Program Management: Roles, responsibilities and skills
Before you start reading this blog, you should first be familiar with project management and all it involves.
Program management is similar, but works differently.
Project Management Institute of USA mentions the definitions of Project, Project Management and Program Management in A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge, PMBOK Guide VIth edition –
What is a project?
A project is a temporary undertaking that creates a unique product, service or result.
What is Project Management?
Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements.
What is a Program?
A program is a collection of related projects, subprograms and program activities that are managed in coordination to reap the benefits not possible from managing them separately.
What is Program Management?
Program Management is the application of knowledge and skills to a program in order to achieve its objectives and to gain control and benefits not possible by managing individual components.
Example 1 – To create a new website. This can be viewed as a program. Related projects include website design, website development, and running a marketing campaign.
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Example 2 – A new satellite program with related projects for designing the satellite, building the satellite, designing the ground stations and launching the satellite.
What is a Program Manager?
A program manager can be viewed as a manager of a project manager’s group manager or project manager in the same way as in the past. However, the roles and responsibilities of a manager of groups were different than those of today’s program managers.
A program manager’s role, secondarily, is operational. They are responsible for planning, governance and overseeing the delivery of the program’s output.
Third, while the business knowledge of the program manager is important, the emphasis is on program management skills.
The following are the responsibilities of a Program Manager:
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It is important to have a broad understanding of the program’s objectives
Ensure that program goals and objectives align with the overall strategic objectives of your organization
Create the program, then manage it to ensure it is following the plan.
Program management during the entire program life cycle. This includes planning the overall program and tracking the progress daily.
Define the program governance (controls), and then manage and oversee the program’s interactions and with the program governance function
Familiarity and familiarity with organizational cultures, processes, and their processes
Familiarity and familiarity with program and project management methodologies and techniques
All stakeholders should be involved
All stakeholders should communicate effectively
Budget management
Take corrective measures and manage risks
Coordinate the projects and their interdependencies
Manage and use resources across projects
Align the outputs (outputs), with the program’s result and business change manager.
All program documentation can be managed
Ability to solve problems or issues in a systematic and effective manner during the course of the program. This includes optimizing and sharing resources throughout the program to obtain benefits overseeing requirements and configuration management between components
The Program Manager’s skills and attributes
The program manager