ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the governance of programs and portfolios. It argues that a company-wide perspective and discusses the relationship between corporate success and choice of governance approach for programs and portfolios. It presents the particular governance function of both. The objective of project portfolio governance is to ensure that the best projects are selected; that is, those that will achieve their strategic objectives in the shortest possible time, within the constraints of available skills and resources. An important purpose of project portfolio governance is to provide the objectives for each portfolio, which should be derived from the organization's strategy. The aim of governance of programs is to ensure achievement of a major objective or benefit, which cannot be achieved by a single project alone, as efficiently as possible. The purpose of the governance function of goal setting is to ensure that the proposed program is feasible and its required prerequisites are either already in place or will be when needed.
