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Program Management: The Steering Committee

Having a proper steering committee is critical to keeping a program running smoothly.   That's because each component in the program is likely to have a different constituent group that has their own agenda / requirements.  And often, but not always, these requirements conflict or cause additional complexity for the program.  This is actually very normal and proper behavior, because it is their responsibility to make sure that their individual requirements are met.  But if the program is to function smoothly and meet its deadlines, then someone or some group needs to be able to take the big picture view and look at what is best for the overall goal of the program.

In an ideal world, that would be the executive sponsor, since having one person make a decision is easier than dealing with a group.  But one of the inherent problems with the executive sponsor is that the reason they have the power to make decisions for the whole program is they are very senior.  The downside of that is that they are unlikely to have the time to get involved with making detailed decisions for the program and resolve conflicts.  After all that's why they have a program manager.  Another problem is that in some cases the executive sponsor may have control over the majority of the program, but downstream areas that are impacted by the system like finance or legal are not under their control.

That's where the steering committee comes into play.  The steering committee is made up of senior representatives from the major constituent groups.  It has to be senior representatives because they must be capable of making a decision on behalf of their group.  Depending on the stage the program is in, the steering committee should meet as frequently as once a week to once every two weeks, and it is up to the program manager to present to them all the outstanding conflicts / requirements shifts that need their attention, and to guide them towards making a decision for the good of the program.  That's not an easy task, but once you can get the steering committee to make a decision, it smooths the way for the components to get on with their primary task.