Project Governance
How to Monitor Performance Throughout a Project’s Lifecycle
The consequences to poorly governed projects are costly. Executing a project well involves more than completing tasks. Success requires effective governance throughout the project’s lifecycle. Often, poor project performance and even project failure can be traced to senior leadership. When there is lack of governance or lack of direction in that governance, projects can veer off course resulting in a waste of time, money, and resources.
One question that must be asked by the governance team at each stage of the project is whether the project manager and the project team are taking appropriate
actions to keep the project on track towards success. The governance team must insist upon meaningful and transparent reporting processes to evaluate every project.
Another question that must be asked at each stage is the relative importance of the project. Organizations typically have a portfolio of ongoing projects. Because no organization has unlimited resources, it may be necessary to pause or cancel an under-performing project and reallocate constrained resources from that project to another project in the portfolio. Effective governance helps make this determination.
Project management governance is concerned with how projects are performing relative to their strategic objectives. Using the traditional project management framework, here’s what effective governance looks like in each stage of a project’s lifecycle.
