Project Governance: (Fundamentals of Project Management)

Without a governance structure, an organization runs the risk of conflicts and inconsistencies between the various means of achieving organizational goals, the processes and resources, causing costly inefficiencies that impact negatively on both smooth running and bottom line profitability. However, the frequency of projects failing to meet these corporate objectives has focused attention firmly on the process of project governance. In this book, Ralf Müller provides a well-researched framework to explain the different preferences organizations have in goal setting, along with the best-practices, roles and responsibilities related to governance tasks. This concise text is an important guide for project and programme managers, those managers concerned with corporate governance such as risk managers and internal auditors, project sponsors and project board members, as well as academics researching organizational and project performance. Project Governance is part of the Gower Fundamentals of Project Management Series. Practising professionals and project students will find in the fundamentals a definitive, shorthand guide to each of the main competencies associated with project management; a book that is authoritative, based on current research but immediately relevant and applicable.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction; Objectives and institutions; Governance of project management; Governance of programs and portfolios; Governance of projects; Towards an integrated governance model; The way forward; References; Index.

About the Author :
Ralf Müller is Professor of Project Management at BI Norwegian Business School. In parallel he is the managing director of PM Concepts, a Sweden based Management Consultancy, which advises larger enterprises in project, program and portfolio management. He lectures project management, project leadership, project governance and research methodology. His research focuses on project, program and portfolio management improvement from an organization-wide and leadership perspective. His research studies have appeared in more than 120 publications and he is frequent speaker at global researcher and practitioner conferences. As a consultant he worked in 47 different countries, for the improvement of project related practices in large organizations. He also managed national, international and global IT projects and consulting organizations. Dr Müller is a member of the Editorial Review Board of several international academic journals. He is a member of the Consortium for Research in Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, and a co-founder of PMI's Frankfurt and Munich Chapters, as well as contributor to the PMI Standards for Organizational Project Management Maturity (OPM3), Program Management, and Portfolio Management.

Review :
'...one of an interesting series of a short specialised books published by Gower...The book's subject matter and content is rare because there are few books dedicated to PM governance...The key feature of Müller's book, however, is that it is specifically dedicated to a much talked about topic, where there are an increasing number of academic papers written about it but there are few (if any) specific books that project managers can turn to. Its length (105 pages) is also an advantage as it easy light to carry, inexpensive in terms of text books and can form a useful addition to any interested reader's personal professional library...I felt that this is a long awaited book..it is certainly a pragmatic and useful text and for those who feel daunted by large tomes this is a very good way of publishing specialised PM topics that provide comprehensive references sections that readers can follow up on to gain a fuller insight into specific cited authorities.' International Journal of Managing Projects in Business 'This excellent text outlines and emphasizes the need for an integrated governance approach to managing projects, programs and portfolios. It is grounded on sound theoretical foundations, and provides systematic approach on how this may be achieved. Top management, projects sponsors, and the project management practitioners’ community will find in this book relevant practical recommendations that will directly impact the improvement of organizational performance. The academic community will find in this book the relevant up-to-date research base that will support education and research in the area of project governance. Written by an internationally recognized expert and academic, this book is definitely one of the best books on project governance published to date. A must read!' Pr. Christophe N. Bredillet, Dean Postgraduate Programs, ESC Lille School of Management, France 'A simple framework which covers the different levels of organisational maturi