In the current environment tighter financial controls and reporting is a key topic amongst all levels of management and this will test the appropriateness of existing project governance models used by organisations, especially when concise and accurate decisions need to be made on which projects must be halted, others redefined and which new projects will need to be initiated.
These decisions need to be made with confidence but how does one decide which projects require continued investment. On making a decision five key performance elements must be considered together. They are:
· Financial investment and return,
· Project timings, (is the ‘window of opportunity’ closing?)
· Expected benefit/value of the project to the business,
· The project’s risk profile; and
· Your team’s ability to satisfy customer requirements.
Decision-making becomes ever more difficult if your projects lack:
· Clear project roles and responsibilities
· An accepted Business Case
· Agreed performance measures
· A standard approach for planning and control
· Effective identification and management of risks
· Periodic reviews of project progress and issues
· Project documentation
These are core elements of best practice project governance that will facilitate Go – No Go decisions that all senior management must confront.
A model which fulfils the requirements of best practice is the project management method PRINCE2TM(PRojects IN Controlled Environments, 2ndversion). Utilsing a common, robust and auditable project method will better position organisations to make those tough decision. Learn more about: PRINCE2