System and Process Governance

This is a framework I have now used twice in IT related project proposals. Whenever certain processes or systems touch multiple organizational units, the question of governance is usually an important element of setting things up for success: What can the different units decide for themselves in order to tailor the system or process to their specific requirements? What parameters, on the other hand, need to be standardized across the board in order to guarantee consistency and comparability? Who owns the data? Who decides on what?

The framework (the original source is from Baseline Consulting) breaks these issues down into four components. It almost provides a “charter” to organize a governing body and lay out in broad terms how it operates. It’s also a nice checklist, to make sure you have thought of the key issues.