Project governance

Disciplines > Change Management > The 4D Change Project Framework > Project governance

Project team meetings | Steering group | Reporting | See also

Project governance is the system by which a project is managed and supported at the highest level necessary to ensure it is successfully completed.

Project team meetings

Projects often meet weekly in meeting run by the Project Manager (although meetings may be more or less often, depending on the rate of change and severity of issues).

Four areas are typically covered:

Progress against plan.
Planned activities, particularly in the near term.
Issues arising (which equate to off-plan work).
Risks (which may become issues).

The Project Manager will also hold many other meetings with various team members and stakeholders.

Steering group

Change projects often report to a higher-level management team which includes representatives from all the departments and areas which the change project affects. This group has two key functions:

Reviewing and agreeing to proposals for change
Handling any issues whereby there is insufficient support or collaboration within and across the organization.

The 'normal' activity of the group thus includes gate approvals and assessment of reports, which may lead to changes in planned activities. They also approve any other requested changes, particularly when it requires additional resource commitments or significant behavioral change.

The group is led by a senior manager (sometimes called the Senior Responsible Officer) who has authority over all of the departments represented and can, if necessary, mandate actions. This group, then, is the ultimate point of escalation for issues that cannot be resolved at more local levels.

Reporting

Projects often report on progress in standardized formats, typically with a combination of qualitative and quantitative narratives and charts.

Completion to schedule

A very common report is whether items are completed to schedule. This leads to discussion and rearrangement of the plan to catch up if at all possible.

Change risks and issues

The potential problems in change projects are well-known and a good Change Project Manager will keep a close eye on them. If possible, risks are avoided by prior action. Where necessary, issues are escalated to a point of resolution.

RAG

A common method of reporting is with a 'traffic-light' system that flags the project as red, amber or green. This makes for clear and colorful displays that are easy to discuss. Generally speaking:

Green means 'all on track, no problems'
Amber means 'some problems that are worth discussing but are not yet serious'
Red means 'serious problems that need escalation and significant attention'