Program Manager

Program managers differ from project managers in that they’re responsible for multiple different initiatives with multiple teams, under a variety of delivery approaches. To drive business agility, they need the right tools to ensure the best possible performance across all of the related projects and initiatives they manage.

KEY CHALLENGES:

• Difficulty delivering expected business outcomes – Over the extended period of time that programs often run for, there is a tendency for them to diverge from their original purpose.  In part that happens as a result of difficulties maintaining alignment with the organization’s strategic priorities, and in part it’s because of problems with delivery at either the program or project management level.  Failure by program managers to aggressively manage all elements of the program only makes this worse.

• Difficulty supporting all work approaches – In many organizations, program management is associated with traditional, plan-driven approaches to work delivery.  Program managers in these environments struggle to adapt to work methods that don’t involve traditional project structures or that aren’t delivered using waterfall techniques.  With product- and even capability-based work delivery becoming more common, and with the tri-modal reality of that work delivery, this limits the ability of work to be executed in an optimal manner, restricts the ability to oversee project managers effectively, and deduces the program’s performance.

• Lack of accurate and timely insight – Program management is a critical element of strategy execution.  It must align with the strategic prioritization, funding and governance associated with strategic portfolio management (SPM), and it must manage and deliver work in the form of projects and similar structures managed through adaptive project management or APM.  To do that, and to be able to adapt and adjust to shifting threats, opportunities and needs, program managers need complete, accurate and timely information, integrated with the rest of the strategic planning and delivery of the organization.  If the tools required to provide that insight aren’t available then problems will occur.