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this is brilliant and eye opening, thanks for the expose and contribution

Project governance is important and a critical way to make sure projects are running to budget.
As discussed its also a good way for the PM to know his/her limitations in decision making.

On my project, the team lead reports to the project board, and he requires the approval of the project board for any change of strategy.

currently am not working on any project in any organization, but going forward I plan to have community projects running.
i will use the knowledge obtained here to draft my governance structure so well so as to know who is responsible for what in the organization to avoid delays in decision making and implementation.

I think that it's all depend on the governance structure developed for a certain project. For big projects the reporting structure can be more complex ( ex. Project Manager reporting to a Program Manager or Director or to Executive Director or directly to a project board. on my Experience the project board is more complex if the composition is not clearly defined by names in particular for project with more social safeguards and stakeholders participation.

In my organization, the project manager reports to the MD and every changes have to pass through the MD for approval while implementation is carried out by project manager.

In the non profit organization there are multiple stages for update to you hire management
like in my Organization after Project & budget Approval we are bounded to update our line manager on weekly basis for project update
like a problem you have update your CEO for project update on weekly basis or has you decided for project update

project update as mention in your project communication segment for project update or other stakeholder communication process
kindly check your communication process & mention your communication clearly for project update

Project governance is a group of people with certain powers who can make changes to the budget, timetable and scope of the project. The project manager must refer to the project governance to make strategic decisions in project planning.

I think that it's all depend on the governance structure developed for a certain project. For big projects the reporting structure can be more complex ( ex. Project Manager reporting to a Program Manager or Director or to Executive Director or directly to a project board. on my Experience the project board is more complex if the composition is not clearly defined by names in particular for project with more social safeguards and stakeholders participation.

Project governance is the management framework within which project decisions are made. Project governance is a critical element of any project, since the accountabilities and responsibilities associated with an organization’s business as usual activities are laid down in their organizational governance arrangements. For instance, the organization work breakdown structure (WBS) provides a good indication of who in the organization is responsible for any particular operational activity the organization conducts. But unless an organization has specifically developed a project governance policy, no such chart is likely to exist for project development activity.

As soon as the project proposal is approved by the donors, the project manager and the board of management (governance structure) sit down and design the scope of the project.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is very, very important in that discussion. Without it, project will not achieve it scope and workers will not be knowing what to do next.

@datchdouglas, I like your unique way of explaining Project Governance. Thank you for sharing your thought.

@Cuna, your assertion that reporting structure can be more complex in big projects is true and verifiable. However, regardless of the format it may take, it must be clearly established for all to accept and abide by the Project Governance during the execution of a project.

@ZuluPrincess, your assertion implies a well enacted Project Governance prior to the execution of a project. Thanks for the submission.

@MiyongKueth72, thank you for your submission.

Project governance is a very critical component of the project management because it helps to give direction that the project will take and which every team player including the project managers and the monitoring and evaluation team will play.

In my organization the reporting structure is from Project Manager - Project Director - Operations Director - Managing Director - Group Managing Director - Chief Executive Officer

9 Project Management Challenges and How to Overcome Them;

1. Scope creep
2. Lack of communication
3. Lack of clear goals and success criteria
4. Budgeting issues
5. Inadequate skills of team members
6. Inadequate risk management
7. Lack of accountability
8. The limited engagement of stakeholders
9. Unrealistic deadlines

5 challenges to cost estimating
1: Quantifying cost impacts
2: Resource constraints
3: Quality of available data
4: Large number of organizations involved
5: Consistency

Project Governance

The Strategy and Information head reports to the Project Manager who also reports to the Program Director in my organisation.

In our organization, the project manager reports to the country director. The project manager needs to have permission from the country director to change a scope, schedule or budget but permission is usually granted. The manager sends reports to the country director on the progress of the project.

This is so true. Without project governance there would be clash of authority and no work would be done.

In my organisation the project manager reports to the board of directors. The project manager has the power to reschedule certain activities but any alterations made to the budget or the scope require consultancy from the board of directors.

Our organization is still small and growing with about 50 employees only. Small as we are, much of project governance is the responsibility of the Director of Programs. Project Managers are only responsible for overseeing the implementation of the projects and reporting to the Director any challenges and situations that require some deviations from the initial project scope or budget, and still the power to authorize or deny these deviations rests at the desk of the Director.

so it means the managers have no power to authorize any changes on scope and budgets?

