Pmi definition program management

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The goals for the state's third-largest district were lofty: boost sagging graduation rates, invest…. Learning Library. The new PMI standard for program management. Shaltry, Paul E. How to cite this article: Ross, D. Today, both publications are recognized as leading professional standards for practicing project management and assessing organizational maturity. Building on these successes, and after identifying a need for a standard addressing the increasingly popular practice of managing programs, PMI--in early set in motion a project to create a standard for program management, a standard that PMI released in early This paper examines this standard's evolution and outlines its key processes.

It also describes the process of defining, developing, and delivering this standard's draft-review. It then defines the concepts of programs and program management and details program management's three k. Foundations and Processes for the Standard for Program Management The Standard for Program Management describes generally accepted processes for managing multiple projects and non-project activities within a program environment. The standard rests on these definitions: Program: A group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually.

Programs may include elements of related work outside of the scope of the discrete projects in the program. Program Management: The centralized coordinated management of a program to achieve the program's strategic objectives and benefits. Exhibit 1 Program and Portfolio Relationships. References Project Management Institute. This material has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright owner. Unauthorized reproduction of this material is strictly prohibited. With a PMI certification you can work in virtually any industry, anywhere in the world, and with any project management methodology.

Through global advocacy, networking, collaboration, research, and education, PMI prepares organizations and individuals to work smarter in an ever-changing and dynamic world. Who are Project Managers? Project Management Drives Change Throughout human history, project management has always been practiced informally, but it began to emerge as a distinct profession in the midth century when a group of forward-thinking individuals from the aerospace, engineering, pharmaceutical, and telecommunications fields realized a changing world needed new tools.

In The Project Economy, the worldwide growth of project management proves its value as a: as a recognized and strategic organizational competence as a subject for training and education as a career path It is now widely acknowledged that a basic knowledge of project management can provide value to people with a variety of roles in a vast range of endeavors. Learn the Basics of Project Management KICKOFF is a free, minute digital course and tool kit that guides you through the basics of project management, so you can effectively launch your project s from start to finish.

Who is PMI? Only after completion can the results be measured and success or failure be determined. Most culture changes and marketing initiatives and, of course, actually making movies are in this category. The tools to be used, including training, communicating, and advertising, are well known, and the traditional if not optimal mix of techniques is understood for most situations.

Traditional project management is not enough in these projects; there is a continual need to measure results, provide feedback information, and adapt the mix of activities to optimize the likelihood of success.

There is an art to spending just enough effort to achieve an acceptable outcome—dealing with shades of gray. No one is sure of the optimum outcome or how best to achieve it. The only option is to proceed carefully, stop at regular intervals to check exactly where you are, and replan the way forward.

This is exactly the way you would navigate through a thick fog. Both ambiguity and uncertainty are high. Management is both easy and difficult. It is easy because it is pointless to set fixed plans you have no idea what to plan , while it is difficult because decisions regarding value and whether to stop or continue are subjective and need to be made in a collaborative environment of trust.

Traditional measures of success such as on-time and on-budget are largely meaningless; typically there are no statistics on which to base this type of measure.

Consequently these projects are within the realm of cost-reimbursable contracts and partnerships; stakeholder relationship management and a clear understanding of value are the only effective tools for building to a successful outcome. Agile software development is ideal for this type of project. Each iteration builds new capability and value, and the learning provides a platform for the next iteration of development.

While most programs are likely to be larger, more complex, and less certain than most projects, the key differentiator between a program and a project is, as described earlier, their objective. Programs are focused on realizing benefits; projects are focused on delivering defined outputs.

One of the major roles of a program manager is to initiate projects to create the outputs the program needs to deliver its intended outcomes. Determining if the work to be undertaken is a project or a program is important because it will determine what management approach to use. Attempting to manage a program as a project can lead to failure, or at best, to suboptimal outcomes. Programs generally have a multiplicity of requirements, deliverables, customers, stakeholders, departments, and interfacing organizations interacting with the work.

The following checklist can help determine the difference Duggal, :. The first question is the key: projects are best if there is one primary goal for the project to focus on delivering; multiple goals are best dealt with by way of a program, with a series of projects each focusing on a particular goal. In many respects, the management of projects and programs appears similar.

Both are selected via the portfolio management processes on the basis that they support or enable one or more of the organization's key strategic initiatives. Both are initiated, planned, executed, and closed with ongoing monitoring and controlling during their life cycles. In addition, both apply common processes such as time, risk, and communication management.

However, managing projects and programs have distinctly different themes and focuses, which have major consequences on the style of management:. A key challenge facing project and program management professionals is managing the expectation of senior managers. Unrealistic expectations are unlikely to be realized, and creating realistic expectations in senior management thinking requires a sustained process of education and communication. Realistic expectations of a project should include reasonably high levels of certainty in terms of time, cost, scope, risk, and quality.

Importantly, the level of certainty should progressively increase as the project moves through its life cycle. The skill of a project manager lies in identifying ambiguity and uncertainty and then seeking to remove or resolve the causes. The more uncertain the work, the more likely program management approaches will deliver better outcomes for the organization. Realistic expectations of a program are based on achieving the maximum value from the overall endeavor.

The program manager should be expected to balance the relatively short-term stability and certainty needed for the current projects with flexibility and value management to optimize longer-term outcomes. Effective value management is a key part of effective program management and requires an understanding of what is valuable to the organization.

To realize a benefit, the outcomes from the program need to support a strategic objective of the organization. Therefore, the processes to initiate a project within the program should have as a basic consideration its alignment with the organization's strategic objectives.

Monitoring and controlling is key to the process, since portfolio composition is not a one-time decision. Evaluations should be conducted in some regular cadence. A project could be temporarily moved out of the portfolio or permanently moved out of what that portfolio entails. It may also be the case that, as we get into performing a project or program, we find it no longer aligns, causing a reprioritization of all projects and programs in the portfolio. While the project manager is managing multiple tasks within a project, the program manager is coordinating between related projects within a program, in order to determine which projects are working towards the same or similar goals, and which may be dependent upon others.

Portfolio managers, on the other hand, are managing all or multiple programs within an organization, ensuring that all programs are working towards fulfilling the strategic objectives of the organization. The easiest way to explain the difference in how project, program, and portfolio managers work is: A project manager works to deliver a project efficiently and reliably. They are responsible for the day-to-day management that brings a project to fruition. Program managers are more concerned with strategic alignment: Understanding what individual project managers are doing and enabling effective communication between them in order to understand where projects are and in order to provide support where necessary.

Portfolio managers , meanwhile, coordinate between various programs in order to ensure that things stay on track and that the organization is meeting its overarching strategic initiatives. To be effective, it is essential that the project managers, program managers, and portfolio managers within an organization all understand the roles that each other plays in bringing about the successful completion of a strategic goal.

Without this understanding, there may be unnecessary confusion and miscommunication that can derail an initiative before it even begins. From a high level, projects are part of programs and portfolios, and programs are part of portfolios. Each is different, but most effective when managed as one. Employers will need to fill 2. PMI,