Benefits realisation is an integral part of developing business cases, which is often when a benefits realisation plan is developed. Developing a benefits realisation plan has many benefits in itself because:
Benefits Realisation
- Business cases are vehicles used to seek funding and need to demonstrated benefits.
- The justification to seek funding is usually predicated on the benefits and outcomes that the project or initiative will deliver.
- Realising the benefits and demonstrating that the outcomes have been achieved can often occur sometime after the project has been completed and closed down, so the need for a plan that extends beyond a business case is required.
- The Benefits Realisation Plan provides a framework to substantiate that the original objectives, outcomes and benefits are delivered, after the project has been completed.
- Realising the agreed business benefits serves to demonstrate that the investment has achieved the stated objectives and outcomes.
- Benefit realisation is often used to inform program success evaluations later down the line.
The benefits realisation planning service AOT Consulting provides is an efficient and effective way to making sure the benefits are identified and can be qualitatively tested.
The other stage in an initiative’s lifecycle where benefits realisation is considered is after the benefit has reached the point of realisation. Considering the realisation of benefits is therefore part of undertaking reviews.