A "programme" is a collection of projects
directed toward a common goal.
This goal represents the meeting ground between the
organization's mandate and
the needs (including the need to recognise and exercise their rights) of the
population where the organization
works.
The goal of the programme represents the common overall
objective of the various projects (each project also pursues its specific
objectives).
The "programme plan" is a document that
indicates a broad framework of goals to be achieved, serving as a basis to define
and plan specific projects.
Program management is the process of managing
multiple inter-dependent projects. It includes co-ordination in designing, implementing
and evaluating the projects.
Program Management also reflects the emphasis on
co-ordinating and prioritising resources across projects, departments, and entities to
ensure that resource allocation is efficiently managed.
Program management provides a layer above project management providing a
framework where projects can be run successfully but leaving project management to the
project management teams.
A programme should contain at
least the following elements
Organizational
Mission
Project/programme purpose
strategies are based on the organization’s mission, goals, and objectives. The
organization’s mission is its reason to be or put slightly differently, an
organization’s mission is what makes it different from its competitors. It can be a statement that tells its employees and
competitors exactly what it intends to do. A mission
statement should be broad enough to encompass the spirit and direction of the
organization, and it should be shared with the employees regularly yet it also needs to be
brief enough to be remembered and acted upon. It is often said that a mission
statement should fit on the front of a T-shirt. This
can be done through regular communications and even with awards that promote the mission
and spirit of the organization.
The
goals of the organization support the mission statement.
They are targets that are usually 3-5 years in the future that have specific
metrics, or measurable outcomes, assigned to their realization.
Organizational Objectives
What
do you want to accomplish in the next year or so? Take
that long awaited vacation? Put a down payment
on a car? Enroll your child in college? Maybe just finish this module. Did you ever make New Year’s resolutions? All of these are objectives.
Whereas
organizational goals are of relatively long duration and support the organization’s
mission, objectives are of short duration and support the organization’s goals.
SWOT Analysis
Once
the organizational has identified its mission, goals, and objectives, it needs to analyze
its external and internal environments. One of
the most utilized types of analyses is the SWOT analysis, which stands for
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Strengths
are those distinctive competencies that make the organization a strong competitor, such as
an experienced management team, significant capital reserves, and an efficient logistics
system. In other words what are those things
that the organization does well.
Weaknesses
are organizational factors that hurt the organization, such as an obsolete product, legal
troubles , or high employee turnover.
Weaknesses are those things within the organization that may keep it from accomplishing
its goals and mission.
Opportunities
are trends or events outside the control of the organization that the organization can
take advantage of, such as favorable market trends, mistakes by their competitors, or
positive publicity, in reaching its foals and mission.
Threats
are trends or events outside the control of the organization that it cannot control and that have
negative effects, such as the competition introducing new products or social factors, like
a greater health awareness, that are contrary to your product’s dangers (cigarettes
or high-fat foods).
The
SWOT analysis is a general tool designed to be used in the preliminary stages of
decision-making and as a precursor to strategic planning. A SWOT analysis can
help an organization better utilize its resources and overcome its problems in its quest
to achieve its mission.
Distinctive Competencies
According
to management strategists, distinctive competencies, which can be part of an organization’s
strategies, are qualities of an organization that give it a effective advantage. These competencies come from resources, both
tangible (land, labor, and capital) and intangible (managerial know-how, proprietary
processes, procedures). According
to Hill and Jones in Strategic Management,
effective advantage has four generic building blocks of effective advantage:
innovation, beneficiary responsiveness, quality and efficiency.
See:
clarifying the relationship: Responsibilities of Project
Managers and programme Managers