Project governance is an essential part of re-platforming your eCommerce solution. We had a very small team, yet we were able to launch on-time and within budget and I firmly believe that strict adherence to project governance was the key.

By Sharon Bottaro, Head of Digital @ McPherson’s & Lisa Powell, Head of Retail Practice @ Amblique

Our MD, was the project sponsor. We set up a steering committee with senior leaders from all relevant departments as well as a senior representative from our implementation partner and project manager. The steering committee was additional to the broader project team which meant the focus was on project visibility, major milestones  and risks, not on day to day tasks and deadlines. We produced fortnightly reports and met fortnightly.

At times, the regular reports, the risk register and the steering committee meetings can feel like a waste of time, especially when there is just so much to do, but the benefits outweigh the time spent.I found that the involvement of the senior leadership team and the continued project visibility meant that the actual project team had the support of their individual managers.

Our project governance also prevented scope creep and if required allowed us to easily justify and gain support for essential  change requests.

Tips for anyone embarking on the same journey:

In small organisations it’s easy to let strict project governance slip but I strongly recommend you make it a priority. It really does protect all parties and ensures the lines of communication are always clear and open. No surprises. Absolute clarity.