1. Project & Program Governance
May 12, 2016

2. What is Project Governance?
Management framework within which project decisions are made
Structured hierarchy for decision making about:
Objectives
Scope
Budget
Schedule
Issues
Risks
Changes
Solution Design Approval
Product Acceptance ….
Decisions or issues which cannot be resolved by the team or project manager are escalated UP through the governance levels to a group who can make the decision.
Project Governance ensures that the
project goals and benefits are achieved.

3. Project Governance Structure (with all possible roles)
Very Large Project/Program
Executive Committee
Executive Sponsor
UCIO/ CTO
Functional VP
Acad/Admin
Dean
Large Project
Medium
Project
Steering Committee
IT Managing Director
Functional Director
School / Center Director
Steering Committee
IT Managing Director
Functional Director
School / Center Director
Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor
Program Director
Program Manager
Project Manager
Scrum Master
Product Owner
Engagement Councils
Project Manager
Scrum Master
Product Owner
Engagement Councils
Project Manager
Scrum Master
Product Owner
Project Manager
Scrum Master
Product Owner
Project Manager
Scrum Master
Product Owner
School Engagement Council(s)
School Engagement Council(s)
School Engagement Council(s)
School Engagement Council
* Note that this structure shows project decision making – not functional reporting

4. Required Project Governance
Project and program governance should be scaled based on the size, complexity, and risk.
PROJECT SIZE1
Very Large / Program
Large
Medium
Small
Governance Roles
Executive Committee 
Steering Committee
Recommended
School Engagement Councils
Executive Sponsor
Sponsor
Program Director
Project Manager
Product/Service Owner
Scrum Master
1 Definitions are shown at the end of this package

5. Role Definitions

6. Executive Committee Definition: Who: Frequency: Size:
Highest governing body on a very large project or program with overall responsibility for ensuring the project/program delivers the needed benefits across the university
Who:
Led by the Executive Sponsor and includes the most senior management (VP/C level) from the key organizations participating in or affected by the project/program
Frequency:
Meets monthly and on an ad hoc as exceptions demand
Size:
Recommended membership is 3-5 members – may be larger if circumstances warrant
Responsibilities:
Provide direction and oversight for the project/program
Endorses and champions vision and objectives of the project
Leads change and provides authority within their organization to adapt processes, behavior, and organization to ensure project success
Weighs in on matters escalated by the Steering Committee
Builds cross-organization consensus with peers

7. Steering Committee Definition: Who: Frequency: Size: Responsibilities:
Governing body with overall responsibility for ensuring the project/program delivers the benefits and for providing guidance and support for sponsor in resolving escalated issues. On large projects this is the highest governing group and on very large projects and programs this committee reports to the Executive Committee.
Who:
Led by the Sponsor, the Steering Committee includes functional area management representatives from the key organizations involved in the project and any other key stakeholder groups that have special interest in the outcome of the project. This is not technical group.
Frequency:
Typically meet monthly and on an ad hoc basis for urgent concerns
Size:
Recommended size is 5-7 people
Responsibilities:
Evaluates solution(s) for consistency with University and IT strategies and guides overall strategic direction
Ensures their organization is ready for the changes needed for project success
Ensures that all needed resources are committed and available when needed
Provides assistance resolving escalated issues and risks
Makes decisions on significant changes (time, scope, budget) and approves vision and deliverables

8. School Engagement Council
Definition:
School based governing body responsible for success of project within the school. Provides guidance and support for project for the project in resolving escalated issues.
Who:
Led by the Program Manager or Project Manager each engagement council should include school CIO, faculty representative (if appropriate), local project manager, functional owner in school and any other key school stakeholders that have special interest in the outcome of the project.
Frequency:
Typically meet monthly and on an ad hoc basis for urgent concerns
Size:
Recommended size is 4-7 people
Responsibilities:
Ensures school is ready to make the changes required for project success
Ensures that all needed school resources are committed and available when needed
Evaluates program/project solution(s) for consistency with school’s strategies, policies, and processes and escalates where inconsistencies found
Provides assistance resolving school based issues and risks
Determines how to communicate to the school about the project/program, especially for rollout

9. Executive Sponsor Role
Definition:
Executive Sponsor has accountability on behalf of the university for the project/program and is considering the project/program while looking out and across the university. Only necessary on very large projects and programs
Who:
A senior administrator (VP/C level) in the organization with the highest impact or benefit from the project or program
Responsibilities:
Authorizes the project , sets the vision, and has ultimate authority for project and business decisions
Chairs the Executive Committee
Advocates and champions the project with peer stakeholders across the University
Is accountable for project success and achieving project benefits
Manages overall communication to ensure that all execute stakeholders are informed

