Governance Themes in MSP®

One key element of the Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) methodology is the concept of Governance Themes. These nine themes constitute a governance or control framework for programme management. The MSP manual presents guidance for handling each theme in the form of ‘Best Practices’, which have been developed through consultation with professional programme and project managers.

Organisation

This Governance Theme describes the overall structure, as well as the individual roles and responsibilities of all those who are involved in the programme. The guidance provided ranges from the vague (“Responsibilities of the Sponsoring Group: Championing the programme”) to the more measurable (“Key attributes of the Programme Manager: Good knowledge of techniques for planning, monitoring and controlling programmes, including risk management”). In all cases, the MSP manual stresses that the responsibilities and profiles given must be tailored to the needs of the individual programme.

Vision

Although the MSP methodology is “primarily designed to cater for leading and managing transformational change” and is particularly suited to programmes managed within environments of high complexity, risk and ambiguity, there is one aspect of the programme that should not, except under the strongest external pressure, ever be altered. The Vision Statement, a document written by the Senior Responsible Owner and a team of senior management and representative stakeholders, describes the future state envisioned as the successful fulfilment of programme objectives.

Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement

Engaging stakeholders, including employees, is essential if a programme is to succeed, as without adequate support from the right people, a programme may lack the resources that it needs to fulfil the benefits projected in the Vision Statement.

A stakeholder is anybody who has an interest or investment in the development of the programme. This investment may be low or high, and can be set in opposition to the influence of individual (or groups of) stakeholders within a matrix designed to help create and analyse stakeholder profiles.

Benefits Realisation Management

The purpose of Benefits Realisation Management is the clear identification of benefits, and the use of these benefits as a roadmap for the programme. MSP illustrates this through the Path to Benefit Realisation diagram, which details the steps from Project Outputs to Strategic Objectives.

The pivotal position of Benefits between Project Outputs and Strategic Objectives demands that each project should be initiated and evaluated in terms of the programme strategy, ensuring that no programme carries ‘dead wood’.