Governance is the framework of authority and accountability that defines and controls the outputs, outcomes and benefits from projects, programmes and portfolios.

The mechanism whereby the investing organisation exerts financial and technical control over the deployment of the work and the realisation of value.

At TGG we have decades of experience of managing large complex projects for clients and we interpret the above APM statement on governance as the provision of:

• Methods and processes: Who is responsible for what and when.
• Knowledge management: More of the ‘how’ and ensuring our teams take on board previous lessons learned and understand what different approaches are available and which will work best in this particular scenario.
• Roles and responsibilities defined and agreed: So all stakeholders involved in the project know what is expected of them and when.
• Meeting and reporting management: All meetings should be the solution to a problem or opportunity and as such should have a term of reference, so attendees know who is attending, what their roles are, the frequency and why. Any subsequent report formats will be formatted to produce the correct messages for the audience and the frequency agreed.
• Project management maturity: As your organizational project management matures through experience, so will your ability to deliver successfully. Allocation of the correct skillset not only increases product development it also helps identify the right future team members.
• Senior-level buy-in: The commitment to project governance starts at the top. TGG uses its stakeholder management skills to understand what success looks like for senior stakeholders map the governance towards this to gain management support, this will cascade down through all levels of the business and the approach to governance will be more sustainable.
• Supportive culture: TGG engenders a culture of support to ensure project managers have the right environment in which to thrive. A supportive culture, led by the project management office or project director, will help project managers reach their goals and those of the project.