Chapter 10
Running Effective Project Boards
In This Chapter
Understanding the vital responsibilities of the Project Board
Knowing the key points of involvement and decision making for the board
Avoiding common pitfalls
This chapter covers a vital subject, but one that organisations using PRINCE2 generally neglect: the effectiveness of the Project Board in controlling a PRINCE2 project. The Project Board is the group of managers who have overall responsibility for the project – a bit like the top management team of a department – and together they are the Project Manager’s boss. (To see the overall management structure in which the Project Board roles fit, please see Chapter 12.)
This chapter shows how to avoid the pitfalls so common to Project Boards and, if you’re a member of a board yourself, how you can be really effective in your role. Far too many Project Boards think that they can delegate responsibility for the project to the Project Manager and come back at the end to see whether everything is okay and, if so, take all the credit. If you’re a Project Board member for a PRINCE2 project and your project fails through poor control and poor management, guess who gets the blame.
Being part of the Project Board isn’t all doom and gloom, though. The chapter includes a step-by-step guide and real help on the key decision points and other times when the project actively involves the Project Board.
Introducing the Process Directing a Project
The work of the Project Board is covered ...