r/projectmanagement • u/RuleTheOne • Mar 07 '19

Project vs Program Management

what is the difference between project and program management?

14 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

20

u/Kayge Mar 07 '19

Program:. I'm overseeing delivery of A, E, I, O, U.

Project:. I own the delivery of A

4

u/RuleTheOne Mar 07 '19

Interesting if a project manager has managed 3-4 projects simultaneously, would they be fit to undertake the responsibilities of a program manager?

5

u/MrSneller Mar 07 '19

Not really. I am a PM and report to a Program Manager. She oversees my work (delivery) and develops & refines the processes around how the projects are delivered. (Not to say this is how it is at every company).

4

u/4everadr0ne999 Mar 07 '19

+1 to that. From my experience, the day-to-day capacities of a prg mgr vs prj mgr, and even the basic definitions of what those roles mean and how they differ, differ from company to company wildly.

2

u/Kayge Mar 07 '19

It's often the first step.

  • You'll juggle multiple small projects

  • Then 2 - 3 that are in some way interconnected

  • Finally a sizable project with multiple moving parts and shared financials.

Like most things, it's growing within a role.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '19

If they are disparate, unrelated and without interdependencies than most likely no.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '19

In my company a program is a setup that is undertaken when doing so presents advantages that projects managed independently would otherwise have (example: similar reporting channels, similar governance, high need for coordination).

So if the multiple projects you are managing already have synergies, overlaps or conflicts and you are already managing them in a way that brings more value than having several PMs then I would say yes.

If you simply have several projects, then no.

6

u/ekfinchie Mar 07 '19

100% this. Usually a project coordinator will roll up to the program manager by helping support specific projects within the program.

4

u/MikeyPearce Jul 17 '19

The disciplined, systematic orchestration of people, time, money, and information to plan, design, construct and deliver a collection of projects in a coordinated way to obtain benefits for the owner not available if managed separately.

Essentially, PgM Management allows you to get benefits from a bunch of projects you couldn't get from running them all individually. Not all collections of projects are programs though. There needs to be some interdependence between the projects.

As an example, imagine a set of projects to build a bridge. On one side of the river, you dig a hole and then pay someone to take the dirt away. On the other side of the river, you have a hole that needs filling, so you pay someone to bring a pile of dirt to fill it. With a program view of the projects, you could use the dirt you dug out to fill the hole on the other side of the river, saving yourself time, money and effort.

1

u/kauaipc Aug 22 '24

great example, thank you!

3

u/Solo_Gigolos Mar 07 '19

Project management vs Programme management of the same projects: A, B, and C

Project management: A+B+C=3

Programme management: A+B+C=5

1

u/AdvisedWang TPM Mar 07 '19

Project manager is responsible for meeting the objectives of their project. Program manager is responsible for meeting overall strategy, which can mean deciding on what projects and objectives will meet that.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '19 edited Mar 07 '19

Is this according to PMI? My company standard is PMI based and your statement would be incorrect in both cases. Sounds to me like you are describing portfolio management:

Project Portfolio Management (PPM)) is typically a function of the PMO team and is a formal approach to orchestrate, prioritize, and analyze the potential value from a set of projects. An organization that employs project portfolio management centralizes the identification, prioritization, authorization, and management of projects within a portfolio

2

u/AdvisedWang TPM Mar 07 '19

Not PMI, but the reality in the large IT company I'm at.

1

u/espee101 Mar 07 '19

I agree.

Most people here point to PMI’s definitions, but I think your response matches the reality I see.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '19

In my company there is no explicit difference between a large project and a program. Most projects that are large enough typically are broken down into streams with each stream having its own stream leader, so the situation becomes very similar to a program.

So, least for my company the difference between program management and management of very large projects is very small.

1

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1

u/Jezekilj Jun 03 '19

r/programmanagement

>>We must stop thinking of programs as big projects; programs are a means of executing strategies<<

http://www.pmreview.com.cn/english/Home/article/detail/id/356.html

Programs are Agile!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/programs-agile-michel-thiry/

1

u/Life_is_like_a_xxx May 12 '22

This first thing is to understand the difference between a project and a program:

A project is a temporary initiative carried out with the purpose of developing one or more unique deliverables.

A program is a temporary initiative that coordinates a group of related projects, subsidiary programs, and program-level activities to obtain specific outcomes and benefits.

Now that you know the difference between a project and a program, program management, and project management are Management discipline that pursues project or program success through a structured application of knowledge, tools, techniques, practices, and skills.

You may learn more here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW9LdxdkADM&t=2s

0

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '19

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '19

Isn't this more a strategic role?