@ressian said in Module 1 Discussion: Project Governance:

in my organisation the project manager writes project reports and presents them to the organisation's CEO. She also develops project budgets and Gantt Charts of which she has no powers to approve them. She also runs the project throughout its start to the end.

We also do this, but what if the CEO is not always available and you need to take immediate actions, are there some authority to take actions that may affect constraints without referring to the CEO.

Our project base on the authority of the project government to direct the project Manager to change the direction of the project as well as funding due to changing scope schedule and budget arise in the course of the execution of the project

In my project, the Project Manager cannot change, the scope, the requirements, the budget or the timeline is a formal proposal has been submitted to the Donor and received their approval. Any changes of these levels requires permissions from the Head of Emergencies Projects, the Head of Programming and the Country Representative. If all the member of the Project Governance listed above give their non objection, any change still needs to be submitted to the Donor for approval.

The Project Manager reports weekly to the Project Governance during a weekly meeting.

The project governance involves a senior directorate and key stakeholders of the organization who would formally review the project charter and highlight the roles and responsibilities expected by the project manager.

the project manager gives an update to the donors every 6 months but updates the director every two weeks

In my organization, the project manager updates the director every time there is a progress in a project. If there was something the director needed to communicate before entering another phase of the project, he is able to do it effectively.

The donors in my organization have a say on the project schedule and budget.

Project manager reports to the project governance/ directors who in-turn report to the donors.

At my school, the project manager reports to the Director of Studies. The project manager can make decisions on all aspects except budget and schedule. The budget for my project is not much since the syllabus and scheme are being developed by senior staff in the school. The layout and proofreading will be done by our IT department and English department. We will only need to spend on printing.

In our organization, the project manager reports to the donor agency. The project manager may make adjustments to schedules and tasks as long as these still comply with the approved workplan. Approval of the donor agency is needed for almost everything else: budget, hiring, communication materials, events, branding.

Your project sounds similar to ours. Are you also required to submit written reports on a weekly, quarterly, and annual basis?

Our project manager is the Head of the Department of the Health Services Unit, who reports to the Vice Principal of the University. the project manager can change schedules and tasks but need permission for the Vice principal for budget Changes.

@Cherrita, meaning all but the change in project budget can be effected by the Project Manager without authorization from anybody. Thank you for joining the discussion.

@kimikat288, thank you for sharing the governance system of your organization with us.

in my organization the project officer reports to program manager and the program manager to the CEO

Activity 1– Add or remove activity and item rows as required Price (ZMW)
Mapping of zones and creation and formalization of Community Climate Change Watchdogs & Advocates groups (composition of the groups to have 60% women and 40% youths).
courtsey call to two chieftainesses 5,000.00
courtsey call to 20 village headmen 3,000.00
accomodation for staff field workers 5 each k300 1,500.00
staff allowances 5 each k300 1,500.00
refreshments and snacks for 20 villages and each village has 200 household during meetings 2,000.00
data collection tool kits 36,000.00

My previous organisation,the project manager had the authority to change small budget lines and schedues

In my project the CDO staffs report to the project Director and the project Director reorts to the church partner committee

In our school organization. we organize Ad Hoc groups as each new project is undertaken. These groups are led by Curriculum Directors, Principals, etc., depending on the scope and focus of the project. Ultimately each project is overseen by our Cabinet of Directors.

We do as well- we can alter small items in the project

We are often required to provide quarterly updates to our Board of Education.

that is interesting- schools work a little differently, but in large projects this is very similar.

Thanks, In our company we have been following the project charter sincerely.

We report findings to the principal consultant to get feedback and then move forward with next steps. We then take suggestions/solutions to the client for them to decide if they would like to proceed or not. They ultimately have the final say.

Does the board then make the decision or just provide feedback to inform you to make the decision?

Your organization sounds very similar to mine. Generally I find that it works going to my ED, but sometimes I also feel like I have no input. If you have a fair person as your ED who listens to others input, it works. But where the ED is an authoritarian, it doesn't. Thankfully, my ED is generally easy to work with, but there have been times (with other EDs), where it felt like someone wielding their power.

What percentage would you consider "small adjustments" on budget lines.

In our organization, Project manager responds to CEO. Project manager can prioritize task and change schedules, but scope and budget needs permission from project governance

The project Governance is the cornerstone of the project, it is mandatory to have it because it identifies key responsibility of project manager, boundaries and promote fast decision making in all projects.

i think it is good too, it helps to control resources and maintain chain of communication and information

feedback should be provided from the board (project governance members) to the project manager and as well to the project team in order to trace the changes that has been made.
That will be important to the implementation team to recognize and understand what is needed.

