This document summarizes a presentation on project governance. It introduces key concepts of governance including structure, roles, principles and case studies. It discusses the importance of governance, defines related terms, and outlines the roles of the project sponsor and governance board. Examples are given of both successful and failed governance through case studies. Attendees are encouraged to get involved with the Governance SIG to further their knowledge.

1. Welcome to Governance of
Project Mgt ~
Project Management in
Practice
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Amerjit Walia
Orbitus Consulting Ltd
Joan Langley
BMT Hi-Q Sigma Ltd

2. 2
Welcome to the Governance SIG
 What is Governance of PM?
 Governance Structure & key roles
 13 Principles of Governance (Handout)
 Project Sponsorship
 Alignment of Project Portfolio and Business
Strategy
 Case Studies
 GovSIG – Work and future activities – Get
involved.

3. OECD Definition
‘Corporate governance involves a set of relationships
between a company’s management, its board, its
shareholders and other stakeholders.
Corporate governance also provides the structure
through which the objectives of the company are set,
and the means of attaining those objectives and
monitoring performance are determined’
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OECD Principles of Corporate Governance 2004
www.oecd.org
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4. Why Governance of PM?
 Governance of portfolios, programmes and projects
is a necessary part of organisational governance;
 Provides for internal controls;
 Externally, it reassures stakeholders that their
money being spent is justified;
 Good governance is increasingly demanded by
shareholders, government and regulators.
 To comply with external regulations and legislation
(e.g. the UK Corporate Governance Code and
Sarbanes-Oxley in the USA).
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5. Governance of PM
 ‘.. Governance refers to the set of
policies, functions, processes,
procedures and responsibilities that
define the establishment, management
and control of projects, programmes
and portfolios’.
APM BoK 6th Edition
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Not Project Governance!
(management framework within which project decisions are made)

6. 6
“No such thing as failed projects, only failed governance”
Andrew Bragg – CEO APM

7. Factors in project failures (OGC)
Lack of a clear link between the project and the organisation’s key
strategic priorities, including agreed measures of success.
1.
Lack of clear senior management and ministerial ownership and
leadership
2.
3. Lack of effective engagement with Stakeholders
Lack of skills and proven approach to project management and risk
management.
4.
Lack of understanding of and contact with the supply industry at senior
levels within the organisation.
5.
Evaluation of proposals driven by initial price rather than long-term
value for money (especially securing delivery of benefits).
6.
Too little attention to breaking development and implementation into
manageable steps.
7.
8. Inadequate resources and skill to deliver the total delivery portfolio.
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8. Governance Structure
APM Bok 6th Edition
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9. Organisational PM Board
Roles & Responsibilities of OPM
Board
Accountability
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Core Components:
 Portfolio direction
 Project sponsorship
 Project management Capability
 Disclosure and reporting

10. Gov PM 13 Principles
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11. Principle 6: All projects have an approved plan
containing authorisation points at which the business
case, inclusive of cost, benefits and risk is reviewed.
Decisions made at authorisation points are recorded and
communicated.
What are the key elements in this statement?
How does it apply to P3M?
Consider the remaining principles and
discuss what are the challenges for these in
your organisation?
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12. Gov PM Principles 2/..
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13. “Sponsorship of a project, programme or
portfolio is an important senior management
role. The sponsor is accountable for
ensuring that the work is governed
effectively and delivers the objectives
that meet identified needs.”
APM BOK 6th Ed 2012
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14. Sponsoring Change:
A Guide to the Governance Aspects of Project Sponsorship, APM 2009
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What would you expect from the project
sponsor?

