Program Management: From Project Manager to Program Manager
Transition from project management to program management: covering governance, roadmaps, budgets, risks, PMOs, and benefits realization with 18 templates.
What you'll learn
- Clarify how program management differs from managing projects and portfolios, and identify when to execute work as a program.
- Align the program with strategic goals, substantiating it with a robust business case, program charter, and defined boundaries.
- Establish effective program governance structures, including decision rights, roles, a RACI, escalation paths, and stage gates that lead to actionable decisions.
- Construct an integrated program plan, timeline, and dependency tracking across a series of connected projects.
- Oversee program-related finances, including budgets, contingency funds, shared resources, and vendor relationships, while applying earned value principles (CPI and SPI).
- Detect, evaluate, and manage program-level risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies, while administering quality assurance.
- Identify stakeholders, facilitate change acceptance, communicate with executives, and resolve conflicts between competing priorities.
- Specify, evaluate, monitor, and sustain the realization of program benefits, assigning owners and establishing metrics that remain effective post-closure.
- Ensure successful program delivery, rectify issues in a troubled program, transition capabilities to operational teams, and properly finalize the program.
- Develop and present a well-rounded program management plan to a steering committee, utilizing a full case study and 18 templates.
Course outline
10 sections · 46 lessons · 5h 52m total
Module 1 — Foundations of Program Management
- Course Introductiontion Free Preview On Udemy 07:22
- Understanding Program Management Free Preview On Udemy 08:26
- Projects, Programs, and Portfolios 08:28
- The Program Manager's Role 08:18
- Program Lifecycles and Delivery Approaches 08:34
- Program Management Standards and Career Development 09:31
Module 2 — Program Strategy and Initiation
- Connecting Programs to Organizational Strategy Free Preview On Udemy 07:09
- Identifying Program Opportunities 07:45
- Developing the Program Business Case 08:59
- Creating the Program Charter 07:53
- Establishing Program Boundaries 07:50
Module 3 — Program Governance and Leadership
- Establishing Program Governance Free Preview On Udemy 07:47
- Defining Program Roles and Responsibilities 07:46
- Working with the PMO 07:43
- Leading Cross-Functional Teams 08:20
Module 4 — Program Planning and Roadmaps
- Developing the Program Management Plan Free Preview On Udemy 06:52
- Defining and Structuring Program Components 06:41
- Building the Program Roadmap 07:00
- Managing Cross-Project Dependencies 06:52
- Managing Program Scope and Change 09:32
Module 5 — Program Financial and Resource Management
- Developing the Program Budget Free Preview On Udemy 06:47
- Financial Monitoring and Forecasting 06:55
- Managing Shared Resources 06:51
- Procurement and Vendor Management 09:05
Module 6 — Program Risk, Issues, and Quality
- Identifying Program-Level Risks Free Preview On Udemy 06:46
- Risk Assessment and Response Planning 07:27
- Managing Issues, Assumptions, and Dependencies 07:57
- Program Quality and Assurance 09:26
Module 7 — Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
- Identifying and Analyzing Stakeholders Free Preview On Udemy 06:54
- Stakeholder Engagement and Change Adoption Strategies 07:31
- Program Communication and Executive Reporting 06:52
- Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 08:39
Module 8 — Benefits Management and Business Value
- Understanding Program Benefits Free Preview On Udemy 06:47
- Identifying and Valuing Benefits 07:28
- Developing the Benefits Realization Plan 06:02
- Tracking and Reporting Benefits 06:39
- Sustaining Benefits After Delivery 07:41
Module 9 — Program Execution, Control, and Closure
- Coordinating Program Delivery Free Preview On Udemy 06:19
- Managing Program Performance 06:50
- Managing Program Changes and Recovery 07:19
- Transitioning Capabilities to Operations 06:35
- Program Closure and Lessons Learned 08:42
Module 10 — Complete Program Management Case Study
- Reviewing the Business Challenge and Program Strategy Free Preview On Udemy 07:09
- Integrating the Program Charter, Governance, and Roadmap 07:22
- Managing Program Risks, Resources, and Stakeholders 07:13
- Evaluating Program Results and Benefits Realization 10:13
About this course
This course incorporates the application of artificial intelligence.
Four project managers may report positive progress, but a project requiring coordination among them cannot proceed yet.
The responsibility for connecting these projects falls to the program manager, which is the focus of this course.
You already possess the skills to manage a project. Now, you are overseeing multiple projects that need to synchronize. This course provides practical, straightforward insights into program management for project managers advancing their careers, new program managers, and PMO experts. You will learn how to strategize, govern, and execute a series of interconnected projects to generate business advantages that no individual project could achieve alone.
A comprehensive program experience
You will track the Larkfield Retail Group, a fictional national retail chain, throughout a full 24-month program addressing e-commerce, customer relationship management (CRM), fulfillment, and employee training. As with genuine programs, unexpected challenges arise. You will face issues such as a delayed dependency, an overutilized shared team, an underperforming vendor, an incorrect assumption, and a program that requires recovery.
Course components
18 downloadable program management templates in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, each featuring a blank version along with Larkfield’s completed example
“Your call” scenarios that require you to make decisions before revealing the solution
9 interactive exercises and a capstone project where you will present a full program management plan to a steering committee
A 50-question practice test based on various scenarios
Skills you will acquire
Discern when to manage work as a program instead of as a project or portfolio
Create a business case for the program, program charter, and clarify boundaries
Establish a program governance structure that ensures decision-making with defined roles, a RACI chart, escalation processes, and stage gates
Develop an integrated program plan, roadmap, and dependency tracking across multiple related projects
Oversee program finances, including budgets, reserves, shared resources, and vendor management utilizing earned value analysis (CPI and SPI)
Assess, prioritize, and manage program-level risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies while implementing quality controls
Identify and engage stakeholders, guide change acceptance, report to executives, and resolve conflicts among priorities
Define, assess, monitor, and sustain benefits realization post-program closure with designated owners and measures
Manage program delivery, address a troubled program, transition capabilities to operations, and ensure proper program closure
Create and present a comprehensive program management plan to a steering committee, using a complete case study and 18 templates
Who this course is for
- Project managers seeking to advance from managing a single project to overseeing a related project program.
- New program managers who have taken on a program and discovered that traditional project tools are insufficient.
- PMO professionals involved in supporting, reporting, or ensuring program success who wish to learn the intricacies of effective program management.
- Operations managers who depend on program outputs and are responsible for the follow-up benefits.
- Business leaders and sponsors who fund or oversee program initiatives and make critical decisions.
- Individuals in sectors such as public service, healthcare, finance, retail, manufacturing, or technology coordinating multiple projects towards a unified objective.