Benefits realisation management is the identification, definition, planning, tracking and realisation of business benefits. Delivering benefits is the primary reason why organisations undertake change.

The problem though is that often the change fails to deliver the benefits, either partially... or at all.

Before you make an investment in change, ask the "so what" and "how much" questions.

• So what impact will the change make (money saved, happier customers)?
• How much benefit will we realise (how much money saved, how happier)?

You can read more on this in a short article I wrote and published on LinkedIn.

My conclusion is that we should be considering benefits and change in the same breath, or what I like to call Benefits Realisation Change Management.

Investment Logic Mapping (ILM) is a technique to ensure that robust discussion and thinking is done up-front, resulting in sound problem definition, before solutions are identified and before any investment decision is made.

The major output from this process is an Investment Logic Map, but it's the ILM process which delivers the greatest value. The process consists of four workshops:

• Problem: What's the problem that’s driving us to consider a new investment (cause and effect)?
• Benefit: What improvement will the investment realise?
• Response: What interventions could be taken to respond to the problem, and which option is likely to be the most suitable?
• Solution: What business changes will be needed to implement the response? What program or project outputs will enable these changes?

Over the last few years I've run a number of these sessions, creating investment logic maps across a range of both large and small prospective initiatives.

ExpertPPM Business Case Manager is a free-for-personal-use online business case creation application designed to help you start, manage and complete your projects. Based around the PRINCE2® methodology, with ExpertPPM you can:

• Develop a business case for your prospective program or project
• Dynamically create and store your business case document
• Publish and share your business case with important stakeholders
• Track draft and final copies and request feedback and approval

ExpertPPM is built around the PRINCE2® methodology, the de facto standard in project management, providing guidance that gives individuals and organisations the essentials of running a project.

ExpertPPM is launching soon - what this space!

The PRINCE2® methodology is easy to learn and is a flexible method that can adapt to all types of project.

ExpertPPM follows the PRINCE2® Process Model, starting with the first management product required for any initiative - a formal, structured, business case.

ExpertPPM allows you create and store your business case online - no more folders full of duplicate or redundant document files, spreadsheets or project plans.

Reuse project information across different business case versions - no need to re-enter information over and over again, just do it once.

Access real-time project information, give controlled access to your stakeholders so they can view, feedback and approve your business case as it develops.