Projects & Programs are two different animals, don't underestimate the gap

December 2014, Moscow

Thomas Walenta, PgMP, PMP, PMI Fellow

thwalenta@online.de

Not typical attributes of project managers:

Strategy alignment, positive towards change, strategy execution

Which profession has these attributes?

A Study reveals a disturbing reality: even among projects that are delivered at least 90% on time & on budget, majority fails to

deliver 'business expectations'.

Business outcome expectations include

Delivery quality

End-user adoption

Business case attainment

Sponsor satisfaction

Challenged

53% Succeeded

29%

Failed

18%

Corporate Executive Board (CEB), www.pmo.executiveboard.com, 2009 Study 'Project Managing Business Outcome'

The top-performing projects in terms of budget and schedule compliance attain on average only 53% of their business outcome expectations.

What did the project managers miss?

Scope, budget, milestones = business benefits?

Successful project delivered

product in time & budget

Successful

benefits and created value

A benefit is the 'desired result of an initiative undertaken

to meet a need or solve a problem'

Are Project Managers educated to transform business goals to requirements and benefits?

Project Manager‘s curriculums & certifications focus on

– Magic triangle scope/quality – cost – time

– Supporting processes like risk, quality, procuring

– Soft skills to lead a team

– Organizational skills

– Technology

cost time

scope/quality

How about strategic alignment, benefits realization and C-Suite communication?

PM Standards and Methodologies provide no real help to Project Managers in delivering benefits

• Benefits are specific to an industry / a company

• Benefits delivery is often seen as a primary task of middle management, consulting companies or not addressed specifically

• Word 'Benefits' is found 24 times in PMBoK Guide 5th edition, but 129 times in PgM Standard 3rd edition, having benefits management as key domain and related processes and artefacts

• Prince2 mentions benefits in the business case and benefits review plan ('Managing Successful Programs' MSP covers benefits management)

• IPMA ICB does not have a focus on benefits management, offers Success Criteria for projects

• ISO 21500: projects contribute to benefits, which are created by operations

? Stake-holders

(sponsors)

Stake-holders (users)

Strategy

How to successfully to fulfill business expectations = deliver benefits to stakeholders?

Environment (society, jurisdiction, regulators, market etc) R

eq

uire

me

nts

Be

ne

fits

Program

Stake-holders

(sponsors)

Re

qu

ire

me

nts

Stake-holders (users)

strategy

Project A deliverable

Scope Cost Time

Be

ne

fits

(c

on

so

lidate

d)

Project B deliverable

Scope Cost Time

Discrete benefit

Benefits Identification

Benefits Analysis & Planning

Benefits transition

Benefits sustainment

Benefits Delivery

Understand what has to be done in addition to project management - and how it can be accomplished!

Component C Discrete benefit

Environment

Stake-holders

(sponsors)

Stake-holders (users)

Strategy

How to successfully to fulfill business expectations = deliver benefits to stakeholders?

Environment (society, jurisdiction, regulators, market etc) R

eq

uire

me

nts

Be

ne

fits

Program Benefits Management transforms stakeholder requirements into sustained benefits

Based on PMI Standard for Program Mgmt, 3rd Ed. & IBM's WWPgMM

Benefits Identification

Benefits Analysis & Planning

Benefits transition

Benefits sustainment

Benefits Delivery

Business Case Program

Mission Define CSFs Measurement

Structure

Benefits Realisation

Plan

Define Program

Components Define KPIs Performance

Baseline

Start, monitor & transition

components

Evaluate KPIs

Monitor organizational environment

Program definition Program benefits

delivery Program closure

Transition Plan Verify

Transition

Operational tasks

Program Lifecycle

Stake-holders

(sponsors)

Stake-holders (users)

strategy

Who and what influences requirements? Who can control requirements? Project or Program Manager?

Project deliverable

Scope Cost Time

Discrete benefit

Environment

Be

ne

fits

Project Program Portfolio

Objective Create previously agreed

deliverables

Achieve previously agreed

and defined strategic

objectives, realize business

benefits

Permanently attempt to

reach the mission of the

organization

Duration Finite, short term Temporary, might be

flexible

Infinite

Focus of

Mgmt

Scope and deliverables Value and Benefits

Stakeholder Engagement

Interfaces and Integration

Prioritization of Projects &

Management of Resources

Decision-

making

In phases, based on

milestones/gates

In stages/projects, based

on benefits realization

In periods, based on

management cycle

Sponsor Program Manager or

Project Sponsor

Strategic Objective Owner

(Business Exec Sponsor)

Organization (CEO, COO)

Success In scope, quality, budget,

time & stakeholder

satisfaction

Achieve benefits & satisfy

stakeholder needs

Aggregate investment

performance

What is it

about

Efficiency Effectiveness Agility

Differences between projects, programs and portfolios

Program Project

Plan Control Deliver

Scope / Quality

Time Cost

Understand Create Achieve

Strategy / Benefits

Governance Stakeholders

Program Management is outward focussed while Project Management mainly deals with project internals

Capabilities of a successful program manager are different to those of a good project manager

PMI Congress 2003 – Europe Paper

Pellegrinelli, Partington and Young

Example: How I became a Program Manager

2001/2: working as a multi project manager for an investment bank's IT

2002: was asked for a project assessment on a troubled EU SAP rollout (my first encounter with SAP)

Issues identified: parallel rollouts, productive systems and SAP operations unaligned Insufficient communication with stakeholder groups

Proposed a program management system (PMS) Key attributes: enable integration and specific communication interfaces And … was asked to implement it (took 3 months and about 10 people)

Main issues identified: - Unaligned parallel rollouts, productive systems and SAP operations - Insufficient communication with stakeholder groups

Was then asked to run the remaining SAP rollouts as a program (UK, eastern Europe, Russia, end: 2008)

SLF4

Relationship

Management

Specialist

Team

Program Management

SLF3

Organizational

Change

Management

SLF2

Architectual

Solution

Board

SLF7

Test &

Transition

Management

SLF5

Quality

Assurance

/ Risk

SLF6

Program

Mgmt

Office

SLF8

Resource

Management

Oper-

ations

Applic.

Mainten.

User

Help

Desk Project 4

.........

Project 1

Operational Layer Functions

(Projects, Teams, Production)

Strategic Layer Functions

Project 3 Project 5

Project 6 Project 2 Enduser

Training

Team

Sponsors

Stakeholders,

e.g. Users Business

Steering

Committee

A Program Management System (PMS) ensures the linkage between involved and affected stakeholder groups and the integration among

projects and with ongoing tasks

SLF1

Business

Strategy

Source: PMI Global Congress Toronto 2005 Paper Th. Walenta

Transition Steps from Project to Program Orientation (by Liam Dillon, ldillon@turlon.com)

1. Delivery >>> Business

2. Schedules >>> Dependencies

3. Reporting >>> Escalation

4. Scope >>> Strategy

5. Crisis >>> Conflict

6. Team >>> Governance

7. Transfer >>> Transition

8.Salary >>> Challenge

9. Stress >>> Relaxation

10. Project Triangle >>> Program triangle

Change the thinking