Benefits-Led IT: Building The Organisational Capability - A Longitudinal Perspective

Although the enterprise-wide benefits realization capability has been touted as the most robust way in which organisations can counter the still too common incidence of information systems failing to deliver their promised value, there has been no research to explore the validity of this claim. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to present the results of a three year, action research study, which explicitly sought to establish just such a capability, within an Institute of Higher Education. The project commenced, in 2010, with a series of workshops, through which staff were introduced to the core components of this capability, namely a range of benefits-oriented competences and practices. This paper provides a longitudinal perspective, critically reviewing the adoption and impact of these competences and practices, over the past three years. The study has demonstrated that certain practices are enthusiastically embraced, as they are perceived to make a positive contribution to the realisation of benefits. However, it would be difficult to claim that a benefits realisation capability has been successfully created, as it is clear that there is still some reluctance to apply benefits practices in a consistent and extensive manner, across all areas of organisational activity. This paper concludes by exploring the lessons learned for organisations wishing to establish their own benefits realisation capabilities.