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Unit 4: Programme Management & Project Evaluation

Program Planning Notes

For program planning, most managers will typically use a bottom-up approach that identifies
and executes planning iterations for the program’s individual component projects. First, each
project manager constructs a plan that estimates and allocates resources required to deliver the
project’s products or results, using the same techniques and practices they would employ in
planning a standalone project.
Then, in the next planning iteration, managers identify connections and dependencies among
the program’s projects, and refine and rework their project plans to integrate them with others.
Often this integration effort requires adjustments to the products planned for each project, the
numbers and types of resources required, and — naturally — the schedule. The managers’
ability to continuously manage and adjust to inter-project dependencies is a significant
determinant of program success. This ability is also a major differentiator between the
requirements of project planning and program planning.

The Program Plan

Once the individual project plans are integrated, it is time to initiate the program planning
effort. What exactly is a program plan? American Heritage Dictionary defines a plan as “A
scheme, program, or method worked out beforehand for the accomplishment of an objective: a
plan of attack.” But when we look at how we develop and use program plans, we discover that
they do not fit neatly into this definition.
First of all, in contrast to the planning for the program’s projects, the program plan typically is
not developed through a series of iterations. Instead, the planning effort involves conducting a
series of reviews of the individual project plans, and then creating a digest of their contents.
During this process, conflicts between projects may become apparent and require resolution.
A goal of the digest effort is to produce a concise, usable view of all program work, timeframes,
and required results. A program plan describing 10,000 activities, for example, would not have
these qualities.
You don’t use the program plan to direct work and allocate resources. That is the purpose of the
individual project plans. It may be helpful to think of the program plan as a seismograph that
seeks to detect and measure the potential impact of any trembling in the ground underneath the
program effort. As component projects proceed and individual project plans record completion
percentages, expenditure of resources, and interim (or final) dates for work activities, the program
plan integrates these measures and shows their collective impact. This enables managers to
assess the program’s progress against plan and detect potential problems. For example, if a
client asks for additional functionality in a component that one project is building, that may
delay the component’s delivery to other projects and slow them down as well.

In short, the program plan’s integrated representation of significant planned activities and
results of individual projects provides managers with a window into the cumulative work effort
of the program. Managers use it to verify that the program is moving in the right direction to
meet business goals, identify where unplanned changes may be occurring and assess their
potential impact, and to model and/or test the impact of possible adjustments and corrections.
4.1.2 Project Evaluation

Project Evaluation is a step-by-step process of collecting, recording and organizing information
about project results, including short-term outputs (immediate results of activities, or project
deliverables), and immediate and longer-term project outcomes (changes in behaviour, practice
or policy resulting from the project).

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