To some extent, organisations are being held back from realising the value of IT projects by the very way in which they measure success. Too often, it is based solely on the business case.

Improving the performance of all involved in a project's delivery is key

The Project Sponsor should manage the project manager! Now, this may be news to some project managers (and some Project Sponsors!)...

Ultimately accountability for the returns on investment lie with the Project Sponsor and governance team. So they should be actively reviewing and approving several aspects of the project. This should not be a 'tick and flick' type of approval, but a due, considered review with consideration as to the pros and cons and downstream implications.

The project team cannot make everything happen on its own; it often has to rely on the position, power and persuasion of the governance team.

If you are having difficulty with your Governance teams, it is not surprising. Project Governance is not so much "misunderstood" as "not understood". People just don’t know what it is and, therefore, what senior management needs to know or do to be effective.

You must be able to demonstrate how the progress and status of a project is going to be tracked, and how the value is going to be protected -- and then delivered.