Programs are suites of interrelated projects and operational activities. Program managers coordinate the efforts of project teams, functional groups, product support and operations people, marketing specialists and others, including multiple suppliers to ensure that proposed business changes, complex products and processes are implemented to maximize benefits.

To succeed, program managers require marketing, business management, leadership, facilitation and project management skills. Effective program managers recognize that managing a program is exponentially more complex than managing a single project. They recognize that technical and project management skills are not enough. Success relies on business knowledge, leadership capability, communication and negotiation skills in order to create the optimum project management culture.

The goal of this course is to equip participants with the necessary knowledge, skills and techniques to effectively navigate creation, implementation and ongoing operations of program management and, in some cases, product management processes within the context of the organization.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Participants will gain practical skills to:

• Maximize the transformational impact of a program according to the business needs.
• Understand management principles and techniques and how to apply them within a program context.
• Implement program governance and organization that will produce expected benefits
• Plan for and manage benefit realization, risks, issues, and quality.
• Manage component projects’ interdependencies that are linked to both program and strategic objectives.
• Understand and practice how to manage stakeholders’ relationships effectively.
• Improve communication and action planning effectiveness for programs in organizations.
• Distinguish between programs and projects within the enterprise focused business framework

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This course is ideal for those who are interested in moving into a program management role or those who are new to the role. It is assumed that participants already have a background in project management.

PREREQUISITE

While there are no formal prerequisites for this course, it is recommended that participants have a background in project management or have taken a basic course in project management.

MATERIALS

You will receive a course binder containing copies of presentation slides, case studies, templates. exercises, and suggested solutions.