Need help with these two tasks. Require detailed answers.
Task 1 – Program Benefits Management Plan
Instructions to Learners:
This summative assessment can be completed in class or at any other convenient location.
Students are required to complete this task using digital tools and ensure to submit in an acceptable format, e.g. .docx, .pdf, .pptx, or as advised by your assessor.
Please use the following formatting guidelines to complete this assessment task:
Font Size: 12; Line Spacing: Double; Font Style: Times New Roman
Assessment activities can be completed either in real workplace environment or in a simulated environment such as your classroom. In both cases, appropriate evidence of the assessment activities must be provided.
Instruction to Assessors:
You must assess student’s assessment according to the provided Marking Criteria.
You must complete and record any evidence related to assessment activities including role-plays and presentations using appropriate forms which must be attached with student assessment submission.
You must provide students with detailed feedback within 10 working days from submission.
Assuming that your organization has been awarded contracts to undertake the following projects:
| Project 1 - Website redevelopment and hosting and maintenance services for Destination: Australia This project is for the technical upgrade of the Archives’ website Destination: Australia. In order to ensure the best value for money and optimal functionality (for the website and related exhibition interactive) going forward, it is necessary for the website to be transferred from a proprietary CMS to a commonly available CMS (including, but not limited to, an Open Source CMS). The website will enable the National Archives of Australia to collect user contributed data about the photographic collection featured on the site. The interface must be modern, engaging and user-friendly, designed to meet the needs of people of all ages, and differing levels of computer and English literacy. The website must interact successfully with an exhibition interactive via an existing API. There is an option for hosting, maintenance and support services to be provided from contract execution until 31 December 2019. |
| Project 2 – Re-development of Intranet A redevelopment of the Clean Energy Regulator Staff Intranet into SharePoint 2013 |
| Project 3 - Database for community engagement - Software as A Service Customer Relationship Management system (SAAS CRM) The National Radioactive Waste Management Facility project is currently in Phase 2, best described as the technical assessment and continued community consultation phase. One site has been chosen to progress to this stage while other as yet unknown sites may also progress to this stage. The project team requires a database (Software as A Service Customer Relationship Management system (SAAS CRM) to effectively and confidentially manage large volumes of data, including names, addresses, opinions of community members and contact details. This will assist in ongoing community engagement. |
Your task is to, considering the 3 projects above to be developed concurrently, develop a program benefit management plan. The benefit management plan must:
In order to do so, complete all of the following:
Benefit Statement
Benefit Profile
Benefit Priority Table
Benefits Management Strategy
The templates attached, or suitable alternatives may be utilized to complete this task.
Note: Your Assessor will provide a variance to the program throughout the assessment task which may include the addition of a project or alteration to one of the existing projects within the program.
Benefits Statement
| Benefit | Expected benefit outcome | Benefit Type | Where will the benefit occur? | Who will be affected? |
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| Dis-benefit | Expected outcome | Benefit Type | Where will the dis-benefit occur? | Who will be affected? |
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Benefit Profile
| No. | Benefit | Senior Benefit Owner | Operational Benefit Owner | |||||||||||||||||
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| Benefit to be Measured | Method of Measurement | Baseline Value | Target Value | Measurement Dates | Measurement to be done by | Actual Value at date measured | ||||||||||||||
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| Overall Benefit Ranking | Benefit Category | Dependency on Other Benefits | Benefit Priority (1 very low to 5 very high) | Likelihood of Failure (1 very low to 5 very high) | Overall Risk Rating (Priority x Likelihood of Failure) | |||||||||||||||
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| Relevant PSA/ Departmental Targets | How does the benefit meet the target? | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Actions Required | Responsibility for actions | Expected Outcomes | Start Date | End Date | ||||||||||||||||
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| Potential Risks | Likelihood 1 Low – 5 High | Impact on Benefit 1 Low – 5 High | Countermeasures | Responsibility for Countermeasures | ||||||||||||||||
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| No | Benefit | Type | Overall Ranking | Overall Risk Rating |
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| No | Dis-Benefit | Type |
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BENEFITS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
TEMPLATE
Prepared for:
(Insert Project/Program Board Name)
AMENDMENT LOG
REVISION HISTORY
| Version | Date | Author | Comments/ Change |
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APPROVAL
| Name | Role | Signature | Date |
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This Benefits Management Strategy sets out the approach and framework that the XXX Project/Program will use to manage the realisation and delivery of benefits.
