Are you a product owner or technologist looking to understand the role of a steering committee and how it can benefit your organization? Or maybe you’re just wandering by and curious about the topic. Either way, we’ll explain the steering committee in detail.
This article provides a technologist’s view on what it is and how it can be used to help guide decision–making. You will learn about the purpose of the committee, its composition, and the responsibilities of its members.
By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of how a steering committee can help your organization achieve its goals.
What is a Steering Committee?
A steering committee is a group of experts, authority figures and senior stakeholders in a project or organization who are part of IT or other governance.
This committee meets periodically to discuss the direction, scope, budget, timeliness, and methods of the project, helping to set the strategic direction and ensure that it is followed. As members have a significant stake in how the project is managed, the decisions made by the steering committee are important for the success of the project and in aligning the project manager and project goals.
Who Is on a Steering Committee?
The makeup of the committee depends on the scope of the project or product, but generally it consists of senior executives, external stakeholders, and experts. For example, a project steering committee may include a project manager and external stakeholders from the customer, while an organizational steering committee could include executives, board members, and department heads.
Regardless of the particular makeup of the committee, you should follow a few guidelines. Most importantly, there should be a chairperson elected by the committee who does not own the project they are steering.
This allows for impartial chairing.
Additionally, the steering committee should consist of diverse members who each equally represent the various functions overseen by the committee. This encourages open discussion and the sharing of different opinions and ideas.
Clear goals and a well-managed agenda are also essential for the committee to function properly. By following these guidelines, steering committees can ensure their goals are met and the project is successful.
What Is the Committee’s Role?
The role of a steering committee is to offer strategic guidance, promote collaboration, and assist in the decision-making process. By providing clear direction and support to project managers, they ensure that projects remain on track and meet company objectives.
They also act as a mediator between stakeholders and project managers, ensuring that all perspectives are taken into account when making decisions. Ultimately, the steering committee is responsible for ensuring that the organization’s projects are successful and in line with its overall goals.
Are Steering Committees only for Business Decision?
Steering committees are not only for business decisions, and they can be highly beneficial from a technology perspective as well. They can provide a comprehensive approach to technology development and implementation, involving key stakeholders from different departments to ensure that the technology aligns with the organization’s goals and objectives.
As an example, organizations may include: steering committee as part of the product lifecycle management (PLM).
How Steering Meetings & PLMs may Fit Together
Steering committee meetings may be included as part of product lifecycle management, particularly during development and launch phases. These meetings provide guidance to ensure that the product aligns with the organization’s goals and objectives, mitigate risks associated with technology implementation and maximize the potential value of the product.
During development, they can provide direction on progress and decisions. During launch, they can advise on marketing and distribution strategies and monitor performance. In short, steering committee meetings are a valuable tool for product teams during development and launch to help ensure the successful release of the product.
What are the Benefits of a Steering Committee?
From a product or technology perspective, benefits include the following.
1. Strategic Alignment
A steering committee plays a crucial role in ensuring that the product or technology development aligns with the organization’s overarching strategy, business objectives, and long-term goals. By bringing together leaders and stakeholders from diverse departments—such as finance, marketing, IT, and operations—the committee provides a holistic view of how the initiative fits within the broader organizational context.
This alignment helps prevent resource misallocation and supports prioritization that drives the company’s strategic vision forward.
2. Risk Mitigation
One of the key advantages of having a steering committee is its ability to proactively identify and manage risks. Members leverage their varied expertise to spot potential roadblocks, technical challenges, or operational issues before they escalate.
Early detection allows for the development of contingency plans, adjustments in project scope, or reallocation of resources, significantly reducing the chances of costly delays or failures during development or implementation phases.
3. Enhanced Decision-Making
Steering committees provide a structured forum for critical decision-making throughout the product or technology lifecycle. By drawing on a cross-functional team of experts, the committee ensures that decisions—such as resource distribution, budget approvals, and timeline adjustments—are well-informed and balanced.
This collective insight leads to more effective governance, greater accountability, and decisions that align with both project and organizational goals.
4. Improved Communication and Transparency
A steering committee acts as a vital communication bridge between the development teams and the wider organization. It facilitates clear, consistent updates on project status, milestones, and deliverables, helping to manage expectations and build trust across departments.
