What is the main purpose of tracking benefits?

The main purpose of tracking benefits is to monitor benefits against expectations and targets. This process is crucial to ensuring that the desired outcomes from a project or change initiative are actually realized. By regularly assessing the benefits, organizations can determine whether they are on track to meet their goals, allowing them to make informed decisions and adjustments if necessary.

Monitoring benefits ensures accountability and provides a framework for evaluating the success of a project. It enables stakeholders to ascertain if the investments made are delivering the anticipated returns and to identify any areas where performance may be lacking. This ongoing evaluation is essential for maintaining focus on strategic objectives and for ensuring that resources are being used effectively.

While identifying emerging opportunities to increase benefits, justifying incentives to business sponsors, and ensuring an accepted business case are all important considerations in the broader context of business change, these activities are not the primary focus of benefits tracking. The essence of tracking benefits lies in the continuous assessment against predefined criteria, facilitating a clear understanding of progress and performance in terms of the expected benefits.