List and describe five benefits of programme management

Five benefits of Programme Management are:

1. Achieving the overall strategic goals of an organization.
2. Improve management of projects interdependencies and impact on the business as usual.
3. Effectively managing resources among projects within a programme.
4. Manage risks, issues and changes across the programme efficiently.
5. Focus on definition and management of strategic benefits.

Achieving overall strategic goals of an organisation:

Programme management allows an organisation to initiate, define, redefine, accelerate or terminate projects in a programme in accordance with achieving the overall strategic goals and visions of that organisation. For example, an infrastructure waterworks programme includes one project for a gravity network and another for a pumping station to enable connection to existing systems. During the course of the programme the stakeholders decided to eliminate the use of pumping stations to reduce the operational costs. The pumping station project was omitted and replaced by another project for deep sewage tunnel.

Improve management of projects interdependencies and impact on business as usual:

Program management enables organisations to oversee the interconnection between different projects in the program. That enables organisations to manage these projects efficiently in a manner that will avoid radical impact / disturbance from one project to another and subsequently to the flow of the business as usual (BAU). For example, one programme includes projects for the update of IT system (hardware and software) in a bank. These projects are managed in a way that will not interrupt the work in the bank and will not disturb the BAU.

Effectively managing resources among projects within a programme:

Programme management enables organisations to effectively manage individual resources when there is conflict in demand. Within a programme it is easier to prioritize the works and move resources among the projects accordingly. For example, within an infrastructure projects, stakeholders requested prioritizing the pavement of one road, accordingly all the utilities within that road should be laid prior to the pavement works. Resources will be moved and directed towards the newly urgent works.

Manage risks, issues and changes across the programme efficiently:

Risks, and lessons learnt are well communicated across the projects in a programme through networks, share points, staff experience…etc. This approach allows reducing the costs and delays related to dealing with risks and issues since these will be repeatedly dealt with across the projects within a programme as well as adopting best practices. For example, one project was subject to major delays due to the delay in the delivery of overseas material. In similar project enough lead time was considered at ordering the material.

Focus on definition and management of strategic benefits:

Programme combine projects having the same vision, objectives, and goals to be managed together under one umbrella. That enables organisation to tell which projects are contributing to the vision to be allowed in and which ones are not to be out. For example, vision of a programme may be “Being largest infrastructure company in the world” projects that will contribute to that vision will be in such as mega infrastructure project.