1. Misconceptions and job confusion
Project management is a term loosely used these days. It seems to apply to the building of a house, an entire suburb, even a town. In the digital era, website development, and launching 5G infrastructure for the whole country are somehow both projects.
For managers in the arena, a much tighter definition is essential. There's much confusion surrounding different jobs. It's no wonder that many so-called experts end up disappointing their employers and leave problems behind.
When it comes to distinguishing between project, program, and portfolio management, the standout differentiator is the number of objectives involved. There's a lot more to it, of course, but analysis of goals is the “open sesame” to understanding primary differences.
It's a chain of definable tasks that, in combination:
Have a single objective and a timeline attached to it.
Are components of a standout activity.
Are temporary in nature, focused on achieving a stated goal.
From another angle, a project is:
A new development out of the ordinary.
Dependent on a series of inputs with expected outputs.
Designed to create something new.
Is there a limit on project scale, size, or demographic character?
Project tasks can exist on a broad spectrum from up-and-down/ black-and-white/ simple to implement on the one end, to extremely complicated/ interdependent, and convoluted processes on the other. It can also range from a one-person operation to a team of hundreds working in a coordinated manner.
What a project isn’t
Permanent
Business as usual
A team or individual chasing numerous and diverse objectives
A program is easier to explain. Again, we should fly over it and zone in from angles that give us a comprehensive overview.
Right out of the gate, a program is:
More than one project, often multiple projects.
As a result, a plurality of objectives.
The achievement of project goals creating a situation that no one project in the program could have achieved on its own.
So, it’s safe to say that a program is:
A series of integrated projects
Functioning interdependently to achieve a variety of results
As strong as its weakest project
As slow as its fastest one
Indeed it’s a system where projects connect in an organized way and outperform to boost the overall performance if things go according to plan. Conversely, if they go out of sync, the entire program may fail or underperform - even with high-achieving projects in the mix.
A program is analogous to a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece is essential to creating the whole picture, but separately provides little clue as to what central image will emerge. Each project without a cohesive program may still work well (or not), but a program without every completed project is likely to be dysfunctional at best.
Is there a limit on program scale, size, or demographic character?
The quick answer is no. Size is not the parameter to consider here either. Some programs may be smaller than stand-alone projects. The differentiating factor rests in linking up many goals and activities (i.e., projects) where they converge on some bigger vision. Almost all programs rely on diverse skills, talents, and aptitudes suited to different projects, making team coordination crucial to their success.
What a program isn’t
A single project
An activity with a sole objective
Permanent
Routine business
Dependent on one individual trying to achieve multiple tasks
4. Example of a project versus a program
Scenario 1
Let’s say Costco has a chain of stores in choice locations across South Florida (SF). All follow a standard model in size, layout, merchandising, training, and staffing. The company detects a geographic gap and decides to develop a new store in Lake Worth - a town between Palm Beach and Boca Raton.
The supply chain serving all SF stores is in position.
HR support and regional managers for SF are entrenched and functioning well.
Resources to build a new store are available and proven.
Still, there are many new variables to contend with to get a store up and running. These (amongst many) include:
Deciding on the exact location of the new store.
Negotiating it.
Overseeing the construction and weather interference.
Working with the SF HR to integrate new staff into the store.
Oversee in-store training.
Run the store as the branch manager to iron out all teething problems for a year.
Conduct a smooth handover to a regular branch manager to merge the project. into the SF network of stores.
The tasks are all in a day's work for a true-blue project manager who’s job description centers on new store openings, one at a time. Developing and launching a new store is his or her only goal.
Scenario 2
Let’s say Costco isn’t yet operating in Arizona (it is, but let’s assume not). It decides it wants to open up seven outlets similar to the pattern in SF. The difference is this:
Each of the seven stores is a project in its own right.
The Arizona HR support and supply chain doesn’t exist yet.
And also, there’s no proven construction resource.
The regional management profile is defined but still to be unrecruited.
As described, it amounts to a compendium of projects, with the Arizona initiative falling firmly and squarely into the program category.
