Brace Rennels

The goal of having a steering committee is a few things. Typically, they are comprised of each departments representatives, IT, Business, Digital Marketing, HR, Communications, Operations, etc.. and are responsible for reviewing the prioritized backlog list and determining the priorities for the sprint releases. Identifying members fore the steering committee is something your executive team will be able to provide guidance on as well if not have suggestions. This is also where requests from stakeholders can be submitted by the representatives and reviewed where it fits in the overall list of items. This takes the burden of responsibility off of you and your team of being the sole decision maker. When someone complains that their request isn’t being address you can simply state that you will bring it up to the steering committee for consideration and it will be prioritized in order of importance as it relates to the greater project as a whole.

Keeping the meeting notes and results of these meetings public will also be important to your transparent communications. Because if someone does escalate that their request isn’t being addressed you can simply point that individual to the updates and keep this included as part of your monthly executive updates. This will keep you well ahead of any objection or obstacle you might encounter as the collaboration transformation starts to take shape.