Success and benefits management
Outputs, outcomes and benefits
An output is what the project produces (a system, a building, a report). An outcome is the resulting change in the business. A benefit is a measurable improvement perceived as advantageous by a stakeholder; a dis-benefit is a measurable deterioration. Benefits usually arise after the project closes, which is why they need an owner outside the delivery team.
Success
Success criteria are the measures against which the project is judged at completion, such as time, cost, quality, scope and stakeholder satisfaction. Success factors are the conditions that make success more likely, such as clear objectives and sponsor support. Do not conflate them: criteria are judged, factors are managed.
Benefits management
The cycle is identify, define, plan, realise and review. A benefit profile records description, owner, measure, baseline, target, timing and dependencies. The benefits realisation plan sets out how and when benefits will be measured and who is accountable. The project manager contributes data; the business owner or benefits owner is accountable for realisation.
Traps
Questions often swap output for benefit ('the new CRM is the benefit', but it is the output). Another trap is forgetting dis-benefits, such as temporary productivity loss during training. Watch for claims that the project manager owns benefits, or that benefits must be financial; they can be non-financial but must still be measurable.
Worked example
New CRM: output = CRM system live; outcome = all sales staff use one pipeline; benefit = five hours per user per week of admin saved, worth £120k a year; dis-benefit = £25k training cost and a two-week productivity dip. Rule of thumb: a benefit needs a measure, a baseline, a target, a date and an owner.