Program Management for Improved Business Results, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2Realizing Business Benefits

It's about the business. That is the primary theme running throughout this book, and for program-oriented organizations, the realization of business benefits is the primary purpose of their program management discipline. In our own careers, we have witnessed the power of program management to serve as a coalescing function that focuses the various elements of an organization upon the achievement of its business goals and is the primary reason why we titled this book Program Management for Improved Business Results.

Many others seem to agree. The achievement of business benefits is the center of the program management guides and standards that have emerged and matured over the years, and has been a primary topic of writings from other authors. From our viewpoint, however, there needs to be additional distinction on what is now commonly referred to as business benefits in regard to program management. The business benefits that program management helps to deliver comprise two components: business value and business results. Business value encompasses the synergistic improvements that program management brings to optimize the business functions of an enterprise. Business results are the tangible business outcomes that result from the creation and delivery of new capabilities through the firm's programs.

In this chapter, we explore these two sides of business benefits realization through the implementation of program management within an enterprise. ...