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Monday

Who is responsible for defining the benefits?


Came across an interesting problem today - which I have encountered at other clients with whom I have worked. Who is responsible for defining the benefits as part of the business case development process? The answer would normally be the "business" or "senior management" that are funding the project and will be the beneficiaries of the benefits/business value realized.

However, as I have seen, IT normally ends up developing the business case because that is how they get money to keep doing their work. Normally during the annual planning process a high level allocation of funds is made by the senior management and finance, of which some goes to IT. If the CIO has a lot of influence, the more he/she gets. What then happens is that when the business complains or the IT people have resources available. a business case is thrown together (normally by the IT employed business analyst or project manager) and then given to a business executive to sign-off - who only cares that the dollars to be spent are within the allocated planning budget. Can you see the problems with this? No wonder the business keep complaining that the IT Project did not deliver the value they thought.

What should really be happening, and the basis for my process map, is that the business initiates the project request and owns the business case process. They can ask for IT to provide a resource to help build the business case, but the business sponsor must play a very hands on role when the business case is being developed. They should especially be involved in developing the benefits and outcomes from the project. IT should also play a pro-active role to ensure that they have the capability to deliver and support the recommended solution. Ultimately, the business case is a contract between IT and the business to deliver a solution for a certain cost to provide a return on investment. It is an important document to set the expectations of all stake holders so that they are not disappointed down the road.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Check out this simple benefits realization register.

http://trw.state.fl.us/downloads/FY0809/IV-B/C--BenefitsRealizationTable.doc