What healthy digital project governance looks like when delivery gets difficult

When delivery is going to plan, digital project governance often appears straightforward The test comes when delivery starts to move off track, risks or issues emerge and confidence in the project begins to fall. At that point, difficult information needs to reach the senior leadership, and leaders may need to make prompt decisions with incomplete or changing information.

BDO was engaged by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) to analyse these challenges and draw on lessons from major Australian Government digital projects and programs. The findings are captured in the Lessons for Digital Leaders report, which highlights four key governance and leadership themes covering:

• Senior Responsible Officials (SRO) authority and capacity
• Business and ICT alignment
• Safe reporting culture
• Strategic assurance.

Together, these findings provide practical lessons on how to help leaders respond when delivery moves off track, as well as create an environment where problems can be raised early to ensure the right people have the authority and information to act.

Effective governance is not only about managing risks and issues. It also helps leaders maintain focus on the benefits a program is intended to deliver and make informed decisions when changing circumstances require a different path to achieving them.

Good governance is about giving leaders a clear view of what is happening and the ability to respond when delivery gets difficult.

Reporting problems early

Project teams need to be able to report delivery problems internally, including to SROs and governance boards. Projects were more effective when an Amber or Red project status was treated as a signal for greater delivery support, prompting decisions and course correction rather than discouraging teams from raising concerns.

A culture of safe reporting and honest dialogue gives team members the confidence to raise issues, test ideas and deliver difficult messages without fear. For SROs and governance boards, this means making sure those issues can be raised and addressed early, in an open and supportive environment.

Giving SROs the authority to act

Clear accountability is important, but SROs also need the authority and capacity to act.

SROs should be able to escalate major issues and work through them using clear decision-making and oversight processes.

As programs become more complicated, this becomes harder. One enterprise-wide program example explored in the report used integrated governance to manage connected projects under common objectives. This gave leaders greater visibility of interdependencies, risks, issues, changes and critical resources, and allowed work to be initiated, accelerated or stopped in line with the program’s goals and intended benefits.

When issues arise, governance arrangements should make it clear who can make a decision, what authority they have and what happens next.

Keeping business and ICT aligned

Digital projects can run into difficulty when technology decisions and business decisions are treated separately. Business and ICT need to remain aligned throughout delivery. Integrated governance and planning can support better decision-making, risk management and coordination across projects.

One project with significant impacts on regulated entities established dedicated industry, technical and vendor working groups. These provided regular forums to resolve implementation and technology issues, test assumptions and build a shared understanding across stakeholders.

For complex digital programs, governance needs visibility across business requirements, technology, stakeholders, suppliers and delivery. When a decision affects several of these areas, the implications need to be understood before committing to a path.

Getting more from assurance

Independent assurance can offer more than a check on whether a program is meeting its obligations.

Independent assurance can be more valuable when it is treated as a strategic partner and a source of challenge, insight and advice rather than simply an audit function, giving SROs access to fresh perspectives, advice and guidance, particularly on large or cross-agency programs.

One enterprise data warehouse modernisation project encountered issues the team could not always resolve internally. External technical specialists, independent board advisers and assurers were brought in to work through systemic issues and identify practical solutions. In some cases, delivery was briefly paused while analysis workshops took place.

Independent challenge can help leaders step back from the immediate pressures of delivery and consider whether assumptions still hold, risks are properly understood and the current plan remains credible.

Adapting governance as projects change

Governance that worked at project initiation may not necessarily work the same during implementation, a major procurement, transition or a period of delivery difficulty.

Governance needs to remain clear and adaptable throughout the project lifecycle. Reporting should reflect the real state of the program and support timely decisions, while governance boards should have the right people involved to make those decisions.

For an SRO, this provides a practical test of whether governance is doing its job. When delivery becomes difficult, a few questions to ask may be:

• Are issues becoming clearer or disappearing into reporting?
• Can difficult information reach decisionmakers quickly?
• Is there clear authority to act?
• Are business and technology implications being considered together?
• Is independent assurance providing meaningful challenge?
• Does governance result in a decision, intervention or clear change in direction?

If the answer to one or more of these questions is no, the governance model itself may need attention.

Building confidence when delivery is difficult

Complex digital projects will not always go to plan. Good governance helps leaders see problems early, understand what they mean and make decisions about what happens next.

Delivery confidence is about knowing that issues will be raised, discussed openly and acted on before they become delivery failures, even when the message is difficult.

How BDO can help

BDO’s Federal Government Advisory team works with government agencies to strengthen digital program governance, assurance and delivery, from reviewing governance arrangements and delivery risks to helping leaders turn assurance findings into practical actions.

To discuss your digital program or governance needs, contact us.