Project Governance 

Project governance refers to the set of guidelines, roles and responsibilities that define the authority structure and the decision process in a project.

Governance Model

Traditionally the governance of the projects conducted by Canadian Banks are regulated by a steering committee form with executives of different areas, while the rest of the team including the project management team follow the guidelines documented in the responsibility assignment matrix or RACI.

The following governance model is a multi-tiered structure that distributes the decision authority across segments of management. This approach aims to create a dynamic alternative to the traditional steering committee by foster the engagement, participation and ownership among members of the project team.

Tier 1 Operational

The Operational Team is lead by the Project Manager with the support of Team Leaders; this group have the authority to make decisions that impact the day to day execution of the project.

This involves aspects such as: schedule changes at work package level, frequency of project meetings, project team communication, the identification of solutions which satisfy requirements, issues, risk and minor cost changes as per approved limit.

The Operational Team will support their decisions based on factual information recorded in the project status report and project tracking log. The status report must contains operative information like the the progress of project tasks, risk and issues impacting key performance indicators KPI (Scope, Cost, Schedule, Business Case, Resources among others). This status report will be shared with the next two tiers.

The suggested cadence for the Operational Team to meet is weekly.

The decisions and changes made by the Operational Team must not impact key aspects of the project such as the launch or release date, selection of solutions to be implemented, overall business and IT costs. In addition, items that cannot be resolved without the decision from a direct manager of any of the members of the Operational Team will be escalated to the next tier in the governance model.

Tier 2 Tactical

The Tactical Group is led by the Project or Program Manager with the support of the Product Owner, Senior Managers, Directors or Assistant Vice-president AVP members.

This group has the authority to make decisions which help achieve specific objectives of the business strategy as defined in the project or program scope. This involves aspects such as launch or release schedule changes, selection of solutions to be implemented to satisfy requirements, resolution of issues and risks impacting business value and cost changes of the overall project(s).

The Tactical Group will support their decisions based on the information recorded in the project status report and project tracking log that impact the following KPIs: IT and Business Cost, Key Milestones, Business Case; Interdependencies. This information is an input for the next tier report.

The suggested cadence for the Tactical Group to meet is biweekly.

The decisions and changes made by the Tactical Group must not impact key aspect such as business case strategy alignment (project(s) mission) and source of overall funding; Items that cannot be resolved without the decision from a direct manager of any of the members of the Tactical Team will be escalated to the next tier in the governance model.

Tier 3 Strategic

The Strategic Board is chaired by the Project Management Offices Manager, Program Manager or Project Manager but led by the Project Sponsor.

The Strategic Board is formed by executives (Vice-president, Senior Vice-president, CEO level). This group has the authority to make decisions that change the mission and vision of the business strategy, the strategic alignment of the program or project(s) and the overall source of funding. In addition, the Strategic Board helps the Tactical Group to remove road blocks and also offers advice of the organizational political impact of their decisions.

The Strategic Board will support their decisions based on the information recorded in a specific report targeted for this audience. This report contains overall financial information, issues and risks impacting business value and strategy, and a clear description of the decisions or actions required by this group.

The suggested cadence for the Strategic Board to meet is monthly