Whats in a Name?

Programs, Portfolios and Projects

Douglas Brown, Ph.D., PgMP dbrownpm@verizon.net

Things that make you go hmm

If these things keep happening to you
What idiot came up with these arbitrary deadlines and budgets? Project has been on hold for months because we cant get the right people (or it is slipping because we are trying to do it with the wrong people) We keep having the same problem over and over. Everybody can see these problems but nobody does anything about it

Your program management is not working

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Contributing to the confusion

PMIs early definition that a program is a grouping of projects (since OBE) DoD uses the terms program and acquisition loosely
Calls everything a program, even when it is a project Does not call anything a project Projects last so long that they are really programs

Federal acquisition dominated by contracting OMB is only interested in projects Steady-state consumes 50-80% of the resources
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Whats in a name?
Avoids confusion (too late)
Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -neither more nor less. "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all."

Gives you a starting point

Understanding your methodology means you know what you would do in the absence of other guidance

Take what you can get

Then, God be bless'd, it is the blessed sun: But sun it is not, when you say it is not; And the moon changes even as your mind. What you will have it named, even that it is; And so it shall be so for Katharina. If they want to have a portfolio managers meeting instead of a program review great!! Dont let red become green
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Pick a Starting Point

Definitions according to me
Program: a collection of activities (project and sustainment) that establish and maintain solutions to complex organizational objectives over an extended period
Programs are a continuous cycle of creation, life and death

Project: a specific time-bounded effort to deliver a new capability

Projects deliver new capabilities

Portfolio: a collection of some or all investments viewed from a particular perspective with the intent of optimizing that perspective *
Selecting better apples from good apples

* = deviation from PMI PGM standard

Alternative Frameworks
Project Level (PMBOK)
Initiate Plan Execute Control Close Solution

CPIC (both levels) - OMB

Analyze or Pre-Select = Plan Select = Initiate No activity like Execute Control Evaluate =Close

Program Level (PMI Program standard)

Pre-Program Setup = Initiate Program Setup = Plan and Program Management and Technical Infrastructure Deliver the Benefits = Execute No activity like Control Close Governance
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How it all fits

Environment, market or higher authorities

Organizational governance

Strategy

Portfolio management

In theory Program plan Program-level reviews

Project-level reviews

Organizational governance
Generally, done by a board
Will require objective staff input to counter program spin

Define missions, objectives, major programs Allocate major resource pools

Pie-slices; assumes competence of program planners Recursive
Total reasonable requirements bubble up Acceptable ceilings push down
Strategy

External authorities

Forms program baseline

Confirm directions of programs

Continued value, cost-benefit

Resolve organization-wide issues Inquiry into specific critical activities

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Program management
May be a person or a standing office Operates WITHIN constraints (baselines) established by organizational governance Develop program-wide governance Program objectives
Refine Allocate to initiatives projects and sustainment

Allocate resource pools

Recursive Creates project/initiative baselines

Oversee all projects and initiatives

Program plan Conduct milestone reviews of initiatives Including in-service reviews Especially dependencies

Program-level reviews

Resolve program-wide issues

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Recursive cyclic

Continue

Continue

What about these needs?

Wait till next year??!! This is bureaucratic bull

Cycle (Year) 1

Cycle (Year) 2
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Project Management
Operates within baselines established at program level Triple Constraint
Cost Schedule Scope Performance

Project manager masters the details

Integration Scope Schedule Cost Quality Risk Communications Procurement Resource

SDLC-based
Each phase / spiral / iteration follows the SDLC

Project manager is generally a person with ad-hoc staff

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PMP skills return in PGMP in a different way

Scope, schedule, cost, quality:
Baselines; High-level milestones and dependencies

Procurements
May be centralized, maybe not Program Office probably does not do detailed awards*

Communications different focus

Building support and getting money

Risk program-wide
Not as detailed. Search for common or institutional risks

Resources pools vs names. Human capital planning.

One of most important efforts Skill set pools; depends on resourcing at initiative level

Integration the primary purpose

* = deviation from PMI PGM standard

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What about portfolios?

Wall Street metaphor
In the end, everything on Wall Street is a dollar instrument

Texts treat as a math problem

Identify weighting factors Rate investments Rack and stack Deal from the top

It doesnt work that way

Education > public safety? Math only works when you have relatively similar items

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Real-world portfolio management

Within program
Everything is reasonably homogeneous Still have to break between sustainment and project For projects only:
Rack and stack Below the line:
Shovel ready (UFR) Deferred or rejected

Enterprise

Never say never

Focus on a single issue across a wide range of investments

Could be a strategic direction Could be a compliance issue

Non-decisional
Cannot approve or reject investment May be permitted to hamper progress if not addressed

For steady state:

Force direction with performance goals an benchmarks
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Things that bug project managers

Needs to gain perspective Arbitrary budgets and completion dates are doomed to failure Demands for project status requires selfincrimination Interference in activities below SDLC milestones Post-mortems just beat a dead horse Raising red flags causes embarrassment Legitimate issues Off-the-cuff promises, refusal to compromise $, time or scope Micro-management of MS-Project detail while losing focus on intent Other projects / initiatives are unreliable partners Widespread issues are known but never solved Cannot get significant issues resolved
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Roundup
Dont let terminology get in the way of success Organizational change is always hard
If program management and/or transparency are not part of the organizational culture, then you are moving a lot of cheese

Roles
Organizational governance establishes goals and sets priorities Program management provides the capacities that project managers will need Project management gets the work done Portfolio management considers specific issues, or selects from among similar opportunities
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