Program Management Fundamentals
Course Overview
Expanding on the guidelines outlined in PMI®’s The Standard for Program Management, this Program Management Fundamentals course explores the breadth of tasks, skills, and interactions expected in the role of a professional program manager. It provides a complete foundational set of practical tips and hands-on exercises to build expertise and confidence using program management strategies and templates, independent of methodology.
Students are requested to bring their own program information to class to use in developing a personal post-class action plan to take their programs to the next level. This elite course is only offered for groups–inquire for your company!
Duration: 3 days (8 hrs./day)
PDUs: 24
Course Benefits and Objectives
Understand:
- Key concepts, including a program, program management fundamentals, benefits realization plan, strategic alignment, program governance, stakeholder engagement, and the program lifecycle
- Program participant roles, including the role of the program manager in managing program benefits and the role of the program governance board
- The value of the program roadmap and how it relates to components plans and schedules
- The phase-gate checklist and how to apply it at appropriate periods in the life of the program
- The key outputs from the 9 supporting processes of program management
- Standards an organization can use as a starting point to add their unique customizations
Learn how to:
- Differentiate the roles and responsibilities of portfolio manager, program manager, and project manager
- Recognize the attributes of successful program managers and assess your current strengths and weaknesses
- Identify the 3 key assets used by the program manager to align the program with corporate strategy
- Evaluate a business case, program plan, and program roadmap for missing elements
- Practice use of the Program Environmental Assessment tool in class
- Create a benefits register and use a checklist to sustain those benefits
- Use a Stakeholder Analysis Grid to effectively categorize and engage program stakeholders
- Use templates for the 9 supporting processes of program management (e.g., program work breakdown structure, program resource requirements, program risk register, program quality policy, etc.)
Frequently Asked Questions
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What Is Program Management?
Program Management is an organizational role that controls a collection of separate projects that are connected together by a common corporate aim or area of influence. This programmatic grouping of numerous projects gives greater synergy, management consistency, and stakeholders visibility than individual initiatives.
Smaller businesses may consider it a luxury, but program management frequently adds critical value by organizing individual projects through a strategic lens for larger enterprises. Project managers are primarily concerned with deliverables, whereas program managers always look at the big picture and consider the context of each circumstance.
Program management is sometimes combined with overall budget management. It ensures that funds are distributed evenly throughout the whole portfolio of active and planned projects, rather than each project competing for resources.
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Is Program Management Different From Project Management
Project management and program management are two terms that are frequently used interchangeably, but there are differences.
Project management is the process of guiding a team-based project to achieve certain goals, such as the creation of a new product. A project is a single, focused piece of work having a defined scope and output. Projects might last for years, but their basic goal remains the same. The delivery of products and deliverables that contribute to the overall aims of a program.
In simple terms, Program Management is the process of guiding multiple projects.
Through our Program Management Fundamentals course, you can learn how to differentiate the roles and responsibilities of portfolio manager, program manager, and project manager and how all of these roles support the Project Management Office or PMO.
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Is Project Management Part of Program Management?
Yes. Managing a program with several related initiatives is what program management includes. Programs are often long-running and potentially permanent since they are related to strategic ambitions. Programs endure organizational change, contribute to various goals, and include numerous projects that offer specific components of a wider strategic initiative.