Project, Programme, Portfolio & PMO
Programme & Portfolio Governance
A five-day programme for the layer above project delivery. It addresses why well-run projects still fail to produce the strategic outcome: dependency managed nowhere, prioritisation driven by advocacy, governance forums that receive information but do not decide, and benefits claimed without evidence.
The business challenge
Why organisations commission this programme
Programme and portfolio failure is usually a governance failure rather than a delivery failure. Decisions sit at the wrong level, forums lack the authority or information to act, dependencies between projects are nobody's responsibility, and benefits are asserted in the business case and never evidenced afterwards. The organisation continues to invest without knowing what it is getting.
Individually well-run projects still fail to deliver the strategic outcome, because dependency, prioritisation and benefits are managed nowhere above project level.
Who it is for
Participants
- Audience
- Programme managers, portfolio leads, sponsors, PMO managers and governance forum members
- Recommended cohort
- 10 to 16 participants
- Prerequisites
- Experience of project delivery or governance participation. Suited to those moving from project to programme or portfolio responsibility.
Outcomes
What participants will be able to do
- Distinguish project, programme and portfolio accountability and allocate decisions to the right level.
- Design and run a governance forum with workable terms of reference, decision rights and escalation.
- Manage cross-programme dependency and interface risk explicitly.
- Apply prioritisation and stage-gate criteria that reflect capacity as well as value.
- Define, own and evidence benefits to a standard that withstands audit.
Learning objectives
- Establish clear accountability boundaries between project, programme and portfolio levels.
- Equip participants to design and run governance that produces decisions rather than updates.
- Make cross-programme dependency and interface risk explicit and owned.
- Raise benefits management to a standard that withstands audit.
Indicative content
Programme structure
Content is confirmed during design and adapted to your context.
Day 1
Programme and portfolio concepts, accountability model, and diagnosis of the client's current governance.
- Project, programme and portfolio distinctions
- Accountability model
- Current-state governance diagnosis
- Baseline assessment
Day 2
Governance design: forums, terms of reference, decision rights, delegation and escalation.
- Forum design and terms of reference
- Decision rights and delegation
- Escalation routes and thresholds
- Governance behaviours
Day 3
Prioritisation, capacity, stage gates, investment decisions and portfolio-level reporting.
- Prioritisation criteria
- Capacity and capability constraints
- Stage gates and investment decisions
- Portfolio reporting
Day 4
Dependency and interface management, programme risk, and assurance across three lines.
- Dependency and interface management
- Programme risk and aggregation
- Assurance across three lines
- Intervention and recovery
Day 5
Benefits definition, ownership, measurement and evidence; governance simulation and assessment.
- Benefits definition and ownership
- Measurement and evidence standards
- Governance simulation
- Assessment
Delivery and customisation
Configured around your organisation
- Typical duration
- Five days (three-day variant available for governance forum members)
- Formats
- Classroom or blended
- Language
- English by default. Other languages subject to facilitator availability and materials translation, agreed during design.
How it can be tailored
- Client portfolio structure, existing forums and real governance papers.
- The client's stage gate model and investment approval thresholds.
- Actual dependency examples and recent intervention or recovery cases.
- A three-day variant for governance forum members rather than practitioners.
- Alignment to the client's benefits framework and finance definitions.
Methods
- Diagnosis of the client's own governance arrangements as the opening exercise, using real terms of reference and papers.
- Syndicate design work producing a governance model for a real or realistic client programme.
- A governance board simulation in which participants take defined roles and must reach decisions on incomplete information.
- Structured critique of real portfolio reporting, anonymised where necessary.
Materials, assessment and completion
Materials
- Participant workbook containing session content, frameworks, exercises and space for applied work.
- Client-contextualised case material and scenario packs used during the programme.
- Job aids, checklists and templates designed for use in the role after the programme.
- Assessment instruments and the marking criteria applied to them.
- Individual action plan template and a manager briefing note.
- Governance design templates, terms of reference models and a benefits specification template.
Reinforcement
- Individual action plans agreed during the programme and shared with line managers where the client permits.
- Manager briefing material setting out what was taught and what should be reinforced in the role.
- Toolkits and templates issued in editable form for continued use.
- Follow-up session at 30, 60 or 90 days where commissioned, reviewing action-plan progress and obstacles.
- A facilitated review of the client's actual governance arrangements at 90 days, where commissioned.
Completion
- Attendance at no less than 80 per cent of scheduled contact time, recorded daily and reconciled against the registered cohort.
- Participation in the assessed practical components of the programme.
- Submission of the assessed work product and the individual action plan.
- Achievement of the assessment threshold where the client sets one; where no threshold is set, results are reported without a pass or fail determination.
Participants who meet the completion criteria receive a Knull certificate of completion recording the programme, dates, duration, content covered and, where assessed, the assessment outcome. Knull does not award accredited or regulated qualifications and does not hold third-party training accreditation. Attendance and assessment records are retained under the engagement terms and provided to the client with the completion report.
| Component | Weighting | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline and post assessment | 25% | Knowledge and judgement instrument administered before and after, reported as learning gain. |
| Governance design | 35% | Completeness, proportionality, clarity of decision rights and workability, marked against a rubric. |
| Simulated board performance | 25% | Quality of challenge, use of evidence, decision discipline and handling of incomplete information. |
| Benefits specification | 15% | Definition, ownership, measurement approach and the evidence standard applied. |
Next step
Make it fit your organisation
Dates, cohort, format and fees are agreed in a proposal once scope is defined. To register interest in a closed cohort, use a corporate booking request — Knull reviews every request; it is not a confirmed reservation.
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Discuss this programme for your organisation
Tell us about your priorities, capability gaps or business challenges. We'll help identify an appropriate next step.