A case study on benefits realization and its contributions for achieving project outcomes

Value generation has been an increasing concern in the project management literature.
It has been argued that the main challenge for generating value is no longer the design
of a physical facility or asset, but the capability of understanding the project
holistically and going beyond the physical facility to generate benefits that are aligned
with strategic intent. Thus it has been suggested that projects should be understood as
means of achieving agreed goals rather the simply delivery of outputs. Thus, this
paper presents a case study that was carried out to analyse the contributions of the
BeReal model on achieving agreed outcomes and goals. The BeReal model was
developed by the University of Salford and was being implemented in a healthcare
redevelopment programme in the UK. It was observed that the BeReal model was
beneficial for the case study project in many ways: enabling a holistic understanding
of value, enabling a dialogue about stakeholders’ expected outcomes; and providing
means for accountability. Expected contributions of the model were not observed in
its full extent. Two main reasons were identified, the adoption on a later stage of
development and the team’s focus on complying with OGC procedures. While
adopting the model from the earlier stages might be beneficial, the rigid structures
commonly imposed to governmental projects might be a hinder to learning and
continuous improvement.