(3, 1) – Programmes & Projects: approaches to corporate governance and objective setting

Question 1

What is corporate governance of a project? What should it achieve?

Answer 1

It provides a framework within which project decisions can be made. It should:

• Assign accountabilities / responsibilities
• Ensure resources remain focussed on meeting the key project deliverables
• An effective audit trail is in place

Question 2

What is the role of a project board? What attributes and make-up of the project board are required?

Answer 2

• Set out terms of reference
• Membership should be determined by those who can directly contributed or will be directly affected by the project
• Responsibilities – the board is responsible for risk management and managing stakeholders
• Member Skills – each board member will take responsibility for different aspects of the project so a range of skills will be required

Question 3

What is responsibility charting? Give an example of this technique.

Answer 3

A technique used to identify precisely who is expected to do what in the team and assign responsibilities for tasks. One model which can be used is RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed)

Question 4

What is a PID? Why would you use one?

Answer 4

Project initiation documents are the top level planning tool. It covers objectives, scope, rationale, roles and responsibilities, an initial risk assessment, project control mechanisms, reporting lines, key milestones and budget. This can then be used as a communication tool.

Question 5

What are the 3 types of project structure?

Answer 5

• Project – a separate team is formed to work solely on the project
• Functional – a function takes responsibility for the project, led by a senior individual in the function, this allows flexibility of use of staff but hinders cross functional working
• Matrix – staff are tasked to work on project teams but remain in their functional areas. This fosters collaboration and cross functional working but can delay decision making and create stress for individuals

Question 6

An important element of project governance is reporting. What key elements are required for reporting?

Answer 6

• Project pan – sets out the key tasks / activities and milestones for the project
• Project status report – should be submitted at specific intervals, usually by project team members to team leader. These can then be reviewed at board meetings to confirm progress against deliverables
• Variance report – required where changes to planned deliverables are necessary

Question 7

When setting objectives, there are 5 key requirements for the objective to make it worthwhile, what are they?

Answer 7

S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Relevant
T – Timely

Question 8

What factors should be considered when managing a project against objectives?

Answer 8

• Stakeholders – management and communication with stakeholders
• Accurate estimates – problems occur if estimates are unrealistic
• Organisational goals – deliverables must align with functional goals
• Budgets – managing against budgets is essential
• Resources – correlation between resources and timescales
• External factors – PESTLE may effect objectives

Question 9

How will the focus on cost, quality and time change throughout the project?

Answer 9

Formation – quality will be most important and cost will be least important
Build Up – costs control will be most important
Main Phase – cost utilisation reaches a peak but quality and time become relevant
Phase Out – delivering on time becomes the overall objective and quality / cost may get traded

Question 10

What are two types of specifications?

Answer 10

Conformance Specification – prescriptively described what is required and how to provide it
Performance Specification – describe the end result you want

Question 11

Sustainability will often be considered as well as cost, time and quality. What elements might be considered when trying to achieve sustainability?

Answer 11

End of life disposal
Energy recovery
Recycle
Re-use
Reduce (use less)
Rethink need (eliminate waste at source)

Question 12

CSR is another consideration when setting up major projects and programmes. What is CSR, what does it cover and why is it important?

Answer 12

Corporate Social Responsibility is the requirement to understand the impact a project will have on society and people. It is important as it can avoid violating human rights regulations or getting bad publicity through activists, pressure groups or lobbyists.

Question 13

What is a technique which can be used to help with objective setting using the supply chain?

Answer 13

Early supplier involvement helps with specifying in the most appropriate way to account for latest technology developments.