Project, Programme and Portfolio Governance (P3G)

eBook version

Author:Ross Garland and Adrian Morey
Publisher: TSO (The Stationery Office)

The purpose of this guide is to provide the knowledge and understanding necessary to design, implement and operate effective and efficient governance arrangements for an organisation’s portfolio of projects and programmes.

It is a practitioner’s guide and so takes a practical approach. The guide is principles-based thereby allowing organisations and practitioners the flexibility necessary to address their specific circumstances. The principles are grounded in logic and practice and the guide explains both how and why they are applied. They are scalable and so are applicable from the smallest to the largest initiatives. It explains the critical importance of accountability and how to ensure consistency of decision making rights between the accountable roles. In doing so it addresses the integration of governance at all levels in the organisation.

It indicates how to establish an effective governance framework for a project, programme or entire portfolio. It is applicable to all sectors including hard infrastructure, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and business change in both the public service and the private sector. It addresses traditional delivery methods as well as approaches such as agile and hybrid.

Key features:

• Provides the knowledge and understanding necessary to design, implement and operate effective and efficient project, programme and portfolio governance arrangements.
• Shows how governance can be adapted to the specific organizational and project/programme circumstances.
• Applicable to all areas in both the public and private sectors.
• Explains both the “how”and the “why”.
• Grounded in logic and practice.
• EPractical, pragmatic, principles-based approach.
• Addresses both traditional and agile methods.

P3GP ® Syllabus

1. Introduction and purpose
   
   • The Project, Programme and Portfolio Governance Professional (P3GP®) certification & course provides the knowledge and understanding necessary to design, implement and operate effective and efficient governance arrangements for a project or programme, or your organization’s entire change portfolio. It is based upon the book “Project Programme and Portfolio Governance – P3G” published by the TSO.
   • It is applicable to projects, programmes and portfolios in all sectors including hard infrastructure, Information
     and Communications Technology (ICT), and business change in both the private and public sectors. The course
     mirrors the book in being practical, pragmatic and adaptable to all P3 scenarios. The purpose of this syllabus is
     to provide a basis for accreditation of those seeking to acquire the theoretical foundations and practical skills of
     P3G. It documents the course content and describes the requirements a candidate is expected to fulfil to achieve
     the qualification.
   • The target audience for this document is aspiring P3GP candidates and Authorised Training Partners/ Authorised
     Training Organisations.
   • This syllabus informs the design of the exam and provides the target audience with a breakdown of what the
     exam will assess.
2. P3GP® Certification
   • The P3GQA® certification offered is P3GP® (Project, Programme & Portfolio Governance Professional). A
     successful candidate may use the post nominal P3GP®.
     • 2.1 Purpose of the P3GP® Certification
       The purpose of the P3GP® certification is to confirm that a candidate has sufficient knowledge and
       understanding of the P3G course work to design, implement and operate effective and efficient governance
       arrangements for a project or programme, or an entire change portfolio.
     • 2.2 Target Audience
       This course will benefit the following:
       • • Members of main boards and their sub-committees, company secretaries, and others who are
         responsible for governance across an organization
         • Executive management team members, because they are invariably called upon to participate in
         P3G-related governance groups and undertake key P3G roles
         • Portfolio management executives and officers, because P3G directly affects, and is part of, their
         roles
         • Executives accountable for project and programme outcomes, including project sponsors and
         senior responsible owners (SROs) (and delegated project sponsors and SROs), because they need
     • to understand their roles and accountabilities and what effective governance looks like to ensure
     • that their projects and programmes are properly governed
     • • Project, programme and portfolio management offices (PMOs) and their staff. They play a
     • decision support role and so need to be aware of what constitutes effective and efficient P3G;
     • they need to be able to identify deficiencies and/or opportunities and know how to address
     • them. They may also be called upon to design or provide assurance of governance arrangements
     • • Project, programme and portfolio managers who rely on effective governance to be successful in
     • their roles
     • • Assurance professionals and capability assessors, so that they can identify both effective and
     • deficient governance arrangements and practices, thereby providing confidence to stakeholders
     • • Those wishing to train others in P3G.
     • 2.3 High Level Performance Definition of a Successful P3GP® Candidate
       • The candidate should understand the theory and key principles of P3G and how the theory and principles should
       • be applied in practice. Specifically, the candidate should understand:
       • • The reasons for the different treatment of Change and Business as Usual governance structures in an
       • organisation.
       • • The importance and treatment of accountability and empowerment within P3G.
       • • The accountabilities and major responsibilities of key governance roles.
       • • How to effectively separate project decision making and stakeholder management for a project or
       • programme and why it should be done.
       • • How governance facilitates the alignment of investments with strategic objectives.
       • • The importance of the business case from a P3G perspective.
       • • How portfolio governance should drive investment outcomes.
       • • How to ensure the decision rights of various committees and decision makers are consistent and
       • logical.
       • • The information requirements that support evidence-based decision making.
       • P3GP® Course Outline
         3.1 An introduction to P3G
         This section of the course introduces the concept of P3G and explains its benefits. It also discusses the
         relationship between P3G and corporate governance.
         It then provides a basic understanding of projects, programmes and portfolios necessary to enable a a study of
         their governance and goes on to define P3G and discuss its fundamental components.
         3.2 The principles of P3G
         This section of the course explains the ten principles that underpin P3G.

