Governance Models: How Enterprise Architecture, Balanced Scorecard and Program Management Office interact (II)

Where does this governance fit?

Regarding the key question of “How the Governance entity will fit into the organization?”, it will depend greatly on the power distribution within the organization. The newly defined Governance entity will require connecting and interacting with other governance entities. The governance entity will not survive isolated in the organization; it has to allow the “flow” of the power for managing the subject of governance. This net of relationships can be quite complex, but we have to map the possible interactions to know who decides what, and what type of information is exchanged amongst the Governance models. As a design principle, interactions shall be kept as simple as possible, and we have to leverage (at the most) current governance entities, in order to avoid an explosion of meetings at the C- level.

 

Defining the Degree of Power

The next step is to define the degree of power the Governance entity will have over the subject of governance. Most of the subjects (the asset or process being ruled by the governance entities), are shared amongst different governance entities, so it is required to define clearly who makes the decision. Having this in mind, we can use the RACI matrix (an acronym for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed), typically used at a lower level of governance definition, to assign the degree of power to each entity.

As a reminder, the RACI matrix is a technique used to identify the roles and responsibilities of individuals or groups involved in a particular activity. It defines the degree of power of the entity over the subjects.

Term	Degree of Power	Definition
Responsible	+++	Individual(s) who perform a take - the doer, responsible for action/implementation. The degree of responsibility is defined by the accountable person.  R’s can be shared
Accountable	++++	The individual who is ultimately accountable includes yes/no and power of veto. Only one “A” can be assigned to a task
Consulted	++	The individual to be consulted prior to a final decision or action is taken. Two way communication.
Informed	+	The individual(s) who needs to be informed after a decision or action is taken.

So, based on the degree of power, it looks like the matrix should be called ARCI.

For the EA, BSC and PMO governance, there are several subjects that are shared. As an example, we can define the degree of power as illustrated below:

 

Conclusions

Most of the projects we do imply the creation of a Governance Model, in order to help in the implementation and evolution of a newly created capability in the organization. The design of the Governance Model is a mix of science and art, and some projects tend to create fuzzy governance that will fade with time. To solve this issue, 7 key strategic questions should be answered at the beginning. Such definitions will help to define design principles that will be reflected in the final Governance Model.

Typically, the subjects of governance are shared, and defining clearly where the borders are will help to create a robust model. The RACI matrix is a simple and clear way to define such borders and the degree of power of the Governance entities, in particular for Enterprise Architecture, Balanced Scorecard y Program Management Office governance models. With that definition clear, governance processes are easier to design and implement.