A Framework for Programme Management

In business today organisations manage multiple projects concurrently with GKFX or overlapping resources, often in Diffe Rent geographical locations. Today ' s traditional project management methodologies and techniques do not recognise the reality of organisational structu Res and workplace priorities, nor do they leverage the potential benefits this accrue from multi-skilled and Multi-locatio N teams. Programme management is a technique this allows organisations to run multiple, related projects concurrently to obtain SIG Nificant benefits from them as a group.

Programme management is a-to-control project management, which traditionally have focussed on technical delivery. A group of related projects not managed as a programme is likely to run off course and fail to achieve the desire outcome . Programme management concentrates on delivering some or all of the following:

• New capabilities, products and services.
• Business Plan.
• Strategic objectives.
• Change.
• Other initiatives.

Definitions of programme Management

These four definitions of programme management be all endeavouring to explain clearly and concisely what is, in effect, t He management of multiple projects in order to achieve major change to gain significant benefits within an organisation.

Central computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA)

Definition: The coordinated management of a portfolio of projects to achieve a set of business objectives.

The CCTA ' s Introduction to programme Management talks about defining the long-term objectives of the organisation. Once These long-term objectives has been established the organisation identifies projects that help achieve these objecti Ves and thinks carefully about the benefits these projects is designed to bring about. It advises the organisation set-up assorted structures to manage the programme and keep the strategic objectives in M Ind. To give the organisation a chance to stop and look at what have changed, what are to change next and to compare all of With those highly significant overall objectives the CCTA recommends achieving ' islands of stability '. Whilst on a island, the ground was firmer under foot and you were better able to take stock of the past, present and future .

The programme Management Group (PMG)

Definition: The planning and monitoring of tasks and resources across a portfolio of projects.

The programme Management Group talks about the limitations caused by methodologies incapable of being addressed by Traditi Onal Project management products and techniques. The PMG has identified the types of organisation that they feel benefit from programme management and say they is those That has:

• Multiple projects happening simultaneously.
• Complex mix of uniquely highly skilled individuals.
• Geographically dispersed projects.
• Conflicting priorities and schedules for people and projects.
• changing deadlines and objectives.
• A requirement for responding to ' what if ' scenarios and requests.

Those organisations with a very stable, large, single project approach does not benefit in their opinion.

The Interactive Project Workout, Robert Buttrick

Definition: Directing a ' programme ' of projects is a key management task, as it's this ' bundle ' of projects Here is now to your, hopefully, better.

In He book the Interactive Project Workout, Robert Buttrick identifies three different configurations of programmes:

• Portfolio:a set of related projects aimed at meeting the business plan needs.
• Goal Directed:a set of closely related projects aimed at creating a new capability.
• Heartbeat:a set of activities managed around a service delivery, for example a large IT system.

The author goes on to say that some projects ' is simply too large to manage as a ' single entity. ' His concept is and the organisation structure for programmes are one of a programme manager supported by multiple project Managers, all of whom has their own teams.

Association for Project Management (APM)

Definition: Programme management is the coordinated management of related projects, which may include related business-as-usual activi Ties that together achieve a beneficial the change of a strategic nature for an organisation. What constitutes a programme would vary across industries and business sectors, but there is core programme management Pro Cesses.

In his paper understanding programme Management, Dr Glenn Strange identifies three ' crucial sins. '

• Not have a clear understanding of the definitions and the technologies involved.
• A lack of a clear sense of direction and purpose in which the programme is aimed.
• Not have the ' baselines ' clearly defined, which promotes an unstable programme from the outset.

The author goes on to say this ' all programmes must has a well-defined baseline from which to measure costs and benefits Resulting from investment to the programme. ' He warns against facilitating scope creep by a lack of a clear definition.

Objectives of Programme Management

Programme management is a technique concerned with controlling a group of related projects carried off to achieve a define D Business goal, objective or benefit. If we take one of the Robert Buttrick ' s definitions that some projects ' is simply too large to manage as a single entity, ' th En we necessarily need to split them up into smaller manageable projects.

If the whole is too large for a single project manager to handle and then it follows that a number of project managers are re Quired to run the smaller projects. So smaller projects with multiple project managers all designed to achieve a single long-term goal, objective or benefit F Or the organisation is what we require.

In order to control the this group and has an overall view, we require a programme manager. The programme manager is not a concerned with the day to day running of individual projects, this is the responsibility of T He project mangers. The programme manager needs to ensure, all projects is running on target and so each would achieve its overall contr Ibution to the programme as a whole. The activities undertaken during programme management are:

• Setting the baseline.
• Agreeing roles and responsibilities.
• Programme planning.
• Project prioritisation.
• Stakeholder communication.
• Progress reporting.
• Managing benefits.
• Quality Management.
• Risk Management.
• Issue Management.
• Programme closure.

