A benefits register for benefits realization

Next week I am starting on developing a benefits register for the project I am on. A benefits register is the primary tool for facilitating the benefits realization process. It should be created prior to the project/change commencing and the primary input to the document would be the business case or investment proposal. You should primarily capture benefits information, but could also use it to capture Critical success factors (CSF's), or other KPI's. Also, as a project may start sometime after the business case development and approval process, the benefits register should have a separate review and approval process. It is key that the accountable party for the benefits accepts the benefit targets being set.

The benefits register could be developed as an Excel spreadsheet - this is just as effective as any fancy tool. The key thing is to ensure it is actively managed and kept straightforward. For the project I am on now we are piloting Sharepoint as the tool to use for the benefits register.

The key items I think you should include in the benefits register are:

- Description of Benefit : The description should be written after completing the other fields described below and should reflect the baseline and target metrics. eg. Improve customer response time from 3 minutes to 1 minute, thereby allowing servicing of more customers. This is equivalent to additional revenue of $10,000 per month
- Link to Objectives : How does the benefit to be delivered link to or deliver on the business objectives
- Accountability : Who is accountable for realizing the benefit. Should always select the executive responsible for the project to deliver the benefit (most likely the business sponsor on IT projects). The project manager is accountable for delivering the project, not the benefit. While the benefit will not be delivered until the project is successfully delivered, the benefit will only be realized if the business adopts the change (eg delivering a new system is the project objective, using the system is where the business will get the benefits
- Stakeholders/Beneficiaries: These are the groups responsible who have an input into defining/realizing the benefit or the beneficiaries from the benefit value to be delivered
- Baseline : What is the current state of measure of the benefit metric (eg the current process takes 3 minutes). Supporting details can be referenced but should not be included in the benefits register
- Target : What is the target state for the benefit to be achieved (response time to 1 minute). If the target is to be achieved over multiple periods, then divide the targets up by the periods.
- Approach and method : How will be benefit be realized (eg implement CRM system) and what method will be used to determine if the benefit has been achieved (measure response time 3 months after project implementation).

For tracking the project, have a couple more columns to check the status and what issues/action plans are in place to resolve issues. More on this later.

See the links on the right pane for some additional references on the benefit realization process.