Value Realization

When to use

Use 6-18 months after a business case, full-potential diagnostic, or synergy case was approved, to check whether it actually delivered. Every skill in this pack that produces a projection (business-case-builder, full-potential-diagnostic, synergy-case-builder) has no accountability loop without this step — a business case with no eventual value-realization check tends to get more optimistic over time, since no one ever pays for being wrong.

What it does

Compares the original projection's driver-level numbers against actuals at the same granularity, attributes material variances to a specific cause (assumption error, execution gap, or external shock), and states plainly whether the initiative is on track but delayed, or genuinely off track — then feeds the finding back into how future cases in this organization get built.

Method

Pull the original projection at driver level, not just the headline number — the same granularity business-case-builder, full-potential-diagnostic, or synergy-case-builder produced.
Gather actuals at the same driver-level granularity and time periods, so the comparison is apples to apples.
Compute variance per driver, not just the bottom line — offsetting errors can make a headline number look fine while hiding that every underlying driver missed in a different direction.
Attribute each material variance to one cause: assumption error (the input was wrong from the start — check against any assumption-audit that exists), execution gap (the assumption was reasonable, delivery fell short), or external shock (outside anyone's reasonable forecast).
State the verdict plainly: on track but behind schedule (needs a revised timeline, not a new decision), or genuinely off track (needs a real decision about continuing, adjusting, or stopping).
Feed the recurring cause back into practice. If assumption error keeps showing up across past reviews, that's a signal the assumption-audit step is being skipped or done too lightly upstream — name it as a process fix.