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Chapter 5 • Implementation Strategies 151

decision-making process, including escalation procedures. The components of governance should
include, but not be limited to, such project organization as technical development, hardware and soft-
ware installation, functional components, communications, change management, reporting, project
management, project owners and sponsors, budget management, and the issue escalation process.
It is critical in any ERP implementation that governance be defined and communicated to all
involved in the process. The ERP implementation will involve a vast majority of a company’s users
and require a commitment of IT staff along with senior management and end users. A well-defined
governance structure, with a clearly understood organization in place, helps to create a comfort level
for all involved as to how the project decisions and priorities will be addressed. The governance
structure must be communicated to all involved and fully understood before the project begins.

SAMPLE GOVERNANCE
I. Purpose
Governance is a framework of processes and underlying accountabilities that guide the manage-
ment of the project. This framework defines the leadership, organization structure (i.e., roles
and responsibilities), and processes that align decision making with strategies and direction.
Leadership provides clear and consistent direction, organization structure creates the infrastructure
to support the implementation of decisions, and process alignment defines the activities that
turn ideas into action.
II. Roles and Responsibilities

Owners The owners will consist of the senior management. The chair is empowered to make
decisions when the owners cannot reach consensus. The owners determine overall policy,
budget, and scope of the project. They will meet when needed at the call of the chair.

Owners: Senior management functional areas
Senior management IT
Project executive

Project Executive The project executive oversees project activities, provides broad project
oversight, resolves policy-level issues, and ensures that the project stays within scope. The
project executive also builds consensus on business process changes that impact the company
and provides project status updates (as needed) to the owners. The project executive works with
the steering committee and project managers to establish overall project direction, review and
evaluate project progress, and ensure appropriate user involvement for the duration of the
project. The project executive works directly with the implementation partner (if one is being
hired) and the steering committee to resolve appeals of decisions made by project managers, the
cross-functional team, or both. The project executive will represent the project at the project
steering meeting, project management office meeting, and team leads meeting.

Project executive: person ultimately responsible for the success of the implementation
Advisory: implementation partner if necessary