Program Management is Not the Same as Project Management

Project management is about planning work, organizing tasks

and resources, controlling processes, and delivering a specific
objective. Whether opening a new office, launching a new app,
or building an Olympic stadium, projects have a defined start,
middle, and end with a clear set of objectives.

Program management is different and generally much broader.

A program manager might oversee multiple projects at one
time, each of which might have its own project team and project
manager. Those projects together might all be part of a larger
program designed to deliver something of value to the
organization over time.
Expect Uncertainty

Programs are inherently uncertain. While you might know what

the big picture is, it’s just a vision statement when you start out.
The exact path of how to get there, and what projects are going
to be required over an extended period of time, is something
you have to work out as you go.

You’ll start with detailed planning for what you do know and
build up a picture of how to address the rest of it as you get
closer. Progressively extend your planning and delivery
horizons until you can’t go any further.

Block out time at regular intervals to plan the next steps. You
also can use this opportunity to ensure that you are still on track
to deliver business value.
Watch Out for Burnout

While a project might be over in a year or so, programs can

stretch on—seemingly indefinitely.
Program managers need to protect their teams against burnout.
You can’t work at top speed endlessly, so ensure your staff
members get adequate downtime. This should include periods
of quieter time at work with fewer deliverables and adequate
time away from the office for vacations.

Manage sick leave closely, watch your overtime reports, and be

alert to the fact that the welfare of your team is paramount if you
want to slash attrition and keep your talented people for the life
of the program.
You Need to Manage the Pace

When you are delivering a program that has a distant

completion date, you need to manage the pace of the work. It’s
difficult to maintain momentum over multiple years, so your role
as a program manager is to juggle the priorities and projects so
there are measurable outputs being delivered regularly.

Mix up the quick wins and the steady progress toward the
bigger picture goals. This helps the team see you are moving
forward and ensures that there are some shorter-term success
stories to share to keep motivation high. Finally, it helps
investors and executive managers see that there is progress
being made.
Train your Team for Success

Programs often deliver something novel, unique, or

transformative for an organization. One of the challenges of
working on those kinds of initiatives is that you probably don’t
have the skills in-house to be able to complete all the tasks and
projects required.

That’s OK and to be expected. Your job as a new program

manager is to ensure you can upskill, retrain, and develop the
people you do have so that together you can address all the
resource requirements.

There might be some areas where you only need a certain

resource for a limited period. For example, you aren’t going to
train one of your staff how to drive a forklift if that’s a skill you
need for just one week. However, if you are transforming the
way your company’s online presence is managed, it probably
would be valuable to have website development skills in-house
along with some expertise about social media or search engine
optimization. These are skills the business will rely on in the
long term.

Make decisions about which of these you need to have

embedded in the team and which should be outsourced, then
ensure your program can deliver the training and recruitment
tasks required to be ready to manage the outputs as each
project delivers.
Governance is More Complex

If you’ve come from a project management background, then

governance won’t be a surprise to you. It’s the way in which
project and program structures are organized and controlled to
ensure that decision making is done in the right way and that
the right people are involved. It’s crucial for ensuring the work is
being progressed in a way that fits with the overall business
case, and it helps keep people accountable.

Governance also is the way that the project management office

and senior executives can ensure that a program is on track to
deliver benefits. It also provides a formal route to closing down
projects or an entire program if it can be shown that those
benefits no longer will be achieved.
Governance is more complex in a program environment than in
a project environment. Project boards and steering groups
normally have an executive-level membership. This is to be
expected as the end result from a program is normally business
transformation.
Planning is More Difficult

Project managers, who are involved in a program, typically will

put their project plans together, then a program management
team—under your direction as program manager—meets and
the plans are integrated.

This is easier said than done. It requires identifying the

dependencies between projects and project tasks. It forces you
to look at the resource requirements for the whole program and
to juggle activities to suit the availability of key people.

Once your integrated program plan is established, you can track

it in a Gantt chart or other software tool. As your project
managers track their projects in real time, you’ll have to make
adjustments to the program plan, keeping everyone informed of
changes and spelling out what this means for their areas of
work.
You Don’t Have to Plan Every Line

As a program manager, you rely on your project managers to

do the detailed planning. It isn’t practical or desirable for you to
be tracking a program with thousands of tasks.

You need a rolled-up, high-level view of the projects with

enough detail to show you whether something is going to have
a program-level impact.
The easiest way to do this is with dedicated software apps.
Trying to manage your multimillion dollar program on a basic
spreadsheet would be too challenging.
You Need to Delegate

However good you are at delegating, being in a program

management role means you need to get even better at it.

The good news is that you should have a team of project

managers, and you might even have a dedicated program
management office to support your transformative change.
There is a lot of work to do on a program, and setting it up to
ensure that all the moving parts move together at the right time
is a huge effort. You can’t do it alone and you shouldn’t try.
Work out how much time you need to do the program initiation
and then ensure you have a team in place to back you up.

