CAPM Practice: Validate requirements through product delivery

Benefits realization is the ultimate validation: did the solution deliver the promised business outcomes? Requirements that were correctly specified AND correctly implemented still fail if they don't produce the expected business impact. Benefits measurement closes the full requirements validation loop.

**Why not A:** Calculating return on investment before project approval is a component of business case development and portfolio justification, not benefits realization. Benefits realization occurs after delivery and measures whether the forecasted value was actually achieved — it is a post-implementation activity, not a pre-approval calculation.

**Why not B:** Benefits realization is directly tied to requirements because requirements should be written to enable measurable business outcomes. If requirements are correctly implemented but the expected benefits do not materialize, that is a requirements failure — either the requirements were wrong or incomplete. Finance tracks the numbers, but BAs must ensure requirements were designed to produce measurable benefit.

**Why not C:** Accounting for project costs incurred is cost management, not benefits realization. Benefits realization focuses on the value delivered — the positive outcomes achieved — not the expenses consumed. Confusing cost accounting with benefits realization inverts the equation: costs are inputs, benefits are outputs, and the ratio between them determines whether the investment was worthwhile.