It provides direction and information in terms of:
• The purpose of benefits management in the XXX Project/Program;
• The approach to benefits planning, which includes how benefits are identified, defined and prioritised;
• The approach for the benefits realisation management process (after benefits planning), and the criteria against which the effectiveness of that process is to be measured;
• The functions, roles and responsibilities of those involved in benefits planning and benefit realisation;
• When and how reviews and assessments concerned with measuring benefit realisation will be carried out, and who is to be involved;
• Measurement methods and steps that will be used to monitor and assess the realisation of benefits;
• The tool(s), system(s) and source(s) of information that may be used to enable benefit measurement; and
• The use and definition of any benefits management terminology that is specific to the XXX Project/Program and the (Agency) context.
The key objectives of benefits management in the XXX Project/Program is to:
• Provide ongoing alignment and clear links between the XXX Project/Program, the (Agency) Strategic Plan and ultimately, the initiative endorsed by government;
• Ensure that benefits are identified, defined, and clearly linked to (Agency) outcomes;
• Ensure that the desired benefits are achievable and verifiable (and that they can, and will be measured);
• Ensure that the affected parts of the (Agency) business areas understand their responsibilities and the critical role they play in benefit realisation, and are able to commit to undertaking those activities;
• Actively drive (rather than leave to chance) the process of realising benefits, which includes actively measuring, tracking and recording benefits during the period of benefits realisation; and
• Provide a “benefits roadmap” that serves as a continuing focus for the delivery of the Project/Program and the necessary changes that need to occur in the (Agency) operational areas.
| Tip: This strategy should be reviewed on a regular basis to make sure that things are still being done as intended. A good time to do this is when the XXX Project/Program conducts a Benefits Review. The “key objectives” that are listed in the previous paragraph provide a good checklist for determining how well the Project/Program is “managing benefits”. Use it to check whether things are being forgotten or whether management actions have gone off-the-track and are starting to miss the point. |
Sound and realistic planning of benefits will be essential to the eventual success of the XXX Project/Program.
Benefits Planning is an ongoing and iterative activity, especially when the Project/Program (later on) considers or implements change(s) that are likely to impact on its vision, business case, blueprint, and/or project/program plan.
The XXX Project/Program is required to establish and maintain a Benefits Map* that captures and illustrates the relationships between the outputs that the projects are producing; the business changes that are needed to take on the new capability; the outcome(s) that are expected from the successful conduct of those business changes; the benefits (intermediate and end benefits) that are anticipated to be realised because of those outcomes; and the (Agency) strategic objective(s) that will be achieved as a result.
Fig 2: Benefit Map – Categories
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| * Tip: The Benefits Map is very handy piece of information that shows at a glance all the relationships between what the projects are producing, what changes need to be made in the business, the corresponding outcomes, and what benefits are anticipated to be delivered as a result. Just like any planning information, it should be maintained. Use it to capture where things are up to and record any approved changes. It is also a useful tool for the project/program board to understand what impact their decisions are likely to have on the project/program, especially if things need to change or are “not running to plan”. |
Prioritising the delivery of benefits ensures that the (Agency) derives the right benefits sooner rather than later, but also that it derives value faster by having its most important needs, if they can be delivered, being met earlier.
Setting benefit priorities is a part of benefit planning (and re-planning), and is required to be done each time the project/program considers a change in its plans, reviews progress, or responds to an issue impacting on benefits.
To be clear of what is driving the priorities, the project/program is to, at a minimum, conduct an analysis of “benefits vs impact on business area” and also be clear about who is being impacted (i.e. through a benefit / stakeholder matrix). This analysis should be revisited during any benefit (re)planning event (e.g. when stakeholder expectations change) or when there is a move to change the scope of what the project/program is delivering.
| Remember: The schedule of when benefits are expected is managed in detail through the project/program’s Benefit Realisation Plan. Any change to benefit priorities should be reflected and managed in the Benefits Realisation Plan. |
A Benefit Profile enables everyone concerned with the project/program to be clear about what the benefit is; where it will occur; who is involved and what must do to achieve it; and finally, how we know that we have achieved it.
The Benefit Profiles, once approved, help define the scope of why the project/program is running and constantly guides not only the things that the project/program need to deliver, but also the changes that the operational managers need to make in the day-to-day business to bring those capabilities “to life” (i.e. the Business Change Managers).
At a minimum, a Benefit Profile is to record:
Description - What precisely is the benefit?
Observation - What verifiable differences will be observable before and after the project/program having been run?
Attribution - Where do we expect the Benefit to occur? Is the ownership for the making the changes in the operational areas clear and agreed? Does the benefit really result from our project/program?
