Project Governance In An Agile World – Part 2
Chapter 2 Review: Objectives and Institutions in Project Governance—Agile vs. Traditional Approaches
This week, we’re diving into Muller’s second chapter in Project Governance: Objectives and Institutions. The chapter explores how projects function as temporary organizations, and how governance structures are formed to align projects with strategic objectives. Let’s break down the key ideas, compare them with agile delivery, and highlight where organizations often stumble during agile transformation.
Projects as Temporary Organizations: Charters and Alignment
Muller defines a project team as a temporary organization with a clear end goal that supports the organization’s broader strategy. Each project, therefore, has its own strategic plan and charter.
- Traditional Approach: Project charters are often extensive, sometimes running 20+ pages, and are created and signed off at the start. Once approved, changes are rare; teams and steering committees push forward with minimal adaptation.
- Agile Approach: Agile teams also create charters, but these are concise, team-driven, and regularly updated. The focus is on continuous improvement and alignment with evolving business needs.
Governance Structures: Who’s in Charge?
Traditional organizations rely on layers of governance, such as Project Management Offices (PMOs), steering committees, and sponsors—to guide and control projects. Muller likens the project manager to a CEO, responsible for aligning project execution with strategic and tactical goals. This “command and control” mindset often lingers after an agile transformation, largely due to a lack of trust in self-managing teams.
Key difference:
- Traditional Governance is top-down, with project managers and committees making the majority of decisions.
- Agile: Governance is distributed, with servant leaders and product owners empowering teams to make decisions and adapt quickly.
Objectives in Practice: Where Agile and Traditional Overlap
Muller outlines three major governance objectives:
- Fostering environments for project success
- Prioritizing projects for optimal resource use
- Identifying and rescuing, suspending, or terminating troubled projects
These objectives mirror agile principles. Agile leaders create supportive environments, product owners prioritize backlogs, and teams identify and address risks early. However, the way decisions are made, and who makes them, differ significantly.
Why Agile Transformations Struggle
The chapter highlights several traditional institutions:
- Board of Directors
- Portfolio Management
- Sponsors and Steering Groups
- Program Management
- Strategic PMO
- Tactical PMO
- Management
Boards of Directors, for example, set strategy and ensure compliance. In agile organizations, their involvement is more dynamic—participating in demos, reviews, and providing real-time feedback. The main challenge? Avoiding the trap of reverting to command and control, which slows decision-making and stifles innovation.
Other groups, like PMOs and steering committees, remain heavily focused on scope, cost, and schedule. While these elements are important, agile organizations prioritize delivering value and adaptability. In waterfall environments, decision-making can be slow and bureaucratic, like trying to turn an aircraft carrier. Agile environments, by contrast, are designed for quick pivots and rapid feedback.
Status Reporting: Does “Red, Yellow, Green” Still Work?
Traditional project management utilizes status indicators (green, yellow, red) to flag the project's health. In agile teams, this approach can be a waste, as teams are already collaborating continuously to address risks. Waiting for PMOs to approve actions introduces unnecessary delays and bureaucracy, undermining the benefits of agile methodologies.
Mindset Shift: Governance as Enabler, Not Obstacle
It’s important to remember that agile doesn’t mean abandoning governance. The Agile Manifesto values “individuals and interactions over processes and tools,” but it doesn’t say to ignore them entirely. Effective governance in agile organizations is about enabling teams, streamlining decision-making, and focusing on value—not just enforcing rules.
Research consistently shows (see the State of Agile reports and case studies from Berriault & Associates) that organizations succeed with agile when they evolve both their frameworks and their underlying mindsets—especially at the governance level.
Ready to discuss how objectives and institutions in project governance can enable true agility? Want to learn what needs to change to achieve breakthrough delivery, whether you’re building products or delivering services?
Book a complimentary Breakthrough Call to continue the conversation.
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"I help create ecosystems that become legacies.”
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