Governance

General

Governance is generally understood to mean "responsible corporate management and control". It must be implemented in particular by management.

Project governance is part of corporate governance.

The characteristics of good project governance are:

1. Effective project steering and management
2. Consideration of stakeholder interests
3. Cooperation between the project organization and core organization
4. Reconciliation of the project objectives with the strategies and objectives of the core organization
5. Transparency in project communication
6. Comprehensibility of project implementation
7. Appropriate approach to risks
8. Efficient and sustainable use of resources

The hallmarks of good project governance constitute the requirements for project steering and project implementation.

Business processes and HERMES

While companies are conducting their operating business, they are in a constant flux in order to meet current and future challenges. As Figure 25 shows, an enterprise has processes and methods which

1. support the preparation of business planning,
2. accompany the implementation of business planning and
3. ensure the utilization of the outcomes.

Preparation of business planning

Principles of business planning

With the preparation of the business planning, the projects are prioritized and the resources needed for implementation are planned so that they are available in sufficient quantities.

Business planning is based on an outline of the needs of a business process, ideas for future IT solutions or strategic projects. These rough outlines are often referred to as "studies" and normally do not incur external costs.

If the partners belong to the same organization (e.g. a public administration), they are in contact with each other already during the business planning stage. Depending on the type of business relationship involved, information is exchanged between the account manager of the developer or operator and the user's management at an early stage in order for the necessary resources to be available to all partners concerned in sufficient quantities. The organization-specific specifications are taken into account in the process. Based on the business planning, the core organization decides which projects are to be initiated. After the decision on project initiation, the project is carried out with HERMES and included in the core organization's project portfolio.

Implementation of business planning

In the implementation of business planning, significant changes are implemented with projects. Less significant, low-risk projects with a low degree of complexity are often implemented with orders. The definition of a project depends very much on the respective enterprise and must be regulated by it in a binding manner. HERMES 5 supports the implementation of business planning with projects.

HERMES 5 governs the cooperation of the partners in the project and supports them with the initiation, design, implementation and deployment of the outcome and with the provision of the necessary operating organization. HERMES 5 describes the roles, outcomes and tasks of the partners, i.e. user, developer and operator, and ensures the necessary clarity in cooperation. During the initiation phase, the business planning outlines or studies are expanded upon. Options are established and evaluated in the process. A project order is prepared for the chosen option so that the core organization can decide to release the project at the end of the initiation phase.

The project is closely linked to the user's core organization. The executive board and the controlling and compliance bodies are integrated into the project via decision tasks and reporting. The project sponsor ensures constant communication between the core organization and project organization.

Utilization of the outcomes

The utilization of a project's outcomes begins with the launch of operation. The prerequisites for sustainable utilization are created in the project. The project is closed once the operation is stable and the outcomes have been accepted. The partners ensure that the roles required for utilization are assigned. These often include the roles of business process owner, application manager and operations manager. The executive board of the user and the account manager of the developer or operator remain in contact also during the utilization period. The check to see whether the project objectives have been achieved is carried out during the utilization stage.

Integration into project portfolio management

The governance requirement concerning efficient and sustainable use of resources means that an assessment is carried out to ascertain whether a project should be released. One task of the core organization is to steer and control all of the organization's projects on an overarching basis. This is done with project portfolio management. It includes the overarching prioritization and coordination of projects, the allocation of resources to projects and decisions on which projects are carried out and whether projects are halted or terminated.

As Figure 26 shows, project portfolio management in the core organization is often

1. in the project management competence center or
2. in controlling and compliance bodies.

HERMES supports the integration of projects into project portfolio management with phases and milestones, among other things. They support transparent project steering. At the milestones, there are defined quality gates where the necessary reviews are supported with the checklist and are verifiably documented.

Reporting

The project governance requirement concerning transparent communication necessitates reporting. Reporting also supports the project governance requirement concerning traceability of the course of the project.

Reporting formally regulates the flow of information within the project organization and vis-à-vis the core organization. Timely reporting is a prerequisite to enable the competent bodies in the project organization and core organization to carry out their tasks responsibly.

The transparency achieved with reporting is of benefit not only for the core organization and the project sponsor, but also for the project manager, as it documents the quality of project implementation.

Figure 27 shows reporting within the project organization and vis-à-vis the core organization.

The following outcomes arise in the case of reporting:

1. Project status report
   Project status reports are prepared periodically from the beginning of a project until its completion. In time frames defined by the core organization, the project management uses the project status report to inform the project sponsor and the core organization about the project status (plan/actual comparison) and the expected next steps (forecast).
2. Phase report
   At the end of the concept and implementation phases, the phase outcomes and the planning of the further course of the project are prepared for the project sponsor in such a way that he can decide on how to proceed (usually on phase release).
3. Final project evaluation
   At the end of the deployment phase, the final project evaluation is created. It provides the basis for continual improvement in the core organization based on the lessons learned.

Specific outcomes of project execution

In addition to reporting, defined specific outcomes are sent to the controlling and compliance bodies for review (example: system architecture).

