governance isn't what you think it is - unicom - feb 2014

Process governance Feb 2014 1

Governance ain’t what you think it is

(& it’s probably broken in your company)

2

What happens when…

Process governance Feb 2014

Project Managers say… Business Exec 16%

IT Exec 40%

Product Owner 0%

Project Manager 12%

Policy Unit 24%

Team 4%

Individual 4%

Other 0%

… we ask “Who decides how we organise our forums and collaboration systems?”

Executives say… Business Exec 10%

IT Exec 19% Product Owner 0%

Project Manager 33% Policy Unit/PMO 14%

Team 19% Individual 5%

Other 0%

3

Who chooses the development process?


Complex.Belongs to team plus PM.

Simple (“just do it”).Belongs to team plus exec

“Belongs to me”

4

Who allocates resources?


Project Manager

Anyone but me.

“Belongs to me”

5

Is this story ready for implementation?


Me

Me

Me

8Process governance Feb 2014

polarjez


Tom Hilton


Governance?

WordRidden


Yuval Y


Institute on Governance (www.iog.ca)

Governance is the process whereby societies or organisations make important decisions, determine

whom they involve and how they render account.

The right people are involved in these

decisions

The right people are involved in these

decisions

They track outcomes & act to improve them

They track outcomes & act to improve them

They follow an acceptable process

(“due process”)

They follow an acceptable process

(“due process”)

We know which decisions matter

We know which decisions matter


bertiemabootoo

Prioritise – focus on decisions that matter

Understand context – how decisions affect objectives

Right Decision


Right People

The US Army

Bring appropriate expertise to bear

Consider all relevant perspectives

People buy in to the outcomes

Don’t waste time - Deciding who to consult - Finding the right people - Politicking, disputing boundaries & authority levels, etc - Of people who can’t help

Don’t get derailed from unexpected quarters


Right Process

Elsie Esq.

Know what to do

Know how to do it

Don’t waste time define bespoke processes

Don’t get panicked in emergencies

People buy in to outcomes; avoid politicking


leateds

Accountability

Know how we’ll track outcomes

Know how to recognise if off course

Prepared to steer back on course / fix poor decisions

Feed back to improve the decision making process

Don’t make the same mistakes over and over


well-definedgovernance helps you make better

decisions

good


“Decisions are the essence of management. They’re what

managers do”Harvard Business Review, Jan 2006

amyjane1


arisexpress

Process X

Responsible

Accountable

Consulted

Informed


arisexpress

Decision Point Y

Responsible

Accountable

Consulted

Informed


Tamworth Borough Council


Droax


Simple model: the key questions are:

Who defines policy?

Who approves policy?

Who enforces policy?

Who implements policy (makes decisions)?


Definition & Implementation may split as…

Definition

Imp

lem

enta

tio

n

Central Devolved

Devolved

CentralUnit

CoEwith Audit

Centre ofExcellence

ConsultativeCouncil

Anarchy

OutsourcedExecution


Approval overlays that…

Central Devolved

Devolved

Central IM Unit

IM CoEwith Audit

IM Centre ofExcellence

IM Council Anarchy

CentralProcessing Unit

Devolved

Executive

Devolved

Executive

Executive

Executive

Executive Devolved

Definition

Imp

lem

enta

tio

n


Enforcement Mechanisms

Self – we trust people to follow policy

Community – community drives behaviour

Gate reviews – we check decisions before action

Post hoc review – we adjust decisions later

Audit – independent team check compliance


In each case, we trade off…

Speed of decision making (favours local)

Situational awareness (favours local / social)

Amount of buy-in (favours social)

Organisational consistency (favours central)

Efficiency of resource use (favours central)


Witches Fall Cottages

Enable people to exercise judgement


Keep policy clear and simple

peddhapti


Articulate organisational objectives

sidibousaid60


Favour devolved control

Suicine


Regular cadence; small batches

Lars P.


cliff1066

Learn from feedback

35




IT Exec 40%

Product Owner 0%

Project Manager 12%

Policy Unit 24%

Team 4%

Individual 4%

Other 0%



IT Exec 19% Product Owner 0%

Project Manager 33% Policy Unit/PMO 14%

Team 19% Individual 5%

Other 0%

36




IT Exec 40%

Product Owner 0%

Project Manager 12%

Policy Unit 24%

Team 4%

Individual 4%

Other 0%



IT Exec 40%

Product Owner 0%

Project Manager 12%

Policy Unit 24%

Team 4%

Individual 4%

Other 0%

38

Dave Snowden

Cynefin


I can just decide and do it

We’d assemble a team of experts

We’d need to do an experiment or pilot/prototype

If we need to think about this, we’re in

the wrong place


Final thoughts

He who forgets history is condemned to repeat it.

Good governance lets you focus energy on decisions, not process

If you don’t define governance up front, you revisit it for every decision

Policy, standards, guidelines support decisions – they’re not primary

All forms of governance (even anarchy & bureaucracy) have a place

But if you don’t actively address it, it decays to inappropriate forms

governance

Thank you

[email protected]

@GrahamDOakes



Making sense of technology… Many organisations are caught up in the

complexity of technology and systems. This complexity may be inherent to the

technology itself. It may be created by the pace of technology change. Or it may arise from the surrounding process, people and governance structures.

We help untangle this complexity and define business strategies that both can be implemented and will be adopted by people throughout the organisation and its partner network. We then help assure delivery of implementation projects.

Clients… Cisco Worldwide Education – Architecture and research for e-learning and educational systems Council of Europe – Systems for monitoring compliance with international treaties; e-learning systems Dover Harbour Board – Systems and architecture review Intel – Product Lifecycle & team organisation for mobile device development MessageLabs – Architecture and assurance for partner management portal National Savings & Investments – Helped NS&I and BPO partner develop joint IS strategy The Open University – Enterprise architecture, CRM and product development strategies Oxfam – Content management, CRM, e-Commerce, Cloud strategy and procurement Thames Valley Police – Internet Consultancy Sony Computer Entertainment – Global process definition Amnesty International, Endemol, Skype, tsoosayLabs, Vodafone, …

Graham Oakes Ltd

governance isn't what you think it is - unicom - feb 2014

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