Compliance is generally defined as conforming to a rule, policy, standard or law.
Project management is the discipline of planning, organising, securing, managing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals.
So, why should the two principles be married?
It only takes one “cowboy” or “rookie” to bring an entire project to its knees very quickly due to non-compliance.
Anita Potgieter is COO at FOXit.
Companies focused on compliance regulations and improving operational efficiency continue to implement project controls.
Project compliance/governance can be seen as the method by which a company can ensure projects executed are aligned to overall strategic objectives.
The project governance structures within a company may or may not be based on the project management methodology. In an IT company, the execution phase of the project management methodology normally consists of a system/product development life cycle.
In an engineering company, the execution phase may include adherence to set engineering standards and procedures.
Great expectations
Whichever project management methodology is used, the project governance structure generally consists of standards, processes and procedures that need to be followed. This will help to ensure the expectations of stakeholders are not only met, but exceeded.
Having a governance framework in place will also ensure all project stakeholders understand exactly what their roles and responsibilities are.
The governance structure is all good and well, but controls need to be set in place to facilitate smooth project implementation and execution. Examples of these controls may include budget control, management of scope, time management and deliverable review and approval. A good step to incorporate into the governance of the project is regular reviews of the lessons learnt. This will promote improved execution of future projects.
The focus of project governance should be that of transparency, responsibility accountability. If not, operational efficiency may not be achieved at the required level. No governance means the company has no systems in place to sustain effective project management processes. In a services company, that may even result in no financial sustainability in the long run.
On a large project, the project manager and team lead might be overseen by the PMO, while on a regulatory project, the project manager and team lead may need to report to the executive team or to the board itself, if needed.
In larger organisations, there are a lot more hoops in place to jump through, while smaller organisations can get away with less and still deliver successfully.
Consistency will always be one of the most important factors. All projects need to be governed consistently and unfailingly. This cannot be bypassed. If a company allows for one project, one resource or one stakeholder to bypass the processes, others will follow suit.
Be careful of cowboys
Having said all of the above, if all project resources are oblivious to the existence of the governance methodology and do not know what their roles, responsibilities and - most importantly - their limitations are, it only takes one “cowboy” or “rookie” to bring an entire project to its knees very quickly due to non-compliance.
How can systems be used to assist with the above?
A project and portfolio management tool can be set in place for project governance. The company's strategic drivers and constraints can be loaded in the system and mapped to every single initiative to ensure optimal use of the company's capital during portfolio selection.
Constraints may include resource availability, time restrictions, foreseen risks, financial limitations or any other compliance constraints in the specific industry. Some petrochemical organisations even prioritise their projects based on predicted CO2 emissions.
Even though different types of projects may be executed, the project management tool will enforce good governance and controls throughout the project life cycle. On a small project, some of the governance steps might not be necessary, and the system will then allow for those steps to be excluded.
If all projects and operational activities are loaded on the system, a company can track compliance with corporate governance using a single tool.
The point is that the project scope, size, client requirements and level of risk will determine how tight the project governance needs to be.
In practice, governance and compliance are inseparable - the one cannot function without the other.
Share