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Reported by David Shannon in London

Directing Change: A Guide to Governance of Project Management and Co-Directing Change: A Guide to the Governance of Multi-Owned Projects are available from the Association for Project Management (APM) in the UK. These two guides have been published by the APM as part of the industry-wide reaction to the various scandals that rocked both UK and America over the last few years in respect of corporate governance. They cover the application of governance requirements to non-recurring activities of organisations. They reference both the UK Combined Code and the USA Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Over 80,000 copies have been distributed worldwide.

Many industrial and commercial sectors have made use of the guides. A particularly interesting review has been prepared by Derryn Rolfe a member of the UK Institution of Chemical Engineering who is also a trained solicitor. Her full assessment is published in the IChemE project management journal, Projection. This review is summarised below.

The purpose of the first Guide is "to influence directors and others to adopt excellent practices regarding the governance of programme and project management activities". The Guide has been drafted by a panel of APM members and the Forward is by Sir Bob Reid and Sir John Bourn KCB in which that they state that the discipline of project management has come of age. The Forward goes on to note that whilst good practice in directing and managing project work is increasingly evident, in many organisations there remains a gap in the governing surveillance of project activities.

The Guide lists 42 questions which Boards of Directors or their equivalents should ask to satisfy themselves and their stakeholders in respect of their project portfolio. The Guide states that adherence to its principles will help Boards of Directors to:

• "assure themselves and others that robust governance requirements are applied across the project managing their organisations;


• optimise their portfolio of projects;


• avoid many common failures in project and programme performance;


• motivate their staff, customers and suppliers on the basis of better communication;


• minimise a risk to the organisation arising from projects;


• maximise benefits to be realised from projects; and


• assure the continued development of the organisation."

Whilst this seems an ambitious aim for any Guide, and particularly for one which runs to a mere 18 pages, the questions in respect of portfolio direction, projects sponsorship, effectiveness and efficiency of project management and disclosure and reporting are questions that all projects and all project managers should be asking of themselves before and during their projects.

The Guide clearly lays out the context of governance of project management as well as the principles or governance of the project management, and in respect of the latter it considers that there are four main components:

• "portfolio direction;


• project sponsorship;


• project management effectiveness and efficiency;


• disclosure and reporting."

The thinking behind the principles and the thinking that has gone into the drafting of this brief Guide is clear and practical, and whilst not all companies will find themselves able to comply with all things all of the time, undoubtedly most companies should try to do so. It is recommended that project managers read this Guide as part of their own professional development and in order to assist in the better running and governance of their organisations.

The second Guide addresses similar issues but in respect of multi-owned projects and programmes. Its intended audience includes those with influence over the development of corporate governance arrangements or their implementation, and it addresses the key question "how can boards be assured that appropriate governance arrangements are in place for projects in which they share ultimate control with other parties?" starting from the premise that each such organisation probably has different arrangements which need to be meshed for the purposes of the project.

For each of the 12 principles identified, the Guide examines the meaning and issues and sets out a number of questions designed to help boards identify what is relevant to them. These questions are clear and concise and would definitely pin-point where there needs to be thought or work in aligning the individual organisations to achieve project success and in setting up the project structures to deal sensibly with matters likely to arise.

Whilst the Guide is about multi-owned projects, the questions asked are those that should be asked of every project - for example, risk and reward apportionment or evaluation and justification of the business case -and for this, if no other, reason this Guide should be on the bookshelf of every project manager.

Directing Change: A Guide to Governance of Project Management (ISBN1-903494-15-X 2005) and Co-Directing Change: a guide to the governance of multi-owned projects (ISBN-10: 1-903494-94-X 2007) are available from the Association for Project Management in High Wycombe, telephone 0845 458 1944, www.apm.org.uk/gopm.

David Shannon International Correspondent – UKBased in London David Shannon is an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today in the United Kingdom (UK).  Mr. Shannon is also Managing Director of Oxford Project Management Ltd., a UK-based project management advisory and consulting firm.  David has a Natural Sciences degree and MA degree from Oxford University (Oriel College), and a Diploma in Accountancy and Finance from the Association of Certified Accountants in the UK.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultancy, Honorary Fellow of the Association for Project Management (APM),  and a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institute of Directors, and British Quality Foundation.  He is a lifetime member of the Oxford Business Alumni.  David has over 40 years of experience on programmes and projects thoughout the UK, Africa and the Middle East.  He was an internal management consultant for the World Bank during 1985-1987.  David has been Branch Chairman, Director, Deputy Chairman, Head of Professional Board, SIG Coordinator and Interim Chief Executive of APM, and was intimately involved in developing APM’s Guidance on Project Management Governance.  David Shannon is based in London and can be contacted at David.Shannon@opmg.co.uk.