Practitioner's Guide to Program Management

Irene Didinsky

• Editorial: Project Management Institute
• Año: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781628253696
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Business
• Categoría: Project Management

Programs serve as a crucial link between strategy and the execution of business results and organizations implement them to achieve strategic goals. Although the practice of program management has evolved in lockstep with the project management profession, the root causes of program failure remain. In this step-by-step guide, Irene Didinsky offers a standardized approach to program management, closing the knowledge gaps and variations that currently exist across organizations and industries. For the first time, Practitioner's Guide to Program Management walks the reader through all the key components of effective program management. Using a case study example of an actual process improvement program, Didinsky discusses the qualities of excellence in program leadership, the importance of organizational strategy alignment throughout the program life cycle, how a program realizes benefits, and how to manage conflicting priorities of stakeholders. This comprehensive resource also includes an historical overview of the professionalization of the field, outlines the logistics of forming a program management community of practice, and concludes with a glossary of terms. With this desktop manual in their hands, practitioners can expect to thrive and guarantee the success of their programs.

CHAPTER 1

What Is Program Management?

The chapter constructs a time line that depicts key milestones in the evolution of the program and project management industries. It analyzes the program management industry's current state, identifying gaps, the closure of which will ensure future industry growth. It defines a program and compares it to a project and a portfolio, illustrating roles that each play in executing organizational strategy. The chapter also delineates why organizations deploy programs and how organizations execute them.

The chapter includes the following sections:

• Program management industry history and current state;
• Program, project, and portfolio definitions;
• Why organizations deploy programs;
• Program management performance domains; and
• Program life cycle management.

Program Management Industry History and Current State

To ensure the organization is successfully and effectively employing program management, it is important to understand the history of the program management industry as well as its current state. The program management industry is affected by the project management industry in many ways. So, to understand how the program management industry evolved, we will construct a time line that shows key milestones in the evolution of the program and project management industries. We will also analyze the current state of the program management industry and identify gaps, the closure of which will ensure future industry growth.

Program management evolved in the 1940s in the United States military. The Manhattan Project, which created the atomic bomb, first used program management concepts. However, it was not until the 1980s when some commercial companies started to adopt program management concepts and tools in their operations.

Project management evolved at around same time as program management. In the 1950s, organizations started to apply formalized project management approaches, tools, and techniques. However, for thousands of years, dating as far back as to the time of the construction of the Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China, mankind practiced forms of project management.

The time line in Figure 1-1 depicts key milestones in the evolution of the program and project management industries:

1940

1.In the 1940s, the Manhattan Project, which created the atomic bomb, first introduced program management concepts.

1950

2.In the 1950s, the Atlas project that created the first U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile, used program management practices.

3.Project management practice in the modern sense began in the 1950s. Even though in some form, project management concepts were used in early civilizations.

4.Program management's first documented evidence dates back to 1957, when the U.S. Department of the Navy formed the first program office, called the Special Project Office (SPO).

1969

5.Project Management Institute (PMI) was founded in 1969.

1971

6.The first program management course was conducted by The College of Defence Management in 1971.

1974

7.The first PMI chapter was chartered in Houston, Texas in 1974.

1980

8.Program management practice started to expand into public and private organizations in many industries.

9.The manufacturing and software development sectors used project management practices.

1984

10.In 1984, PMI instituted the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification.

1990

11.Program management practice continued to expand, and organizations began defining program management and started developing homegrown methodologies for program execution. Definitions and methodologies were not standardized and varied significantly among different organizations.

12.Different industries and organizations widely used project management theories, tools, and techniques.

1996

13.PMI first published A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) in 1996. The guide provided the project management industry with standardized definitions and methodologies.

2006

14.PMI first published The Standard for Program Management in 2006. To date, PMI published two subsequent editions. The standard provided the program management industry with standardized definitions and methodologies.

15.Pulse of the Profession®, the project management industry annual report, was first published by PMI in 2006. The program management industry does not have an industry report. However, the project management industry reports frequently include program management industry data.

2007

16.In 2007, PMI instituted the Program Management Professional (PgMP)® certification.

2010

17.The program management industry continued to grow and reported that, in 2010, 62% and in 2011, 65% of organizations always or often used program management.¹

18.The project management industry continued to grow and reported that, in 2010, 59% and in 2011, 63% of organizations used standardized project management across all departments.²

19.Program Management Professional (PgMP)® certification holders included 1,200 persons, as reported by PMI in February 2015.³

2015

20.Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification holders included 647,663 persons, as reported by PMI in February 2015.⁴

21.The Program Management Professional (PgMP)® certification did not have a page in Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, in December 2015, as shown in Figure 1-2. The Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification does have a page in Wikipedia.

The key milestones in the evolution of the program and project management industries time line contained a few terms that are defined as follows:

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international organization advancing the professional field of project management. It does this by setting standards, through certified education and development, and by conducting research and professional conferencing.

The Project Management Professional (PMP)® is the most important industry-recognized certification for project managers.⁵

The Program Management Professional (PgMP)® is a visible sign of your advanced experience and skill and gives you a distinct advantage in employment and promotion.⁶

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) is a set of standard terminology and guidelines (a body of knowledge) for project management.

The Standard for Program Management is the first document that provided a detailed understanding of program management, defined a standardized approach to it, and outlined methodologies to execute programs.

Even though the program and project management industries evolved at about same time and have grown since their inception, the program management industry has grown at a slower pace than the project management industry. As a result, a lot of research has gone into the project management industry and not into the program management industry.

A program management industry expert stated that he has not seen so much research for trends in the program management industry. Also, even in the research for project management, he has noted that there is confusion between the management of a project and program, due to unclear and inconsistent definitions used by many organizations.⁷

We will analyze the current state of the program management industry by comparing it to the current state of the project management industry in the key areas of industry growth, strategy alignment, and standardization.

Program Management Industry Growth

Program management practice exists in the United States; however, it is not widespread. Project management practice is common in the United States, and is widespread. Program management has some global recognition, while project management has wide global recognition. The number of facts confirms limited growth and spread of the program management industry.

In 2010, almost 5.5 million jobs in the United States were in project management. By 2020, that figure is expected to increase to almost 6.2 million, or a double-digit growth of more than 12%. Project management is practiced globally. Between 2010 and 2020, the project management profession is slated to grow globally by US$6.61 trillion.⁸

Program management industry analysis is rather limited; that is why similar data on industry domestic and international current size and future growth are not available. Available data can confirm larger growth in the project management industry compared to the program management industry. For example, 41% of organizations are extremely or very focused on the training and development of employees in project management, while only 18% of organizations are focused on the training and development of employees in program management. Highly developed organizational cultures of agility focus significantly more on the training and development of employees compared with underdeveloped organizational cultures:

• Project management: 66% versus 13% of underdeveloped cultures; and
• Program management: 44% versus 4% of underdeveloped cultures.⁹

Agility refers to an iterative, incremental method of managing the design and build activities of engineering, information technology, and other business areas that aim to provide new product or service development in a highly flexible and interactive manner.¹⁰

More organizations use project management, where 31% always use it, 35% often use it, 22% sometimes use it, 9% rarely use it, and 3% never use it. Fewer organizations use program management, where only 27% always use it, 33% often use it, 24% sometimes use it, 10% rarely use it, and 10% never use it.¹¹ In the study conducted by PMI in late 2011, just over 40% of respondents indicated having project manager roles, while significantly fewer respondents, or only 15%, indicated having program manager roles.¹²

The data presented above confirm that the program management industry experienced slower growth than the project management industry did. This conclusion is further confirmed by the scarce availability of program management...