The Power Of Programs

  Governance   ProjectsAtWork  

Many large work initiatives run as projects would be more successful managed as programs. Such misdiagnosed projects include dimensions of size, complexity and duration that challenge the project perspective and lead to a higher likelihood of failure. A different methodology is called for, one that recognizes the difference between a program and a project and adopts the right set of skills to the task.

Given the popularity of project management, many large work initiatives are run as projects, but would be more successful if managed as programs. Such misdiagnosed projects often include dimensions of not only size, but also complexity and duration that challenge the project perspective and can lead to a higher likelihood of failure.  It is like a perfect storm — as size, duration and complexity increase, the chance of project failure also increases. 

Projects, by definition, are temporary endeavors to produce a unique output. The classic nine knowledge areas and five processing groups are well suited for managing projects. However, at times this classic approach is inadequate to guide the overall work and coordination needed to successfully achieve the specified objective.

The project’s definition of producing a ‘unique’ output (in the form of a product, service or result) sometimes represents only subset of the work required to …

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