#10 | The Era of Benefits-Driven Project Management: Strategies and Tools You Need

In this issue:

In the ever-evolving landscape of project management, the spotlight has shifted from a rigid, milestone-centric approach to one that emphasizes agility, efficiency, and strategic alignment. There was a time when the focal point was on deliverables, outputs, artifacts, and stringent tracking of milestones. Fast forward to now, the nuances of project management have transitioned into something far more dynamic and responsive - benefits management.

Ever felt like project management could use a breath of fresh air?

Our call to action in these transformative times is to:

• Build High-Performing Teams: We need teams that perform at their peak potential.

• Fast-Track Value Creation: Strategies must demonstrate value in weeks, not months or years.

• Focus on Outcomes: It's essential to concentrate our energies on delivering impactful outcomes instead of just outputs.

• Process Enhancement: Continuous improvement in processes is no longer optional but a necessity.

• Strategic Business Alignment: Ensuring that our projects align with the broader business strategies has become quintessential.

• Adopt a Modern Toolbox: Equipping ourselves with a toolkit that accommodates problem-solving, innovation, and strategic thinking is vital.

There is a burgeoning need to pivot swiftly and create value at an accelerated pace. This implies a renewed approach to the initial phases of projects, particularly during discovery and planning, where the foundation of value delivery is laid.

Agile methodologies can indeed facilitate quicker value delivery, but their efficacy hinges largely on a sound strategy.

Taking center stage in this narrative is the project sponsor, entrusted with the vital role of delineating clear benefits and establishing pathways to validate these benefits.

Here are a couple of tools I’ve found helpful in this exercise during discovery.

Benefits Plan

This is going to answer the only questions stakeholders care about. Other than when is gonna be done - executives are going to want to understand when they can expect the benefits of this grand investment.

Here’s the key. It’s meant to be hard. Planning milestones around deliverables is a little bit of math and a few conversations.

When will you increase market share by 5%? When do you anticipate 100,000 new subscribers? It’s most likely going to be when the project is over.

Handle this in two ways:

• Have smaller benefit milestones along the way. Using the target of 100,000 subscribers above, when can you anticipate 1,000 subscribers?

• Ensure ownership of the benefit milestones. Here’s a hint, it’s typically not the project manager - especially when the project ends.

• And yes! It’s normal for benefits plan to extend way beyond project completion. The owner of the benefits needs to ensure they are still tracking these goals and that communication is clear on the status of the realization of benefits.

From HBR: https://hbr.org/2023/05/organize-your-change-initiative-around-purpose-and-benefits

PRUB Model (Project, Results, Users, Benefits)

In the book “Validating Strategies” Phil Driver introduced a model to help us determine if a project could be delivered and generate anticipated value. One strength of the model is that it can be used in reverse.

To help illustrate this, here is a fictional set of projects in the city of Phedraville 😁 that we can use to model this framework.

1. AI-based Early Wildfire Detection System

Project Description: This system utilizes a network of AI-powered sensors placed throughout forests and other high-risk areas to analyze data such as temperature fluctuations, smoke particles, and other indicators to detect early signs of a wildfire.

2. AI-enhanced Virtual Healthcare Assistant

Project Description: This virtual assistant uses AI algorithms to analyze patient data and provide healthcare advice, consultations, and preliminary diagnoses. It can integrate with various health apps and medical records to provide a comprehensive health management tool.

3. AI-Powered Urban Traffic Management System

Project Description: This system uses AI to analyze traffic data in real-time, making predictions and adjustments to traffic signals, road closures, and other factors to optimize traffic flow and reduce congestion in urban areas.

But let’s pretend we’re doing discovery on Project 1 “Early Wildfire Detection” and all we know is we need an outcome of “Increased time for evacuation, better preparation, potentially saving lives and reducing property damage, protecting biodiversity”.

We should investigate other possibilities like:

• Development of comprehensive community education programs regarding evacuation protocols and wildfire preparedness

• Upgrade and retrofit buildings and infrastructure to be more resistant to wildfires

• Implementation of meteorological systems for accurate prediction of weather patterns which can lead to wildfires.

• Use of AI in analyzing weather data to predict potential wildfire outbreaks

• Implementation of policies that regulate activities contributing to wildfires, such as controlled burns and construction codes.

There are tons more ideas here, but you get the point.

How do we know we’re pursuing the best path forward if we start at the passion project that someone wants to do vs. validating the outcome and benefits we hope end users will experience?

By the way, there are other frameworks tackling this problem, but in a project context, this is a good starting point before digging into some of the more in depth human centered/user centered design practices that are amazing at uncovering deeper insights.

Benefits Card

The benefits card is something I first heard of from Antonio Nieto Rodriguez.

This will help the executive sponsor and project leader identify the main benefits and key impacts of the project. This should be done super early in the process before discovery begins.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a good exercise to ensure you’re aiming at the right things.

How to Support

I want to give you all a special thanks for supporting a project that’s near and dear to my heart. To answer the many questions I’ve received on how to support this project:

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