Managing Benefits from Projects and Programmes: Guide for Practitioners

This guidance can be used by practitioners, decision makers and those implementing benefits management in their organisation. It provides a generic approach that can be tailored to suit your organisation. The guidance can be used for both Better Business Case (BBC) and non BBC investments.

1 Why is benefits management important?

2 Benefits management expectations in the State Services

• 2.1 National economy perspective (wellbeing)
• 2.2 Cabinet office circular CO (19) 6 expectations
• 2.3 Other expectations
• 2.4 Legislation
• 2.5 Cabinet expectations for identifying wider benefits
• 2.6 Industry guidance on benefits management

3 About this guidance

• 3.1 Symbols used in this Guidance
• 3.2 Questions and feedback
• 3.3 Further information

4 What is benefits management?

• 4.1 Linking benefits to outputs and outcomes
• 4.2 Benefits management framework
• 4.3 Benefits management strategy
• 4.4 Alignment of of Benefits Management Lifecycle to Better Business Cases^TM (BBC)
• 4.5 Benefits management in the wider context
• 4.6 Benefits management for Agile projects

5 Benefits management principles

6 Main activities at each stage of the Benefits Management Life Cycle

7 Process flow for benefits activities

8 Benefits identification

• 8.1 Benefits map
• 8.2 Benefits profiles
• 8.3 Benefits strategic contribution
• 8.4 Benefits categorisation
• 8.5 Benefits measures
• 8.6 Benefits dependencies
• 8.7 Risks
• 8.8 Benefits realisation plan (BRP)
• 8.9 Stakeholders
• 8.10 Other considerations

9 Benefits analysis

• 9.1 Monetary and non-monetary benefits
• 9.2 Benefits attribution
• 9.3 Measures

10 Benefits planning

• 10.1 Benefits register
• 10.2 Benefits realisation schedule

11 Benefit realisation and reporting

• 11.1 Monitoring and reporting
• 11.2 Identifying emerging benefits
• 11.3 Change management and embedding into business-as-usual
• 11.4 Lessons learned

12 The role of assurance and benefits

• 12.1 Investment reviews
• 12.2 Operational and benefits realisation review
• 12.3 Project assurance process
• 12.4 Benefit owners

Annex A – Glossary

Annex B – Benefits management principles

Annex C – Suggestions for improving Benefits management

Annex D – Links

Annex E – Typical benefits management roles

Annex F – P3M3 benefits management maturity