Project governance is important so that everyone understands which decisions the project manager is responsible for. Once this is established there will be clarity on who is in charge to make changes to the budget, schedule, or scope.

Project governance is the management framework within which project decisions are made

Project governance helps a project team know how duties will be allocated to different individuals and see how tasks can be handled for effectiveness and efficiency.

According to our projects the Executive director makes changes of the project after liaising with project manager

Project governance in a project is key (very important), in our project the project manager reports to the director any changes on the project scope it need to be to be approved by the director before its implemented.

In our organization we are governed by a publicly elected board. Working directly under the board is a superintendent, CFO and 9 Directors. Each Director has his/her own area of responsibility. Directors typically serve as the project managers. Which director is responsible would be determined by the type and scope of the project.
In some cases several directors may have input or support a number of different projects. Directors meet weekly to report on and discuss projects with the superintendent, CFO and directors. The superintendent and directors report to the board on a monthly basis.

Project governance is very key in a project in delivering successful project. The roles and responsibilities need to be cleariy defined ,especially on the powers of the project manager, without a clear project governance it is impossible to execute and deliver asuccessful project.

It is a bit complicated to organize the governance of the project, since generally in the organizations of my country (Colombia) either all responsibility is given to a single person or the main decisions of the project fall on the general manager of the company, so the project manager is much more limited in authority.
Finally, when the governance of the project only rests with one person, that person manages the scope, the budget, the schedule and has full autonomy to make changes to the original project design. Depending on the type of call to which the project has been submitted.

Hi everyone, I am from Nairobi, Kenya. I hope to learn a lot on this platform and probably get to share and contribute to topics as i get more exposed in this field. This is my first encounter with a a course on project management.

the project manager in our organization reports to the director. the project manager is responsible for the supervising the team and overseeing the work being done. the project manager is able to make suggestions or recommendations for any project changes.

the project manager, director, stakeholders and funders are the ones who generate the cost estimates to for projects.

The WBS is an awesome tool that really creates clarity for project governance.

In my organization, the project manager reports to the project controller who gives further advisory information on any improvements or misfits. The project controller, however , does not directly communicate with the clients or major stakeholders but information to these people do not leave the project manager's desk before word from the controller. It is important and useful whereby the controller acts as an observer and maintains quality of work that is relayed to the stakeholders.

Hello. That is quite a great way of governance your organization has. How do you handle different views or opinions from the directors? Is it the superintendent or CFO that picks a side or do the directors agree among themselves what to relay to the higher duo for resolution?

In my company the project manager do the paper works like preparing schedule, prepare weekly report to the director( owner), followup the work status etc...

In my organisation the director and head of projects are responsible for decision making on the direction of the project

to my mind at this stage of the project governance the tasks of all who are well involved in the project must be defined to avoid possible conflicts and potential risks

I don't have a project yet, but I think project governance establishes the responsibility of the project manager

The Project Manager oversees the entire project, every other departments reports to the Project Manager and the Project Manager in turn reports finally to the Chief Executive Officers

In our organization, the directors are the project managers and we are sometimes overseen by the board of directors. After this course, I have realized how important project governance is and how much more accountable this makes everyone on the team.

Sounds like you have a well-defined structure for project governance. Do you feel that this works well for your organization?

In my organisation, it is pretty clear cut. Project Manager reports to Senior Programme Manager and ED. They report to a Board & a Leadership Committee. Certain changes are decided on that level (you are allowed to defend ideas). Big changes are approved this way. You really just need to have a clear & bright reason for making changes to timeline. Scope is high-level and can only be changed after discussing with the Leadership team.

I think an ideal situation allows you to share updates at agreed intervals with donors. Donors being too involved usually takes the focus off beneficiaries in my opinion.

I don't work for an NGO yet but for a corporation. I truly wish roles and responsabilities were clearly laid out in the way explained in this module. It would avoid a lot of tension and running around. When I formalize my project I will certainly follow this step to avoid misunderstandings.

For any project in my organisation, the CEO has the final say on the matters relating to the project. However, the Managing Director to whom i report has the power to alter tasks depending on priorities but is not allowed to change the budget, deadline and requirements once the scope is defined.

