BCS Professional Certificate in Benefits Planning and Realisation + Exam

Course Overview

In this 3-day BCS Professional Certificate in Benefits Planning and Realisation course you'll learn understanding of the lifecycle, activities and techniques used in the definition, planning and realisation of business benefits. These benefits are predicted to result from the introduction of business and information system changes. Understanding how to manage benefits in order to enable their realisation is critical for business analysts working in all aspects of the business change lifecycle.

Target Audience

• The professional certificate is designed for people who want to understand, apply and realise business benefit processes in change projects
• Suitable for business analysts, business architects, project managers, programme managers, business managers, and members of their team

Course Objectives

You’ll gain a broad understanding of managing and applying benefits in projects, including how to:

• Discover the context for benefits management
• Define and employ a benefits management process
• Illustrate the organisational drivers and business benefits
• Build a business case and classify business benefits
• Undertake an investment appraisal
• Show the need for stakeholder and change management
• Explain the tasks required in implementing this approach and predict future issues

Course Content

The context for benefits management (10%)

• Issues with the relationship of IS/IT delivery to benefits
• Characteristics of a benefits management approach
• Value and the value proposition
• Value chains and value networks:

                - External value chain analysis

                - Internal value chain analysis

                - Alternative value chain configurations

 The benefits management lifecycle (25%)

• The rationale for benefits management
• An overview of the benefits management process

                - Identifying and structuring benefits

                - Planning benefits realisation

                - Executing the benefits plan

                - Reviewing and evaluating the results

                - Establishing the potential for further benefits

 Identifying drivers, benefits and establishing a benefits dependency network (25%)

• Why: Identifying business and organisational drivers
• Establishing investment objectives
• Linking business benefits to drivers
• What: the business benefits

                - Benefit owners

                - Change owners

• How: the benefits dependency network

               - Business changes

               - Enabling changes

               - IS/IT enablers

 Building the business case (15%)

• The rationale of the business case
• A structure for analysing and describing benefits

               - Observable benefits

               - Measurable benefits

               - Quantifiable benefits

               - Financial benefits

• Quantifying the benefits & overcoming the measurable to quantifiable barrier
• Financial benefits

               - Cost reductions

               - Revenue increases

• Investment appraisal

              - Payback

              - Discounted cash flow/Net present value

              - Internal rate of return

• Risk assessment
• Completing the business case

 Stakeholder and change management (10%)

• Assessing the feasibility of achieving the benefits
• Stakeholder analysis and management techniques

               - Power and influence

               - Benefits and change

• Completing the benefits plan
• Change management strategies

 Implementing a benefits management approach (10%)

• Rationale for introducing benefits management
• Initiating and managing a benefits-driven project
• Roles within benefits management

               - The project sponsor

               - The business project manager

               - The project management office

• The benefits plan and the project plan
• Benefits management workshops
• Reviewing and evaluating results/benefits review meeting
• Establishing potential for further benefits
• Monitoring the benefits after implementation

               - disaggregating benefits

               - embedding the benefits

• A maturity model for organisational benefits

 The future of benefits management (5%)

• Benefits management and strategy
• Future trends in IS/IT and the implications for benefits management

Course Prerequisites

• There are no entry requirements for this certification

Test Certification

The course prepares participants to sit the examination leading to the BCS Professional Certification in Benefits Planning and Realisation.