Project Governance

Does Project Governance really help?

In 2015, a study conducted by PMI (Project Management Institute) revealed that project delivery remains a challenge for most companies. It emerged that 45% of projects are not on budget, 7%  exceed the allotted time and 56% do not provide the expected value.

For several years, there’s been much talk about governance and its perceived impact or lack thereof, on project success. It’s an expression that causes a lot of confusion, and is used in various contexts. In general, governance is about creating the ideal environment to govern effectively. In project management, governance aims to develop ways of piloting and monitoring during the life cycle of a project. This is a framework that ensures alignment with the overall organizational strategy. If there is no standardized approach, project governance is strategic for businesses and establishes a monitoring framework for optimal project delivery.

Improved decision making

Governance allows a company to describe a management style and an organizational framework for all activities. A company that works in project mode, establishes a project governance to ensure the dissemination of information in a particular way. This governance is meant to facilitate the taking of thoughtful and strategic decisions in the context of complex projects with high stakes. During the life cycle of a project, many events are created as a result of changes, for example. Effective governance should enable the collection of information quickly, in order to make good decisions and keep the project under control. Based on practice and experience, governance provides a direction for making the necessary changes.

Maximize ROI

Efficient governance minimizes the risks of change and maximizes revenue. Governance allows the defining of areas of responsibility for stakeholders and to understand which actions have worked and which did not bring the expected results.

The areas of governance

Project governance helps define a framework and a strict methodology for running a project. It provides a logical strategy aligned with the overall organizational strategy, establishes clear goals and offers the visibility to see if the objectives have been achieved.

If there is no standard governance, it is important to create a favourable project environment. Project managers who can implement and monitor governance improve their chances of success.

Here are some areas to consider for establishing an effective project governance:

• Project objectives: it is important to accurately understand the issues and project objectives by defining specific criteria. This information helps set expectations and shows that the project is well aligned with the strategic objectives of the company and meets the company’s needs.

• Project management methodology: a method for implementing a project is essential to its success. We must therefore define the path and steps leading to the delivery. This methodology should be consistent with the organization’s strategy.

• Monitoring, reporting and decision making: Governance sets the controls during the project implementation. Reporting or dashboards integrate important and useful information and make this information available to management. The reporting should be clear enough and should consider the maximum amount of metrics, to convey an accurate picture of the situation.

• Tools used: projects can be very different from one another and the tools used during the execution can be varied. Governance requires the use of specific tools.

• Project team: a project cannot exist without the people who work on the project from idea to delivery. Consider the necessary knowledge and employees skills for the success of the project.

Project management is increasingly complex and difficult to monitor. The establishment of an efficient governance will help keep some control and optimize results.

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