How to Make a Benefits Management Plan
Having a benefits management plan is a part of any successful overall project management.
The approach to all projects needs to be benefit-driven to ensure maximum value from the effort and investment in change.
After all, successful project delivery is not all about getting them done on time and on budget.
You need to make sure that the project you’ve been spending hours working on brings you some benefits, adding value to your company and contributing to high-level business objectives.
That is where benefits management plans come in handy.
It makes it much easier for businesses to ensure that they have good outcomes as a result of the change.
You can also say that benefits management plans are fundamental to effective project management and successful delivery.
We will dive into more in-depth about what exactly is a benefits management plan and how you can create one for your business or organization.
What Is a Benefits Management Plan?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty details of some essential steps for creating an effective benefits management plan, we need to make sure that we’re on the same page about the definition of the benefits management plan itself.
For some people, benefits management plans are nothing but new, unfamiliar words.
Even though there are a lot of blog articles or explainer videos talking about this topic, it can be quite hard for them to understand what it is fully. And we’re here to help.
So, why do we do a project in the first place? Well, we do it because we want to gain some benefits and profits, don‘t we?
But of course, not all projects we did could bring us the results we wanted. Some of them might fail to deliver the benefits that are promised.
One of the reasons for the failure is that because we don’t properly manage those benefits, we focus too much on the way we manage the delivery of products instead.
In this situation, benefits management puts front and center the benefits we expect and inspire to achieve.
It ensures that we can deliver and get the benefits that we hope for by helping you identify, define, plan, track, and pursue business benefits and corporate goals.
How to Make a Benefits Management Plan: The Essential Steps
Now that you understand what exactly is a benefits management plan, it’s time to learn how you can build a benefits management plan.
There are at least five steps that are typically featured in a benefits management project plan or program.
#1. Identify and Prioritize the Benefits
Let’s start with the basics.
First, you need to identify and prioritize the expected benefits.
It means you have to define and understand the value you expect to get out of a specific project before you start.
You need to do this within your business case.
And remember, you and your stakeholders must ensure that all benefits are aligned with your organization’s objectives and vision.
#2. Develop an Optimum Mix of Benefits
When you set clear expectations of the benefits, you can develop an optimum mix of benefits so that you can deliver the best value to the organization.
More often than not, the project managers create a timeline or a benefits realization roadmap to outline what you and your team can do to achieve those benefits.
The key here is to find a way and strategy that can make it possible for your organization to reap all the benefits it deserves.
#3. Plan and Assign Responsibilities
Once you understand your optimum mix of benefits, it is time to plan for how we are going to manage and deliver the benefits.
You need to assign tasks and responsibilities to your project team members to execute the strategy.
It’s also crucial to keep the operational team informed about the best way to realize those benefits when they’ve received the project assets.
#4. Realizing and Monitoring the Delivery
When all your project team and the operational team have a solid insight into their responsibilities, you can start realizing and monitoring the delivery as you go through your projects.
It’s all about using all the talents and resources you have to the best advantage.
Monitoring can help you understand how well your team is performing while delivering those benefits.
You will also be able to understand what needs to be improved and cut out.
#5. Reviewing the Outcomes and Sustaining the Benefits
The last step is to review the outcomes so that you can sustain those benefits and continue receiving benefits in the future.
So, make sure you spend extra time and effort to evaluate how the project went once it is finished.
Pay closer attention to your wins and failures.
And focus on improvement with everyone involved in the project.
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