What constitutes success of a project? The common answers I get to this question generally focus on the project deliverables and whether these are on time, to cost and to specification. But can a project be a true success if the planned business outcomes are not realized. Can we reliably trust that by producing the deliverables on time and on budget that business value will be generated ?
I try to expand the traditional view of project success to include the achievement of specific business outcomes. Delivering Benefits, to the sponsoring organization should be the sole purpose of any project. Every project starts out with good intentions and a plan to deliver what its sponsors think they need. But too often the benefits everyone expects are promptly laid aside when the project work begins. This focus is then replaced with a focus on producing deliverables on time and on budget. Even if they take the time to clearly define their goals, many companies stop short of testing their assumptions to determine whether the goals can realistically be achieved. Some teams become so obsessed with producing deliverables that they become blind to the fact that those deliverables may fail produce the intended benefit.
Benefits management requires planning and constant testing of the assumptions that create the benefits at each stage in a project’s life cycle, not just at the end. This allows managers and project teams to take corrective action or refine the expected benefits, based on interim results. A structured approach to defining and monitoring a project’s benefits ensures that the promises made in the business case actually do materialize.
Don’t get me wrong, I get that being on time and on budget is a good thing, but it’s not the only thing.