15. Attributes of Successful Project
Sponsorship
 Project Sponsor effectiveness = best single predicator of
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project success or failure
 Appoint a named Sponsor early in the project lifecycle
 Critical success attributes:
1. Support
2. Continuity
3. Alignment
 Personal Attributes:
1. Understanding
2. Competence
3. Credibility
4. Commitment
5. Engagement

16. Case Study 1
Universal Credit Project
 Key Challenges of Governance
Further details:
 http://www.apm.org.uk/blog/if-only-they-d-read-guide#.VD6t6PldXGU
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17. Key governance issues raised
Programme strategy
SRO longevity
Actions from assurance reviews
“Overambitious” timescale
End state and interim Blueprints
Use of Agile
Governance culture - “fortress mentality”
Matching spend to progress

18. Lessons
 No ‘Project Business Case’ –
‘economic case’
 No clear Programme Strategy
 No clear vision to support the business
case
Ministerial imperative
NAO highlights the reactive nature of
the programme and clear governance
failures
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19. Lessons 2/..
 No clear understanding of the ‘end state’
 the blueprint or ‘architecture’ would provide
stakeholders and project teams with a strong
vision and focus of direction;
 MPA issued warnings of potential failure
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20. Response
Establish a programme definition (common
understanding) of the programme strategy;
Agree programme requirements;
Agree strategy and vision;
Develop a plan for benefits realisation;
Conduct a stakeholder management analysis
and develop a relationship management plan;
Consider issues for governance in an IT mega
project;
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21. Case Study 2:
 BBC DMI
Project Failure
 further details:
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26963723

22. BBC DMI Project
 The BBC was "far too complacent" in its handling of a failed IT
project that cost licence fee payers £98.4m.
 The Digital Media Initiative (DMI) was intended to move the BBC
away from using and storing video tape.
 But it was scrapped, with almost no results, after five years of
development.
 After investigating the demise of the project, the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) has branded the programme "a complete
failure". Chairman Margaret Hodge said the BBC needed to
"overhaul" its approach to such projects, to "safeguard licence
fee payers' money".
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23. BBC DMI Project 2/..
Where the money went
Contractors - £46.7m
 IT - £37.2m
 Siemens costs - £24.9m
Consultancy - £8.4m
 BBC staff - £6.4m
 Other - £2.3m
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24. BBC DMI Project Failures
 After a series of delays, the project was brought in-house, There it
floundered until last May, when the BBC's incoming director general, Tony
Hall, admitted it had "wasted a huge amount of licence fee payers' money".
 The gross estimate of the amount spent on DMI was £125.9m, although
the BBC claims to have recouped £27.5m of that.
 The BBC's technology chief, John Linwood, was sacked in July 2013 over
the project's demise.
 A previous report, by the National Audit Office (NAO), blamed "confusion
and a lack of planning" for the failure.
 It said that senior executives failed to take control of the project when
it ran into trouble and "did not appear to appreciate the extent of the
problems until a late stage".
 "The BBC was far too complacent about the high risks involved in
taking it in-house. No single individual had overall responsibility or
accountability for delivering the DMI and achieving the benefits, or
took ownership of problems when they arose."
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25. 25
Looking Ahead GovSIG – 2014/15
 Publish update to Co-Directing Change 2nd Edition
 Develop new guidance on Agile Governance
 Further collaboration with PwC regarding their
global survey and Directing Change
 Network Rail Sponsoring model and Benefits
Tracking
 Investigation of new MOD governance model
 Collaboration with other APM SIGs – e.g. People
 Further engagement with NAO, FRC and other
institutions, e.g. CMI, ICS

26. GovSIG – Publications to date
Directing Change
2nd edition 2011
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Co-Directing Change
2007 (2nd edition in
2014)
Sponsoring Change
2009
Free to APM members at www.apm.org.uk/memberdownloads

27. Getting Involved with GovSIG
 APM GovSIG
 Blogging
 Research
 Committee
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28. Further Reading
• APM Governance of Project Management Specific Interest Group, 2007.
Co-directing change: A Guide to the Governance of multi-owned
projects. Princes Risborough: Association for Project Management.
• APM Governance of Project Management Specific Interest Group, 2009.
Sponsoring Change: A Guide to the Governance aspects of Project
Sponsorship. Princes Risborough: Association for Project Management.
• APM Governance of Project Management Specific Interest Group, 2011.
Directing Change: A Guide to Governance of Project Management.
2nd ed. Princes Risborough: Association for Project Management.
• Reiss, G. et al., 2006. The Gower Handbook of Programme
Management. London: Gower.
• Wernham, Brian (2012) Agile Project Management for Government,
Maitland and Strong.
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29. This presentation was delivered at an
APM event
To find out more about upcoming
events please visit our website
www.apm.org.uk/events