Value Delivery System

POSTER 04

Section 2 · PMBOK 7 — Why Projects Exist

The Value Delivery System

PMBOK 7 reframes projects as part of a system that creates value. Effort moves down as funding & direction; worth moves up as outcomes, benefits and value. The job is not "deliver the thing" — it's realise the value.

Visual Map — the system, end to end

▲ VALUE · BENEFITS · INFORMATION & FEEDBACK flow UP ▲

Organisational
Strategy▶ Portfolio
right work▶ Program
benefits▶ Project
outputs▶ Product
thing of value▶ Operations
sustain▶ Customer
realises value

▼ STRATEGIC DIRECTION · FUNDING · DECISIONS & MANDATE flow DOWN ▼

The system is governed as a whole. Feedback loops from operations & customers continually re-shape strategy and the portfolio — value delivery is circular, not a one-way pipeline.

The Value Ladder

Output

The deliverable produced (e.g. an app, a bridge).

▼

Outcome

The change the output enables (people use it).

▼

Benefit

The measurable gain (cost down, revenue up).

▼

Value

Worth to stakeholders — financial or not.

Key Concepts

Value: Worth/importance to stakeholders.
Business value: Net quantifiable benefit to the org.
Internal value: Capability, IP, morale, readiness.
External value: Customer & market worth.
Value stream: The flow that turns need → value.
System view: Optimise the whole, not a part.

Relationships

Each component feeds the next; operations sustain the value over time.
Portfolio governance steers the whole toward strategy.
Benefits are often realised after the project closes — programs/operations own realisation.
Customer feedback loops back to reshape strategy.

Exam Concepts

Output ≠ outcome ≠ benefit ≠ value.
Value can be non-financial.
Benefit realisation may sit past closure.
Know the term "value delivery system."

Executive View

Steer the portfolio by value, not activity.
Maintain a benefits dependency network.
Ask: "value created — or just deliverables shipped?"
Fund realisation, not only build.

Industry Example — Enterprise SaaS

Output: a new billing feature ships.
Outcome: finance teams adopt it.
Benefit: churn down, ARPU up.
Value: higher enterprise valuation.

Memory Hooks

Build → Use → Gain → Worth = the value ladder.
"OO-BV": Output, Outcome, Benefit, Value.
Money down ▼, value up ▲ — and it loops.

60-sec Review Draw the system left→right Climb the value ladder aloud Internal vs external value When are benefits realised? Name one feedback loop

PMI Visual Wall · Poster 04 · PMBOK 7 Value Delivery System · original instructional design · A3 landscape