Skills Required for Program Management

/in /by

Photo by Kid Circus on Unsplash

Thinking of making the jump from project to program management? A program manager’s job is more than being a very competent project manager. Let’s examine a few of the critical skills you need to fulfill a program manager’s responsibilities.

  • Refined business sense. Program managers require significant business acumen. Just to initiate the program, you need to be able to position the program from a business strategy perspective, understand its priority compared to other active initiatives, and decide the best approach to work with your sponsor. From that point forward, you need to understand how the product(s) of your program will affect your business’ and your competitor’s market presence. A refined business focus is necessary to support the program’s vitality and maintain its proper priority within your sponsoring business. 
  • Enhanced listening and negotiation skills. A program manager faces the challenge of dealing with multiple business stakeholders who don’t share the same agenda. The ability to listen and understand differing points of view is important because stakeholders in conflict often hold high-level positions. It can be tricky to negotiate and not give up control of the program–without threatening a major stakeholder. Care, listening and being sensitive to stakeholders is essential.
  • Excellent delegation skills. A program manager relies more on delegation than does a project manager. You must rely on individuals to perform technical skills. You must also call upon others to manage projects, coordinate status reporting, detect and resolve project-level issues, and handle customer interactions. Program managers must be sensitive to the abilities and personalities of their project managers to know when to intervene for the sake of the overall program, all without being demeaning.
  • Broad change perspective. Program managers must embrace change with a distinct perspective. Programs are more encompassing than projects, have much longer timeframes, and affect a broader cross-section of the business. In a changing competitive world, significant program change is inevitable, which is more significant than the comparatively short-term change created by most projects. Programs must handle change from the marketplace at large as well as the change the program creates throughout its lifecycle. This can be tricky. For example, you must make assumptions about the change that will occur from project 1 of the program before that project completes, so you can plan for project 5 of the program. You must manage both business and technical change. It’s a non-trivial exercise requiring broad, insightful thinking and embracing many possibilities! 

If you have skills to add to a program manager’s skillset, share with us in the comments section.

For more about program management, check out the Become a Program Manager learning path.

PMBoK7 Perspectives: Optimize Risk Responses

/in /by

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK7) emphasizes how managing risk with appropriate responses helps optimize project outcomes. Here are the five characteristics of optimal risk responses outlined by the Project Management Institute. 

Appropriate for the risk’s significance. The risk responses you choose should align with the impact the risk has on your project. For example, a response is appropriate if a risk could make your time-critical project finish several months late. Conversely, if a risk will cost $10 if it occurs, don’t bother spending time on it. As you consider risk response actions, determine how many people they require, any complexity changes, or changes to the outcome of the project. And ensure your risk response doesn’t create other significant risks for your project. Review your proposed response to ensure stakeholders are comfortable with it. 

Cost effective. The cost or benefit to the project if the risk occurs should be reasonable compared to the cost of risk mitigation. Don’t spend $1,000 to avoid a risk that will cost $300 if it occurs. If the risk impact is hard to quantify, such as the potential of impacting marketplace reputation, ensure your risk responses are in line with senior leaders’ perception of the risk.

Realistic within the project context.  Optimal risk responses should be easily executed, implemented quickly, using a universally understood approach. You should rethink any risk response actions that outside these conditions. Suppose you have a project involving five team members from one department. A risk response action that requires 10 people from four different departments won’t be easy to execute– it adds complexity and expands your project communication and coordination requirements. 

Agreed to by relevant stakeholders. Stakeholders should be comfortable with your response plans and should be able to participate or support your actions if needed. Take care to ensure all relevant stakeholders agree with your risk responses. You don’t want conflicts to arise when it’s time to respond to risks that are becoming issues.

Owned by a responsible person. The “responsible person” is the individual who is most capable of recognizing when a risk is coming to fruition, or has occurred, and can immediately respond. A key to effective risk management is to minimize negative impacts or maximize opportunities. To do that, it’s critical to act swiftly and authoritatively. The responsible person is usually a department manager or senior team member who handles the tasks impacted by the risk—not the project manager.

Do you use other characteristics to choose risk responses? If so, share with us in the comments sections!

For more about risk management, check out Bob McGannon new course Project Management Foundations: Risk. 

Coming Up

I’m updating my Project Management Foundations course. Look for it in Fall 2022.

