A Comprehensive Guide for Project Professionals
Implementing BS202002: Benefits management on
portfolios, programmes and projects
SERIES ARTICLE
By Dr. Hugo Minney
United Kingdom
In the world of project management, the adage “what gets measured gets done” is truer than many give it credit. This phrase encapsulates an important truth about human behaviour and organizational dynamics, but there’s more nuance. As project professionals, we must be careful (and aware of the consequences) about what we choose to measure and how we report those measurements to ensure we’re driving the right outcomes for our projects and organizations.
The Power and Pitfalls of Measurement
The concept that measurement drives action is powerful, so powerful that it can also be dangerous. A fuller version of that phrase: “What gets measured gets managed—even when it’s pointless to measure and manage it, and even if it harms the purpose of the organization to do so” has been attributed to W Edwards Deming, and is sometimes used as an excuse to not measure rather than to use measurement wisely[1]. In this article I’m going to explore why I think that’s wrong.
This caution extends beyond what we measure, to how we frame our inquiries. People tend to respond positively to questions, so framing a goal as “reducing risk and hazard” versus “increasing safety” can yield different results[2].
Choosing the Right Measures
When selecting what to measure, focus on what’s truly important to stakeholders rather than what’s easiest to quantify. If a measure is genuinely significant, people will be invested in tracking and reporting it accurately, even if it’s more challenging to measure. Conversely, if a measure isn’t perceived as important, there’s a risk of people fabricating data or not taking the measurement seriously.
To mitigate having insufficient data to inform decisions and inspire change, it’s advisable to plan to measure more things than you ultimately expect. Some measures might prove too difficult to track consistently, so have some spares.
Lead Measures vs. Lag Measures
Lead and Lag measures have different purposes, and the project manager or benefits manager will do well to understand the differences:
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Editor’s note: The author Dr. Hugo Minney is a Fellow of APM (Association for Project Management), a Member of PMI and PMI UK, Co-Chair of APM’s Benefits and Value SIG, and committee member of PMI UK’s Sustainability Community of Action. For more, see his author profile at the end of this article.
How to cite this work: Minney, H. (2025). Measuring and reporting the main benefits measures – a comprehensive guide for project professionals, Implementing BS202002: Benefits management on portfolios, programmes and projects, series article, PM World Journal, Volume XIV, Issue I, January. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/pmwj148-Jan2025-Minney-Measuring-and-Reporting-Main-Benefits.pdf
About the Author
Dr Hugo Minney
London, UK
Dr. Hugo Minney is a Fellow of APM (Association for Project Management), a Member of PMI and PMI UK, Co-Chair of APM’s Benefits and Value SIG and committee member of PMI UK’s Sustainability Community of Action (none of which are paid).
Minney set out to become a farmer, but was defeated by bureaucracy. He sold high ticket computer systems and specialist software for workforce planning; joined the National Health Service for 18 years (and as a Chief Executive for the last 7 of these), and is now a project management consultant with a sideline chairing a charity restoring the sense of community for young people.
Minney works in project management, and in particular benefits management, motivating team members by reporting what they are achieving together and changing the community and culture to want to achieve – together. At present, he’s more involved on the governance side, accredited as a Social Value practitioner and Chartered Project Professional, and reviewing the balance of projects and contribution to objectives and benefits across portfolios.
Dr. Minney can be contacted at hugo.minney@thesocialreturnco.org
To view previous works by Hugo Minney, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/dr-hugo-minney/
