The most important thing to know about value-based projects is the value of a project is determined by a combination of math and art. The math can sometimes be straightforward, but sometimes it may require additional creative help.
For example, let’s say the project is to merge Salesforce orgs. A financial calculation could be made by knowing approximately how much time would be saved per employee multiplied by the estimated salary of those employees.
Another example: if the project is to deliver a new Salesforce cloud, say CPQ, then the value is the expected increase in sales using CPQ vs the old way.
If the project is absolutely massive, say requiring multiple clouds and integrations with 3rd party systems, then you could break the project into pieces and price and deliver them individually.
And if you’re not getting answers that lead to the actual value, keep asking “why” questions. Why do they want to implement this new feature? What business benefits are they expecting? Why would those benefits be a good thing?
As expected, the more you do this, the better you get at it.
By the way, if you’re having a hard time determining the value of more subjective projects, such as employee satisfaction or other intangibles, then I highly recommend the book, “How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles”, by Douglas W. Hubbard.
The takeaway
Finding the value in value-based projects can be tricky. It’s part art, part science. Like an AI drawing a novel picture, if you can combine these two worlds effectively, you’ll create something truly valuable.