The Service Governance Plan (SGP) is an important document that all Service Engagements must produce, as its existence and approval represents a formal agreement and commitment between the service team and the sponsors.

The SGP will be produced by tailoring Capgemini’s standard SGP template, using relevant tailoring guidelines to meet the needs of this specific project and this specific Client. If the client has any specific requirements for this type of document then these will need to be followed as long as there is no issue with external compliance requirements.

In developing the SGP, the Engagement Manager must not inadvertently or otherwise increase the scope of Capgemini’s responsibilities or commitments against those stated within the approved contract, whether this is from a contractual perspective or mis-setting of Client expectations. Put simply, the SGP must focus on "how we're doing it" not '"what we're doing". For example, the SGP may include summary details of the scope that is being delivered and make reference to detailed scope documents for completeness of understanding, but the SGP should not be used to hold detailed scope (or detailed "what") statements.

The initial development of the SGP will typically take place during the first steps of the initial process and continue throughout the initial phase. The SGP should be completed and approved before the run of services commences.