Benefits realization management (BRM) is an important business concept that helps organizations to realize value and benefits in their businesses. But how exactly do they work with it? How does an organization get this important concept integrated in its company culture? One of the great challenges that most executive management face in their organizations in managing initiatives, is the application of yesteryears measurable outputs regardless of whther they are able to monitor their ability to satisfy organizational strategic goals or not. The most commonly used parameters include time, scope and budget but there are also others which use company specific parameters to do so. The outcome is a clear gap that emerges between strategy and project management. At times the management is unable to see this and even when they realize, it may be too late and may not know how to solve the issue. But can this be timely resolved and ensure that the company does not derail? Yes, as we will see shortly.
The bridge between the strategy and project management can be built with proper practices and mindset. Welcome to BRM. This is a powerful approach that can bridge this gap by aligning projects, programs, and portfolios of the company to its overarching strategy. Its the correct oath for a company that is keen on delivering measurable benefits. As stated in PMI’s website, organizations that are BRM mature are more than one and a half times able to to realize project objectives and three times likely to meet or exceed their target ROI on individual projects in comparison to their counterparts.
A while ago I was talking to my new bank contact who had recently started and was enthusiatis about her new job. She had some me an invitation to review some of the figures on my mortgage. So I walked in to the bank and we had a good lengthy conversation and seeing that it was on a Friday afternon, she had time to accomodate free talk.
So I engaged her in a “interview” to understand how they work with BRM. You don’t get lucky twice in life. She had been a consultant in a real estate company before switching jobs and was well aversed with what I was talking about. As her face lit up, she removed her glasses and reached out to her cup of coffee. Then she responded…. BRM is a continuous journey through which a company can learn by doing and improving their performance over time. The problem with most companies is that they give up too soon or don’t want to find the mantra, she continued. Accordingly, rather than attempting a quick and sudden change in how most management approach strategy and project management, they should instead focus on generating significant benefits by growing in BRM baby-steps before they can make great strides and build up experience. Then it occurred to me, that it is exactly the same thing a parent does by taking their children from being and infant to adulthood, with one focus of being self-reliant in life. Organizations should keep on ploughing their plans, revising their concepts and work forward towards delivering their strategies. BRM does this by helping to maximize initiative values by incorporating and articulating accountabilities across stakeholders to identify, execute, and sustain strategic outcomes.
Indeed, organizations that have embraced BRM do not necessarily ooze perfection. Far from it, they accept that there is always room to learn and improve. Rather than being comfortable, they are willing to jump in, live with imperfect processes, yet begin to make pragmatic steps towards being better. Since the business is always developing, they are keen to use every opportunity available to move forward. They begin closing the gap between strategy and project management and give themselves a source of competitive advantage that pays larger dividends over time. But we may wonder, how do they close this gap and still remain competitive? That is the subject I will cover tommorrow. Stay tight as I cover this in my next post tommorrow.
Project Management 