Project governance technology ®ICON3-PjG

We are speaking mainly about large-scale projects when keeping under control the whole project and its particular constituents presents serious difficulties. As an example we’ll use the innovative scientific project “Practical application of the Skulatchev’s ions” that includes over 200 scientists, doctors, jurists, and businessmen who form over 30 research, medical, and expert groups in different regions of Russia and abroad.
The expression “keeping under control” means a form of exercising power over a certain object, which gives an opportunity to exert influence upon this object. In other words, control is able to provide achievement of a certain prospective goal. It implies that this goal needs to be clearly defined and formulated. And after that control will come to tracing differences between the actual state and the target situation, and stimulating activities that can provide advancement in the necessary direction. This task is not as simple as it may seem.
 First, it’s because the projects in question have a lot of participants throughout the country and abroad. Second, they have complicated organizational structure. Besides, they are connected with vast information flow that needs to be collected, consolidated and analyzed.
It is important to define a goal, to determine a set of particular tasks, to find out what we should undertake to achieve this goal, who will execute this work, what kinds of resources we need and where we can get them. Besides, it is necessary to be aware of the results of a certain work, to hold a vision of the whole situation, i.e. to have information concerning the current state of the project.
Solution of the problems stated above is possible with the help of the ®ICON3-PjG (®Icon3 Project Governance) technology. Using this technology specialists of Verysell Icontri develop information systems that provide project governance. Presently the information system based on this technology is being successfully applied to provide control over the innovative investment project “Practical application of the Skulatchev’s ions”.
In the ®ICON3-PjG technology control is exercised over a system of goals, tasks, work, and resources. All the activity within the project is aimed at overcoming disparity between the current and the target state of the project, i.e. all the work is interrelated and goal-oriented, and thus it is effective.
The ®ICON3-PjG technology has a clear governance structure of responsibility distribution.
• The governing body of the project sets goals, exercises control over goal achievement, and managerial decision making. 
• A Manager assigns the sequence of tasks to be solved, prepares accounts for the governing body, and distributes resources.
• A Person in charge of task solution appoints particular executives, exercises control over their activity, and prepares accounts concerning task solution.
• An Executive prepares accounts concerning currently implemented work and resource utilization.
So, every participant of the project has his role. Location of the participant in this structure determines his responsibilities. Everyone is occupied in a specific task solution, but all participants are united by a common goal, i.e. make up an integral system.
Now let’s describe the ®ICON3-PjG technology structure. It contains the following elements (or subsystems):
• A Web-portal, which gives users of the technology access to the information concerning the project. This access is realized according to location of the user in the structure given above.
The Web-portal contains accounting forms for completion. Here the users can also find an order to complete the forms (the same order they receive by e-mail). The forms are edited through the interface of electronic tables that are similar to standard office tables in their form and functionality. The system controls format of the input data and supports data directories (i.e. given lists of possible meanings and properties). Accounting forms may be edited without permanent connection to the Internet.
After a user has completed a form, the system checks it up. The set of regulations providing this check is customizable. Warnings and errors are registered in the error log.
Every completed form must be signed by the responsible person (the person who edited the form), or else further actions are blocked. Then the accounting form is sent to the central data base. For getting access to the data base login and password are required. Then the form is delivered for consolidation into the repository. Besides, the system picks out objects from this form and places them into the register (the register is described below).
The ®ICON3-PjG technology automatically informs users about the schedule of data collection by sending them electronic notifications. Besides, a log for automatic confirmation of these notifications is kept. 
Using the Web-portal project participants (according to their levels of authority) can request information from the data base and receive analytical accounts “On-line”. Creating an inquiry a user can fix criteria of information selection, set appearance of the account, and view the results of the previous accounts. Information attributes are selected by the requesting person. The system picks out only the information complying with the inquiry criteria.
After that the user receives the required data in the form of an analytical account.
• A repository, which consists of two components:
1. A data base, where the received accounting forms are consolidated and checked.
2. A register, which is the key element of the ®ICON3-PjG technology. Register is a collection of data concerning the project, but it is not just a list of available information.
First, every object in the register has a unique number, which can be used to find this object. This is quite important considering that the project participants deal with a substantial quantity of information. Besides, every object (executive, work, research unit etc.) may be mentioned in several of in many documents. The register provides users with all the available data concerning a certain object, i.e. the project participants are ensured that no information will be missed. In addition, such way of data organization speeds up the process of information search: it is enough to name the required object (for example, utilization of some resource) – and you get all the information about it.
Information in the register is structured according to the situation concept. It means that every component of the register gets a certain status corresponding with its location in the following triad:

 

The subject may be any project participant from the described structure (governing body, manager, person in charge of task solution, executive); the object is something influenced by the subject (for example, in the innovative science project it can be a method of medical treatment or a resource); the relation is something connecting the object and the subject (work carried out, set tasks, solved problems etc.).
This method of data organization helps to keep track of how the set aim is achieved, which is one of the essential conditions for keeping under control.  Another mechanism for doing it is assignment of control parameters, i.e. the characteristics that describe the target situation. Control over goal achievement is exercised by comparing these characteristics with the current project state.
• An administrative subsystem, which sets up all the processes, including data collection and consolidation, regulates the access rights, and provides the organizational structure maintenance.