Implement a Benefits Realisation framework - Benefits Realisation
How do you really know that your project will deliver the desired benefits?
Most organisations spend a lot of effort to measure project efficiency. You may have an approach for controlling your project inputs such as time, cost, quality and resources - but there remains a great risk that the planned benefits may not materialise as expected.
A Benefits Management framework will provide far better control over the ownership, measurement and delivery of your expected benefits and should provide more than just a method for accounting for benefits. The secret is to build a "benefits-driven mindset" that will create a shared view of how the project will deliver your desired value and a supportive culture that will be accoutnable for making things happen.
Analyse your strategic options - Strategic Options Analysis
How do you really know where to invest your company’s money?
In a complex, changing environment, decision makers need to be wary about committing to a single view of the future. The ability to continuously review multiple scenarios and adjust to the most appropriate path is a better way to manage risks and opportunities.
Build the real requirements - Requirements Reviews
How do you really know that your projects are addressing the real business requirements?
If the project requirements are unclear or incorrect, time and money will be wasted. Real requirements express what the stakeholders really need. The scope of each requirement should be extended so that it can be demonstrated to deal with a real business situation, and offer a measurable outcome. Quantifying the requirements allows you to avoid ambiguity and to test the value of the stated requirements.
Act on the risk factors that could jeopardise success - Risk and Feasibility Anaylsis
How do you really know when to "pull the plug" on a project or change its course?
Major projects spend money very quickly. Mistakes are made on every project: what matters is the speed with which leadership realises they have problems and deals with them. To ensure greater accountability, you need to strengthen governance around owning and learning from mistakes and have clear, quantifiable and enforced measures of performance and behaviour that align with your desired business outcomes.
Develop robust business cases - Business Case Development
How do you really know that your business cases are robust and will result in the right projects delivering the right outcomes?
You undertake business projects to realise benefits from change – and an effective business case will describe the real, measurable outcomes you expect to achieve from the change. Our experience tells us that estimates of the required cost and effort are usually poor, mainly because the amount of time required to complete the project is underestimated.
Perform a cultural assessment - Cultural Assessments
How do you get real buy-in, commitment and follow-through from your team?
Most organisations recognise the need for their staff to embrace and manage change, but the stakeholders are often not sufficiently engaged in the changes being made to the business. Without this engagement your project is doomed to fail.
