Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Case study
Introduction
Projects are approved on the strength of the benefits they promise, yet many organisations stop measuring at handover. Benefits are then assumed rather than evidenced, weak investments are repeated and lessons are lost. This Core Concept course equips managers to define, map, measure and track benefits from business case to realisation, and to evaluate completed projects with a recognised method. Participants apply each technique to cases from several sectors and leave with a Benefits Realisation Plan and Post-Project Evaluation Framework for an initiative of their own.
Course Objectives
- Distinguish outputs, outcomes, benefits and disbenefits, and test the benefit claims in a business case
- Map how project outputs lead to business changes and benefits using a benefits dependency network and a logic model
- Define measurable benefit profiles with baselines, targets, owners and a realisation schedule
- Value and track benefits through a register that feeds programme and portfolio reporting
- Plan and conduct a post-project evaluation using ISO 21513 and the OECD DAC criteria, including lessons learned
- Produce a Benefits Realisation Plan and Post-Project Evaluation Framework for an own initiative
Target Audience
- Programme and project managers accountable for outcomes beyond delivery
- Business change and operations managers who own benefits after handover
- PMO and portfolio managers tracking benefits across investments
- Strategy and performance managers linking projects to organisational objectives
- Finance managers validating business cases and benefit valuations
- Evaluation and internal audit managers reviewing completed projects
Course Outline
Day 1: Benefits Foundations and the Business Case
- Outputs, Outcomes, Benefits and Disbenefits Terminology
- Benefits Management Requirements in ISO 21502 and ISO 21503
- Optimism Bias and Reference Class Forecasting in Benefit Estimates
- Benefits Management Maturity Assessment
- Business Case Benefit Claims Review with Cost-Benefit Analysis
Day 2: Benefits Frameworks and Models
- MSP Benefits Realisation Management Cycle
- Managing Benefits Framework: Principles and Practices
- PMI Benefits Realization Management Practice Guide
- Cranfield Benefits Dependency Network
- Theory of Change and Logic Model for Public Value Initiatives
Day 3: Measuring, Owning and Tracking Benefits
- Benefit Profile and Measurement Definition Template
- Baseline Measurement and Target Setting with KPIs
- Benefit Owner Assignment with a RACI Matrix
- Benefits Realisation Plan and Benefits Register
- Benefit Valuation with Net Present Value and Benefit-Cost Ratio
Day 4: Post-Project Evaluation and Problem Cases
- ISO 21513:2026 Post-Project and Post-Programme Evaluation Guidance
- OECD DAC Evaluation Criteria: Relevance, Coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability
- Attribution and Contribution Analysis for Shared Outcomes
- Lessons Learned Capture with the After Action Review Method
- Benefit Double Counting, Leakage and Disbenefit Controls
Day 5: Case Work and the Benefits Realisation Plan
- Hospital Digital Records Case: Tracing Claimed Benefits to Evidence
- Transport Infrastructure Case: Post-Project Evaluation Findings Review
- Benefits Map Build for an Own Initiative
- Benefits Realisation Plan and Evaluation Framework Drafting
- Peer Review Panel and Plan Defence
Skills You Will Gain
- Benefits Mapping
- Benefit Measurement Design
- Benefits Tracking
- Benefit Valuation
- Evaluation Design
- Contribution Analysis
- Lessons Learned Management
- Business Case Assurance
Why Attend This Course
- Return to work with a Benefits Realisation Plan and Post-Project Evaluation Framework for a live initiative, reviewed by peers
- Challenge inflated or double-counted benefit claims before they reach an investment decision
- Show sponsors, after handover, which benefits materialised and what evidence supports them
- Compare benefits practice with managers from health, transport, technology and financial services
Conclusion
An investment is justified only by the benefits it actually delivers, and those benefits usually arrive after the project team has moved on. This course moves from testing benefit claims in the business case, through the principal benefits frameworks and measurement tools, to the evaluation methods that show what was achieved and why. The final day turns that material into a Benefits Realisation Plan and Post-Project Evaluation Framework that participants take back to their organisation, giving them an evidence-based way to secure and prove value.