Mention the term governance and the responses typically range from: controls, framework, templates, accountabilities, rules, assurance, policies, procedures, standards, to the ‘police’.
What does governance mean to you, your PMO, your organisation? Is it supportive or merely a hindrance? Is it about ‘big brother’, an unnecessary overhead or simply assumed? Do you have the ‘right’ level of PMO governance in your organisation? More importantly what is the ‘right’ level of governance?
Governance in a Corporate Setting
If we go back to the origins of why we focus on governance, consider the Governance Institute of Australia’s definition: “… the system by which an organisation is controlled and operates, and the mechanisms by which it, and its people, are held to account. Ethics, risk management, compliance…are all elements of governance”.
All quite applicable in a PMO context. Regardless of whether we are operating in a PRINCE2®, PMBOK® guide, waterfall or an agile environment, (yes, even agile) some form and level of governance is required.
If you aren’t convinced go check out the antonym for governance: think weakness and incapacity. Not concepts we want to associate at a corporate or PMO level. Effective governance is a fundamental and necessary pre-requisite for an effective PMO.
Effective Project and Programme Governance
Governance for the PMO should be about pragmatism not bureaucracy. Think about it in terms of protecting reputation and capacity to succeed.
So do you have effective processes and procedures (including for example, templates and role descriptions) for how project and programmes are setup, managed, monitored and controlled? They could incorporate the PMBOK® guide, PRINCE2, agile, MSP® or even the latest PRINCE2 Agile™.
Your project and programme management methods/systems are your governance frameworks. To be effective they must be appropriate, understood and respected. It is not about overburdening or overwhelming a simple project with countless templates and signoffs. It is about the appropriate level of control given project and environmental factors; it about ‘doing things right’.
Effective Portfolio Governance
When we turn to portfolio management the focus should always be back to ‘Are we strategically doing the right initiatives?’ Governance at a portfolio level encompasses:
So next time you are talking about governance consider the following factors. Do your governance frameworks:
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