Project Management Framework
Initiation - Project Organization
Governance
Definition
Governance is the organization of responsibilities and decision-making capabilities that apply to the project. It covers oversight committees, steering committees, technical committees, project status reports and required approvals.
Why is this important?
Determining and describing how project-related decisions will be made and who will make them before the project begins, increases the probability that the project will proceed smoothly.
Instruction
Determining project governance varies dependent upon scope, level of risk and severity, and organizational culture. The first step is to determine if there is an existing project governance model in place. If not, the project sponsor and project manager will need to work with appropriate business and management staff to define a governance model for the project and to document it in the project charter. The level of project oversight must also take into account ISB oversight requirements (see IT Portfolio standard).
How to scale
Every project needs to be accountable to someone or some organizational entity. Large projects generally need to be responsive to many different governance structures. Usually, governance exists at many levels in a project. Project technical teams answer to business teams. Project managers report to business managers and project sponsors. Agency level oversight committees are common. For large projects executive and legislative organizations and committees play an oversight role. Criteria usually exist that trigger these oversight relationships (project size, costs, risk level, etc.) so it is common for charters to identify and list both the oversight body(s) and the triggering criteria for oversight.
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Governance Examples
Checklists