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Project Governance Framework

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The Project Governance Framework is the infrastructure that safeguards the project’s compliance with the corporate strategy, standards and policies. It plays a paramount role in the planning, execution and control phases of a project by providing a structured process. This framework includes clearly defined roles and responsibilities, decision-making processes, communication structures and reporting requirements which drive project consistency and efficiency, thereby reducing project pitfalls and risks.

Guide: Project Governance Framework

The Project Governance Framework is an essential structure in project management that ensures projects align with business strategy, stay on track, and deliver the intended benefits.

Importance: It is important as it provides clear roles, responsibilities and decision-making processes, ensures accountability, mitigates risks, and improves the probability of project success.

What it is: The framework encompasses all aspects of project governance including project sponsors, steering committees, project teams, and other key stakeholders, with established policies, procedures, and templates.

How it works: The governance framework guides how decisions are made, who makes the decisions, how risks are managed, and how performance is measured. It ensures everyone involved knows their roles and responsibilities.

Answering Exam Questions: You might be asked to define the project governance framework, explain its importance, identify its elements, or provide examples of its implementation.

Exam Tips:

  • Understand the elements of a Project Governance Framework
  • Relate the framework functions to practical scenarios
  • Think about the governance framework in terms of 'who', 'what', 'why', 'how'
  • Apply the framework to real project examples

Good luck with your studies!

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CAPM - Project Governance Example Questions

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Question 1

In a project governance framework, what is the primary function of a project charter?

Correct Answer: Formally authorizes the project and outlines key stakeholder roles

The primary function of a project charter in a project governance framework is to formally authorize the project and outline key stakeholder roles. This is the correct answer because:

1. Authorization: The project charter serves as the official document that initiates a project, giving it formal recognition and approval within the organization.

2. Stakeholder roles: It defines the key roles and responsibilities of major stakeholders, ensuring clear accountability and communication channels.

3. High-level overview: The charter provides a broad outline of the project's purpose, objectives, and scope, rather than detailed schedules or technical specifications.

The other options are incorrect for the following reasons:

- Providing a detailed schedule of activities and milestones is typically part of the project management plan, not the charter.

- Establishing a complete budget breakdown is usually done in the project budget or financial plan, which is more detailed than the high-level information in the charter.

- Defining technical specifications and requirements for deliverables is generally part of the project scope statement or requirements documentation, not the primary function of the charter.

The project charter is a foundational document that initiates the project and provides a high-level overview, rather than detailed plans or specifications.

Question 2

In a project governed using a centralized decision-making structure, the project manager is responsible for making key decisions impacting the project. However, stakeholders from various departments often challenge the project manager's decisions resulting in delays and conflicts. What is the best solution to address this governance issue?

Correct Answer: Establish a governance board comprising of key stakeholders to review and approve major decisions, promoting transparency and collaboration.

Establishing a governance board comprising key stakeholders to review and approve major decisions is the best solution to address the governance issue in the given scenario. This approach promotes transparency and collaboration among stakeholders from various departments, ensuring that decisions are made collectively and with the project's best interests in mind. By involving key stakeholders in the decision-making process, the project manager can mitigate conflicts and delays arising from challenged decisions. Assigning more authority to the project manager may lead to further conflicts and resentment among stakeholders, as it does not address the root cause of the issue, which is the lack of collaboration and transparency in decision-making. Implementing a hierarchical decision-making model where department heads have the final say on project decisions may lead to biased decisions favoring individual departments rather than the overall project's success. Conducting separate meetings with challenging stakeholders to convince them of the project manager's decisions may be time-consuming and may not guarantee alignment and buy-in from all stakeholders.

Question 3

A project you are managing has a very tight deadline. One of your team members proposes a new approach to save time, but it hasn't been thoroughly tested. Under the project governance framework, what should be your next move?

Correct Answer: Review the proposal's impact and risks and decide accordingly using a defined process

The best approach in such a situation is to review the proposal's impact and risks and decide accordingly using a defined process. This is critical because making decisions in project management should be based on thorough assessment and evaluation, taking into account potential risks and project consequences. Other options are not ideal, because: 1) Dismissing the idea because it hasn't been tested doesn't allow for innovation and improvement within the project. Testing and assessing are key here, not immediate dismissal, 2) Implementing the new method immediately, poses a significant risk to the project if the method fails, as it has not been rigorously tested. Hasty decisions without proper risk evaluation can lead to project failure. 3) Asking the team member to work overtime instead of trying new approaches merely circumvents the issue, potentially creating an unfavourable work environment without considering possible improvements to the project process.

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