Project and Program management

Project and Program management

Project and Program management

Introduction

Many enterprise IT organizations are tackling large, complex efforts that combine the delivery of software elements, new and changed business models, and overall changes to organizational structure and capabilities. Typically these efforts involve several parallel projects, and managers are finding that "traditional" project management approaches fall short for such undertakings. Consequently, many IT professionals are turning to the substantial body of experience, and the smaller body of documentation, that supports the discipline of program management. This discipline describes principles, strategies, and desirable results for managing large-scale efforts comprising parallel projects. (Paul C. Dinsmore et al 2005, 645-788)

This review considers five major aspects of program management:

Governance: Defining roles and responsibilities, and providing oversight

Management: Planning and administering both projects and the overall program

Financial management: Implementation of specific fiscal practices and controls

Infrastructure: The program office, technology, and other factors in the work environment supporting the program effort

Planning: Activities that take place at multiple levels, with different goals. The program plan is not a traditional plan

Program governance

Program governance is the aspect of the discipline that creates both the structure and practices to guide the program and provide senior-level leadership, oversight, and control. Strategically, it encompasses the relationship between the oversight effort and the enterprise's overall business direction. It also encompasses all the decision-making roles and responsibilities involved in executing the program effort. Projects are typically governed by a simple management structure. The project manager is responsible for day-to-day direction, a senior IT executive integrates technology with business interests, and a business sponsor is accountable for ensuring that the deliverables align with business strategy. Programs require a more complex governing structure because they involve fundamental business change and expenditures with significant bottom-line impact. In fact, in some instances their outcomes determine whether the enterprise will survive as a viable commercial/governmental entity. (Paul C. Dinsmore et al 2005, 645-788)

Figure 1 shows a sample governance structure for a complex program.

Figure 1: Sample program governance structure

Literature review

As we can see in Figure 1, unlike most projects, programs usually have a steering committee or other group that represents diverse interests and provides executive-level oversight. As the program evolves, this governing body ensures that it continues to align with the enterprise's strategic direction and makes decisions that may eventually filter up to the board of directors. Defining the role and decision-making powers of the steering committee is a significant part of the program governance effort and should be done with an eye toward facilitating rapid decisions and promoting a clear, unified direction. Figure 1 also illustrates a typical program management structure, which is more complex than that of a project. Creating this structure involves defining specific roles with specific decision-making authority, and making clear to all who "owns" certain program functions. Good governance is critical to program success. A poorly articulated management structure, overlapping roles and decision-making authority, and roles filled by the wrong people (or not filled at all) can prevent a ...