A 'must do' project with A Complete Lack Of Identified Benefits

The Client's Challenge

The client had a major program underway to replace some core systems and provide new functionality and services in the market.

However, the justification for the project was based solely in terms of ‘avoided customer revenue loss’. The approval authority wanted a more comprehensive value assessment for submission to the Board.

We were asked to generate a value proposition for the program.

Scope

The assignment was to

• identify the business outcomes of the program
• identify the business benefits
• quantify these benefits (where possible)

to enable the program’s business case to be submitted to and be approved by the Board.

Approach

Most of the managers on the program went overseas on the day we commenced our assignment. We had to complete it before they returned!

We, therefore, conducted interviews with the remaining key personnel and used some existing presentation packs to generate:

• the desired business outcomes,
• an outcomes roadmap
• the business benefits
• the bases for calculation and the quantified dollar value.

This was achieved in 2 weeks.

The Results

The detailed value proposition generated included:

• Eight ‘desired business outcomes’ and an Outcomes Roadmap that made clear the inter-relationships between the technical streams of the program (where most of the costs were) and the business streams (where most of the benefits were)

• Over 80 benefits — each linked to its enabling business outcome, and categorized as a Customer, Competitive, Capability, Productivity, Financial or Risk-reduction benefit

• The identification of over $40m in additional savings

• The reassessment of the original financial benefit finding that it was understated by in excess of 50%.

The Payoff

A single benefit program was transformed into a program with 6 major financial benefits and a further 7 financial benefits that we did not quantify (due to lack of available information) plus a further 70 non-financial benefits.