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Introduce Program Management to Your Organization
Use programs to align projects to your strategic goals.
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Contributors
- Mohamed Kotb, Program Manager, Diebold Nixdorf
- Pam Fluttert, Manager PMO IST, University of Waterloo
- Connie van Oostveen Manager, Portfolio Strategy, University of Waterloo
- 7 anonymous contributors
Your Challenge
- Organizations are faced with managing multiple simultaneous projects.
- Project Managers are struggling to deliver on highly integrated projects and stakeholders are confused about the status of these projects.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Organizations underestimate the value that a unifying process/framework will have across numerous related projects
- Business needs and goals are always changing and organizations need to be able to adapt.
- You may not realize that there are overlaps or gaps between your projects. You can use program management to fill these gaps and start to maximize the benefits of your projects and improve delivery.
- Projects are investments to further goals and programs, and program managers can mitigate risks to protect those investments
- Although programs can really optimize a portfolio, it is important to remember that they require additional overhead and starting too many at one time could impede desired results. It is best to build programs one at a time, and only if it makes sense to do so.
Impact and Result
- Optimize your portfolio with programs. If you have a collection of heavily dependent and integrated projects that all relate to a single and unified objective you can group them as a program.
- Get control of interdependent projects with programs. If leadership is concerned about the overhead of programs, that’s okay. Just group and run your projects together in programs to improve delivery.Once they see the value of coordinating related projects, they are more likely to buy into the concept and you can focus more the programs strategic goal alignment.
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should consider program management to improve delivery and maximize benefits from related projects, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the two ways we can support you in completing this project.
1. Assess current projects and determine your next program
Look at how you currently deliver projects and realize benefits. With a list of projects and initiatives created you will be ready to create your next program.
2. Initiate program
Initiate the program you established. Make sure you have the right people so that your program starts off on the right foot.
Guided Implementations
This guided implementation is an eight call advisory process.
Guided Implementation #1 - Assess current projects and determine your next program
Call #1 - Perform a scoping call.
Call #2 - Determine your current level of project coordination and benefits realization.
Call #3 - Discuss what value looks like and identify goals.
Call #4 - Identify related projects.
Guided Implementation #2 - Initiate program
Call #1 - Discuss roles and responsibilities and determine program stakeholders.
Call #2 - Discuss stakeholder management.
Call #3 - Identify the intended benefits of the program and develop a benefits realization plan that will be managed through the program to ensure that planned benefits always have owners and are achieved, sustained, and optimized.
Call #4 - Create program charter in preparation to initiate the program.
Book Your Workshop
Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Start With Program Fundamentals
The Purpose
Understand what program management is, and assess your current benefits delivery practices in order to use projects to create programs that align with your strategic goals.
Key Benefits Achieved
Stakeholder alignment on project management next steps.
Activities
Outputs
SWOT Analysis
- Cultivating alignment around opportunities and challenges
Benefits Realization Assessment Survey
- An analysis of the organization’s current benefits delivery practices
List current organizational initiatives and IT goals
- Groups of related projects aligning to goals with identified benefits
Project Program Organizer
- Groups of related projects aligning to goals with identified benefits
Program Charter
- Completed sections of the program charter that can also be used as a business case
Module 2: Program Wireframe
The Purpose
Establish the right people that need to manage or be part of your program so you can get it off the ground.
Key Benefits Achieved
A tactical plan to help implement program management next steps.
Activities
Outputs
Determine potential program sponsor
- Program Sponsor
Stakeholder Register
- List of program stakeholders to analyze
Document project benefits
- Benefits to verify program
