The project is on time and on budget, but nobody uses the result. What went wrong?
Delivery without realized valueInvestigate whether the result solves a real need and whether users can and will adopt it. Delivery performance matters, but it does not establish that the intended outcome has occurred.
What to do now
- Compare actual use with the intended outcome
- Interview representative users
- Identify usability, process, or incentive barriers
- Assign a funded improvement or retirement decision
When to escalate
Escalate when
The delivered capability has no credible path to its intended benefit.
Who decides
The product or business benefit owner
Example
A new portal is unused because the old approval route remains easier and officially accepted.
Mistake to avoid
Declaring success solely because implementation finished.
Prevent a repeat
Compare observed outcomes with the baseline and separate forecast benefits from benefits actually measured.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Projects
- Tasks
- Documents
Keep the intended outcome and measurement plan with the project, and assign improvement work to an accountable business owner. See the platform
Related cases
- The market or organization changed during delivery. Is the original value still relevant?Stale value proposition
- How do we distinguish an output, an outcome, and a benefit?Value-chain confusion
- Our budget ignores internal staff time. Should we include it?Incomplete cost visibility
- The project ends before its benefits can be measured. Who owns the result?Missing post-project benefits ownership