If, for example, the supply chain setup falters, so will all the stores. Likewise, if HR isn't up to speed and recruits too slowly, or construction resources are unreliable. Program success is a confluence of numerous related objectives. On the other hand, if all infrastructure projects do well, but one or two stores lag, the program can still motor along (but probably not on all cylinders).
Staying with our Costco example, let’s assume that the Costco board wants to build a “Sunbelt chain of stores,” that will include:
The Arizona program
A similar program - extending into the Florida Panhandle.
Two other expansion programs in Texas and Hawaii.
A new concept store project along supermarket lines never been done before.
An online store project to serve all customers in the sunbelt.
Above is a typical portfolio, consisting of programs and projects tied together by a strategic corporate theme. Establishing a portfolio generally rests with the board of directors or the CEO and team in the C-suite. Deciding on the common thread that's to run through the portfolio (e.g., all sunbelt programs and projects) is crucial to a company's direction and pace. In large organizations like banks, insurance companies, tech rainmakers like Apple and Facebook, there may be a few portfolios running in parallel - even mega-portfolios combining portfolios worldwide.
What a portfolio isn’t
Officially permanent, because the essential components of portfolios are projects. However, a portfolio may look so far ahead that the term "temporary" is meaningless from a practical viewpoint.
A single objective. Indeed, It's a very intricate and pre-designed network of goals.
Routine.
A one-person show (it relies on multiple teams).
6. Management - Project versus Program versus Portfolio
a. The Project Manager should:
Deliver the project objective completed.
Ensure that the finished project meets customers’ expectations.
Seamlessly hand over the reins to the routine management
Coordinate his or her project with all other projects in the program
Have access to all the HR resources essential for project progress
Be qualified academically and experience-wise for the project
Be a multi-tasker and team motivator
Have access to the tools and technologies crucial to project progress
b. The Program Manager should:
Function like a project manager on steroids.
Balance the progress of projects in the program
Ensure that the multiple project objectives are on track
Ultimately deliver them completed to achieve the vision
Harness resources not necessarily aligned with project success but essential for program completion
Resist micro-managing in favor of the bigger program picture
By default, place faith and reliance on the project managers to meet their respective responsibilities.
React urgently to project situations that threaten the program harmony.
Select the right projects to obtain the fastest most complete program outcome.
Remove or alter projects counteractive to program benefits
Provide project managers with the essential program oversight to create program manager teamwork
Continually analyze risk and rewards of project impact inside the program
Ensure that projects, although looking good transitionally, can deliver sustainable contributions to the overall vision.
Communicate with and motivate project managers effectively, especially when volatility rears its ugly head.
c. The Portfolio Manager should:
View him- or herself as a program manager but with a vastly more expanded horizon
Connect the action contained in portfolios with strategic goals as they occur at the head office
Move well above program and project objectives
Continually balance the component contributions and risks to strategic goals.
Update all program and singular project heads of portfolio adjustments as they occur without demotivating the team
Appreciate the seismic effect of removing or adding programs from and to a portfolio, respectively
Be highly cash flow and P&L conscious to avoid financial disruptions out of the blue
Anticipate glitches and obstructions to portfolio strategies and clear them from the path before they create impact
Carry the authority to implement huge capital decisions without committee approval if necessary
Never forget that balance, balance, and more balance is the key to portfolio success.
8. Conclusion
OP Consulting Group in its training programs underlines that unless project, program, and portfolio managers understand the scope of their respective responsibilities, chaos may run loose. Motivation depends critically on non-interference from above as long as goals are clear and running to schedule. It also relies on excellent communication when changes deviate the action from previous objectives.
Respect for each other's roles and the ability to stay in lane, even though stressful at times, are the marks of the three designated managers working well together. Education is an invaluable asset in bringing all the pieces together so that managers from all walks of life can enter portfolios, programs, and projects and get off to a flying start without confusion.
Contact OP Consulting Group on any queries related to the above narrative and education programs that will help you transition to achieve your management aspirations.
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