Project management exists in a broader context that includes program management, portfolio management and project management office. Frequently, there is a hierarchy of strategic plan, portfolio, program, project and subproject, in which a program consisting of several associated projects will contribute to the achievement of a strategic plan.
Programs and Program Management
A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually. Programs may include elements of related work outside of the scope of the discrete projects in the program. For example:
. • A new car model program can be broken up into projects for the design and upgrades of each major component (for example, transmission, engine, interior, exterior) while the ongoing manufacturing occurs on the assembly line
• Many electronics firms have program managers who are responsible for both individual product releases (projects) and the coordination of multiple releases over a period of time (an ongoing operation).
Programs also involve a series of repetitive or cyclical undertakings. For example:
. • Utilities often speak of an annual “construction program,” a series of projects built on previous efforts
. • Many nonprofit organizations have a “fundraising program,” to obtain financial support involving a series of discrete projects, such as a membership drive or an auction
. • Publishing a newspaper or magazine is also a program with each individual issue managed as a project. This is an example of where general operations can become “management by projects”.
In contrast with project management, program management is the centralized, coordinated management of a group of projects to achieve the program's strategic objectives and benefits.
