From Poor Practices to Smart Practices
The persistent shortcomings in enterprise IT projects—ranging from weak oversight to the inconsistent application of industry standards and best practices —highlight the need for a fundamental shift. Addressing these challenges requires more than relying on reactive interventions. It demands a structured, proactive approach that embeds quality into every aspect of project delivery.
Project Assurance Today
Project assurance provides a structured mechanism to oversee and support enterprise IT project delivery. It promotes adherence to defined methodologies, frameworks, and practices. It operates across the project lifecycle to provide stakeholders with confidence that quality objectives will be met.
Unlike project management, which handles day-to-day delivery, project assurance ensures quality is maintained. In enterprise IT projects, quality responsibilities are typically divided between the PMO and the Project Manager.
The PMO establishes governance structures with varied roles:
- A directive PMO manages projects directly and holds full accountability for outcomes.
- A controlling PMO enforces standards and shares accountability for results.
- A supportive PMO provides guidance without direct responsibility.
The PMO may also require the use of standardised methods, maintain compliance with enterprise expectations, or provide tools and templates. It oversees audits, monitors adherence to frameworks, recommends corrective actions, or supports team-led quality assessments.
The Project Manager monitors delivery against key performance indicators and strategic objectives. This includes reviewing progress reports, financial data, and metrics to keep the project on track.
Redefining Project Quality
Current assurance practices support quality oversight, but they are often constrained by fragmented responsibilities. Quality is frequently treated as secondary, especially when divided across roles focused on time, cost, or scope. This creates oversight gaps, inconsistent quality practices, and delayed issue detection.
To improve outcomes, organisations should restructure project assurance to include dedicated, accountable quality oversight. This improves governance, clarifies roles, and keeps quality as a central concern throughout the project lifecycle.
