Business Integrated Governance Nodes define an integrated governance agenda for each major stakeholder group. The governance agendas require information to progress agenda points into actions or decisions, or into greater clarity on issues and risks. It is assumed that the organisation, people, tools and processes are fit to create the information quality required.
Where there are gaps in capability, the organisation may choose to develop capability, technology or run a support service. Business Support is therefore a key element to operation of each governance component, and in many organisations, an element to Business Support is Project Support. Definitive guides on P3M support/assurance definition already exist e.g. P3O® and Praxis. Project Support may already be provided to a degree in some parts of the organisation where it helps individual domains function and be more accountable.
Business Support is also key to the integration of governance components and the mapping of responsibilities and accountabilities. It is recommended that distributed, parochial business support functions are collated to deliver the same vision and overall coherent service. This can be from one team, or a distributed hub and spoke service under one senior leadership position. It is also recommended that the data integration required for governance is also industrialised for ease of configuration, operation, assurance and advancement. Examples are shared.
The Business Support function must be considered a Management Team. It has Objectives and Targets, and it must manage deployment of people across competing priorities for services, secondments or projects. It has an internal governance agenda which includes resources and benefits. However, whereas for other Management Teams, the quality management and service details are of no interest within BIG, the Business Support services provided to the organisation are central to BIG. The individual services Business Support Professionals contribute to each entity are a matter for line/delivery managers to oversee, but the Business Support function must oversee the service as a whole in some areas:
• Data/Process Assurance review
• Delivery/Decision/Assurance Support review
• Service start up and change project status – performance and forecast outcome reviews
Hence, with Business Support management oversight, via a mapped, integrated data solution, clarity on who is responsible and accountable for what, orchestration of the governance framework for all the governance nodes, it is possible to run each of the governance nodes and sustain the resulting information flows, actions and decisions.
Further information is available within the Core P3M Data Club including the detailed materials underpinning the node definition to support the Business Support agenda. Further work is expected to share implementation stories, capture further MI examples and project scenarios, which depend on the contribution from volunteers (practitioners, consultants and tool vendors).
Link to content here:
Business Support ‘Governance Agenda’