Abstract
Abstract:
Purpose: Standards are written by practitioners for practitioners. It is therefore logical that
project managers should comply with project management standards. Benefits management is
a domain within program management. The focus of benefits management is to deliver benefits
of initiatives beyond the closure of a normal program or project. This is not the case with
projects within the information systems (IS) discipline, implying that IS program and project
managers are not adhering to standards. The purpose of this article is to determine whether the
best practices associated with benefits management are applied to IS initiatives in order to
maximise the benefits of these initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach: Senior and middle managers in South African organisations
were interviewed to determine how benefits are managed within their various projects. The
purpose of the interviews was to determine adherence to standards and especially benefits
management and, secondly, to determine whether these organisations are achieving any
benefits and ultimately value.
Findings: There is an overwhelming non-adherence to benefits management best practices
within the IS discipline, and IS program and project managers do not have the slightest idea
how to perform benefits management. Irrespective of this, organisations do believe that they
are receiving benefits and value from these IS initiatives.
Research limitations/implications: The research was only done in South Africa with the
specific focus of information systems. The results are thus very specific and opens the door for
more comprehensive research that focuses on various industries, countries and standards.
Practical implications: The results have several implications ranging from how standards are
written to the professionalism of IS programs and project managers. Organisations are not
achieving the optimal benefits from investments. The fact that organisations do realise benefits
from a broken process, implies that more benefits can be realised when the entire benefits
realisation process is followed. Governance controls should also be put in place to ensure that
program and project managers are adhering to standards.
Originality/value: Standards are dominating the project management discipline and there is a
general assumption that program and project managers are adhering these standards. This
research queries the value of standards as the results indicate that there is limited adherence to
standards and best practices.