Governance

Governance exists to increase transparency and align decision making for planning, policy and operations in order to meet business objectives, ascertain that risks are managed appropriately, and verify that resources are being used responsibly and strategically.

The One Washington program touches all corners of Washington state government. Accordingly, the program governance structure includes a diverse set of representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups from both IT and business functions impacted by the decisions of the program.  

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Description of the One Washington governance triangle: This visual depicts the hierarchy of statewide decision making. Starting with the bottom base of the pyramid are the work streams and team leads who handle the daily decision making. Up from that is the project management office which is responsible for the bulk of operational decision making for the program. Up from that is the business transform board called the BTB. The board has operational leaders from multiple agencies and includes statewide business owners in finance, procurement, human resources and budget.  Decisions that impact more than one business function area are made a this level.  Above that is the executive steering committee or ESC where decisions on strategy, scope, schedule and budget are made. Executive leaders from across the executive branch make up the ESC. Business owners inform the ESC but are not voting members of the ESC. Finally, the top of the governance structure is the executive sponsor. 

Off to the left side of the pyramid sits both the advisory committees and the business owners.  The statewide business owners in the areas of finance, procurement, human resources and budget interact at most levels of the governance triangle. Business owners advise work streams and team leaders and chair four advisory committees. Business owners are voting members of the BTB. Business owners attends ESC meetings and inform the ESC but are not voting members of the ESC. Additionally, there are three advisory committees that are chaired by the project management office. The One Washington program maintains a flexible governance process that allows right-time consultation with subject matter expertise, stakeholders and industry experts. The objective is enterprise-wide strategic thinking and information-based decision-making to achieve program outcomes. Detailed descriptions of each governance level are below.

Executive Sponsor

The executive sponsor has authority to make decisions on any matter escalated by the ESC or the executive directors. Most decisions are expected to be made by subordinate governance bodies.

Executive Steering Committee

The ESC has authority to make decisions on scope, schedule, and budget as well as matters escalated by the BTB, executive directors, program director, and/or business owners. The steering committee meets monthly. 

Business Transformation Board

The BTB has authority to make high-level operational decisions that impact the program and agencies.  The BTB makes decisions on issues that are enterprise-wide across agencies and business functions. 

Project Management Office

The PMO has authority to make daily operational decisions. The PMO triages matters escalated by the project’s workstream teams, and has authority to make decisions on matters regarding the planning, executing, and reporting tasks/activities to complete the project’s scope of work within the parameters of the program performance measures. The PMO chairs three advisory committees.

Work Streams / Team Leads

Work streams and team leads have authority to make daily operational decisions within specific work streams.

Business Owners

Business owners are statewide leaders in finance, procurement, human resources and budget. They are a key part of the governance structure. The business owner group is not a decision-making body within the One Washington governance structure. However business owners have decision-making authority and influence throughout the governance structure. Business owners have decision-making authority as voting members of the BTB. Business owners also provide strategic leadership at the ESC level and provide functional leadership and collaboration at the PMO level. Business owners chair advisory committees and also provide advice to work streams / team leads.

Advisory Committees

Advisory committees advise the business owners, the PMO and the BTB on matters relating to each advisory committee's expertise. There are advisory committees for: finance, procurement, budget, human resources, organizational change management, technical and data governance.

 Here are the membership rosters for the One Washington governance groups.

Executive Sponsor

Cristie Fredrickson, One Washington Executive Sponsor, OFM

Executive Steering Committee

Chair: Cristie Fredrickson, Executive Sponsor, One Washington

Business Transformation Board

Chair: Vacant

Advisory Committees

Organizational Change Management

Chair: Danielle Blanchard, OCM Deputy Director, OFM

Data Governance

Chair: Lori Jones, Data Governance Program Manager, OFM

Technical 

Chair: Ann Bruner, Chief Technology Officer, OFM

Finance

Chair: Brian Tinney, Assistant Director, Accounting, OFM

Procurement

Chair: Cheral Manke, Marketing Relationship Manager, DES

Budget

Chair: Nona Snell, Assistant Director, Budget, OFM

Human Capital Management

Chair: Kelly Woodward, Deputy Assistant Director State Human Resources, OFM