Role Qualifications
Project assurance is essential for the effective delivery of enterprise IT projects, requiring a professional with a broad set of certifications, varied skills, and extensive experience. The Project Assurance Manager is pivotal, combining strategic oversight with operational expertise and practical capability. This directive role focuses on creating strategies tailored to each project's unique demands and characteristics. The Project Assurance Manager takes a proactive approach to developing and implementing these strategies, ensuring the project is executed efficiently and to the highest standards.
The qualifications for the Project Assurance Manager must be clear and robust. Table 26 outlines the entry criteria for this role, ensuring that only highly qualified professionals are selected to oversee and manage the quality aspects of enterprise IT projects.
| Responsibility Description | Weighting | Qualification | Disqualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | 30% | Certified in multiple project disciplines, including project and service management, at a minimum | No certifications in project management and service management |
| Experience | 40% | At least ten years of solid experience in large and complex enterprise IT projects | Less than ten years of experience in large and complex enterprise IT projects, excluding experience in smaller IT project initiatives, production support, and business projects. |
| Skills | 30% |
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Commentary: Recruiting for a Project Assurance Manager
Recruitment for the Project Assurance Manager role must be strictly based on merit. Only those who meet the entry criteria should be considered. This role is crucial to the success of enterprise IT project delivery, requiring expertise, strategic thinking, and the ability to deliver tangible value. It is not an additional managerial position with a box-ticking responsibility nor an extra seat on the project gravy train.
Reporting Lines
The dual reporting structure of the Project Assurance Manager, as shown in Figure 11, ensures a balance between independent quality oversight and strategic alignment with organisational goals. By reporting directly to executive management, typically represented by the PMO, the Project Assurance Manager assesses the impact of project quality on overall organisational performance. The indirect reporting line to the project board highlights the specific delivery of project objectives, enabling timely attention to quality concerns that may affect project execution. This structure reinforces the importance of quality as a key consideration, even in time-sensitive projects, while promoting accountability and transparency in enterprise IT project delivery.
