The Building Blocks of Program Management

Advertisement [Contact Us](mailto:contactus@projectmanagement.com) [About Us]( [Update Profile]( February 21, 2018 How can you improve your program management function? As our month-long theme continues, we also ask if program managers have a future—and help your governance efforts. Plus, we explore key enablers of quality and leverage ROI in the public sector. The Knowledge Shelf battles scope creep and helps with your strategic alignment, while our blogs share award-winning metrics and examine cost management. Then, readers ask for help with managing conflict and introverts in our discussion forums. And it's time to sign up for [PMXPO 2018](! Advertisement [Work and Resource Management is now]( Embracing work and resource management is the key to advancing your business. [Download the "WRM is Now" eBook]( to learn how to achieve success and support through seamless, high-velocity strategy. We'll provide you with eight reasons to rethink the way you conduct business. "The world never puts a price on you higher than the one you put on yourself." - Sonja Henie []PM HEADLINES [Program Management: Building on What Works]( Improving the program management function is one of those endeavors that seem to have no end. This article will explore what a number of accomplished practitioners have to say about improving the program management function, along with tips that the author has learned along the way in his own career. [Do Program Managers Have a Future?]( As project management becomes increasingly business focused, is the separation between project and program manager skill sets diminishing to the point that it’s becoming irrelevant? [Start Program Management with Due Diligence for Adequate Governance]( Your high performance can be rendered obsolete by problems caused by inadequate program management governance. Use these tactics to evaluate the governance of your program so that you can respond early with necessary measures in case you find inadequacies. [Lean, Agile and Kaizen in Project Quality Management]( Quality has always been the key factor in successful project management. The philosophies of lean, agile and kaizen are proving to be key enablers of delivering quality products and services consistently. [Register for PMXPO 2018!]( Register Now for PMXPO 2018 and join us Thursday, March 22nd! ProjectManagement.com is excited to bring you the 11th edition of its free annual virtual conference and exhibition, headlined by our keynote presentation from Joel H. Cohen, Emmy-winning writer and producer of The Simpsons! "It's hard work to make a four-minute program look effortless and elegant." - Katarina Witt [Leveraging ROI Methodology in the Public Sector]( In order to maintain the same level of service to citizens, federal and state agencies need to increase efficiency by applying innovative techniques such as the return on investment methodology. This article aims to provide an introduction to ROI methodology and provides an example of how the public sector can make its processes more effective by applying it. []KNOWLEDGE SHELF [Scope Creep in Projects: Looking From the Lens of Critical Thinking]( It is a VUCA world—volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous—and project management is no exception. In such situations, the final project may hardly resemble the original or initial plan. Welcome to scope creep! How can critical thinking help? [Governance Around Projects: An Organizational Approach]( An efficient frame of governance helps to ensure the strategic alignment of the organization with corporate initiatives and their realization. This article analyzes governance around projects with an organizational approach at the strategic level, at the tactical and portfolio level, and at the program and project level. The mission of [Knowledge Shelf]( is to help project professionals advance our practice by sharing their experiences and viewpoints. It is comprised of practitioners from a wide range of fields, covering both popular and niche topics. From lessons learned and case studies to opinion pieces and articles, this platform gives a voice to peers new to our online community, and allows for longer form contributions. For more information on how to submit your own article, please see our [Editorial Guidelines](. []THE PM POLL Is there a question you've been itching to ask? [Create a poll]( today to get some PM help from your peers! [Q; What is your favorite sport at the Winter Olympics?]( - Alpine Skiing - Bobsleigh, Luge & Skeleton - Curling - Figure Skating - Freestyle Skiing - Ice Hockey - Ski Jumping - Snowboarding - Speed Skating - Other (please share!) TOOL SPOTLIGHT Statdash is a communication tool for working with team members on activities, tasks or projects and visually sharing statuses with clients or stakeholders. It eliminates the frustration of continually tracking down team members to get their status. [Learn More]( [Search for your solution on our Tool Finder]( []BLOG IT Voices on Project Management by Kevin Korterud What are the best metrics for determining if a project is about to experience schedule, budget or quality slippages? These metrics are best categorized as delivery volatility metrics. Kevin offers some [Award Winning Metrics for 2018](. The Money Files by Elizabeth Harrin If you’ve got your copy of the PMBOK Guide®—Sixth Edition, you’ll have noticed one major difference. There’s space in each Knowledge Area chapter for a discussion of trends in that area. So what does the guidance say about Project Cost Management? [Trends & Tailoring]( has more. I Wish I Had Me When I Was You... by Laura Barnard Laura already discussed a few of the problems that come with being the hero and doing the work for others. In [5 Steps to Avoid Rescuing Project Team Members](, discover how we avoid finding ourselves in the position of not delegating and ending up doing all of the the tasks we know we shouldn't be doing. Game Theory in Management by Michael Hatfield Michael has asserted that the supply and demand curves for program management are cyclical, and the sine wave-shaped curve of the demand side led the supply version. This week, he gets a little more specific with [Your Organization’s Very Own How-Hard-Is-Program-Management Scorecard!]( Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice by Kiron Bondale Long-lived teams are often presented as being superior to their temporary counterparts. But there is a potential downside to persistent teams that can erode many of these benefits. Find out how to [Avoid Groupthink](. Plus, [Be careful which project constraint you measure, as you just might get it!]( The Critical Path by Marjorie Anderson We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com [February Book Club](! The book club provides an opportunity to participate in webinars and discussions around selected books relevant to the overall practice of project management! []Q & A Did you know that help is just a click away? Our discussion forums give you access to the ProjectManagement.com community: more than 500,000 experienced minds and growing! Ask your question today or stop by to help out other members in need of advice, including these recent and ongoing discussions on... [Favorite Technique?]( "What is your favorite project management tool and technique?" [Managing Conflict]( "What is your approach to managing conflict?" [Science or Art?]( "Is project management more of a science or more of an art?" [The Introverted PM]( "Often times we look for individuals with certain qualities to lead projects and teams. What does the introvert leader team look like?" [Measuring Process Improvement]( "How do you measure improvements to the way projects are managed and implemented? We documented processes not previously spelled out; how can we assess that documenting the process helped? We added a person responsible for overseeing the implementation of a project. How can we assess that this was successful? What have you done to assess quality of the implementation of a project?" "Everybody has to deal with tough times. A gold medal doesn't make you immune to that. A skater is used to falling down and getting up again." - Dorothy Hamill []PREMIUM PICKS Did you know that we have an extensive library of PDU-earning webinars? Here's just one of the latest valuable offerings you can check out... [Agile Software Development from the Product Owner Perspective]( Software development is frequently discussed from a project management perspective, focusing on knowledge areas, challenges, specific business cases. In this presentation, we want to discuss agile software development from the product owner perspective, his/her role, profile, performance and challenges. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome. How can we make your experience better? Is there something you haven't been able to find? Something you want to see that we don't have yet? [Let us know](mailto:cameron@projectmanagement.com). We'll handle it. 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