Measurement - How and when will the achievement of the benefit be measured?
The XXX Project/Program is required to maintain and apply change control to all Benefit Profiles once they have been approved. Once approved, these should only change with the approval of the XXX Project/Program Board (BoM).
| Remember: The expected benefits are an important part of the project/program’s Business Case. Any change to these (once approved) should only be done with the approval of the project/program board (or even higher in the organisation). When Benefit Profiles change, the project/program’s business case should be reviewed to understand the impact. |
The project/program is to manage, track and control the realisation of benefits through the project/program’s Benefits Realisation Plan.
It can best be thought of as a schedule of resourced activities focused on achieving the benefits and the transition that needs to occur in the (Agency) operational areas, as distinct to the project/program’s plan, which is focused on the delivery of the project/program.
The Benefits Realisation Plan is to be maintained by the XXX Project/Program Office, and is managed in detail by the XXX Benefits Manager working in conjunction with the identified Business Change Manager(s) (typically the (Agency) operational managers or coordinators managing the business change or transition in their areas).
At a minimum, the plan is required to contain and provide information on:
• A schedule that details when each benefit or groups of benefits
(including any dis-benefits) will be realized;
• Milestones for the conduct of Benefits Review(s), to determine progress and inform questions about the likelihood of ongoing success in the future;
• Dates when specific outcomes (i.e. business transition(s)) that will bring about benefits, are planned to be achieved;
• Any and all dependencies; and
• Details of the necessary handover and embedding activities necessary to realise any benefits occurring after the project/program has closed.
| Tip: Just like it is important to gauge and report on the status and progress of what the project/programs are delivering, it is just as important to report on the status and progress of what is happening in the operational areas, and how much benefit is actually being “realised”. Often this is considered to be “hard to do”, and therefore is often not done. The Benefit Realisation Plan along with the project/program plan should be tracked, controlled and reported on. A good habit is to see, and treat these, as equals in the day-to-day management of the project/program. |
Benefits need to be managed from their initial identification all the way through to their successful “realisation”.
An important part of “Realising the Benefits” is essentially about the XXX Benefits Manager and (Agency) Business Change Managers monitoring the project/program to make sure that the deliverables that they are producing can “do the job” and that the things they are delivering can be integrated into the (Agency) business and operational areas (so that the benefits that were planned for earlier, can be realised).
Outside of monitoring, the XXX Benefits Manager and (Agency) Business Change Managers also need to carry out activities that prepare and support the (Agency) areas that are undergoing transition. This is in addition to the work needed to track, “push” and measure the benefits as they are occurring.
The Benefit Realisation Plan is used to track the realisation of benefits across the XXX Project/Program. It also sets the frequency of the “review” controls. The plan is executed under the control of the XXX Project/Program by the project/program’s assigned Business Change Managers and the Benefits Manager in the project/program office.
Like “Benefits Planning”, the process of Realising Benefits is made up of ongoing and iterative management activities that require the project/program to work together with members of the project/program board, operational (Agency) areas, its stakeholders and other projects/programs upon which the project/program is dependent or a contributor to. These activities will take time, consume resources and require control (not unlike activities being undertaken by the project/program’s projects to deliver capability).
At a minimum, “executing the Benefit Realisation Plan” requires that the following scheduled activities take place:
Benefit measurement activities (before, during and after a transition);
Handover / acceptance and embedding activities (beyond the mere
Implementation of a project’s deliverable);
The conduct of benefit reviews; and
Sustainment activities (to “sustain” the ongoing realisation of a benefit).
A checklist of detailed activities to be undertaken to manage the pre-transition, transition and post transition phases of Benefits Realisation is provided at
Attachment A.
| Tip: The information assembled during benefits planning will be essential to guiding and controlling the benefit realisation activities of the XXX Project/Program. Expect that there will be variance between what is actually achieved and what was planned. Refer back to the Benefit Map, Benefit Profiles, Blueprint, Business Case and other plans to guide your next steps. |
A critical requirement during the execution of the Benefits Realisation Plan is to ensure that measurements are actually being taken. The taking of measurements allows the project/program to determine the extent to which benefits are being realised, and to also identify any issues that may be precluding them from happening.
To be effective, measurements are to be made pre and post the transition (i.e. when the capabilities are transferred by the projects/programs to the operational areas). In some cases, where agreed, “post measurements” may occur after the XXX project/program has closed. This recognises that some benefits may take years to fully realise. Where this happens, the XXX Project/Program is to ensure that the responsibilities for measurement are transferred to an appropriate (Agency) corporate area as part of its project/program closure activities.
