Program Management Processes - Coursework Example

Programme Management Processes Program Management Processes Part I Introduction Organizational project and program management concepts are differentiated by scope. Programs are made up of projects which are their building blocks1. According to Sanghera, a project2 is a work effort geared towards creating a product, service or result for a finite or temporary period requiring use of skills, knowledge and tools to perform a set of related tasks forming aspects of a project. A program is a group of projects related by a common attribute managed in a coordinated way to achieve benefits and control which cannot be achieved at the individual project level3. A project life cycle includes initiating, planning, execution, control and monitoring and closing processes4 while a program’s life cycle is reflected in an organizations big picture as embodied in the mission, vision and management strategy of an organization5. Stakeholders6 to both program and project management are individuals or organizations whose interests are positively or negatively affected by execution and these can be both internal and external7 to the organization. Internally, the organization needs teams to work on the projects and programs, while externally, stakeholders such as those who stand to benefit from the implemented strategy and those that are negatively affected by the strategy8. All these stakeholders have to be considered by project and programme managers and their diverse expectations attended to adequately in order to ensure success of organisation strategy. Reasons for strategic approach to selection and management Portfolio Graves and Ringuest1 define project and by extension programme selection as the selection from a menu of limited opportunities to fit an organization resources and capabilities by evaluating the competing investments2. It has been suggested that contemporary organization need to incorporate project portfolio management as part of their practice3. This business practice requires pre-evaluation of potential projects before embarking on the life cycle process to avoid disconnect between the projects function and organization’s operations4. The organization is required to set up mechanism to determine which projects can be efficiently and effectively handled using its resources. Components of portfolio management are prioritization of projects and maintenance of project selection criteria to give the organization the relevant information to enable choice of right projects and comparison of such projects against organizational goals and objectives5. Levine6 divides portfolio management into two phases. The first involves selection of projects by evaluation each proposed project’s value and benefits to the organization while the second phase is concerned with the maintenance of the project pipeline to meet portfolio sustainability objectives. Benefits7 of adopting portfolio management for an organization include fitting projects into management strategy, avoidance of losses or project failure, appraisal of organizational resources needed and capability to support the projects, the enabling of prioritization of projects, appreciation and mitigation of risk and ease in allocation of resources. Impact on organization’s portfolio, and benefits to organization. Implementation of management goals first impacts on an organisation by requiring allocation of resources such as financial, human, and infrastructure to the strategy1. Projects do not make as many multiple demands on an organizations do programs. The conflicts created by these diverse demands necessitate creation of mechanisms and criteria for resource allocation, appropriate organizational structure for handling the various processes, project selection and prioritization when resources are inadequate for all projects undertaken. At the end of the implementation process, feedback mechanisms measure the impact of results and whether the end product conforms to the goals and plans2. Monitoring and control mechanism are meant to correct deviance from plans, and measure whether organization’s resources have been effectively and efficiently and determination of future course of action such as kinds of projects to prioritize and those to reject. Adoption of portfolio management by an organisation can face challenges in actual implementation such as skepticism, rigidity and resistance3. These challenges create an additional responsibility on top level management to enforce compliance, come up with project selection processes4, criteria, identify core competencies and capabilities and craft a strategy to suit that special environment. The screening of projects presented to an organisation implies that the organisation has publishes selection criteria that can be used by prospective project sponsors to determine eligibility and presentation formats. Part II Business Change Program: Impact of Program Management Processes Definition Crawford1 asserts that change is the only constant aspect for an organization in competitive environments. This change is made imperative by business conditions that necessitate identification of business objectives and crafting of strategy and programs to meet organization’s goals and desired outcomes2. The term management of change hence means the implementation of business plans in an organization to keep abreast of tough competition and carve out new market niches via new, branded products or large scale restructuring. Business change then is any business strategy that cannot be described as part of an organization’s usual business activity that is in reaction to planned or planned events. Factors that will influence a business organization to adopt change measures can be changes in regulatory framework, competition, exploration of new markets and customer satisfaction. Once the organization is prompted to change, creation of a strategy to react to the changed objectives in a management project or program is necessary. Program Management Processes The implementation of the management plans can adopt either a top down approach suitable for future plans, bottom up approach suitable for shorter term plans or a combination of both approaches3. The strategies adopted by an organization have to be actionable in real life. Depending on the size of the change strategy, an organization can effect change in either a project or program. A management project is initiated by defining or authorizing the change, planned by creating action plans, executed by implanted by putting plans into action, monitored and controlled through feedback mechanisms to ascertain progress and correct variance and lastly, closed by reviewing the project and turning over outcomes to a more permanent department1 to monitor progress once the project period ends. Sanghera states that it is important that change management in an organisation for a manager involves communication, negotiation, problem solving, influencing and leading the responsible management team2. A management program handles project strategies that are interdependent and those that need prioritizing3. Steyn defines program management as the coordinated management of projects with strategic importance for the organisation4. The processes involved in program management include developing, communicating, implementing and evaluation policies, procedures as well as organization structure changes and activities5. The strategy adopted binds the organization’s mission to its vision by incorporation of three themes6: program benefits, stakeholders and governance. Implementation of the strategy’s program life cycle beings with appraisal and approval, detailed planning and mapping, provision of infrastructure to facilitate implementation, delivery of the program benefits and lastly, program closure involving controlled shutdown, benefit turn over, monitoring and evaluation7. Change Implementation Organizational objectives are delivered through project and program8 methodologies that plan the two management life cycles. The competence of the change management team is important to realization of organizational goals1, just as the methodology is. Crawford2 opines that a mixture of pre tested methodologies and techniques work best in times of need. In line with this argument, an operating model setting out how processes, personnel and techniques are used in change management is necessary in the organization’s internal environment. Externally, the organization should also have ways of ascertaining relevant factors that can affect choice and implementation of strategy. According to Crawford, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis is one of the techniques that can be handy for the purpose of evaluating organizational environments3. Sometimes organisation incapable of reacting to changes in their business environment might find it profitable to form partnerships for business related aspect such as geographical coverage, harness expertise and save on costs of developing their own mechanisms4. This is especially prevalent in the international sphere where organizations based in different countries seek out partners in each home country to bolster a market presence, or when multinationals partner with national organizations in order to better fit into the local market. The local partners in turn benefit from the expertise or exchange of technology from the multinational corporations. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Project Management and the Organisational Strategy: An Overview of the Strategic Management Process.” 2006. Accessed April 4, 2015. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/docs/project-management-and-organisational-strategy.pdf. Crawford, J. “Change Management: Building and Effective Change Management Organisation.” 2013. Accessed April 4, 2015. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/docs/building-an-effective-change-management-organisation.pdf. Graves, S. B., and J. L. Ringuest. Models & Methods for Project Selection: Concepts from Management Science, Finance, and Information Technology. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003. Levine, H. A. Project Portfolio Management: A Practical Guide to Selecting Projects, Managing Portfolios, and Maximizing Benefits. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005. Sanghera, P. Fundamentals of Effective Program Management a Process Approach Based on the Global Standard. Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.: J. Ross Pub., 2008. Steyn, P. “Programme Managing Project Management Process-portfolios and Business Process-portfolios in the Organisational Value Chain.” Accessed April 4, 2015. http://www.icoste.org/SloveniaPlenaryLectures/icecFinal00126.pdf. Read More