If you don’t have anyone in your program management office,

ask for someone to be seconded to the program management
team. There is plenty for them to do. For example, someone in
a project coordination role would be perfectly placed to deliver
the coordination required at the program level, freeing you up to
get involved with strategic tasks.
Don’t be Afraid of Conflict

There are lots of strands to programs. From projects

with difficult stakeholders to seemingly unachievable deadlines,
every day is going to give you opportunities for conflict. Watch
out for the things that disrupt project performance and be
prepared to step in when needed to head off a conflict situation
before it starts.
When you're overseeing a large portfolio of projects, how do you determine
if a project is healthy or at risk?

Program managers must monitor numerous projects at once. This question asks
applicants to explain their management style, how to identify project risk and what steps
to take to ensure projects are completed successfully. What to look for in an answer:

Applicant's management style and communication skills

Critical thinking skills and ability to identify and mitigate risk

Leadership capabilities

Example: "I consistently analyze project health, looking at timeliness, budget, staffing
and client satisfaction. I utilize project and program dashboards to give me a unified,
real-time view. I simplify reporting processes and regularly interact with project
managers and leads. Additionally, I build trusting relationships with project managers
and teams in order to increase transparency and improve communication."

Program managers must monitor numerous projects at once. This question asks
applicants to explain their management style, how to identify project risk and what steps
to take to ensure projects are completed successfully. What to look for in an answer:

Applicant's management style and communication skills

Critical thinking skills and ability to identify and mitigate risk

Leadership capabilities

Example: "I consistently analyze project health, looking at timeliness, budget, staffing
and client satisfaction. I utilize project and program dashboards to give me a unified,
real-time view. I simplify reporting processes and regularly interact with project
managers and leads. Additionally, I build trusting relationships with project managers
and teams in order to increase transparency and improve communication."
How does a program manager differ from a project manager?
Program managers are expected to organize and coordinate programs. Their work
goes beyond just managing projects. Program managers must provide strategic
guidance to project managers and ensure the company is working towards its larger
goals. Applicants should understand this role necessitates big-picture thinking. What to
look for in an answer:

Applicant's ability to multitask and coordinate cross-project activities

High-level understanding of program management

How the applicant oversees progress of operations

Example: "Project managers plan, develop and execute projects, and are the first point
of contact for program managers when there are issues. While project managers focus
on the success of a function or task, program managers establish strategies, formulate
a group of inter-connected projects and then monitor progress. Achieving company
goals depends on productive collaboration and communication among project
managers and the program manager."

Program managers are expected to organize and coordinate programs. Their work goes
beyond just managing projects. Program managers must provide strategic guidance to
project managers and ensure the company is working towards its larger goals.
Applicants should understand this role necessitates big-picture thinking. What to look for
in an answer:

Applicant's ability to multitask and coordinate cross-project activities

High-level understanding of program management

How the applicant oversees progress of operations

Example: "Project managers plan, develop and execute projects, and are the first point
of contact for program managers when there are issues. While project managers focus
on the success of a function or task, program managers establish strategies, formulate
a group of inter-connected projects and then monitor progress. Achieving company
goals depends on productive collaboration and communication among project
managers and the program manager."
What metrics do you believe are most important?

While it's important to have a confident leader, great program managers utilize a data-
driven approach to eliminate defects, implement changes and make improvements. This
question enables you to see how an applicant values metrics and uses them. What to
look for in an answer:

Applicant's knowledge of program management metrics and measurement-based

strategies

Commitment to efficiency and continuous improvement

Opinion of data-driven methods

Example: "Some people make the mistake of always trusting their instincts, but we have
to listen to the data in today's business landscape if we want to stay competitive. I
consistently employ metrics to measure efficiency and progress. I use schedule
variance and cost variance to see if projects are on time and within budget. To measure
productivity, I examine resource utilization. I look at customer satisfaction and the
quality of deliverables. Also, I calculate gross margins to ensure our projects are
bringing the value we need for the company."

While it's important to have a confident leader, great program managers utilize a data-
driven approach to eliminate defects, implement changes and make improvements. This
question enables you to see how an applicant values metrics and uses them. What to
look for in an answer:

Applicant's knowledge of program management metrics and measurement-based

strategies

Commitment to efficiency and continuous improvement

Opinion of data-driven methods

Example: "Some people make the mistake of always trusting their instincts, but we have
to listen to the data in today's business landscape if we want to stay competitive. I
consistently employ metrics to measure efficiency and progress. I use schedule
variance and cost variance to see if projects are on time and within budget. To measure
productivity, I examine resource utilization. I look at customer satisfaction and the
quality of deliverables. Also, I calculate gross margins to ensure our projects are
bringing the value we need for the company."
How important is change management for program managers?

