Benefits Realisation

4Design the Project to Realise Benefits

There are many important moments in the life of a project. For most projects, the most important one is when the project is designed, and everyone can see the benefits it will create.

At Nykredit, all projects are kicked off with a benefits realisation workshop.

Carsten Kruse, Vice President, Nykredit

Many associate project design with technology or IT architecture, but that is not the idea here. By designing the project correctly, we create a shared picture of how it will add value and what it entails.

One of the main reasons many projects fail to realise the intended value is that they are designed and executed following this process:

1. Someone in the organisation gets an idea that is converted into the purpose of a project.
2. Next, you begin designing the IT system, new product, service, process, or other technical deliverables deemed necessary for the project.
3. The project's deliverables are produced.

When the project manager has finished producing the deliverables, the project is closed, and they get a pat on the back and move on to the next project. This way of designing and executing projects is illustrated in Figure 4.1.

The approach leaves a black box between the project's deliverables and the project's purpose. If we design projects by jumping from the purpose directly into specifying and producing deliverables, we can easily get the project's deliverables produced. If the project realises benefits, we cannot manage or follow ...