Project Management Governance

Quick reference

• 00:05 Hello I'm Ray Sheen.
• 00:06 And I'd like to talk with you now about project governance.
• 00:12 The Project Management Body of Knowledge, the PMBOK Guide,
• 00:15 defines project governance as the framework, functions, and processes that
• 00:20 guide project management activities in order to create a unique product, service,
• 00:25 or result to meet organizational, strategic, and operational goals.
• 00:30 That's quite a mouthful, so what does that really mean?
• 00:33 Well, there are four elements associated with project governance.
• 00:36 The first, alignment of resources against the approved projects.
• 00:40 There are no stealth projects going on.
• 00:43 People and equipment are being used on the projects on which they are assigned.
• 00:47 The second is risk identification and reduction.
• 00:51 The organization considers both project and organizational risk and
• 00:55 implements plans to address it.
• 00:57 The third is that projects are evaluated against their approved performance goals.
• 01:02 This means that the project performance is tracked, and that there is a change
• 01:06 management process in place to update the goals when appropriate.
• 01:10 Finally, there is a regular meaningful communication between the project team and
• 01:14 stakeholders.
• 01:16 Any mode of communication is okay, as long as it works.
• 01:20 Project governance then, is the way the organization ensures that projects
• 01:24 will be managed in a way that incorporates approved best practices, and
• 01:28 increases their probability of meeting the project goals and objectives.
• 01:33 A good governance approach impacts the way projects are managed.
• 01:37 One impact is the clear understanding of the expected project activities, and
• 01:42 the impact those activities will have on the project and the project goals.
• 01:46 First, by the project core team, they know what's expected of them.
• 01:50 They understand how they will be measured and monitored, and
• 01:53 what they need to accomplish.
• 01:55 Second, by stake holders They know what should be delivered,
• 01:58 when it should be delivered, and what they should be reviewing and monitoring.
• 02:03 Third, by the functions providing project objectives and
• 02:06 often the project resources.
• 02:08 They understand what is expected of them, what they can change, and what they can't.
• 02:13 Also, the type of oversight that is required for the resources.
• 02:18 Another impact of having a project governance,
• 02:21 is a continuous improvement in the overall project management methodology.
• 02:25 As the organization finds what works well and
• 02:27 what does not, changes are made to the methodology.
• 02:31 Through the governance function, procedures are updated,
• 02:33 templates improved and personnel are trained in the best practices.
• 02:37 Another impact is metrics.
• 02:40 Governance leads to standard metrics and
• 02:42 a measurement that brings accountability with it.
• 02:45 You get what you measure.
• 02:46 By measuring the right things, the organization is likely to see the desired
• 02:50 project performance and behavior from the project team.
• 02:54 The last impact may or may not apply to your organization.
• 02:57 When appropriate, project governance can also be used to ensure compliance with
• 03:01 industry or organizational standards and requirements.
• 03:04 Project governance ensures that the appropriate standards has been identified,
• 03:08 that they are been applied correctly, and
• 03:10 that they have been audited to ensure that the standards are being followed.
• 03:14 Governance is commonly implemented in an organization through a project management
• 03:19 office.
• 03:20 The Project Management Body Of Knowledge, the PMBOK Guide,
• 03:22 defines a project management office as, an organizational structure
• 03:27 that standardizes the project-related governance processes and
• 03:31 facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques.
• 03:35 Since the PMO is normally responsible for
• 03:38 governance, let's consider the three typical purchase used in creating a PMO.
• 03:43 This description of PMOs is based upon how they operate,
• 03:47 not necessarily the specific name or title of the organization.
• 03:51 There are many books and gurus who'll tell you how to set up a PMO, and
• 03:55 these are the categories that I have seen effectively implemented.
• 03:59 One type is the SME or subject matter expert, PMO.
• 04:03 This is typically a single individual.
• 04:05 Many times the project management governance function
• 04:08 is an additional duty for an individual who already has another role or
• 04:12 responsibility within the organization.
• 04:14 In this PMO, their job is to make sure that the procedures, templates,
• 04:18 tools and techniques are kept current and up-to-date.
• 04:21 When either team or stakeholders have problems or
• 04:24 questions about the project management or the project management methodology,
• 04:28 they turn to this person for some advice and coaching.
• 04:31 Another type of PMO is the oversight PMO.
• 04:34 This is normally a small dedicated team.
• 04:37 This PMO performs all the same functions that an SME PMO performs.
• 04:41 In addition, they track project progress based upon inputs from project leaders.
• 04:46 They often create a dashboard to communicate that progress to
• 04:49 the stakeholders.
• 04:50 In many cases, they lead or participate in project reviews, stage gate reviews and
• 04:55 technical reviews.
• 04:56 They perform an oversight role, but not an actual implementation role.
• 05:01 The project leader and project teams are not part of the PMO.
• 05:05 The third type of PMO is the leadership PMO.
• 05:09 This PMO performs all the functions of the SME and oversight PMOs.
• 05:13 But it now has direct responsibility for
• 05:15 the projects, in addition to project governance of the methodology.
• 05:19 The PMO includes all the project managers, and
• 05:22 many times will also include individuals from the functional departments
• 05:26 who've been assigned to full-time support of projects.
• 05:30 The PMO is responsible for planning and managing the projects.
• 05:34 This is often the stand-alone department in the org chart,
• 05:37 reporting to senior management rather than an individual or a small team.
• 05:44 Whatever type of PMO you're using, whether it's an SME, oversight, or
• 05:48 leadership PMO, you still need to provide project governance
• 05:52 to ensure that the methodology is being applied correctly, and
• 05:55 is maintaining a level that is consistent with your business goals and objectives.

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