We’ve all worked on a project where we didn’t really understand the reason for the change or the importance behind it. The business case may have articulated the vision, but the project failed to deliver the planned outcomes, leaving us to wonder why.
Project teams can easily fall short of achieving results that move the company forward, even when following the project guidelines to a T. Why? Because leaders often fail to ground their projects with measurable benefits that connect the goals to the scope and value the project will deliver.
This lack of measurable benefits causes a wide array of problems to surface, including confusion on the program charter, unclear objectives, lack of organizational readiness, and inaccurate budgeting. The project can plough on with its “on-time, on-budget” forecast, but with no value metrics, will the results deliver the intended business case? Who knows!
Academically, the Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a benefit as an “outcome of actions, behaviors, products, or services that provide utility to the sponsoring organization as well as to the program’s intended beneficiaries.”
The word “utility” in this definition provides the key. The project must prove useful and offer value to the people directly affected by the changes as well as the company overall.
For years, I’ve worked on projects that promised big benefits, and frankly, I rarely felt confident that we’d achieve any of them – at least not in my lifetime. More importantly, I couldn’t find a compelling story for the change. The benefits described in the business case often depended too much on other projects delivering their planned benefits.
These moments led me to decide that working on a project with no clear benefits – directly derived and tracked from the outcome of this specific project – caused confusion and wasted time. So I started asking myself and my project stakeholders, “What matters most? And what value can we get directly from this project in the foreseeable future?”
One such project stands out for me. Several years ago, I joined a program as a transformation coach to help a project sponsor in deep trouble over an enterprise data management system. The project team had already begun delivering its outputs, but categorized the project “in red” for several reasons including limited stakeholder engagement. Everyone believed this project would fail disastrously.
I often find projects like this driven by “whoever has the loudest voice,” in this case the primary stakeholder with the most requirements. When asked, the other stakeholders felt unclear about their roles and the project requirements. They also didn’t feel like this project addressed the needs of their departments. No one had properly onboarded these stakeholders or aligned them to the objectives of the project.
I worked with this group over a 90-day period to gain alignment on both the objectives and the perceived benefits. This foundational work gave the stakeholders asking “what’s in it for me” a reasonable, measurable answer as well as clear priorities and requirements. Assigning benefits and risk monitoring activities to key stakeholders kept them engaged throughout the life of the project.
We all want to succeed, but do we all have the same idea of what success looks like? If not, by default we fall into an unstructured approach to project delivery. Or worse, teams focus solely on delivering the “silver bullet,” features and functions they believe will gain the benefits.
Unfortunately, some groups buy the shiny objects, thinking the business needs features and functions. But the business really needs to solve a problem for a team to drive the business forward. When you lead projects with a benefits-driven approach, you will reach higher levels of engagement from stakeholders and those impacted by the change. You will align everyone with a better understanding of the goals and objectives.
An article from the 2015 issue of the PMI newsletter Pulse of the Profession shares some unpleasant statistics on project success rates As illustrated on page 17, 43% of organizations with a low benefits realization finish within budget, 54% meet the original goals/business intent, and only 38% finish on time. Compare this to 67% of organizations with a high benefits realization finishing within budget, 76% meeting original goals/business intent, and 66% finishing on time.
If you solve a problem, you get value. But how can you solve a problem you don’t understand?
When it comes to change, leaders need to connect with multiple stakeholders to uncover the real challenges within the business. These discussions help stakeholders gain different perspectives, reach clarity on competing requirements, and position the team to work on both the benefits for the company and the value for the individual stakeholders.
With this type of thought and action, each project becomes more valuable and the perceived odds of achieving success increase dramatically. Why? Because you will have a clear strategy and switched the conversation to the value of the project’s outputs instead of the features and specs of its deliverables.
Ultimately, this shifts your focus towards the end users instead of the “solution.” When you become user-centric, you will see increases in engagement, ownership, and clarity from the people affected by the change. Stakeholders become interested because they helped establish the value and will see benefits that improve their business areas.
Obviously benefits don’t just happen, but they rarely happen without a plan, either. To realize benefits, you and your team must engage in a continual process of envisioning results, planning and implementing actions, measuring results, and dynamically adjusting the plan. You must manage this process just like any other business or project process.
Let’s turn the tide on project failures by shifting our mindsets to focus on what’s important. Let’s create projects that not only meet requirements and execute well but also create lasting benefits and value. Imagine the buy-in, accountability, and sustainability you will create as a leader focused on the purpose of a project beingBetter Work instead of just outputs. Technology alone cannot deliver business results, even on technology-focused projects. Business leaders need to connect with teams to set objectives, establish measures, and track progress to drive long-term value for the organization.