In my organization, Project officer report to project manager and the project manager report straight to CEO. Project manager is allowed to change schedules and budget as well. The project manager is responsible to prepare and manage all projects risks and give it a window for tolerance. The CEO will always come in and adopt the prepared project constraints if necessary just to make sure the project goal and scope is not compromised. This is how my non profit organization i belong handle the project but i am here to learn some managing tactics, so that i can be fruitful enough to my organization.

In my country the projects have to go through various agencies for approval. Known for world as country of the Gross National Happiness (GNH) any project, programs, policy and developments initiated are screened strictly in accordance with the four pillars of GNH and its nine domains (Sustainable and Equitable Socio-economic development; Conservation of environment; Preservation and promotion of culture; and Good governance). The nine domains include psychological wellbeing, health, education, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards.

At the management level we have national level steering committee, the Department head, the coordinator, project manager, officers and assistants. Any decision should be taken carefully with informed decision from all concerned authorities. As to ensure the success of any program or project, the GNHC will monitor all the activities on annually basis and we have stringent audit system.

Can the project manager get approval to change the schedule any time?

Our organization follows functional reporting. So project manager reports to director of project management team. technical team members reports to technical heads

How best can project manager handle delays in response from the CEO he/she reports to when the delays affects the project implementation plan?

In my organisation, the projection manager reports to the unit manager. The unit manager reports to the director and the director reports to funders.

At my organization, the project manager reports to the line manager (Program Manager). Project manager prepare schedule & budget, manage the resource to have a successful project and uphold the scope as required by Client, He writes project reports and submit for approval by governance body through the Program Manager.
Project manager submit the need for change on any of the three constraints to Program Manager, who meet the entire the governance body that (consist of cheif Technical manager(CTO), Managing Director(MD/CEO), Financial Director (FD) and the donor), since it’s a big organization. While this hierarchical structure has been put in place, Project Manager can only influence the change by making his submission/suggestion known.
Moreover, The project manager can change schedules and tasks, but they need to get the permission of the governance body to change any budgets, deadlines, or requirements.

In our context the project manager takes the overall roles of coordination and management of the entire project. In the reporting part the manager reports to the Project Director (PD) who is the head of the Project Management Unit (PMU).

On my team the DARCI Model is used in Project management

Please Note: You can only submit an assignment ONCE. You CANNOT re-submit an assignment once it is uploaded, so please make sure that you have selected the correct file for grading.

Project Governance is crucial in delivering successful project. The roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined, especially on the powers of the project manager and the project board.

does the donor involve in decision making?

At my organization, the first decision maker is the Country Director. The project managers make decisions such as approval of budget for activities within the scope of the project. The managers will have to consult the Deputy Country Director if there is a decision outside the scope of the project, or against the guidelines of the organization. Eg. the organization has a non cash policy, and no cash transfer to beneficiary schools. But in the case the project wants to work with the school so that the school purchase something, the project manager gets the consensus of the Deputy country director who then discusses with the Country Director and gets back to the manager on the final strategy or decision. In terms of hiring of staff, the manager initiates the process in consultation with the organogram, and works with the HR, in selecting the rightful person. S/he recommends to management the professional development need of their supervisee and determines the continuation of an employee's contract based on their output.

In the process of coordinating and managing the project, what are some decisions that the project manager will have to make?

What does it means that donors participate in decision making? In which way?

In our organization the project manager responsible to put the plan , hire people and keep monitoring the process

:40 AM
This is the module 1 discussion. You may participate in this discussion once you have begun module 1.

Project governance--how decisions are made and authority is distributed on a project--is an extremely important topic. How does your team organize project governance? In this module's discussion, share your team's governance structure. Who does the project manager report to? What kinds of decisions is the project manager allowed to make?
Find at least one post that you are curious to learn more about. Reply to that post by asking a clarifying question.

Example post: On our projects, the project manager reports to the director of the organization. The project manager can change schedules and tasks, but they need to get the permission of the director to change any budgets, deadlines, or requirements.

Example reply: How often does the project manager give updates to the director? Is the donor also involved in project

Thank you @tasneemalzinati11 for sharing in the discussion.

It sounds as if only the CEO has the power to make adjustments to scope, schedule and budget. The project manager is only expected to focus on delivering what is required.

GENIAL COURSE

In the organisation I work with, the project manager coordinates and facilitates all project processes. The project manager reports to the project director who coordinates with the team leader in the field to take the decisions. They can change schedules and tasks and work with the donors to change budgets, deadlines, or requirements. The donor provides the ultimate approval.