I just read a thesis from the University of Aarhus, about harvesting value in IT projects. The students named the area as Benefit Management (profit realization), and is a highly relevant and general area that many organizations should prioritize. Particularly in the health sector.!
I've often wondered that in such a research-heavy and evidence-based system such as health care sector, how can you introduce New Technology, new processes around technology and new skills among staff, without knowing the evidence or just the effect on productivity or perhaps quality.?
Currently there are deployed IT in the Danish health like in a pace not seen before. In Region Southern Denmark the regional project portfolio consist of more than 50 large and small projects, so spending millions and billions on a national level - and what do we get out of it? Well to put it bluntly we often don’t know!
Benefits management is defined in the book "Benefits Management – How to increase the business value of your IT projects" written by Ward, J. & Daniel, E. 2012 as:
“The process of organizing and managing such that the potential benefits arising from the use of IT are actually realized” (page 8)
Benefits Management is all about identifying and harvesting the value that a given project has the potential to realize. Currently projects are not initiated in Region of Southern Denmark without having drawn up a business case. But how will the projects be prioritized towards each other? And do we work adequately with identifying the value a given project may realize. Maybe – but probably not.
But when the system, technology or equipment is implemented, how is it ensured that the gains that were identified in the business case is realized. ? There may have been a tendency not to make this impact assessment, evaluation, or otherwise measure whether what you thought you got out of a project. Traditionally, the value collected are invisible deep within the operation of the organization. The point is that we often do not know what the value is and therefore we cannot harvest it.
I guess benefit management has two major objectives. One is on a macro project management level to harvest the value on a organizational level. It could be to increase the effectiveness with 2 pct. or to reduce adverse events. The other is on a local level, where the individual ward or department can identify their special benefits from the implementation and then try to work towards those when implementing the system. Done right it may help on the projects implementation success rate on a local scale, because the receiving users take responsibility on the implementation and the goals/benefits regarding it.
In my organization we have used the Himss IT value suite. In short it is a framework to identify the following:
• How do we know Health IT works?
• How does Health IT improve patient care?
• Can others duplicate the type of value others have achieved?
The framework is suitable both on the managerial/organisational level but also on the local level, where a discussion with the headline “what is a successful implementation in our ward” the main issue.
Benefit management is and must be our focus otherwise we invest, implement, learn and reinvest in the dark. To know the impact is crucial also because only then are we able to share our experience and help others in their efforts.
It took two very talented, hard-working and well-prepared students to get my eyes to the problem again. (I gave them the grade 12 for the rest). They introduced me to the field on an academic and structured way. The road is paved with endless amounts of benefits and value of digitization - we all have an obligation to pursue these unyielding, and the courage to harvest them in a proper and professional manner.
Ward and Daniel is a great book by the way – and I highly recommend it.
I've often wondered that in such a research-heavy and evidence-based system such as health care sector, how can you introduce New Technology, new processes around technology and new skills among staff, without knowing the evidence or just the effect on productivity or perhaps quality.?
Currently there are deployed IT in the Danish health like in a pace not seen before. In Region Southern Denmark the regional project portfolio consist of more than 50 large and small projects, so spending millions and billions on a national level - and what do we get out of it? Well to put it bluntly we often don’t know!
Benefits management is defined in the book "Benefits Management – How to increase the business value of your IT projects" written by Ward, J. & Daniel, E. 2012 as:
“The process of organizing and managing such that the potential benefits arising from the use of IT are actually realized” (page 8)
Benefits Management is all about identifying and harvesting the value that a given project has the potential to realize. Currently projects are not initiated in Region of Southern Denmark without having drawn up a business case. But how will the projects be prioritized towards each other? And do we work adequately with identifying the value a given project may realize. Maybe – but probably not.
But when the system, technology or equipment is implemented, how is it ensured that the gains that were identified in the business case is realized. ? There may have been a tendency not to make this impact assessment, evaluation, or otherwise measure whether what you thought you got out of a project. Traditionally, the value collected are invisible deep within the operation of the organization. The point is that we often do not know what the value is and therefore we cannot harvest it.
I guess benefit management has two major objectives. One is on a macro project management level to harvest the value on a organizational level. It could be to increase the effectiveness with 2 pct. or to reduce adverse events. The other is on a local level, where the individual ward or department can identify their special benefits from the implementation and then try to work towards those when implementing the system. Done right it may help on the projects implementation success rate on a local scale, because the receiving users take responsibility on the implementation and the goals/benefits regarding it.
In my organization we have used the Himss IT value suite. In short it is a framework to identify the following:
• How do we know Health IT works?
• How does Health IT improve patient care?
• Can others duplicate the type of value others have achieved?
The framework is suitable both on the managerial/organisational level but also on the local level, where a discussion with the headline “what is a successful implementation in our ward” the main issue.
Benefit management is and must be our focus otherwise we invest, implement, learn and reinvest in the dark. To know the impact is crucial also because only then are we able to share our experience and help others in their efforts.
It took two very talented, hard-working and well-prepared students to get my eyes to the problem again. (I gave them the grade 12 for the rest). They introduced me to the field on an academic and structured way. The road is paved with endless amounts of benefits and value of digitization - we all have an obligation to pursue these unyielding, and the courage to harvest them in a proper and professional manner.
Ward and Daniel is a great book by the way – and I highly recommend it.
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