To many professionals worldwide, programme management is a start-up-it's the new recruit that no one's sure about yet. However, to many others, especially in the U.S. and U.K., programme management is a proven discipline with a distinct skill set that dates back more than five decades.

Defining programme management

Programme management focuses on achieving successful results by paying attention to the overall business benefits through a focus on benefits management. These benefits will only be realised by keeping a sharp eye on the many complex interdependencies that exist between component projects, and not necessarily on any one project.

Note the distinction from project management, which operates largely within the confines of a clear beginning and end. Programme management, on the other hand, lives almost exclusively in the plural.

Consider this: your company likely has dozens of projects running concurrently. Each project has a separate budget, scope and timeline-and, more importantly, a discernable start and end date.

However, don't all of those projects exist under the same corporate umbrella? Furthermore, don't individual objectives across certain subsets of these projects align to broader organisational initiatives-initiatives that may not realistically have a defined end, but rather the required delivery of a set of business benefits? If the answer is yes, then you and your organisation are in the business of managing programmes.

As you know, project success is measured against deadlines and budgets. As important as time and money are to all of us, programme success is measured against the overall benefits achieved given the time and costs involved. And, because programmes are generally ongoing initiatives, one must take into account the management of recurring issues.

Programme management: the next step for project manager
Any potential manager must have skills in nine primary competency areas. These skills go beyond those classically associated with management and into the realm of true business acumen.

1 Thinking and the ability to sell the vision

A programme manager must be able to look beyond a single project and see how it fits into larger organisational objectives. And, more importantly, he or she must be able to sell his or her vision to colleagues at all levels.

2 Superior analytical skills

The ability to analyse disparate strands of information and identify trends and change drivers is essential when dealing with many interrelated projects.

3 Leadership and teambuilding

As budgets and scopes become more aggressive and responsibilities increase, a programme manager's team will grow exponentially. Being able to build and lead a team and collaborate with others is an absolute requirement.

4 Communication

From day one, a programme manager is required to communicate-both written and verbally-with a wide range of individuals, from executives and governance boards to colleagues and stakeholders.

5 Influencing and negotiating

Politics and hierarchies are inevitable in business. Being able to navigate an organisation's political scene, negotiate effectively and influence sponsors will help you guide your programmes to success.

6 Conflict resolution

With politics and hierarchies come conflict, especially as the stakes increase. Being able to face conflict directly and solve problems will help you diffuse potential problems early.

7 Stakeholder management

By keeping your stakeholders and their expectations in check, and forging a collaborative relationship with each of them, you'll create a mutually beneficial harmony from the start.

8 Planning and resource management

As a programme manager, you must be able to develop a variety of plans-risk, cost and contingency to name a few-and align those with the organisational objectives the programme is designed to meet.

9 Mastery of tools and techniques

There are myriad proven tools and techniques available from both project and programme management-from milestone planning and statistical quality control to scenario analysis and brainstorming. My advice: learn them all!

So, even if programme management is just making its way into your business lexicon, now is the perfect time to introduce it to your organisation-and to your personal career development plan. The benefits will be felt in both the short and long term, for you and your organisation's programmes.

J. Leroy Ward
Executive vice president
ESI International
www.esi-intl.com.sg