Benefits Realisation Management
Encyclopedia
Benefits realisation management (BRM) (also benefits management or benefits realisation) is the explicit planning, delivery and management of whole life benefits from an investment
. An investment is only successful if intended benefits are realised and BRM supports key choices and actions to achieve this success. Popularity of BRM has grown recently in the UK with the inclusion of the BRM by the UK Government in their standardised approach to programmes, Managing Successful Programmes (MSP).
, projects, programmes, portfolios
and in continuing business operations. Outcomes are changes identified as important by stakeholders and can be strategic or non-strategic. A benefit is a measurable positive impact of change. A dis-benefits is a measurable negative impact of change.
Successful BRM requires accountable people, relevant measures and proactive management.
A generic BRM process is to:
A technique used in 'identify the investment outcomes' is the creation of a pictorial view of the outcomes of interest on an outcome map (also called a results chain , benefits dependency network or benefit map). This technique supports agreement of the outcomes sought as it shows the outcomes and relationships between them on a single page. They can be agreed upon and communicated clearly as a result.
Data can then be captured either separately or within a suitable modelling tool for each outcome that will include the benefit measures used for each, ownership and accountability information and information to support realisation management.
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
. An investment is only successful if intended benefits are realised and BRM supports key choices and actions to achieve this success. Popularity of BRM has grown recently in the UK with the inclusion of the BRM by the UK Government in their standardised approach to programmes, Managing Successful Programmes (MSP).
Overview
BRM has clear roles and responsibilities, processes, principles and deliverables that are common across investment types. Common investment types include procurementProcurement
Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...
, projects, programmes, portfolios
Portfolio (finance)
Portfolio is a financial term denoting a collection of investments held by an investment company, hedge fund, financial institution or individual.-Definition:The term portfolio refers to any collection of financial assets such as stocks, bonds and cash...
and in continuing business operations. Outcomes are changes identified as important by stakeholders and can be strategic or non-strategic. A benefit is a measurable positive impact of change. A dis-benefits is a measurable negative impact of change.
Successful BRM requires accountable people, relevant measures and proactive management.
A generic BRM process is to:
- Identify the investment outcomes
- Define benefit measures for each outcome
- Collect current benefit measure data to have a quantitative basis for decision making
- Agree a tailored BRM approach for this investment
- Plan the new or changed capabilities necessary to realize the benefits
- Plan the investments needed to make the changes necessary to create or change the capabilities
- Optimize the plan to reduce waste and have acceptable levels of resource, risk, cost, quality and time
- Implement the plan
- Review the impact of the plan implementation on the Benefit Measures and use insights to improve
- On completion of the plan, ensure BRM continues to sustain the capabilities and realisation of benefits
A technique used in 'identify the investment outcomes' is the creation of a pictorial view of the outcomes of interest on an outcome map (also called a results chain , benefits dependency network or benefit map). This technique supports agreement of the outcomes sought as it shows the outcomes and relationships between them on a single page. They can be agreed upon and communicated clearly as a result.
Data can then be captured either separately or within a suitable modelling tool for each outcome that will include the benefit measures used for each, ownership and accountability information and information to support realisation management.
See also
- Value engineeringValue engineeringValue engineering is a systematic method to improve the "value" of goods or products and services by using an examination of function. Value, as defined, is the ratio of function to cost. Value can therefore be increased by either improving the function or reducing the cost...
- Business caseBusiness caseA business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It is often presented in a well-structured written document, but may also sometimes come in the form of a short verbal argument or presentation. The logic of the business case is that, whenever resources such as money or...
- InvestmentInvestmentInvestment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
- Cost-benefit analysisCost-benefit analysisCost–benefit analysis , sometimes called benefit–cost analysis , is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project for two purposes: to determine if it is a sound investment , to see how it compares with alternate projects...