IT Bites > Projects > Unilever Global Payroll > Organisation > Project Assurance

Project Assurance was defined as the Boards responsibilities to assure itself that the project was being conducted correctly.

The Project Board placed a great deal of reliance on IT Bites to ensure that they were kept fully informed of progress. Project Assurance aimed to independently monitor all aspects of the projects performance and products, so that the board could feel confident in the reports it received.

Assurance had to be independent of the Project manager. Although the board may have wished to delegate some or all of its assurance responsibilities, this could not be passed to the Project manager.

In the Unilever project, the Board decided to accept its assurance responsibilities itself rather than delegate to a separate body. Each Board member had a detailed role definition and within this specific assurance responsibilities were indicated. Even if the board member delegated the assurance role, accountability still remained with the member at board level i.e. the assured would report directly to the appropriate board member.