In the introduction to this topic (see here), we asked how do you ensure, or assure, that your project or programme has been established with healthy governance in mind – and is still appropriate for this stage of the journey? We stated ten golden rules - this blog concentrates on the first of these rules:

Alignment and Relationships. 

A 2014 PwC survey found that “Companies with high degrees of alignment (between organisational strategy and projects) have more successful projects (69%) compared with companies with low alignment (45%)”. 

I have seen business cases that provide lots of data on the problem being solved, return on investment, NPV, etc. but with little content addressing the real purpose, vision, and link to strategic goals. Surely the most crucial part of a business case is articulating what impact the specific project will have on furthering the achievement of a strategic goal. In many cases the reason for the lack of clarity is that the overall strategic objectives of the organisation are themselves not well defined or articulated or shared. 

At the programme or project level the delivery team benefits from a strong alignment with strategic objectives as it gives them real purpose (and importance). Team members can more easily resist challenge from external sources and proceed with the minimum interference and readjustment. And they will very quickly notice if the context of the project changes and threatens the business case. 

If you do not understand that strategic relationship, then one should ask as others may also be in the dark. If you are the Programme Sponsor you should be passionate about the reasons for the programme and the desired outcomes and its impact on corporate strategic goals and the subsequent impact on business performance - and be able to articulate this vital linkage to all stakeholders. Ideally the link to strategic business goals should be displayed and articulated at every opportunity, e.g. monthly board meetings – and certainly understood by all key players. If possible, the programme should have a high level of impact on the business strategic outcomes sought. 

If you are the Programme Manager, how well do you believe that your Sponsor understands and articulates the project purpose and link to strategic goals? Also is the programme title suitable? Does it relates to the goal / impact of the project rather than the output? How many times, for example, have I seen titles such as “SAP xyz Project” as opposed to “Finance transformation Project”, “abc Bridge Project” as opposed to “Capacity Improvement Project”? 

Having a clear alignment of the programme with the business goal also makes it easier to define the crucial outcome KPIs that will be the yardstick to measure progress towards and achievement of those goals. The KPIs should demonstrate a good balance between financial and non-financial goals (e.g. market growth, compliance, sustainability, customer, process, innovation, people)