Measuring Value Realization

Overview

Leadership’s fundamental question about Copilot isn’t “Are people using it?” It’s “What are we getting for our investment?” Usage data alone doesn’t answer this question. You need to measure the actual value Copilot is delivering—time saved, productivity improved, work quality enhanced—and translate that into terms that justify continued and expanded investment.

This video covers a three-lens value measurement framework, methods for collecting quantitative and qualitative data, and how to calculate and present ROI that resonates with stakeholders.

What You’ll Learn

• Value Framework: Quantitative, qualitative, and strategic value dimensions
• Data Collection: Dashboards, time studies, surveys, and story collection
• ROI Calculation: Investment costs versus measurable returns
• Ongoing Measurement: Quarterly value tracking as adoption matures

Script

Hook: usage isn’t value

High usage doesn’t automatically mean high value. If a thousand users are trying Copilot but not finding it useful for their actual work, you have adoption without impact. The licenses are being consumed but the investment isn’t paying off.

Value realization measures what Copilot actually delivers. It answers the question every executive eventually asks: “What are we getting for this?” If you can’t answer it with data and stories, you’ll have a hard time justifying continued investment—let alone expansion.

The value measurement framework

Measuring Copilot value requires three lenses.

Quantitative value is the most straightforward to measure and communicate. Time saved—how many hours per user per week does Copilot save on specific tasks? Tasks automated—how many routine tasks that used to require manual effort are now handled with Copilot assistance? Output volume—are teams producing more deliverables, processing more correspondence, or completing more analyses with the same headcount?

Qualitative value captures what numbers miss. User satisfaction—do people find Copilot genuinely useful, or are they using it because they were told to? Confidence—do users feel more confident in their work output when Copilot assists? Work quality perception—do users and their managers believe the quality of work has improved?

Strategic value connects Copilot to organizational priorities. Mission impact—is Copilot enabling faster response times, better decision-making, or more time spent on mission-critical work? Capacity creation—has Copilot freed up capacity that’s been redirected to higher-priority activities? Workforce modernization—is Copilot advancing your agency’s digital transformation and AI readiness goals?

All three perspectives are needed for a complete picture. Quantitative data gives you the numbers. Qualitative data gives you the human experience. Strategic framing gives you the relevance to organizational priorities.

Collecting quantitative value data

Start with what your dashboards already provide. The Admin Center usage report shows active users, frequency, and app-level engagement. Viva Insights shows behavioral changes—time spent in meetings, email processing patterns, document creation rates. These metrics provide the foundation for quantitative value measurement.

Time studies provide more precise data. Select three to five key workflows—meeting preparation, status report writing, email triage, data analysis, document drafting. Measure how long these tasks take without Copilot—your baseline. Then measure how long they take with Copilot. The difference is your time savings per task, per user.

In government environments, formal time studies may require coordination with your workforce planning team. Even informal measurements are valuable. Ask 20 users: “How long did this task take before Copilot, and how long does it take now?” Aggregate the results for a defensible estimate.

Self-reported surveys are another data source. Include specific questions in your pulse surveys: “In the past week, approximately how many hours did Copilot save you?” “Which tasks did Copilot help you complete faster?” Self-reported data has limitations—people aren’t precise about time estimates—but across a large group, patterns emerge that are directionally accurate.

The Forrester approach to value calculation is straightforward: hours saved per user per month, multiplied by the fully-loaded hourly cost of the employee, multiplied by the number of active users. The Forrester TEI study found an average of 11 hours saved per user per month. Even at conservative estimates—say 5 hours per month—the dollar value accumulates quickly across hundreds of users.

Collecting qualitative value stories

Numbers tell the “what.” Stories tell the “why” and “how.” Leadership responds to both, and stories are often more memorable than metrics.

Establish a structured story collection process. Work with your champions and trainers to gather success stories using a consistent format. The role: who used Copilot? The task: what were they doing? The before: how did they handle this task previously? The after: how does it work with Copilot? The impact statement: what difference does it make? One or two sentences that capture the value in human terms.

Examples from government contexts are particularly powerful. “Our FOIA team used to spend 6 hours per request gathering responsive documents. With Copilot in Word and SharePoint, they now complete the initial document assembly in 90 minutes.” “A program manager was spending 3 hours every Friday compiling the weekly status report from emails, meeting notes, and project updates. With Copilot, the first draft takes 20 minutes.”

Why stories matter: they make data human and memorable. An executive might not remember that adoption is at 67 percent. They will remember that the FOIA team cut document assembly time by 75 percent. Stories provide the emotional resonance that data alone cannot.

In government, frame value stories around mission impact. Don’t just say “saved 5 hours.” Say “redirected 5 hours per week from administrative compilation to mission analysis.” The time saved matters less than what the time is redirected to.

Collect stories systematically—aim for two to three new stories per month. Build a library organized by role, task, and value type. Draw from this library for leadership reports, training materials, and adoption communications.

Calculating and presenting ROI

ROI requires quantifying both sides of the equation.

The investment side includes Copilot license costs—typically $30 per user per month for commercial, with government pricing potentially different. Add training costs—trainer time, materials, time away from work. Add support costs—helpdesk time, champion program investment, administration overhead. Add any prerequisite investments—SharePoint cleanup, permission remediation, network upgrades.

The return side starts with quantifiable time savings. Hours saved per user per month, multiplied by the fully-loaded hourly cost. If 500 users save an average of 5 hours per month, and the average fully-loaded cost is $75 per hour, that’s $187,500 per month in productivity value. Add strategic value where you can quantify it—faster processing times for constituent requests, reduced contract for external support, capacity created for new initiatives.

Present both conservative and optimistic calculations. Conservative uses your lowest survey estimates and only counts directly measurable time savings. Optimistic includes broader productivity improvements and strategic value. The true ROI is likely somewhere between the two.

Present ROI as a range, not a precise number. “Our analysis indicates Copilot is delivering between $150,000 and $250,000 in monthly productivity value” is more credible than a single figure that implies false precision. Ranges acknowledge measurement uncertainty while still demonstrating clear positive return.

Close: value realization is ongoing

Value measurement isn’t a one-time exercise. Measure quarterly, at minimum.

Value should increase as adoption deepens. In the first quarter, you’re measuring basic time savings from early adopters. By the third quarter, deeper usage patterns and broader adoption should produce measurably higher value. If value metrics flatten or decline while usage grows, investigate—it may indicate that users are active but not getting meaningful results.

Use value data to justify expansion. When you can demonstrate positive ROI from your current deployment, the case for expanding to additional users or departments becomes data-driven rather than aspirational. “Phase one delivered a 3:1 return. We recommend expanding to an additional 500 users in phase two.”

Value realization closes the loop on your entire adoption program. You planned, deployed, trained, and supported. Now you can demonstrate what it all produced—and that demonstration secures the resources for the next phase.

Sources & References

• Forrester TEI Study on Microsoft Copilot — ROI methodology and benchmark data
• Viva Insights Copilot dashboard — Impact metrics for quantitative measurement
• Microsoft Copilot adoption resources — Value realization frameworks