Achieving the lofty goal of creating an enterprise project management office (EPMO) for your organization is no easy task. But even with an established EPMO, you still need systems in place to oversee all of the moving parts that create your project management approach. Enterprise project governance helps organizations do just that. It offers a top-down view of projects, portfolios, and programsh to keep things running smoothly.
What is Enterprise Project Governance (EPG)?
Enterprise project governance, sometimes known simply as “EPG,” is a framework that helps organizations get an overview of all components that affect the success, effectiveness, and value of projects or portfolios.
It’s an idea that’s separate from enterprise project management, as governance involves looking beyond project performance and adopting an enterprise-wide perspective. A top-down governance structure allows organizations to ensure that projects are healthy. And that big-picture factors like new business opportunities or organizational risks are tied to the project management process.
EPG falls under the umbrella of corporate governance. The most effective enterprise project governance ensures that corporate policies are clearly defined as they relate to project initiatives and activity. You can think of EPG as a tool for creating, managing, and disseminating policies. These policies serve as the “laws” for everything that goes into projects.
The ultimate goal of implementing an EPG framework is to ensure that an organization’s corporate portfolio, programs, projects, etc., align with its overall strategy. Those involved in governance may also be tasked with proactively taking action to ensure everything stays on track. And brings as much value to the organization as possible.
Understanding Enterprise Project Management (EPM)
Organizations that have already embraced enterprise project management, or EPM, are natural candidates for EPG. Like governance, project management at the enterprise level takes a top-down approach. It involves overseeing, planning, and managing all of the individual projects, portfolios, and programs across an entire organization.
There are plenty of benefits of implementing enterprise project management. Including lowered project risks, improved productivity, and higher quality projects that are more consistent. Before navigating governance, organizations must first scale their project management offices (PMOs) to the enterprise level. And ensure they have reached a level of maturity that warrants EPG.
A PPM maturity assessment is a helpful tool organizations can use to determine whether they’re ready for enterprise project governance. Use tools like these to assess whether it’s the right time to focus on governance. Or if your PMO’s efforts would be better spent improving current project management systems.
Key Elements of the Enterprise Project Governance Framework
To achieve the goals and responsibilities associated with EPG, there are a few important components that project stakeholders and steering committee members need to address. Let’s explore each in more detail.
1. Risk
First, enterprise project management offices (EPMOs) and decision-makers must use risk management processes to identify and address potential issues that might impact project success.
From the perspective of EPG, though, risk management often means taking a step back to consider things like changes to organizational environments and other larger factors that can shape risk analysis.
2. Portfolios
Then, depending on the size of the organization and its resources, portfolio management as a branch of EPG might involve one, several, or all projects and portfolios across teams. Those involved in EPG can create rules and policies regarding portfolio prioritization, management, and organization.
3. Organization
While strong leaders involved in EPG are important, so too is creating the organizational structure and roles to support all stakeholders involved. Typically, there are three organizational components to successful governance, including:
- Executive leadership
- Portfolio management team(s)
- Project and program managers
So, enterprise project governance often involves many individual team members. Sometimes even multiple committees. EPG is not a framework practiced by one individual but a collaborative process that brings together corporate, business, and technical components to provide oversight for work activity.
4. Stakeholder Management
The different parties involved in project activities or results are known as stakeholders. In this context, these individuals have some sort of claim, interest, or share in enterprise project governance.
It’s crucial to not only identify these parties but also outline their expectations and manage them through regular collaboration and communication.
5. Performance Evaluation
Without some way to measure and monitor organizational performance, enterprise project governance is all but impossible. EPG teams often analyze performance while specific implementation plans or changes are being executed, but it’s also important to keep an eye on things no matter what.
6. Transformation
To transform a business or shift its activities toward strategic goals, organizations need to embrace agility. That means being flexible and adaptable to changes from clients, changing service needs, or changes in project health. Business agility is an important prerequisite to EPG, and continuing to prioritize it throughout governance is key.
7. Strategy
An essential mission of enterprise project governance is ensuring that projects align with organizational strategy and goals. Decisions made about projects and their required investments are naturally subject to EPG. As projects will need adequate resources and financial support to take off.
Mandatory projects–or those that an organization must complete, regardless of their nature–require teams to create a plan for balancing risk with reward. However, for discretionary projects, teams have more freedom to choose whether to undertake the project and analyze how closely it aligns with strategic objectives.
Leverage EPM Software from Sciforma to Simplify Governance
Overall, enterprise project governance is not a tangible step-by-step process but an ongoing effort that requires collaboration between different teams across an organization.
The EPG framework can help EPMOs and stakeholders ensure that their project management tactics are successful and comply with organizational policies. Likewise, EPG gives EPMOs the ability to “step back and look at the big picture,” factoring in things beyond projects and organizational pillars to guide decisions made at the granular level.
To make project governance at the enterprise level a reality, EPMOs need access to purpose-built technology that can store project details, track key metrics, and automate standardized components of the project lifecycle.
An enterprise project management software like Sciforma Vantage makes it simple for EPMOs to gain visibility into project, portfolio, and program health. Measure project risks, analyze resource requirements. Centralize everything your team needs to practice governance with our PPM software solutions.
Ready to get started? Schedule a demo today to learn more.
