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Protects users’ digital rights
Uphold digital rights: Consider how your service might impact the digital rights of your users. Build with pre-emptive measures in mind (such as net neutrality, access to information without censorship and freedom of online assembly). Identify users facing greater personal risks and ensure they’re provided with the means to access, communicate and contest the service transparently or anonymously. If rights are breached, move quickly to implement changes that prevent future harm.
Consider flow-on effects: Consider the implications of your service beyond its immediate impacts. Workshop environmental, economic or social impacts and undertake scenario planning to explore unforeseen issues and opportunities.
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Natalie Smith
Dr Natalie Smith is an Industry Fellow with University of Queensland. Natalie’s PhD was on digital transformation governance, and she has since completed a research fellowship on trust in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Australian public sector.
Natalie is also a non-executive director in not-for-profit health and community service organisations and government. Previously, Natalie was a partner in Deloitte’s Risk Advisory practice, providing project assurance services and supporting organisations delivering digital transformations.
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Julien Pollack
Dr Julien Pollack is an Associate Professor with the School of Project Management at the University of Sydney. He started as a project manager in IT, organisational change, and manufacturing projects, before moving into research. He now explores multiple aspects of project management, including project teams and their productivity, project management methodology, and projects with ill-defined objectives and outcomes. His research in these areas is regularly published in the leading international project management journals and research conferences.
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Katie Williams
Dr Katie Williams is a Senior Lecturer within the Business Information Systems discipline at the University of Queensland’s Business School. Katie’s academic contributions are enriched by her practical experience as both a Non-Executive Director, and a former KPMG partner in the strategic review of complex digital initiatives across industry sectors. Katie’s current research interests include Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance, and the use of Generative AI as a pedagogical tool.
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Researcher Profiles
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Guidance for Senior Responsible Officials
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Assurance Research Series 02
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Purpose
What are Digital Project Governance Boards and why are they important?
Digital projects are strategically significant in meeting government service delivery objectives. However, the higher relative risk of digital transformation projects4 has contributed to lower levels of trust across government in the ability of digital projects to deliver on intended outcomes and benefits. An engaged project board has been found to be one of the top drivers for successful project delivery (5,6), but there remains considerable confusion about the role of digital project governance boards across government, industry and academia(7,8). Ineffective project sponsorship is often due to a lack of understanding of the project board’s role in supporting project governance(5).
This report seeks to provide clarity and guidance on the role of project boards, but it is important to acknowledge that this is only part of the story. Projects inherently encounter many tensions that aren’t easily resolved. A key role of the project board is recognising these tensions and navigating them, recognising when something isn’t working and adapting course to something more beneficial. For instance, in digital transformation, there is a need to both exploit capability (doing what we know), as well as explore new capability (doing something new – at least to the organisation). Each requires different governance approaches. Similarly, whilst accountability is important, so is facilitating and incentivising innovation.
Another vital role of the project board is to be the interpreter between the organisation (with its cyclical rhythms, services and processes), and the project (with a lifecycle defined by a start and end). This has implications for supporting the project in navigating processes like resourcing and procurement, and for interpreting how project outputs can be translated into organisation outcomes. Benefits tracking should extend well beyond the project lifecycle into operation. This is crucial to see what benefits are being delivered, take advantage of emergent benefit opportunities, and to link back to how the business case evolved.
The project board also needs to ensure it engages not only the appropriate external expertise but also incorporates external referencing and benchmarking. This is important for facilitating conversations for the leadership outside of their immediate areas, and to ensure leaders’ thinking is not biased or insular.
Finally, the organisation also has a role to play in ensuring project boards are effective. Digital project boards need to be appropriately positioned and scaled relative to the decisions that need to be made and the risk profile. SROs need to be given enough capacity to do the role well. Core capabilities need to be developed and incentivised to enable strong project board performance.
Definitions
Governance
The framework of authority and accountability that defines and controls the outputs, outcomes and benefits from projects, programmes and portfolios. The mechanism whereby the investing organisation exerts financial and technical control over the deployment of the work and the realisation of value.
Project Board
A strategic group that ensures the progress of a project according to the business case and project plan. The board is responsible for ensuring the project delivers planned business value, by providing approvals, endorsements and guidance through the application of governance on matters outside the authority of the project team. The project board can also be called a Steering Committee.
Projects, Programs and Portfolios
Projects and programs are time-bound, coordinated endeavours, designed to deliver defined outcomes and benefits within predetermined resource constraints(6,14).
Projects and programs may sit within a broader organisational portfolio governance system. For ease of reading, and to avoid confusion with the broader use of the term program in government, we use the term project to refer to both digital projects and digital programs.
Senior Responsible Official (SRO)
The official with ultimate accountability for a project meeting its objectives, delivering the projected outcomes and realising the required benefits within the policies set by ministers. The SRO is the owner of the business case and accountable for all aspects of governance(15). The SRO is also known as Project Sponsor, Senior Accountable Officer and Senior Responsible Officer/Owner.
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Background
This instalment of the research series complements the DTA’s reform initiatives to create the conditions for digital projects to succeed. These initiatives include maximising the value of assurance in good decisions, delivering formal training for senior leaders of digital projects, and promoting transparency and accountability for performance through the Major Digital Projects Report (MDPR). It also includes wider policy reform efforts to drive best practice including ensuring digital projects all benefit from a clear ‘north star’ during delivery through our Benefits Management Policy and linked capability and training programs.
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Connect with the digital community
Share, build or learn digital experience and skills with training and events, and collaborate with peers across government.