Because the benefits realisation process is based on a cause-and-effect relationship, it requires us not only to succeed with project deliverables but also to build the necessary competences and create a change in behaviour if we are to realise the full benefits potential. It is more or less irrelevant whether we have delivered our IT system, product or process at the agreed time, within the agreed budget and in the agreed quality, unless we have succeeded in forming the new behaviour among our colleagues that is necessary for us to realise the benefits.
For years, most organisations have followed a structured approach designed to make them good at producing project deliverables and training staff to acquire the necessary competences. The same cannot be said about changing behaviour. The “change part” is seldom tackled in a structured and efficient way, and therefore we often fail to create the behavioural change we need. An approach to change that actually works becomes key to benefits realisation in most organisations. Without change there can be no benefits realisation.
Behavioural design puts people first in the change
So far, we have focused on identifying and targeting the benefits of the project, but we have not looked at behavioural change in detail. We have simply visualised that changing behaviour is an important aspect and have yet to consider how to accomplish it. This is where behavioural design comes into play.
Behavioural design has arisen from centuries of studies on how people make decisions. These studies have provided a new understanding of the fact that in most cases, people’s decisions are not especially rational; rather, they are made based on bias and heuristics or on account of the habits we have developed. This new understanding initially made behavioural design popular in the context of e.g. pricing goods (there is a reason why there are only three different sizes of drinks available in cinemas) and of “nudges”, one of the best-known examples being the fly in the urinal at Schiphol Airport. Fundamentally, behavioural design is a study of the human being in its context, and the method was well suited to explain why we act the way we do. However, behavioural design version 2.0 should also be applicable in major transformations, e.g. cultural changes, digital transformations, agile agendas and so on.
Three things are required for behavioural design to make a difference in a business- critical change:
- A strategic hook: You must make the purpose of the change clear in order to gain organisational support for the use of behavioural design.
- A project framework: It must be possible to link the behaviour you create directly to the value you wish to realise.
- You must adapt the scale of the method: You need more than a “surgical method” that solves only a single problem. You must be able to see the big picture at the same time as taking the surgical approach to each individual part of the behaviour you are looking to change.
Benefits realisation is a perfect match for behavioural design
In the context of benefits realisation, we need behavioural design to demonstrate precisely how we are to change our behaviour. When it comes to benefits realisation, there is a clearly defined space in the project for behavioural design (the change track) as the means to ensuring a successful change. In the context of behavioural design, benefits realisation provides the strategic hook and the project framework we need. Behavioural design must be able to function as an extension of the structures we work with in projects, and it must play a role in the design of measures for change. In this way, the results of behavioural design become the framework for how we approach, understand and tackle the problems and needs, ensuring that we put people first when defining the solutions.