CS4.1.2
A 360 Degree Approach
to Successful Programs
Cooper Lee
TUESDAY 9 OCTOBER, 2007
Project Management - Setting the Standard
Australian Institute of Project Management National Conference 2007
Hobart Tasmania October 7 – 10, 2007
Successful Programs: A 360 degree
approach
PMOZ 07
Cooper Lee
Projects & Programs - Definitions
BUSINESS
Coordinated management of a group of projects to
Portfolio
Program achieve the program’s strategic objectives and benefits.
A group of projects (usually related), managed in a
coordinated way to obtain alignment, benefits and
control not available from managing them individually
2
A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
Project
2
... Project
N
product, service or results
Scope Change
Maintaining Executive Support
Long-term Funding Commitments
Program Management:
Three Key Challenges
Business strategy
Scope
Markets
Change
Regulatory
Maintaining Big $$$, risky
Exec support Medium to long-term
Formal Business Processes
BAU $$$
Long-term funding commitments
A Compass for the Program Manager
Organisational Strategy
Key Systems &
Stakeholders Processes
Project Managers
What % of your time do you spend in each quadrant?
Northwards: Looking up to the Strategy
Remember that
1. The program exists to serve the organisation
2. The program must change if the organisation changes
What can be done to improve your Northwards focus?
DO DO NOT
Read Business Plans Assume that things will not
Attend briefings, seminars, change – they will!
conferences with a “futuristic” Believe that the program exists
outlook in its own right
Ask your Sponsor/ Steering
Committee members for information
that can impact the program
Southwards: Towards the Team
Remember it is your project managers and their teams
who do the real work!
What can be done to improve your Southwards focus?
DO
Regular 1-on-1 meetings
Select staff based on characteristics and
develop them
Make it a FUN place to work
DO NOT
Ignore conflict within the team. Conflict
stress, performance impacts
Eastwards: Systems & Processes
Achieve leverage in terms of efficiency and control.
Set up processes once, use for every project.
Typically done through a PMO and includes
• Initiating projects • Risk & issue
• Reporting management
• Scheduling • Change requests
• Estimating • Communications
• Resource requests • Closing projects
Eastwards: DOs and DON’ts
DO DO NOT
Identify direct v systemic issues for Save time by skipping the PMO
control set-up. It will cost you a lot
Set up a PMO and get the best more time later
person you can to run it Keep re-inventing the wheel
Manage by Exception
Westwards: Outwards towards Stakeholders
What you don’t know about there can hurt you.
You need to channel and control your key interfaces
DO
Meet regularly with key stakeholders
and document
Match your effort against their influence
Keep people on the same page
DO NOT
Fail to document agreements with
stakeholders
Inundate your stakeholders
Your Compass
Organisational Strategy
Key Systems &
Stakeholders Processes
Project Managers
What will you change going forward?
Successful Programs: A 360 degree
approach
PMOZ 07
Cooper Lee
AFTERNOON TEA
Please reconvene at
4.30pm
MONDAY 8 OCTOBER, 2007
Project Management - Setting the Standard
Australian Institute of Project Management National Conference 2007
Hobart Tasmania October 7 – 10, 2007