3.2.1.1
TAM-Related Committees
This section touches on the importance of internal coordination committees across the various TAM-related activities. The form of committees is directly related to the agency’s organizational model. These coordination committees are focused on coordination across functions. The coordination committees with important roles in TAM decision-making include:
TAM Steering Committee
This is a senior-level committee made up of top decision-makers. They provide strategic oversight for TAM and facilitate resourcing and organizational support for agreed-upon changes. They also make sure that the politics of any decision are considered. The How-to Guide Establishing a TAM Steering Committee provides steps to set up this function.
Asset Stewards Committee
This is a committee consisting of individuals with accountability for different assets. It provides a forum for getting agreement on standardized approaches, enabling a holistic view of the TAM program, communication about management practices, and discussions about coordinating project development and work planning.
Asset Data Governance Committee
This committee focuses on improving data for TAM. Its activities may include: coordinating asset data collection activities; developing standards to enable integration of data about different assets; monitoring and facilitating adoption of existing standards; establishing data quality management processes; and advancing investments in tools for field data collection, data analysis, reporting and visualization.
TAM Working Group
This group is composed of unit managers across the agency who deal with key aspects of the TAM process – planning, programming, delivery, maintenance, data management, communications, etc.
Coordinating across TAM committees is also an important function. Typically the TAM lead will make sure the activities of various TAM committees are coordinated. In some agencies, the governance across the committees are explicitly stated so that everyone understands who is doing what and how decisions across committees are related.
TIP
Forming a new set of committees to provide TAM coordination is not always the best approach. Some agencies can rely on their existing management structures. Others may already have committees set up to facilitate cross-unit communications. Smaller agencies may be able to rely on informal communication. What is most important is that the TAM program gets the results it seeks.
TIP
When forming a committee, it is important to limit the overall size of the committee to the smallest group needed to accomplish its objectives. Common practice is to limit committees to no more than 12 members.