Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Program Governance
Welcome to the seventh chapter of the PMI-PgMP tutorial (part of the PMI-PgMP® Certification Training.)
In this lesson, we will focus on the fourth program management performance domain,
which is, program governance.
In the next section of the program governance tutorial, we will look at the objectives of
this lesson.
Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
Let us understand program governance in the next section of the program governance
tutorial.
Program sponsor executives who can bring in a strategic insight into the program
Senior functional leaders
Other sponsors of the program
Representatives from the customer organization
Other influential stakeholders
Program manager, who is an invited member of the board and represents the
program in front of the board.
The program manager in a way represents the program team to the board and
represents the board to the team.
The program sponsor is usually the chairperson and convener of the board and has
veto powers in decision making. The governance board is sometimes referred to as a
steering committee, and the members are not assigned to a specific program on a “full
time” basis. They will step in when required.
In the next section, we will delve into the responsibilities of the program governance
board.
The governance board plays a critical role in making a decision regarding the closure of
the overall program.
This decision to close the overall program involves:
Confirming if the conditions that warrant closure of the program have been
fulfilled
Ensuring that the reasons for the closure of a program are consistent with
organizational vision and strategy
Ensuring adherence to appropriate closure formalities, regardless of whether the
termination is in the event of a successful or unsuccessful end to the program
Let us look into the other responsibilities of the program governance board in the next
section.
Summary of the high-level goals of the program; the structure, membership, and
composition of the program board;
Clear definitions of the roles and responsibilities of every person on the program
board, as well as everyone on the program team who is involved in governance;
the scheduled for governance and the phase gate review meetings;
The criteria to be used for making decisions regarding the initiation of
components
The criteria to be used for making decisions regarding the closure or transition of
components
The schedule and agendas for periodic health-checks of the program
The process for escalation of issues up to and beyond the program governance
board
The next section deals with the other responsibilities of the program governance board.
The governance board will make sure that the control and reporting framework for a
program comply with the organization’s standards and other applicable compliance
requirements.
The board has to create a reporting structure that provides for information necessary to
monitor continued compliance. The framework has to be appropriate; not just from a
compliance standpoint, but also in ensuring that the right information is being reported
at the right frequency to the necessary stakeholders.
The program governance board supports the creation, review, and approval of the
program level quality plan, and helps the program to come up with quality policies and
standards in line with the organization’s quality expectations.
This includes ensuring that the necessary organizational standards and frameworks are
applied and that there are enough oversight and guidance provided to the components
as they go about the quality management processes within the program.
The program governance board is responsible for monitoring the environment of the
program, and making sure that changes necessary for ensuring the continued success
of the program are pursued and introduced in a planned and consistent manner.
The governance board also helps the program manager in establishing a change
management system for the program.
Let us find out the relationship between program governance and program management
in the next section.
The relationship between Program Governance and Program
Management
It is clear that effective governance is critical to the success of the programs, and the
governance function and the governance board essentially supports the program
management in ensuring that there is adequate governance.
The program managers depend on the program governance board for ensuring
continued organizational support for the program. This could be by way of funding,
resource assignments, guidance about strategic alignment, change management,
resolving escalated issues, etc.
We have seen plenty of examples of how the governance board supports the program
in the previous sections. It is critical that the relationship between program management
and program governance is collaborative and symbiotic rather than adversarial.
Governance represents a key mechanism for an organization to ensure that its interests
are safeguarded as a program invests the organization’s resources. The program also
relies on the board to relay the organizational priorities to make sure they are reflected
in the program’s priorities.
In the next section, we will look into the common individual roles related to governance.
Common Individual Roles Related to Program Governance
So far, we discussed the governance framework as a cohesive body acting in concert.
Now, let us examine the roles of individuals within this framework.
Program Sponsor
The sponsor is typically an executive from the organization who sponsors the program.
The sponsor is responsible for directing the organizational vision and the investment
decision on a program.
Since a sponsor has committed the organization’s resources for a program, the sponsor
is personally interested in the success of the program. So we can view the sponsor as a
champion for the program at the executive level.
Program Governance Board Members
The program governance board members act as a collection of executives who bring in
their expertise and knowledge to authorize and supervise the program. The program
manager is also part of the governance structure as he sets up and manages the
program.
Program Manager
The program manager ensures continued alignment of the program goals and
objectives to strategic objectives and the organization’s priorities. Sometimes the
program manager may be referred to as the program leader.