The measurement approach that the XXX Project/Program intends to use to measure its benefits should be clearly explained in the Benefit Profiles and any supporting planning information. At a minimum, there should be clarity around the tools, systems, information sources (and responsibilities) that will be used to perform the measurements.
| Tip: Using the same measurement tools and approach before and after a transition provides much greater confidence that a change has occurred. Also remember that just because a benefit may be difficult to measure, it should nonetheless be done. Proxy measures (i.e. indirect measures) and even quantitative measures are better than none at all. If a benefit cannot be measured it usually does not exist, and therefore cannot be claimed by the project/program. |
For each project/program benefit, a measure or set of measures will need to be devised to describe and prove the delivery of the benefits outlined in the Business Case.
The tools for measurement may include:
Existing (Agency) information, reporting, business systems;
Measurement systems that are intended to be / must be designed into the delivered capability (e.g. a new reporting process/tool); and
Independent manual measurement tools such as surveys or interviews, audits or health checks, (Agency) database queries.
This is not an inclusive list as there are a multitude of ways to measure benefits. Importantly, the project/program needs to balance the way it intends to measure against the backdrop of delivery and the impact on day-to-day (Agency) operations. In all cases, measurement activities should pass the test of being worthwhile and fit for-the-purpose for which they are intended. The project/program should also be mindful that what is expected is a cost-effective, lean approach to measurement that leads to a demonstration of realised benefits and does not negatively impact on the continuation of the day-to-day conduct of (Agency) operations.
To enable measurements to be taken later on, the project/program is required to maintain all document-based tools and “instructions for measurement” within its information system(s). This will ensure that they can be replicated and drawn on when needed later on in the project/program.
| Important: Consider the following critical success factors when planning and managing benefit delivery: Clear ownership of benefits; Each benefit needs to be owned by an appropriate individual. Look for the position or individual whose KPIs will be affected if the benefit is not realised! This is the Benefit Owner); Benefits must be measurable; If a benefit cannot be measured it cannot be managed, and so fails one of the critical validation tests of a benefit; Benefits arise from changes; and Be clear of where changes need to occur in (Agency) that will give rise to an outcome from which you are expecting benefits. These changes need be actively managed by individuals in these areas! (these are the Business Change Managers - sure they exist and are performing their functions). |
In addition to doing “ongoing measurements” of each benefit, the XXX Project/Program is to ensure that it performs formal reviews that take stock and make an assessment of “benefits realisation” across the project/program. These Benefit Reviews are to include an End-Tranche-Review, which is to be conducted at the end of each of the project/program’s delivery “tranches”.
Where a tranche is expected to exceed 12 months in duration, a Mid-Tranche Review is also warranted. The requirement for mid-tranche review is at the SRO’s discretion on advice from the project/program manager, and therefore may be conducted at any time during a tranche.
| Tip: Remember to optimise and look for other benefits as part of your normal benefit review process. |
An example checklist for undertaking a Benefit Review, and an End (or mid) Tranche Review is covered in the best-practice guidance booklet Think MSP TM (available to the XXX Project/Program Office).
| Tip: During any formal review, there is a significant benefit in also reviewing the performance of the Benefits Realisation Plan to determine its effectiveness and efficiency. The Benefits Realisation Plan is a dynamic piece of management information. It should be reviewed to make sure that it remains relevant and achievable. |
BoM – Board of Management. This is the XXX Project/Program Board.
SRO – The Senior Responsible Owner. This is the single individual who has the responsibility for ensuring that the XXX Project/Program meets its objectives and delivers the projected benefits. This is the chair of the BoM.
Project/Program Manager – This is the role that is responsible for the set-up, management and delivery of the XXX Project/Program.
Benefits Manager – This is the individual that is responsible within the XXX Project/Program Office for providing the centre of expertise in implementing this strategy, managing the benefit planning information, and ensuring that benefit realisation plan is implemented.
Benefit Owners – These are the individuals in the (Agency) who have a direct interest in the benefit being delivered. A good rule of thumb is that these are the individuals who head up the areas whose KPIs will be affected if the benefit is not realised.
Business Change Managers – These are the individuals who are responsible to the Project/Program for managing the required changes in the operational areas, (i.e. after taking on the capabilities being delivered by the Project/Program’s). Also, sometimes referred to as Change Agents.
Project/Program Office – the individuals in the XXX Project/Program Office. Its function is to serve as the information hub for the Project/Program and support the Project/Program Board, Project/Program Manager and Business Change Managers in managing and controlling the delivery of capability and benefits.
