What is Value Realization?
Value realization is value actually arriving — measured, in the books, in the mission — as opposed to value promised in the business case or value delivered as capability. The chain: outputs → capabilities → outcomes → realized value, and each arrow can fail: systems unused, outcomes unmeasured, benefits claimed but never counted.
The exam's angle: realization usually happens after the project, so someone must own it — benefit owners, measurement plans, and realization reviews are the machinery. "We delivered, therefore value happened" is the trap answer.
Worked example
A claims-automation project promises $6M/year in efficiency. Delivery goes perfectly; six months later, realized value is $1.9M — adjusters route around the system for complex claims. Because a benefit owner exists and measures, the gap is visible and diagnosable: two workflow fixes and a policy change later, realization hits $5.4M. Without the measurement, the $6M would have lived forever as an unexamined success story.