TOP Ideas

Both the OGC’s “Managing Successful Programmes” (MSP) approach and Value Delivery Management™ (VDM) are focused on ‘benefits’ the two approaches have different definitions of what a benefit is and different ways of ensuring they are delivered. Not surprising, we find VDM’s much easier, clearer and practical.

2 Delivery Accountabilities

In MSP, the PM’s role is the equivalent to that of the ‘building contractor’. He/she takes the output requirements and (coordinated by someone) Blueprint and organizes the program of projects to deliver the specified outputs.

The PM is accountable for ensuring the delivery of new products or services (outputs) from the projects meets requirements.

A collection of one or more products/services/outputs can deliver a ‘capability’. A capability would be the delivery of a ‘Brick Making Factory’.

Then, subsequently, a capability plus change delivers an outcome.

It is up to the BCM to transition the delivered capability into a business outcome (eg into a factory making bricks) and realize the resultant benefits.

The MSP approach consciously separates the PM from accountability for the delivery of outcomes and benefits. They deliver ‘capabilities’ and are not accountable for transitioning these into ‘outcomes’ or benefits. The potential for a ‘value gap’ between project/program and change/outcomes/benefits is maintained.

VDM eliminates the gap between business outcomes/benefits and project outcomes and benefits by ensuring the PM’s success is measured not only in terms of what they deliver but what they enable and support.

Once the end state business outcomes and benefits have been defined; the project outcomes and benefits subset is defined — this is what the project will deliver.

The project outcomes and associated benefits can only be delivered in conjunction with the business. This requires them to work together (aided, directed and managed by the governance team).

Success is only achieved when the projects’ outputs/products/services/capabilities/outcomes and their immediate benefits are delivered.

Within VDM, the PM’s role is extended to deliver real value to the business. Quite how far up the value delivery chain the PM goes is determined by the definition of the project outcomes (scope) – but the more activities that are allocated to the project/program, the faster the solution will be delivered (as the project is set up to deliver change and the business is not).

VDM ensures the PM is accountable for delivering real business value – the factory making bricks – (albeit recognising that they cannot do it alone).