Steering Committee

In project management, the term steering committee refers to the higher-level decision-making body for an individual project or a group of projects or programs ( project portfolio ).

Alternative names are Steering Committee , Steering Board, Steering Committee , Steering Committee , Steering Committee, Control Board or decision-making body.

The committee serves the project manager as a decision-making, escalation and reporting body. It should be kept as small as possible.

Duties and powers

The steering committee has the following tasks:

Formulating the project goal, if this has not already been done by the client
Appoint the project leader
Approve the project planning
Support the project manager
Monitor project progress
Report to management
Approve final reports
Relieve the project manager

He has the following powers:

Decide on corrective actions
Decide on changes to project content, deadlines and costs
Decide on the priorities of project tasks.

composition

The composition of the steering committee depends on the type and scope of the project. The customs of an industry and the size of the company also have an influence on the composition. However, the members should in any case be high-ranking representatives of the project client and contractor who have decision-making powers with regard to the project resources. The authors Kremer and Rohde recommend an uneven number of members in order to avoid stalemates during voting. Alternatively, it can be stipulated that, in the event of a tie, the vote of the chairperson is decisive.

If many projects are carried out one after the other or in parallel in an organization, permanent control of the project portfolio in the company is necessary. In such organizations, a permanent steering committee should be established as part of the parent organization. Special steering committees can also be set up for specific projects.

Working method

The steering committee should meet at regular intervals. It can also be convened at short notice in critical phases. Usually this is done by the client at the request of the project manager. The project manager reports to the committee personally and provides it with status reports in preparation for the meetings.

literature

Dietmar Vahs: Organization: Introduction to organizational theory and practice . Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 3-7910-2662-3 .
Manfred Schulte-Zurhausen : Organization . Franz Vahlen Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8006-2825-2 .
Gerold Patzak, Günter Rattay: Project Management: Guidelines for the management of projects, project portfolios and project-oriented companies . Linde Verlag, Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-85122-757-3 .

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Erhard Motzel: Project Management Lexicon . 2nd Edition. VCH Wiley, Weinheim 2010, ISBN 978-3-527-50471-8 , pp. 127 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Rolf Kremer; Adolf Rohde: project organization . In: Michael Gessler; GPM Society for Project Management (Hrsg.): Competence-based project management . 4th edition. tape 1 . GPM Society for Project Management, Nuremberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-924841-40-9 , p. 197-198 .

[:0-1] A ^b Erhard Motzel: Project Management Lexicon . 2nd Edition. VCH Wiley, Weinheim 2010, ISBN 978-3-527-50471-8 , pp. 127 .

[:1-2] Rolf Kremer; Adolf Rohde: project organization . In: Michael Gessler; GPM Society for Project Management (Hrsg.): Competence-based project management . 4th edition. tape 1 . GPM Society for Project Management, Nuremberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-924841-40-9 , p. 197-198 .