Lesson 16: Outputs, Outcomes, Benefits
Let’s see the differences between outputs, outcomes, and benefits.
Based on AXELOS PRINCE2® material. Reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.
Note: PRINCE2 2017 edition is now called PRINCE2 6th edition.
- 00:10 – Outputs, Outcomes and Benefits
- 00:14 – Most people are aware that projects deliver outputs and users will use them
- 00:20 – PRINCE2 introduces two other terms, which are Outcomes and Benefits
- 00:26 – So, an Output is what users will use and the project was set up to deliver this output
- 00:33 – For example, a company can create a salesforce application, so the main deliverable will be the salesforce application or the main output
- 00:43 – Outcomes? Now we say that an outcome is the result of change derived from using the project’s outputs
- 00:51 – So, how users will use a service or a product differently
- 00:56 – So Outcomes describes what users can do better
- 01:00 – Tip: think of outcomes as features that users will like
- 01:05 – For example, much easier to create reports, so they find it easier to create reports
- 01:11 – Another example, search results are displayed within 2 seconds and easier to import XML or CSV data
- 01:22 – Next, Benefits. Now the definition for benefits are benefits are the measured improvement as seen by one or more stakeholders
- 01:32 – So the key word here is measurable improvements; so the measured improvements or the measured advantages of using the product
- 01:41 – Benefits can be realized during the project, but most benefits are usually realized after the project is closed and sometimes, a long time after
- 01:51 – For example, the city of Sydney in Australia is still benefiting a lot from the Opera House that was completed in 1973
- 02:02 – You also see the term here, Dis-benefit
- 02:05 – Well, a Dis-benefit is an outcome that is perceived as negative by one or more stakeholders
- 02:12 – So let me give you an example; so let’s say we have this new salesforce application
- 02:18 – And one of the sales administration person may lose their job as the new sales system will alter major number of tasks
- 02:27 – So this sales admin person will perceive the outcome of this project as negative; therefore, this will be a dis-benefit for them
- 02:37 – There can always be dis-benefits and we basically should compare the dis-benefits with the benefits in every project
- 02:46 – So I hope I’ve done a good job explaining Output, Outcomes and Benefits
- 02:51 – And here is a small exercise to do.
- 02:53 – So you can click on pause and I’ll go and get a coffee while you’re doing this exercise
- 02:59 – You can find the space bar here, here or here
- 03:04 – So, welcome back. So I will just go over the top three because the rest are very similar
- 03:09 – So the first one is faster searches. Well, this is like a feature and it’s not measurable, so this is an outcome
- 03:16 – Next, a new HP application. Well, this is a product and therefore it’s an output
- 03:23 – And 20% reduction in administration costs, well, this is measurable, so it must be a benefit
- 03:33 – So, I hope you found this exercise useful and now you will understand the difference between output, outcome and benefit
In your opinion, why is this concept important in the Business Case theme?
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