The Framework

As identified in the introduction, programme management is a-to-control project management. A group of related projects not managed as a programme is likely to run off course and fail to achieve the desire outcome . There is eight important areas in the Programme management framework:

• Vision.
• Aims and objectives.
• Scope.
• Design.
• Approach.
• Resource Management.
• Responsibilities.
• Benefits realisation.

Let us take a brief look at each of the turn.

Vision is the-strategy or idea-to-drive of the organisation towards a goal, benefit or other desired outcome. The vision would usually is a brief statement of intent communicated down from the leadership. It is important, the vision has a high level sponsorship and commitment for it to be successful.

The aims and objectives are a more detailed statement this explains exactly what is required. This provides a point of reference to go and when renewed focus is required.

The scope gives boundaries to the programme explaining what exactly it was that would be delivered. The scope should leave no, doubt and everyone should be clear on what's and is not being delivered.

Design is the the which the projects, the programme is put together. In this process the programme manager considers which projects has dependencies on others, therefore which should come fi RST, can run concurrently, and those that come last.

The approach is the programme would be run. It's dependent on many factors and it's left to the skill of the programme manager to decide the most effective the. The approach should include a communication plan and as a minimum, should commit to regular progress reporting to Stakehol DERs.

Resource management looks at the scheduling and allocation of resources. Longer-term views should is taken. For the projects that'll start straightaway, it's important to identify resources and obtain line manager Commitment EA Rly on. For later projects, required resource levels should was identified, but line manager commitment was not necessarily needed a T this stage.

Responsibilities identifies and allocates responsibility for each area of the programme. Every member of the programme must clearly understand his or hers roles and the roles of the other team members. It is the task of the programme manager to ensure, this is clearly communicated and understood.

Benefits realisation is the process at the end of the programme by which the benefits identified at the beginning of the P Rogramme and measured. It is the responsibility of the programme manager to demonstrate to the Steering Committee or leadership that the desired Benefits has been realised. Often This would mean that the programme manager would continue to monitor a programme long after the individual projects AR e complete in order to ensure the benefits is realised at a business level.

Figure 1: Programme Management Framework.

This framework would provide:

• A focus on delivering major organisational change or benefits.
• Greater control through visibility of all projects in the programme.
• An understanding of project dependencies.
• Clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
• A single line of communication to the Steering Committee or sponsor.
• Optimised use of resources across projects.
• Ability to leverage economies of scale and maximise value.
• Management of risk across related projects.
• Mechanisms for measuring benefit realisation.

Within this framework there is four stages.

The four Stages

There is the four stages in programme management:

1. Programme identification.
2. Programme planning.
3. Programme delivery.
4. Programme closure.

These stages take the "programme from Initiation", based on strategy and a desire for change, right through to the final Rea Lisation of a defined business objective or benefit.

Figure 2: Programme Management Stage Mapping.

Stage 1:programme Identification

This was a high level process where the strategy and direction of the organisation are decided. It is from this, the programmes required to realise these strategies is determined. A document for each programme are produced outlining the business case, alignment to strategy, scope and the expected Busin ESS objective or benefits. All benefits should is graded in accordance with their importance. I suggest three grades A, B and C. A ' s is those benefits and is of the highest value, often it's 20% of the programme that delivers 80% of the benefits. The B ' s those benefits that is seen as important, but not essential. The C ' s is those benefits that if not realised would not prevent the programme being declared a success. This grading was used by the programme manager to assess the degree of success achieved at the end of the programme.

Stage 2:programme Planning

The planning stage is where the design of the programme takes place. The programme manager in establishing the programme would:

• Define clear objectives.
• Agree an approach.
• Agree roles and responsibilities with the team.
• Set-up communication channels.
• Agree priorities of the projects, the programme.
• Complete project planning.

It is important at this stage to identify adequate levels of resource for the early projects and identify the requirements For later projects.

Stage 3:programme Delivery

At this stage, the individual project managers run the identified projects. The programme manager ' s responsibility at the "is" to monitor progress, assess risks and report progress to the steer ING committee or leadership. The programme manager has a view across all projects and must ensure so the programme stays aligned with the overall obj Ectives and strategy of the organisation.

Stage 4:programme Closure

Like projects, programmes has a finite life and is closed once they achieve their defined business objective or benefit. Before the programme is closed, the programme manager must demonstrate to the Steering Committee or leadership that the D Esired benefits has been realised, often called ' benefits realisation '. These benefits is those that were identified in the first stage, programme identification. As these has been graded it is easy-to-quantify success, for example 100% of ' A ' graded benefits delivered. As a final task the programme manager should review the entire programme and document any lessons that has been learned T Hat would enable the future of programmes to being run more effectively.

Summary

To summarise, a group of related projects not managed as a programme is likely to run off course and fail to achieve the Desire outcome. It is therefore important that programmes be run within a framework that ensures there was a focus on the overall Strategi C objectives. By applying the four stages of programme management within the framework outlined, organisations'll has created an Effe Ctive environment in which they can monitor and control the progress of their programmes, improving the chances of bringin G them to a successful conclusion.

A Framework for Programme Management