain in-tune with the expected value benefits and ensure transparency of the execution and have a point of reference with the stakeholders as change requests and scope creep becomes a factor in the project execution. The project manager can keep the appropriate parties 'connected' and bring them together if need be. With the project managers recommendation, effective communication, and influence, they can help to reign in the requests and draw the conversation back to the original problem to be solved that garnered the project in the first place.
Dear Andrew,
Very good and rational explanation of what a PM does during the project that if I understood from your text is of monitoring and reporting nature concerning benefits as defined in the business case.
However, in most of the cases the PM is neither the owner of the business case nor continues on board when the project deliverables (outputs) are handed over and the project organisation is dismantled.
In other words, PM is not responsible for the remaining benefits realisation management that will result from the outcome of using the capabilities, assets and solutions (project outputs) by users and Business-as-usual operations. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Farhad - Thank you for your response. Agreed. The PM is not responsible for benefits realization. They, do, however, have influece during the project execution to steer the ship to provide the business the best possible opportunity to see through to those benefits.
I am a strong proponent of the business taking ownership and simply acting as a shepherd through the delivery process. Honestly, I don't want to have anything to do with the business decisions. That is on them. I am simply there to offer recommendations from an experience and implementation perspective. Though, that perspective is coming from my experience as part of IT. I ensure that I am working to foster decisions on the business side, not make them. I was previously a business analyst and implemented an intake process to ensure there was value, justification, and sustainably; always working with the business to ensure they were able to convey their needs and work to translate those needs to a valuable product.
The change management process, once the project is delivered, is owned by the business, along with any realized benefits - if you don't use it, you lose it.
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1 reply by Farhad Abdollahyan
Feb 16, 2018 10:58 PM
Farhad Abdollahyan
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I think that we are converging.
Although the PM is neither responsible nor accountable for the project benefits realisation, she/he is responsible for ensuring the Project Success.
"Traditionally, the project management metrics of time, cost, scope, and quality have been the most important factors in defining the success of a project.
More recently, practitioners and scholars have determined that project success should also be measured with consideration toward achievement of the project objectives." (PMBOK® Guide, page 34)
The continuous business justification is necessary. A Project should start, continue and close if it is desirable, viable and realisable. In other words, the expected benefits realisation goals are achievable at a reasonable cost, time and risk.
Under these circumstances and constraints, and given the limited authority of the PM, his role in benefit realisation is limited to monitor the Business Case, and Benefit Management Plan and escalate risks and issues that may put the Benefit realisation in danger.
Do you agree?
Saving Changes...
Farhad AbdollahyanManaging Director| Cyrus Associados Apoio em ProjetosSao Paulo, Sp, Brazil
Feb 16, 2018 10:29 PM
Replying to Drew Craig
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Farhad - Thank you for your response. Agreed. The PM is not responsible for benefits realization. They, do, however, have influece during the project execution to steer the ship to provide the business the best possible opportunity to see through to those benefits.
I am a strong proponent of the business taking ownership and simply acting as a shepherd through the delivery process. Honestly, I don't want to have anything to do with the business decisions. That is on them. I am simply there to offer recommendations from an experience and implementation perspective. Though, that perspective is coming from my experience as part of IT. I ensure that I am working to foster decisions on the business side, not make them. I was previously a business analyst and implemented an intake process to ensure there was value, justification, and sustainably; always working with the business to ensure they were able to convey their needs and work to translate those needs to a valuable product.
The change management process, once the project is delivered, is owned by the business, along with any realized benefits - if you don't use it, you lose it.
I think that we are converging.
Although the PM is neither responsible nor accountable for the project benefits realisation, she/he is responsible for ensuring the Project Success.
"Traditionally, the project management metrics of time, cost, scope, and quality have been the most important factors in defining the success of a project.
More recently, practitioners and scholars have determined that project success should also be measured with consideration toward achievement of the project objectives." (PMBOK® Guide, page 34)
The continuous business justification is necessary. A Project should start, continue and close if it is desirable, viable and realisable. In other words, the expected benefits realisation goals are achievable at a reasonable cost, time and risk.
Under these circumstances and constraints, and given the limited authority of the PM, his role in benefit realisation is limited to monitor the Business Case, and Benefit Management Plan and escalate risks and issues that may put the Benefit realisation in danger.
Do you agree? Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
In accordance to PMBOK Guide project sucess is "Success is measured by product and
project quality, timeliness, budget compliance, and degree of customer satisfaction." The monitoring of business case is not a project manager responsability. Is the business analyst responsability. It must be clear because if not both roles must collapse and collide and that is not good when we tried to use both roles mainly from PMI´s prespective. The project manager has not the whole information. She/he can record issues and risk but she/he does not know the impacts into related projects if exists. Focus of the project manager must be to create the defined product/service/result (the defined, not other) in the expected time and estimated costs. When that on focus she/he is assuring the benefits will be achieved in the framework of her/his scope of work. That is the key to understand and not fail. Saving Changes...