Principle 1: Treat Change differently from Business as Usual
Explains the difference between the two fundamental business activities known as Business as Usual and
Change, and how their governance structures must be treated differently. Investigates the purpose of the
organisation structure and why it can’t meet the needs of projects. Introduces a model for explaining these
differences.
Principle 2: Ensure a single point of accountability for each project or programme
Discusses accountability, why it is important and how it relates to projects and programs. It explains the
consequences of not having a single point of accountability and the importance of continuity of the
accountable role.
Principle 3: Business outcome accountability determines project or programme accountability
Explains how to determine which role in the organisation should be accountable for the success of a project or
programme. Discusses the importance of selecting the right person and details what is necessary to empower
the accountable person. It also looks at options to address various constraints.
Principle 4: Support the person accountable for a project or programme with a governance board
Explains the membership of project and programme boards and describes the various board roles.
Principle 5: Separate project and programme decision-making from stakeholder engagement
Describes the importance of separating project and programme decision making from stakeholder
engagement to ensure effective decision making. Explains the difference between decision-makers, decision
influencers and non-core stakeholders and how to treat, from a governance perspective, these diffent classes
of stakeholder. Explains how to ensure all stakeholders remain engaged.
Principle 6: Align investments with strategic objectives.
Explains the importance of aligning investments with the organisation’s strategic objectives, how this is
achieved and the roles of the various accountable persons in ensuring that alignment.
Principle 7: Maintain the business case
Discusses the two major functions of the business case, its importance and why it is necessary to maintain it
throughout the life of the project. Addresses the business case as it relates to agile delivery.
Principle 8: Design portfolio governance to drive investment outcomes
Discusses the different models for portfolio governance committees, factors that influence choosing a model
and the resultant accountabilities. It also discusses portfolio policy and standards that should be established.
Investment gating processes are discussed, including how they may be configured for agile delivery
arrangements.

Principle 9: Ensure consistent and logical decision-making rights
Explains how to ensure decision making clarity on a project. Explains the logic that determines which decision
makers or committees make what decisions. Explains the importance of materiality and tolerances.
Principle 10: Enable evidenced-based decision-making
Describes the evidence base that supports decision makers and the design considerations that assists them in
reaching decisions. It also addresses the role assurance plays in evidenced-based decision-making.
3.3 Application of the principles: Implementation
This section of the course focuses on the implementation of the principles. It addresses scaling governance to
fit the needs of projects and programmes with differing risk profiles, how to establish new or enhanced P3G
arrangements, and matters to be aware of to ensure effective operation of the arrangements. It also
addresses practices and behaviours that impact board performance. It deals with the implementation of P3G
within agile environments and also discusses the concept of P3G maturity.
3.4 Case Studies
Multiple governance case studies will be discussed during the course.

4. P3GP® Certification Exam
   The P3GP® exam is comprised of 50 multiple choice questions covering some or all of the areas addressed by
   the course/the P3G Guide book. The multiple choice questions will be worth two points each. The exam
   duration is 90 minutes. The exam is online & proctored. The passing rate is 50% for regular P3GP® candidates
   & a minimum of 66% for Authorised Trainers.