11 Steps for Creating a Practical Project Management Governance Document
Do you remember the last time you traveled to a location and found you were lost? You may have
decided to look to landmarks, find familiar streets, and feel your way through. However, you likely
realized you needed a form of navigational help, and pulled out a map or GPS. Instead of having to
guess at where to go next, these tools allowed you to know exactly where you were going.
The world of project management
is a lot similar to this scenario when a governance plan is nowhere
to be found. A project management governance document is a blueprint for navigating the most crucial
aspects of your project. The ultimate goal of any governance plan is to help you and your team decide
on a process of decision making and implementation. This is your GPS to a project that is within scope,
budget, and deadline. So, how do you go about creating a governance framework as a PMP that is effective for you
and your team? Read on for 11 steps to create an actionable project management governance document.
Make Sure Your Team Understands the Importance of Governance
While anyone can create a document, individuals who are on the team need to understand how crucial governance
is. It will be hard for them to see the significance in following a governance plan if you do not inform them
of how it relates to their jobs. For example, your governance plan will likely address how workers should
communicate with one another. You would likely talk about how vital consistent communication is to project
completion and how this document outlines how you would go about doing this. Also, be sure to answer any
questions your team may have about the various aspects of this document.
Select Your Governance Model
Every organization is unique, and specific projects may call for particular governance models. Be sure you
understand the specifications required and how your chosen governance model will help you address them. Would
you like your governance model to stick closely to agility or responsiveness or more so address accountability
and participation? See where your current weaknesses and limitations are, and be sure your model directly
addresses this.
Consult Teams, Managers, and Stakeholders
Each group is going to have some insight into components of governance that will help them succeed. As a project
manager, you will have a limited view of what everyone needs as they participate in project completion. So, it
makes sense to get insight from team members, managers, board members, and other stakeholders regarding what they
would like to see in a governance document. Not only will their insight help you to build a plan that is useful
to them, it also increases their engagement and investment in governance policies.
Define Accountability and Responsibilities
Regarding the actual governance document, one of the most critical parts of this plan is to define who is accountable
for various aspects of the project, and what their responsibilities are. Be very clear about expectations, how they
are being evaluated, and when each member of the team should be informed if there are scope changes. Spell out the
types of tasks that they will be responsible for, and what their role is regarding decision making when it comes to
their responsibilities.
Discuss Communication Protocols
Other than accountability, communication processes are likely the most important part of your document. You should
decide on methods of communication and the times when discussion is important. For example, you should select a
program that team members should use to communicate with each other throughout the day. This could be Slack, Skype
instant messaging, or another instant communication software program. Decide on how often your team will meet to
discuss project progress, how often you will require reports and metrics, when progress updates have to be sent to
internal stake holders and board members, and how everyone will be informed of specific and overall project changes.
Ensure that all communication scenarios are covered and documented.
Discuss Methods for Handling Risk and Problems
Throughout your project, unexpected situations will happen. Each moment of a project will have some type of risk
attached. As a result, you have to outline how you will handle unintended problems as well as extended risks.
Create a risk management strategy to go along with your governance policy. Decide on how you and your team will
identify, manage, prioritize risks that arise in your project completion process. This can also extend to handling
unintended problems and scope changes that may come.
How You Will Engage and Notify Stakeholders
Your internal stakeholder that are not on your team are going to want to know how all is shaping up with your
project. Because they are not involved in the everyday processes, it is imperative to have a plan for keeping
them engaged and informed. So, make sure you define who all of your internal stakeholders are (anyone who is
impacted by the deliverables of the project) and create a strategy for keeping them in the loop. Work with these
individuals to develop times to meet for in-person updates, invite them to sit in and experience project
development first hand, determine the frequency for delivering reports, update them on milestones, and even
select points of contact they can reach out to for specific questions regarding various aspects of the project.
Quality Control Processes
Planning for deliverable evaluation is essential to any project management process. You need to have a way to
plan to control the quality of all deliverables produced by your team. There should be checks and balances in
place for each project stages. This is where concepts like
Agile project management really come into play. It
allows for continuous evaluation and improvement so deliverables are always being checked for defects. It is
also vital to have a plan for evaluating the process itself. Project deliverables may be produced without fault,
but the time it takes to do this might be putting the team past deadlines. There may also be some communication
issues or problems regarding efficient collaboration. As a result, it is imperative to create metrics for not
only evaluating the deliverable but also analyzing the process it took to develop it. This should be reviewed
constantly and shared with the team.
Establish a Meeting Protocol
Meetings can be incredibly helpful, but if used incorrectly they can also waste time and derail a project.
To avoid this, outline meeting protocol in your governance plan. How often will you meet without the month?
What is the exact purpose of these meetings? Will you have a progress meeting once a week while stakeholder
up-dates occur once a month? What are the criteria for calling an emergency meeting, and who can approve this?
How will everyone be informed of the meeting time and place? These are all details that should be outlined in
this section of the governance document. When team members are aware of when they can expect meetings, they
are more likely prepared to share progress and can schedule adequate time to participate.
Address Ethical Practices
While the hope is that an issue of ethics will never rear its head, it is still something worth discussing and
addressing in the governance document. Touch on issues related to team member conduct, customer service, corporate
social responsibility, sustainability, vendor relations, and even issues related to copyrights. Ensure that your
team understands what it means to adhere to ethical standards. Also, be sure to see what the primary ethical issues
are in your industry and be sure to address those as well. Making that step will help you cover all bases and prevent
a serious issues that threatens the integrity of your company or your team.
Define Your Metrics
Take a moment to determine all the relevant metrics you will need, and define them. This will help your team have
these benchmarks on their mind as they are working through the project development process. For example, what are
the most pertinent metrics you will need for stakeholder engagement? Discuss what these are with your team and
ensure they are being mindful of them as they work through their day and produce deliverables. You need to define
the relevant metrics for risk and management, process improvement, quality control, and stakeholder communications.
Many of these measurements may overlap, but it is important to identify them all and include them in the governance
document for reference.
Final Thoughts
Project management is not easy. So much can happen between the start and completion of a project. The whole process
can feel like a journey that has a tendency to veer off the designated path. Fortunately, the governance document
can act as a road map that allows you to navigate the uncertainties of project management and related processes.
Creating a project management governance policy document allows you to think ahead about the problems that may come.
As a result, you have already identified a viable solution to solve any issues. Most problems will not seem like
unforeseen circumstances as your pre-planning will address them. Helping your team to understand that the governance
document is more like a roadmap than a rule book will help all of you to adhere to the policies and arrive at a
successful project completion.