The program and project environment--Introduction

Part 1---1 The program and project environment

Part 1 is focused on understanding the steps that an organization needs to take to create an effective environment for success in program and project management. This includes understanding the terminology and the organizational structure changes advisable to take advantage of a program-oriented environment in the business.

Part 1 also looks at the steps necessary to institute a formalized approach to program and project selection and at understanding the essential roles and their responsibilities that are required for these processes to be effective.

(1) Introduction

During the past decade the skills of project management have become increasingly recognized as highly desirable for managers at all levels in an organization. Most people today can benefit from the application of these skills to some parts of their daily operations. The rapid growth of global markets and the introduction of Total Quality Management, continuous improvements and, more recently, the drive to redesign business processes all require these skills to some degree. All are aimed at improving organizational effectiveness and performance in a highly competitive world marketplace. The world marketplace is continually changing and every organization, irrespective of the service or product it offers, must accept that internal change is a normal process to meet the demands of external change.

The successful and effective implementation of change employs specific skills that have traditionally been owned by a select group of technical professionals. This is no longer true, and the skills of managing change are essential for everyone in an organization at all levels. Change always requires a cultural shift for everyone:

• introducing new processes;

• finding new and better procedures and working practices;

• throwing off the old habits to create a more dynamic and flexible organization;

• being able to react effectively to market forces;

• searching for ways to maintain competitiveness;

• searching for ways to seek new horizons.

To carry out such change requires some special skills. Project management has long provided a structured and organized way to achieve success every time, but has been buried deep inside technical and engineering departments as part of their exclusive domain. Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that project management has been regarded as too complicated and as a result is frequently misunderstood and very poorly practiced in other parts of the business.

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS?

If you ask anyone what is special about projects, expect to get a confused variation of responses. The Channel Tunnel, Concorde, North Sea oil rigs, motorways, inner-city development, landing on the moon, the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids and countless others are readily recognized as 'projects'.

Certainly all can be termed 'special' - all have a clearly recognizable specific result at the point of completion and we can see the result thanks to the use of modern technology and communications. Each is unique and unlikely to be repeated again in quite the same way with identical results.

These large undertakings involve a wide range of technical skills and, often, large numbers of people. At the other end of the spectrum many unique but much smaller undertakings occur in every type of organization; they use fewer people but still require many skills to produce a desired result. All these activities involve change since they are concerned with creating something that does not yet exist. The sum of the activities directed towards a specific result is regarded as a project.

In recent years the term program has entered the project environment and, not unexpectedly, caused considerable confusion. Originally it was perceived as a management tool, just a convenient way of grouping some projects together so that they all came under the responsibility of one senior manager. This apparently reduced the burden of reporting effort required but conveniently hid from view many of the issues and delays occurring. Others saw a program as an ongoing specialized activity with no clear end-point, such as, For example, marketing campaigns and space exploration. Fortunately, a more rigorous understanding of programs has now been accepted, with significant benefits.

Program and project management is now more widely accepted as an essential business discipline for all professions.

Such activities are frequently carried out outside the normal operations that keep the mainstream activity of the organization moving to satisfy its customers. Program and project management is seen as a burden on people, one demanding valuable time and resources. It incurs a commitment of expenditure of today's profits to generate future enhanced performance and benefits.

WHO IS THIS GUIDE FOR?

Anyone involved in programs or projects, regardless of their status or role in an organization, will benefit from reading this guide. But that is not its real purpose. The guide is written with two specific aims:

• to give managers in the organization a better understanding of program and project management and how to establish an effective environment to achieve results;

• to give you, the program or project manager, a guide to help you improve performance using well tried and tested tools and techniques.

The skills of project management are not the only tools you will need to become more effective, yet many of these tools are valuable in your every day work. It’s clearly recognized that you don’t spend all your time managing programs or projects and it’s more likely to be an occasional responsibility at some time in your career.

The guide has been carefully designed to meet your needs if:

• you are looking to help your organization become better organized to select and manage a program and project portfolio;

• you are looking to develop the skills of effective program and project management to help you in your work as a member of a team;

• you are about to start work on a program or project, having just been appointed to the role of program or project manager;

• you have managed programs or projects already but are seeking to improve your skills and welcome an opportunity to review your present knowledge, add some new tools and techniques to your personal skill set and improve your performance;

• you have an involvement in programs and projects and need to coach others in the application of the appropriate tools and techniques in a proven process.

This is not an academic text guide offering you complex theories to learn.

The tools and techniques of effective and successful program and project management are practical and relatively simple to understand.

This does not mean they are always easy to apply, because of the complexity of the work and the effects of scale. The emphasis is on business programs and projects, which are often small and of short duration when compared to highly technical or construction projects.

The guide is written as a pocket guide, so it’s not a guide to read once and place in the bottom draw of your desk, never to see the light of day again! It’s a tool to be used frequently to help you, remind you and support what you do at each step along the road from start-up of an opportunity for a program or project through to successful completion. Throughout you will find practical tips and checklists for each step to help you achieve the results expected.

Good luck!