Program Management

Learning Objectives

• Foundation terminology and concepts: Understanding Program Management and its relationship with and differentiation from project and operations management
• Understand strategic program management, including how to identify opportunities and benefits that achieve the organization’s strategic objectives
• Identifying the communication needs of a program manager and ensuring consistent dashboarding and reporting
• Explain how program management fits into and is utilized at each point in the program life cycle
• Explain the importance of defining, creating, maximizing, and sustaining the benefits provided by programs
• Explain techniques to enable to capturing of stakeholder needs and expectations, gaining and maintaining stakeholder support, and mitigating/channeling opposition
• Explain the importance of program governance related to proactively overseeing programs and providing decision-making support for applicable policies and practices throughout a program life cycle

Foundational Terms

• Understand  the difference between Project, Program, Portfolio, Operations
• Understand the differences between goals, objectives, requirements, and specifications
• Understand the Business Case, Program Assessment and Program Mission Statement

Difference Between Project and Program Management

• Understand the different charters for projects vice programs
• Understand the four dimensions of a project or program
• Be able to discern between a project and a program

Strategic Program Management

• Understand the Five interrelated and interdependent Program Management Performance Domains: Program Strategy Alignment, Program Benefits Management, Program Stakeholder Engagement, Program Governance, and Program Life Cycle Management
• Understand the actions that may be required to coordinate those activities
• Understand what is meant by business value and how  program management fits in to the portfolio
• Understand what a program roadmap may look like and what it contains
• Understand what an environmental assessment is, and what factors go into such an assessment

Program Life Cycle

• Understand the basic components of the program lifecycle and its Phases
• Understand program formulation and preparation
• Understand what program benefits delivery means
• Understand the component-level sub-phases involved in benefits delivery
• Understand the procurement needs unique to program management
• Understand the resource management, risk management, schedule management, and scope management needs unique to program management
• Demonstrate an understanding of the inter-relationship between the program roadmap and program schedule
• Identify issues related to changes caused by a program

Benefits Management

• Understand the components of benefits management needed at each phase of the program life cycle
• Understand the value of identifying the benefits expected from a program
• Understand how to identify possible benefits
• Understand the elements of a Business Case
• Understand the elements of a Benefits Register
• Understand what a benefits realization plan is and its basic components
• Understand the relationship between benefits management and the program roadmap
• Understand the concept of Value Delivery
• Understand, at a high level, the relationship between benefits delivery and governance

Stakeholder Engagement

• Understand who program stakeholders are and how to identify them
• Understand the Stakeholder Map
• Demonstrate an understanding of key stakeholders, their roles, and their potential power and interest
• Explain four techniques for responding to a stakeholder distress call
• Understand the importance of stakeholder emotions
• Understand how to prepare emotional profiles on stakeholders to be prepared to handle issues
• Understand how to use the emotional profile to engage a stakeholder

Program Governance

• Understand the role of a program governance board and its responsibilities
• Understand the governance activities that support program management
• Discern what governance roles would assist a program