My latest course, Microsoft Project 2021 and Project Online Desktop Essential Training, is now available in the LinkedIn Learning library. In this edition, you can not only follow the movie steps in exercise files. I included additional homework you can do on the file after the movie ends. Click the link to watch the course for free (for up to 24 hours after you click.)

How to Handle a Team Member Change

/in /by

A team member leaving your project can be very disruptive. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the impact of that person’s departure. Here are some tips for welcoming and integrating your new team member to make the transition flow smoothly.

    • Include orientation time. Regardless of your team member’s abilities, allocate time for reviewing with the new person deliverable status, project methodology, assigned tasks, and identified risks. This review can take considerable time, especially with large, complex projects. Work with your stakeholders to reduce the pressure for your new team member to deliver immediately. That way, they can absorb the knowledge they need to contribute to the project and get up to speed more quickly.
  • Facilitate introductions. A team’s productivity and harmony is thrown for a loop when a personnel change occurs. To reduce this negative impact, set up meetings to introduce your new team member to the team and other relevant stakeholders. Include a personal welcome and allow stakeholders to ask questions to promote rebuilding your team and moving forward with deliverables.
  • Calculate and communicate any schedule impact. Meetings and introductions for your new team member to get up to speed take time. That means your schedule will be affected. Plan accordingly! Update your schedule to accommodate the person’s orientation and tasks. Don’t try to absorb into your existing schedule. If you do so once, stakeholders will expect you to do that at any time, which isn’t practical or wise. 
  • Adjust your cost forecast. A new team member can affect project costs, especially if you’re dealing with contractors. Costs will also change if your new team member is an employee and you track internal resource costs. Also, if you end up with a less-skilled employee, it may take longer for them to accomplish tasks, which can add cost to your project.
  • Monitor for changes or issues. A new team member can improve performance, generate personality issues, produce technical inaccuracies, or come up with a better way to deliver their tasks. A “plug and play” approach to change team members isn’t a good idea. Instead, pay attention to what happens with your new team member. Check in with them and watch the timing and quality of the deliverables they produce.

If you have other tips for bringing a new team member on board, share with us in the comments section.

For more about navigating team member change, check out Daniel Station’s Project Management Foundations: Teams course. 

Coming Up

I’m updating my Project Management Foundations course. Look for it in Fall 2022.

My latest course, Microsoft Project 2021 and Project Online Desktop Essential Training, is now available in the LinkedIn Learning library. In this edition, you can not only follow the movie steps in exercise files. I included additional homework you can do on the file after the movie ends. Click the link to watch the course for free (for up to 24 hours after you click.)

Managing a Sponsor Change

/in /by

The relationship between the sponsor and project manager is so critical that a change of sponsor is very disruptive. If you end up with a new sponsor, quickly establish rapport with them with the following steps.

  • Confirm the sponsor’s knowledge of the project. Always have a one-page project summary ready and review it with your new sponsor. Doing so highlights your organizational capability as well as brings your sponsor up to speed. Review outstanding support commitments from your prior sponsor (such as helping you obtain a key resource.) Your new sponsor may have different perspectives on those commitments so be prepared to discuss their rationales and consider alternatives your new sponsor may propose.
  • Establish expectations of project management. Based on their perceived needs and preferences, sponsors have different expectations of project managers. Ask about your sponsor’s preferred method for receiving status information (written or verbal), and how they want you to alert them to issues that arise. Clarify the role they want to play in project-related decision-making and what you can decide independently as the PM. If you have a formal project charter in place, review the responsibilities section to guide the conversation. Be ready to adjust to suit your sponsor.
  • Clarify your sponsor’s desired level of detail. Senior leaders often have distinct preferences about the level of information they receive. Some want high points, while others prefer to delve into the details. Ask your new sponsor for their overall preference regarding information they receive and if there are exceptions. For example, they may be happy with high-level information but want details about your response actions to address a critical issue.
  • Confirm project success criteria. Your new sponsor’s perception of success may differ from their predecessor’s. Some sponsors emphasize meeting deadlines, while others are more patient to ensure that the project produces the highest quality deliverables. Review your success criteria and the priority of the triple constraints (scope, cost, and time) with your new sponsor. Tailor your plans as necessary if your sponsor wants to change priorities, but don’t forget to lodge a change request for approval when doing so!

What other tips do you have for building a relationship with a new sponsor? Share them with us in the comments section!

For more about project sponsors, check out my Project Management Foundations course.

Coming Up

I’m updating my Project Management Foundations course. Look for it in Fall 2022.