MONTHLY COLUMN:

ADVANCES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Program Management Beyond Standards and Guides

By Michel Thiry, MSc, PMP,
PMI Fellow, Fellow APM
Valense Organizational Consultants
NYC, London, Sydney

Editor’s note: The series on Advances in Project Management was launched with a Guest Editorial by Professor Darren Dalcher and first article in the December 2009 edition of PM World Today. Please read that introductory editorial here, where Professor Dalcher explains and sets the stage for articles in this exciting series by leading authors in the field of project management. Please read previous articles in the series by visiting the archives, beginning with the December 2009 edition. Each month’s article is introduced by Professor Darren Dalcher, editor of the Series on Advances in Project Management. To read Professor Dalcher’s introduction to this month’s article, visit www.pmworldtoday.net.

According to a number of recent CEO and CIO surveys, strategic thinking has been at the top of the leadership agenda for executives, but implementing a strategy to realize value is not as obvious as it seems and optimizing the use of resources to achieve this is even less evident. Can program management provide executives with the means to achieve their objectives and increase the organization’s competitive edge? Can it provide sponsors with a clear method for defining outcomes and benefits and mastering their delivery? Can it provide users with an assurance that their needs will be fulfilled, as much as is possible, within stated parameters?

There are currently three main program management guides, or standards, published by distinct professional bodies in America, Europe and Asia. In the UK and Japanese guides, program management is associated with the management of complex organizational or societal change. The PMI Standard associates program management with the management of multiple projects within the context of a strategic plan, where benefits can be obtained from managing these projects together. Each of these publications describes roles, relationships with other processes, program specific processes, program knowledge areas and other program management components in more or less detail, but where does this leave the executive, sponsor and user?

Program Management has emerged as a distinct discipline in the late 20th Century. It progressively developed as project management was applied to more and more complex projects, to the management of strategic objectives or the management of multiple interrelated endeavors to produce strategic benefits…

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About the Author Michel Thiry Author Michel THIRY, PMP, MSc, FAPM, PMI Fellow, Managing Partner Valense Ltd., has over 35 years worldwide professional experience and has worked in many cultural environments. He graduated as an architect and has worked on a number of major construction projects for over 20 years. Following a fruitful career in construction, he has now focused on combining his Value, Project and Program Management expertise to organizational issues. He is recognized as a worldwide authority in strategic applications of project, program and value. He has supported the development and implementation of a number of strategic programs for large multinational organizations, including their restructuring as Project-Based Organizations (PBO). For the last 15 years, Michel has provided his expertise to major organizations, in various fields, including construction, financial, pharmaceutical, IT and IS, telecom, water treatment, transportation (air and rail), local government and others. He is a regular Keynote Speaker for major International events and Seminar Leader for PMI® SeminarsWorld since 2001. He has written and lectured widely in International forums, both at the Academic and Practice levels. In addition to his book “Value Management Practice”, published by the PMI®, he has written a number of book chapters on Value, Program and Portfolio Management in prominent PM books like the Gower “Handbook of project management” 3rd and 4th editions and the “Wiley Guide to Managing Projects”, published by Wiley. Gower Publishing is publishing his new book on Program Management