ABSTRACT
Benefit realization is the neglected treasure. Less than 40% of organizations effectively measure the benefits delivered by projects and programs – an increase from less than 5% 25 years ago. Yet of those which do, an average of about 20% of potential benefits is actually realized, which perhaps explains why so few actually measure. So if only a fifth of business case benefits are actually realized, a business case would have to predict a return of 400% for the project to break even and few business cases predict a return of 400% or more. It seems therefore that there are only two choices:
1. Do only those projects which are capable of returns in excess of 400%; or 2. Apply a proven methodology such as BRM to increase significantly the proportion of
potential benefits that are actually achieved.
