This article offers an overview of Programme Management as developed for IBM United Kingdom Limited Project Management Consultancy Services Division. This developed in association with MITP release 4 ,the IBM project management method.
Why: the need for Programme Management
Programme Management is the co-ordinated management of a portfolio of projects to achieve a set of business objectives. It takes the output from a Company strategy and translates this into a series of projects to effect the changes necessary to support the strategy. This brings together programme management techniques within IBM’s established project management delivery method MITP, thereby giving a complete programme architecture. This enables a company’s strategy to be executed through the effective implementation of changes to the business operation.
The MITP model of Programme Management breaks down into four distinct phases:
1 Before the programme commences
2 Establishing the programme
3 Managing programme performance
4 Ending the programme
This successful four-stage model is used as the basis for IBM’s approach to Programme Management (see Fig 1).
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Fig 1 |
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External factors typically drive a business strategy, i.e. political, economical, sociological etc. These need to be harnessed into an organised programme of events in order to implement the strategic objectives.
Adopting the Programme Management framework
The programme of work will consist of multiple projects with some or all of the following characteristics:
Shared or scarce resources, demanding prioritisation and adjudication between competing projects
Interdependency needing co-ordination and change management across projects
Common infrastructure or activity across more than one project, allowing exploitation of economies from sharing
Shared risks and therefore opportunities to manage and contain across more than one project
Adopting the programme management framework is seen to produce the following advantages:
Improved levels of support to senior management, thereby improving communication and decision making channels to major project initiatives
Improved resource management and project prioritisation
Better management of risk across interrelated projects
Focus on delivering business benefits through formal programme of management and measurement
Improved overall control through framework within which costs, standards and quality can be justified, measured and assessed
Programme Management in IBM
Our Programme Management method, as developed in the UK, has been structured with specific key components:
An overall route map which shows the major characteristics of each of the four phases and their relationships
A detailed map of each of the four phases showing steps within each phase
Detailed techniques that can be used within each of the activity steps within each phase
Key questions supporting hypothesis and check questions for each step
Check lists in each of the key steps and for each of the four components
Pro-formas of the outputs from each phase
Worked examples of supporting material that could be used within each phase.
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Module 1: Programme Commencement: Programme Identification
This module deals with programme management issues before a programme can commence. II considers aspects of organisational structures and provides a framework in which to examine the impact and benefit of change, as defined by the business strategy. It seeks to determine whether the implementation proposals should be managed through one or more programmes. This module may be associated with the business planning process and the activities satisfied are as follows:
Examination of all relevant business plans and change strategies which will form an integral part of the programme - to define the benefits associated with change
Determination of the best candidate grouping of projects, evaluating planned benefits and economies of scale
Documentation of each programme grouping in order to support the business case and authorisation to proceed
Appointment of the Programme Manager
Module 2: Establishing the Programme: Programme Definition
This module takes the input from the programme identification stage and seeks consolidation of the programme environment. It is from this point that the programme manager assumes responsibility for the programme and moving this forward. This phase seeks to apply the appropriate level of controls and infrastructure in order to put the programme in place. The objectives of this phase are:
Establish the programme management procedures
Communicate fully the programme objectives to all participants
Develop the programme design, which forms the nucleus of the programme definition
Define the interdependencies between projects
Refine and consolidate the business justification for the programme
Establish a benefits management regime
Module 3: Implementing the Programme: Programme Execution
This module carries out the plans that were documented in the programme definition phase. The objective is to implement those projects, thereby facilitating change, to a new business environment. It seeks to implement projects in a series of groupings with periodic review points during the cycle of programme implementation. The review points should be places of stability where it is possible to take a critical examination of the programme in order to ensure appropriate alignment with strategic objectives.
This phase has the following main objectives:
Maintain communication channels and conformity to programme objectives
Implement the project portfolio
Ensure that the target business environment is adequately prepared to receive changes and in a position to optimise use of the planned benefits
Monitor compliance with the programme design in order to ensure policies and standards remain consistent with Corporate requirements
Ensure that the benefits and risks are properly managed throughout the programme.
Module 4: Ending the Programme: Benefits Realisation
The fourth and final phase of our programme management method examines the end of each tranche in the programme lifecycle, until ultimate completion. It may be considered a repetitive cyclical series of activities going through stages of refinement until the planned benefits have been realised to a level of satisfaction. This often differentiates Programme Management from Project Management. Programme Managers often remain with an engagement in order to assess implementation and satisfaction of long-term benefits, fine-tuning the programme in order to ensure that business benefits are met at the operational level. Project Managers tend to finish when a project has been delivered and signed off by both Acceptor and Sponsor.
The objectives of module 4 may be described as:
To ensure that the programme delivers the planned benefits and that these are fully realised wherever possible
To make graded improvements or refinements through the programme — fine-tuning
To provide corrective action in areas of significant shortfall
To seek additional areas of benefit providing any value added opportunities which result in the final programme delivery
To complete the learning process involved and ensure that this is fully communicated to all interested parties in the programme
To close the programme down at the end of the final stage
Conclusion
Programme Management seeks to combine projects which have common objectives and seek the same goal direction. These are combined as coordinated units in order to become part of a programme. The development of such a framework confers considerable advantages:
Facilitates a more expedient decision-making process
Provides a better framework for risk management
Offers greater stability and control over a portfolio of projects
Often proves to be a more cost-justified approach
Optimises the use of often limited resources
Greatly improves the overall planning process
Facilitates the management of change within the interrelated projects which form part of the overall programme.