From the course: What Is Program Management?
From the course: What Is Program Management?
What is a program?
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- To understand programs versus projects, you've got to think big. Programs, by their nature, are complex and potentially quite large. Think of things like launching a product in new markets, drastically changing the business focus, or a merger. Programs are made up of the projects that get those things done. A program is defined as coordinating and managing multiple related projects and other activities, towards the achievement of one or more strategic objectives. Well, that's a mouthful, so let's break it down a bit. First, let's look at managing and coordinating multiple related projects. Consider a merger. A merger would require multiple individual but related projects, including an organizational restructure, integration of business processes, rebranding and product alignment. Each of these projects would likely have dependencies between them to ensure coordination and timely achievement of expected outcomes. Next, other activities. And here's where programs differ from projects. Programs need to include key activities for business readiness, how the project outputs will transition into operational use, what support is in place, and when and how outcomes and benefits will be measured. Finally, working towards the achievement of one or more strategic objectives. Programs are expected to achieve one or more of the strategic objectives for the organization, whereas projects may only be contributing towards a strategic objective. For example, the strategic objective is to grow and increase the market share. The merger program is expecting to achieve an increase of market share by 20%, which aligns with the objective, whereas the rebranding and product alignment projects are only contributing in part to strategic object. Now let's take a look at the characteristics of a program versus a project, which will help you identify which one you're working on. Programs focus on achieving outcomes, such as increasing the market share by 20%, whereas the project will focus on outputs, such as a rebranded corporate identity. Programs consider the wider impact of business as usual and put in place business continuity plans during the transformation to the new state. Projects, however, may not necessarily take this into consideration, and will simply just want to deliver as soon as possible. Programs need to define pre and post transition activities to ensure the solutions are transitioning into operational use smoothly. Projects are typically not involved in transition activities and end once the project outputs have been delivered. Programs include outcome monitoring and benefits realization activities, whereas projects will likely plan for benefits realization, but the activities to achieve these usually happen after project closure. Programs typically have a longer time scale, often without specific end dates, and could range anywhere from a year to several years. Projects typically have a specific end date in mind and could range anywhere from a couple of weeks to a year or two for complex projects. Understanding the difference between projects and programs is important. Your entire management approach will differ based on what you have, including how the governance will be applied, how monitoring and reporting is managed, how decision-making takes place, and who has accountability and responsibility for what. Make sure you have considered these focus areas before you dive in and start planning, as it may save you a lot of wasted time.