10. Sponsor Role Definition: Who: Responsibilities
Responsible for the successful completion of the project and is entrusted with oversight of the project and delivery of its benefits. Is accountable to the Executive Sponsor on very large projects and programs.
Who:
A senior administrator in the organization with the highest impact or benefit from the project.
Responsibilities
Defines and clarifies project vision, objectives, goals, benefits, and scope and alignment with university vision and goals
Ensures overall success of the project and is accountable for delivering the project benefits
Chairs the project steering committee and champions the project to influence others to support
Removes obstacles to project success and assists with major issues and policy conflicts
Manages overall communication to ensure that all stakeholders are informed

11. Program Director Role Definition: Who: Responsibilities:
Responsible for the overall program’s vision and delivery
Who:
A senior project manager or senior manager – Reports to the CIO
Responsibilities:
Develops the program’s strategy, approach, and goals, including defining benefits the program will deliver for the university
Monitors program’s overall performance, assesses strengths, and coordinates corrective actions to ensure program will achieve its goals
Communicates with senior stakeholders across the university to build endorsement and to solicit input to improve the program
Partners with Executive Sponsor to lead the program
If there is no Program Manager, the Program Director fulfills both roles

12. Program Manager Role Definition: Who: Responsibilities:
Oversees the coordination and administration of a program including planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling program activities
Who:
A senior project manager or senior manager – Reports to the Program Director
Responsibilities:
Supports development of program strategy and goals by creating program schedule and coordinating the projects within the program to achieve the desired benefits
Monitors performance (schedule, budget, risk) of the projects within the program and coordinates corrective actions within a project or across projects to ensure program will achieve its goals
Monitors and reports on program activities, status, risks, dependencies, and results to sponsors, steering committees, and other affected stakeholders
Partners with Program Director to lead the program

13. Project Manager Role Definition: Who: Responsibilities:
The leader of the project team, responsible for day to day activities of a project. Programs may have only 1 or multiple project managers.
Who:
A project manager with Agile experience who can lead and coach team members
Responsibilities:
Develops clear , measurable objectives, benefits, and scope
Manages budget, costs, risks, issues, dependencies and other aspects of project oversight
Leads release, product increment, and product roadmap planning
Removes distractions, impediments, or roadblocks to ensure timely progress towards goals
Ensures that the team Agile practices are understood and followed by the project team
Escalates any project decisions, issues, risks, changes that cannot be managed to Sponsor
Created roadmap of service with Product Owner
Translates roadmap into product increments and releases for the project team

14. Product/Service Owner Role
Definition:
Is primary decision maker for features and functions to be delivered by the project
Who:
A person in the project’s sponsoring organization who understands the business processes and is authorized to make product/service and process decisions
Responsibilities:
Defines and communicates the product/service vision
Seeks out stakeholders to understand and prioritize user stories (requirements) and maintains them in the product backlog
Collects details and resolves issues relating to functionality to refine user stories
Participates in release, product increment, and product/service roadmap planning
Tests and accepts releases

15. Scrum Master Role Definition: Who: Responsibilities:
A servant leader responsible for helping team self organize, define and evolve agile practices, and manage the work of the project
Who:
A person who understands Agile framework and can train and coach team members
Responsibilities:
Partners with the Product Owner to help prioritize user stories and manage pace of work
Coaches the team to follow Agile best practices and fosters the team’s self-organization
Keeps the team productive and learning
Tracks and reports progress (burndown, velocity, product backlog)
Participates in release and product increment planning
Facilitates regular team meetings (daily, retrospective, demo, sprint planning)

16. User Group/ Functional Subgroup
Definition:
Group of functional and subject matter experts advise the project by providing feedback on the project’s solution. This group is not part of the project governance structure but rather part of the project team.
Who:
Led by the Project Manager a user group contains subject matter experts from impacted/stakeholder groups from central and schools.
Frequency:
Typically meet monthly
Size:
Recommended size is 4-10 people
Responsibilities:
Provides feedback to the project team on the suitability, quality, and effectiveness of the solution
Identifies processes and procedures that will need to change as part of launching the solution
Evaluates program/project solution(s) for consistency with schools’ strategies, policies, and processes
Advocates for project with functional peers

17. HUIT Project Standards Definitions
Project Size
Tier /  Size
Scope / Risk
Estimated Duration
Budget (direct costs)
Operational Work
Repetitive processes / tasks
Ongoing & continuous
Integrated within fiscal year’s budget
Small
Simple
< 4 Weeks
< $50,000
Medium
Moderate
1 – 3 Months
$50,001 - $500,000
Large
Complex
3 – 12 Months or more
$500,001 - $1,000,000
Very Large
Very Complex
1+ Years
> $1,000,000
Definitions:
A project is a one-time, time-bound endeavor undertaken to create or evolve a unique product, service or result. Projects come in different sizes and require different levels of formality and governance.
A HUIT Project is a project that is undertaken to achieve a HUIT goal.
A program is collection of projects that are logically related and managed collectively to obtain benefits that would not be available from managing them individually. A program is treated as a “Very Large” project in the Project Standards.