How to know if your project needs governance?

Project governance is essential for ensuring the success of a project. It establishes a framework for decision-making, risk management, and accountability. Good governance can also help to prevent project failure, reduce costs, and improve stakeholder satisfaction. A well-designed project governance structure can provide the project with the oversight that will protect the project, product and team.

Consider the project's size, complexity, or importance to the company. The final decision may come from the project manager. Organizational or supplier project management rules may also drive the decision.

Why Project Managers want project governance?

While governance might be considered a burden to project teams, it is actually a protection. Governance can ensure your key stakeholders stay involved and document their knowledge and approval of the project as it progresses. Governance can include a review of the:

• Project Strategy

• Project Execution

• Processes and ways of working

• Asset purchase decision

• Escalation of project issues to be resolved

• Stage-Gate (or milestone) approvals

But how does project governance work? Below is a step-by-step overview for governance setup, reporting and meetings.

How to set up a Governance Steering Committee

A governance steering committee is a group of senior leaders responsible for overseeing the project's progress and ensuring it aligns with organizational objectives. Here are the steps to set up a governance steering committee:

• Define the committee's purpose, scope, and responsibilities

• Identify the committee members, including key stakeholders and subject matter experts

• Determine the committee's frequency of meetings and duration of their term

• Establish the decision-making process and authority of the committee

• Develop a communication plan to inform stakeholders of the committee's activities and decisions

Governance meetings are generally held based on the timing of the project. Meetings could be monthly for projects that will last a year or more. Shorter projects may need more frequent steering meetings.  

How to set up Project Governance Reporting

Project governance reporting provides stakeholders with updates on project progress, risks, and issues. Here are the steps to set up project governance reporting:

• Define the reporting requirements, including frequency, format, and content

• Identify the stakeholders who will receive the reports

• Determine the reporting process and establish roles and responsibilities for report generation and distribution

• Establish a review process to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the reports

• Develop a communication plan to ensure stakeholders know the project's progress

Reporting is important to the governance process. So let's look at an step-by-step example you can use for inspiration. 

How to run a Project Governance meeting

A project governance meeting is a forum for discussing project progress, risks, and issues. Here are the steps to run a project governance meeting:

• Define the meeting's purpose and agenda.

• Invite relevant stakeholders and ensure their availability.

• Prepare and distribute meeting materials in advance, including the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting, and project status reports.

• Facilitate the meeting to ensure that all agenda items are addressed and discussed.

• Document meeting minutes, including action items, decisions, and follow-up tasks.

While the Project Manager is not the final decision maker, they generally prepare and chair (or run) the meetings. Documentation should be sent a day or two before each meeting to allow committee members to read and review any content so they are prepared to discuss and assess the questions they are asked to address. If specific issues impact a governing committee member, call that member to discuss points with them before the meeting. No one likes surprises, so as a Project Manager, ensure you are transparent and clear with all committee members.

A few warnings about governance meetings: Sometimes, these meetings may be adversarial. If there are disagreements among the committee members, the final decision-maker must be clear. In general, this is usually the Project Owner. Project Managers should work closely with the Project Owner to align views before each Steering committee as a practical way to manage issues before they come up in general discussion. 

If, during these meetings, additional subject matter experts (SMEs) are asked to provide content for the Steering Group to assess, the committee should limit discussions while team members are present. Project Managers should protect the team. This includes ensuring that committee members do not play the 'blame game' or try to 'scapegoat' project team members. Committee members should not share concerns or disagreements outside the meetings. Doing so could confuse team members, create 'churn,' and is simply unprofessional.

In summary, project governance is crucial for ensuring the success of a project. Setting up a governance steering committee, project governance reporting, and project governance meetings are essential to an effective project governance structure. Many projects also need supplier management for work done as part of the project. Project Managers know managing suppliers is key to their overall success, but quite different than project steering. Read this article for more on supplier management and reporting.