Meeting the project governance requirements

Review subject matter

When assessing a project, it is checked whether it meets the requirements for good project governance, among other things.

The following list describes for each requirement how the individual HERMES method components support the meeting of the requirements.

Effective project steering and management

1. Roles
   Roles are a key method component for meeting the requirements for effective project steering and management:
2. 1. Responsibility for tasks and outcomes is assigned to defined roles and partners in the project.
   2. The roles are assigned to the hierarchy levels of steering, management and execution. This further highlights the responsibility of the roles.
   3. The roles are fleshed out with role descriptions. They describe the tasks, powers and responsibility, as well as the skills required to perform the role.
   4. A role of quality and risk manager has been defined to support the role of the project sponsor. He carries out independent assessments of project implementation and makes recommendations.
   5. A role of project committee has been defined to support the role of the project sponsor. This enables the stakeholders to be integrated into the project organization at the steering hierarchy level.
   6. A role of technical committee is defined to support the role of the project manager. This enables the stakeholders to be included in the project organization both in the management area and at the technical level.
   7. The project organization section describes which aspects are to be taken into account when assigning roles in order to ensure effective project steering and management.
3. Modules and tasks
   The steering and management tasks are described in detail. They are grouped in the project steering and project management modules and are therefore clearly visible for the project sponsor, project manager and other project participants.

This ensures a high degree of transparency with regard to tasks and outcomes for which the project sponsor and project manager are responsible.

1. Outcomes
   Every project has certain minimum outcomes that have to be achieved to enable it to be steered and managed. These include the project order or project management plan, for example. The minimum outcomes from a governance perspective are defined in the outcomes section.
2. Reporting
   Project steering requires reliable information on planning, project status and forecasts. These are provided via reporting. Reporting is described below.

Consideration of stakeholder interests

1. Roles
   The roles of project steering (project sponsor) and project management (project manager) are responsible for the corresponding tasks.
2. Tasks
   The manage stakeholders and communication task ensures that stakeholders are identified and their interests are analyzed.
3. Outcomes
   The stakeholder list and stakeholder interests are first established in the initiation phase and are continuously pursued in the course of the project.

Cooperation between the project organization and core organization

1. HERMES and project portfolio management
   HERMES supports the integration of projects into project portfolio management. See the explanations below.
2. Phases and milestones
   The phases and milestones (with quality gates) support cooperation.
3. Roles
   The role model establishes a clear link between the project organization and the core organization with its controlling and compliance bodies.
4. Tasks
   Several tasks support cooperation between the project organization and core organization. For example:
5. 1. The decision tasks for project release, phase release and project closure
   2. The task agree on and steer goods/services
   3. The task decide on system architecture
   4. The task decide on ISDP concept

Reconciliation of the project objectives with the strategy and objectives of the core organization

1. Phases and milestones
   Before project release and phase release, the project objectives are aligned with the strategy and objectives of the core organization within the framework of the respective decision tasks. The project is released by the core organization and project sponsor after the initiation phase, whereby the project sponsor bears responsibility.

Transparency in project communication

1. Tasks
   Communication planning is created with the manage stakeholders and communication task. Communication is target-group-oriented.
2. Reporting
   Reporting ensures internal communication between project management and the project sponsor, and also provides a realistic and timely overview and holistic evaluation for the core organization.

Comprehensibility of project implementation

1. Outcomes
   The outcomes achieved as the project progresses document the course of the project.
2. 1. Periodic reporting, which includes the project status report and the phase report, documents the progress of the project.
   2. Project decisions are recorded and minutes are taken of meetings.
   3. The lessons learned are continuously recorded.
   4. In the final project evaluation, planned and actual comparisons are carried out and key findings are recorded.
   5. The project management plan is continuously updated and documents the respective planning status.
   6. Procurements are documented with an evaluation report.

Appropriate approach to risks

1. Roles
   At the project steering hierarchy level, the role of quality and risk manager supports the project sponsor with an independent assessment of the project.
2. Phases and milestones
   If, at the end of a phase, the risks are deemed unacceptable, the next phase is not released by the project sponsor.
3. Scenarios and modules
   Scenarios and modules support all project participants and the core organization with a common understanding of how a project with a specific characteristic is handled. In this way, misunderstandings can be prevented and project risks can be reduced overall.
4. Tasks
   Risk management is continuously managed with the task manage risks.
5. Outcomes
   The project status report contains the current risk assessment and informs the recipients about the project manager's assessment.

Efficient and sustainable use of resources

1. Scenarios and modules
   Scenarios and modules enable efficient project planning.
2. Phases and milestones
   At the end of the initiation, concept and implementation phases, a check is carried out to see whether it is wise to start or continue the project. Possible reasons for termination include economic inefficiency, excessive risks, infeasibility, lack of alignment with the objectives and strategies of the organization.

The phases and milestones additionally enable the integration of projects into project portfolio management.

1. User information
   The sustainability section describes how projects are implemented sustainably, how sustainable outcomes are achieved and which criteria are used to assess sustainability.