This transparency reduces misunderstandings, aligns stakeholders on objectives, and ensures that any emerging issues or changes are communicated promptly and effectively.
5. Maximizing Value Creation
By involving key stakeholders throughout the development process, steering committees help ensure that the final product or technology truly meets customer needs and market demands. This collaborative approach increases the likelihood that the solution will deliver meaningful business value, enhance user satisfaction, and achieve a strong return on investment.
The committee’s guidance helps prioritize features and functionalities that create maximum impact.
6. Resource Optimization
Steering committees oversee the allocation and utilization of resources, including budget, personnel, and technology. Their oversight helps prevent resource wastage and ensures that teams have what they need to succeed. By continuously reviewing resource commitments against project progress, committees can make timely adjustments to maintain efficiency and avoid bottlenecks.
7. Facilitating Change Management
Introducing new products or technologies often requires organizational change. Steering committees support this transition by anticipating the impact on existing processes and culture.
They help coordinate training, stakeholder engagement, and communication plans, easing adoption and minimizing resistance. Their involvement fosters smoother change management and higher adoption rates.
8. Accountability and Governance
Steering committees establish clear governance structures that define roles, responsibilities, and expectations. This framework promotes accountability at all levels, from leadership to project teams.
By regularly monitoring progress and holding members accountable for deliverables, committees ensure that the initiative stays on track and meets quality standards.
Steering committees provide essential oversight and guidance to ensure projects align with organizational strategy while mitigating risks. They enhance decision-making by bringing diverse expertise together, improve communication across teams, and help maximize the value delivered by new products or technologies. Additionally, steering committees optimize resource use, facilitate effective change management, and promote accountability through clear governance.
But at the end of the day, they increase the likelihood of successful project outcomes.
How Can Technology & Product Teams Prepare for a Successful Steering Committee Meeting?
To ensure a successful steering committee meeting, it is important for technology and product teams to prepare thoroughly. Here are several tips on how those involved in the project can get ready:
1. Define the purpose of the meeting.
Before the meeting, the technology and product teams should clarify the objective of the meeting and the topics that will be discussed. This will help them prepare relevant information and data to present to the committee.
2. Share the vision.
Technology and product teams should clearly articulate the vision for the project and how it will benefit the organization. They should also explain how the project fits into the overall value stream of the organization. This will help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and understands why this project is important.
3. Provide progress updates.
Technology and product teams should provide the steering committee with regular progress updates on the project’s status. This includes information on milestones achieved, project quality, any setbacks, and any changes in timelines, budget, or scope.
4. Identify and prepare for key decisions.
The technology and product teams should anticipate any key decisions that need to be made during the steering committee meeting and prepare a thorough presentation that covers all the relevant information and options available.
5. Provide data-driven insights.
The technology and product teams should provide data-driven insights and analytics to support their proposals or recommendations. This will help the steering committee make well-informed decisions based on accurate data.
Tip* ‘Enterprise Intelligence’ Tools like Enov8’s IT Environment Manager & Release Manager can provide powerful insights for these kinds of occasions.
6. Prepare for Q&A
The steering committee members may have questions, concerns or recommendations, so the technology and product teams should be prepared to answer them. They should also be prepared to address any potential issues or risks that may arise.
Overall, preparing for an IT steering committee requires a collaborative effort from technology and product teams.
By ensuring that they are well-prepared, they can deliver key information the steering committee oversees, present progress updates, key decisions, data-driven insights, and address concerns or recommendations, which will help the steering committee members make informed decisions and provide direction for the project.
Steering Committee Meetings – Wrapping it Up
Steering Committees are an essential part of any project, and they play a key role in the successful development of products or technologies.
By providing input from multiple stakeholders, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, acting as a communication channel between teams and the broader organization, and ensuring that customer needs are met, steering committees can help maximize value creation while also keeping projects on track.
Technology and product teams should ensure that they are well-prepared for steering committee meetings, so that they can present accurate data and insights to support their proposals and address any concerns or recommendations from committee members.
With proper preparations, IT steering committees can help organization achieve their technological goals in a timely manner.
Post Author
Andrew Walker is a software architect with 10+ years of experience. Andrew is passionate about his craft, and he loves using his skills to design enterprise solutions for Enov8, in the areas of IT Environments, Release & Data Management.