Project Manager
The project manager of a component of the program is responsible for managing that
specific component. The project manager plans, executes, and tracks the progress of
the project and ensures that the project delivers an output that is in line with the project
charter and the program plan.
Program Team Members
The role of the program team members within governance refers to the program office
staff who support the program manager. The program team is responsible for
contributing to the program strategy/plan or coordinating the activities of the
components to ensure that the right level of oversight is provided in terms of
governance.
As project managers and managers of the components also work with the program
manager, they can also be included as a part of the program team.
The governance function along with the board may appoint specific program team
members or assign specific work to the existing members of the program team.
Moving on, we will understand programs as governing bodies – the governance of
program component.
There are a variety of PMO roles in organizations, consisting of different shades of roles
and responsibilities. So what the PMO does in an organization may be very different
from what PMI intends the PMO’s role to be.
One of the best ways to express the role of a PMO is to call it the “Center of Excellence”
for program management in an organization. This means that the best of the program
management expertise, knowledge, and skills lie within the PMO.
What does the PMO do?
The PMO mentors, provides coaching and guidance to the program managers in the
organization.
It maintains a repository of an organization’s knowledge in program management
including best practices, guidelines, policies, templates, etc.
It is usually a centrally administered function in an organization and does not get directly
involved in managing individual programs.
It is not assigned to a specific program, but it supports all the programs and program
managers in an organization.
In smaller organizations, the PMO may be set up informally, and play a more direct role.
However, the role should be similar to what we have mentioned here. Some of us may
have encountered the PMIS in the context of a Project Management Information
System.
The PMIS for programs is similar in concept and purpose. It enables the collection,
storage, access, retrieval, reporting and analysis of information related to the
management of projects and programs within a portfolio or an organization.
This refers to managing the knowledge that an organization has about program
management. The more mature an organization, the more mature is the knowledge
management function. This would mean that the organization will use this knowledge to
become better in program management.
The knowledge of program management has these three primary elements.
They are:
To this effect, the knowledge management function includes the program management
information systems.
The program managers contribute to and utilize the knowledge in the knowledge
management system and ensure that the information is easily accessible to
stakeholders who need it.
In many organizations, the PMO is the custodian of the knowledge management
function for program management.
Projectized Organization
As the name suggests, the projectized organization has all the resources aligned
around projects and programs.
As seen in the image below, the project managers have complete control over all the
resources working on their projects.
The biggest advantage of a projectized organization is that the resources have the
dedication to their projects, and project execution becomes easier. This kind of structure
is suitable for organizations whose work is primarily project-related and requires the
project manager to be in a position of absolute authority.
There are some disadvantages of such a structure.
The first is that once a project is completed, the resources are orphaned, i.e., they no
longer have a “home” until they get assigned to another project.
The other issue is that some people with highly specialized roles within a project may
not be fully occupied all the time. For example, a purchase executive may have work for
selected periods on a project while purchase activities are going on.
However, for the rest of the period, their capacity may not be optimally utilized. There is
less scope for functional specialization as the project boundaries limit the kind of work
that resources can work on.
Next, let’s look at the matrix organization
Matrix Organization
Now, let us look at a hybrid structure that often evolves when a functional organization
tries to work on projects or programs.
This is called the matrix organization.
As seen in the image below, in a matrix organization, the resources still belong to
specialized functions, but there is a designated project manager who is responsible to
coordinate and manage the project’s activities.
There might even be a function that represents all the project managers in the
organization, which provides project management expertise. There are three variants of
the matrix structure.
These are commonly referred to as weak, balanced, and strong matrix. In a weak
matrix, the authority of the project manager is the weakest, and it is the strongest in a
strong matrix structure.
Typical titles given to project managers in functional or weak matrix organizations are
projecting expeditor or project coordinator. They would be called project manager in a
balanced or strong matrix structure, and have slightly more authority over time on the
team members.
The advantage of a matrix structure is that resources can be optimally utilized while
preserving the capacity of the project manager to get projects executed efficiently.
Resources can specialize in their functions resulting in stability in their careers, and at
the same time contribute toward many potential projects.
The disadvantage of the matrix organization is that the communication overhead
increases significantly. This is because every resource in the organization belongs to a
project and also into a function, leading to a dual reporting structure.
In the next section, we will summarize the advantages and disadvantages of different
organizational structures.
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Summary
Let us quickly summarize what we learned in this lesson.
Conclusion
We have now come to the end of this lesson. In the next lesson, we will look into
program lifecycle management.