How to Manage Complex Programs: High-Impact Techniques for Handling Project Workflow, Deliverables, and Teams

by Tom Kendrick

Overview

To see a program successfully through to completion, a program manager must break the work down into simpler, smaller pieces and organize it into interdependent tasks…and this book helps you do just that.

Projects require managers, but programs warrant maestros. Tasked with overseeing multiple project teams and thousands of activities, program managers have one of the most challenging jobs in the market. Too many overburdened managers are leaving otherwise great jobs, even the field entirely, because they haven’t equipped themselves with the right tools in hand to take on this complex but fulfilling job.

Complete with diagrams, graphs, and real-life examples, How to Manage Complex Programs explains the ins and outs of program management and provides concrete and effective techniques for structuring deliverables, workflow, and staffing. You will learn to:

• Decompose complex deliverables into manageable chunks
• Develop coherent plans for component projects
• Handle cross-project dependencies
• Organize program staff and project leaders into a high-performing team

Yes, program management is challenging but the most rewarding jobs always are. Don’t let yourself become overburdened and tempted to leave a field in high demand of hard workers such as yourself. These proven strategies are the key to finding both relief and success!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400245628
Publisher:	AMACOM
Publication date:	07/02/2024
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Tom Kendrick the former Program Director for the project management curriculum at UC Berkeley Extension, and lives in the Bay area near San Francisco, California. He is a past award recipient of the Project Management Institute (PMI) David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award for "Identifying and Managing Project Risk: Essential Tools for Failure-Proofing Your Project" (now in it's fourth edition). Tom is also a certified PMP and serves as a volunteer for both the PMI Silicon Valley Chapter and PMI.org.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

1 Program Management 1

Projects, Programs, and Portfolios 4

Program Definition 4

How Do Programs Originate? 7

Why Are Programs Difficult? 8

Project/Program Size Boundaries 10

Program Life Cycles 12

Dimensions of Program Complexity 15

2 Program Initiation 21

Strategic Alignment and Tactical Objectives 24

Program Governance and Sponsorship 27

Portfolio Management 30

Program Benefit Analysis and Return on Investment 34

Program Risks 46

Program Challenges 56

Process Maturity for Program Management 63

Planning for the Plan 68

Program Startup 71

3 Program Deliverable Management 77

Managing Program Scope 80

Program Stakeholders 82

Gathering Program Requirements 84

Stakeholder Priority Conflicts and Resolution 88

Characterizing Programs 90

Establishing the Program Roadmap 92

Defining Program Deliverables 98

System Decomposition and Analysis 103

Program Scope Risks and Optimization 113

Documenting Program Scope 119

Program Scope and Change Management 123

4 Program Planning and Organizing 127

Program Planning Processes 130

Program Planning Tools 136

Program Decomposition and Project Planning 142

Project Plan Integration and Interface Management 146

Program Workflow Risks 163

Hierarchical Plan Baselines and Plan Documentation 171

5 Program Leadership 181

Program Governance and Stakeholder Expectations 184

The Program Management Office 195

Hierarchies of Teams and Leaders 204

Program Leadership 211

Program Communications 217

Program Staff Motivation 221

Program Staffing and Other Resource Risks 223

6 Program Execution and Control 227

Sponsor and Stakeholder Expectations Management 230

Program Metrics 233

Program Status Tracking 244

Program Reporting and Information Management 248

Controlling Program Scope 257

Program Review 267

Managing Organizational Change 272

Recovering Troubled Programs 281

7 Program Closure 289

Program Closure Process 291

Program Process Improvement 295

8 Conclusion 297

Program Deliverable Management 300

Program Planning and Organizing 300

Program Leadership 301

The Path Forward 301

Selected Program Management Bibliography 305

Index 307