Program management involves coordinating multiple interrelated projects to achieve a common goal. However, this also means dealing with various challenges, such as conflicting priorities, changing requirements, diverse stakeholders, and limited resources. How can you establish governance for a complex program to ensure its success?
The first step in establishing governance for a complex program is to clearly define the program scope and objectives. This means identifying what the program aims to deliver, how it aligns with the organizational strategy, and what are the expected benefits and outcomes. You should also define the program boundaries, assumptions, constraints, risks, and dependencies. Having a clear and agreed-upon program scope and objectives will help you set the direction, scope, and expectations for the program and its stakeholders.
Alignment with business requirement should be essential for any decisions. This will make decisions easy. off course scope, assumptions, risk & other many parameter to be considered for managing complex project & decisions.
The next step is to establish the program governance structure and roles. This means defining who is responsible for making decisions, providing oversight, and ensuring accountability for the program. You should also specify the reporting lines, communication channels, and escalation paths for the program. A typical program governance structure may include a program sponsor, a program manager, a program steering committee, a program management office, and project managers. Each role should have a clear description of its authority, responsibility, and accountability.
From the beginning program designing should be ready with who is the sponsor, who are the implementers ,who are the implementing partners and will be the role of each stakeholder. Again the authority of the steering committee or coordination committee must be defined clearly from the beginning. In case of any disagreement, can any one go through the court of law, if required . Moreover, regular communication and transparency among all the partners will create a road to success.
The third step is to develop the program governance framework and processes. This involves defining policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures that will guide the program execution, monitoring, and control. You should also set criteria, metrics, and indicators to measure the program performance, progress, and outcomes. A program charter should outline the program vision, mission, scope, objectives, benefits, governance structure, roles, and stakeholders. Additionally, a program plan should describe the program approach, schedule, budget, resources, quality, risk, change, and stakeholder management plans. Moreover, a program dashboard should provide a visual representation of the program status, issues, risks, and achievements. Finally, a program review should evaluate the program performance at regular intervals to determine benefits realization and lessons learned.
The fourth step is to engage and communicate with the program stakeholders. This means identifying who are the key stakeholders for the program, what are their interests, expectations, and influence, and how to manage their engagement and communication throughout the program lifecycle. You should also develop a stakeholder analysis matrix and a stakeholder engagement plan that will help you tailor your messages, methods, and frequency of communication to each stakeholder group. Engaging and communicating with the program stakeholders will help you build trust, rapport, and support for the program.
The fifth step is to monitor and control the program performance and risks. This means tracking and reporting on the program activities, deliverables, milestones, and outcomes against the planned baseline. You should also identify, analyze, prioritize, and mitigate any risks or issues that may affect the program objectives, scope, schedule, budget, quality, or benefits. You should use the program dashboard, review, and governance processes to monitor and control the program performance and risks and to make any necessary adjustments or corrections.
The final step is to evaluate and close the program. This means verifying that the program has met its objectives, delivered its benefits, and satisfied its stakeholders. You should also conduct a program closure report that summarizes the program achievements, challenges, and lessons learned. You should also celebrate the program success, recognize the program team, and transfer the program outputs and outcomes to the relevant owners or users. Evaluating and closing the program will help you close the program cycle, document the program learning, and ensure the program sustainability.