Change management is a systematic approach to handling shifts in strategy, process

or tools. For program managers, change must be navigated correctly to produce desired
outcomes. This includes getting teams to adapt to new processes and technologies, as
well as, reducing project disruption. Great program managers encourage teams to
embrace new ways of working by selling the benefits and making change simple and
easy. What to look for in an answer:

Ability to lead in spite of resistance

Understanding of change management and its implementation

Importance of company culture when introducing change

Example: "Change management is crucial to making certain a company moves forward

in positive ways. As a program manager, we must see that all our project managers are
on the same page and understand how to enact change. I believe we should execute in
a phased manner. First, I share data-driven research to show the benefits of adopting
new technologies and processes. This can help lessen resistance or hesitation. Then, I
implement in a pilot environment, perhaps choosing one or two project teams to start.
Throughout implementation, I maintain a mentor-like relationship with project managers
and teams, rather than dictate orders. I believe this facilitates productive improvements
across the organizations."

Change management is a systematic approach to handling shifts in strategy, process or

tools. For program managers, change must be navigated correctly to produce desired
outcomes. This includes getting teams to adapt to new processes and technologies, as
well as, reducing project disruption. Great program managers encourage teams to
embrace new ways of working by selling the benefits and making change simple and
easy. What to look for in an answer:

Ability to lead in spite of resistance

Understanding of change management and its implementation

Importance of company culture when introducing change

Example: "Change management is crucial to making certain a company moves forward

in positive ways. As a program manager, we must see that all our project managers are
on the same page and understand how to enact change. I believe we should execute in
a phased manner. First, I share data-driven research to show the benefits of adopting
new technologies and processes. This can help lessen resistance or hesitation. Then, I
implement in a pilot environment, perhaps choosing one or two project teams to start.
Throughout implementation, I maintain a mentor-like relationship with project managers
and teams, rather than dictate orders. I believe this facilitates productive improvements
across the organizations."

How do you control the scope of projects?

Scope creep, or additions to a project after it begins, can sneak up quickly and
undermine success. Since program managers are overseeing multiple projects, it's vital
that they clearly define, document and control project specifications. This prevents one
project from morphing into something bigger or something else entirely. Great program
managers keep everyone working towards the same goal. What to look for in an
answer:

Ability to communicate expectations to project managers and stakeholders

Ability to analyze requirements of a project and manage its scope successfully

Understanding of the importance of company vision, goals and priorities

Example: "The tricky thing can be that projects are often fluid in nature. However, that
doesn't mean you can't manage scope effectively. I start by having a clear
understanding of the program's goals. For each project, I work with leads to define
parameters. We break projects into minor and major milestones. Throughout the
project, I assess and communicate progress with the team. We decide on appropriate
changes as needed. Communication is key to guaranteeing each project is taking us
towards our bigger goals."

1. Can you give us an example of how you improved or streamlined a

process in the past?

I was working on a team where we were doing an additional process that I knew could
be eliminated, but no one else gave it a second thought. I quickly added up the number
of hours per project this process took and multiplied it by the number of projects we
completed over the last month. I challenged my boss by saying, “let me set aside just
half of these hours over the following month and I’ll pilot a workflow that doesn’t include
that portion.” I was given the go-ahead and took on several projects using a different
tool, one that included an automated, error-free version of the process we were doing
by hand. The results were well-received by my boss, and thanks to the effects of the
new tool, our clients were happier than ever. We then started using the updated
workflow on some 90 percent of our projects.
2. Can you tell us what qualities make you an effective leader?

For me, it’s about having a goal, understanding the steps to reach it and knowing who
you need to get there. It’s also about never giving up when roadblocks appear. It’s not
so much about being a boss either, it’s more about being a facilitator, a person who
empowers others to get behind a project or program who will push it forward until it has
its own inertia. It’s about being accessible to others rather than being someone who
people fear. It’s about working in the trenches with everyone rather than standing
outside uninvolved.

3. What experience do you have with the presentation of metrics?

Ever since my college days I’ve used charts and graphs to understand trends and
present my findings. While working as a freelance marketing professional, I would
research keywords associated with web searches and present opportunities to the client
for optimizing their site copy to attract users searching for particular terms. Later in my
career, I headed up a department that had quite a few performance indicators. I honed
in on the most important ones, created a dashboard and regularly shared those figures
with management.

BUILD MY RESUME

4. How will you gather the needed program participants?

I find that many of today’s workers don’t have a good handle on their email inbox or
social media feeds, so I don’t limit it to those channels. Some of my old standbys are
posting flyers and planning fun kick-off events. I try to make an intriguing headline to
build interest. I find that if I can get the message out there in at least three ways,
hopefully each employee will hear about it at least once without feeling bombarded.
Finally, I get key managers to solicit participation from their direct reports. In this way
employees can get involved with an important program and not feel guilty about the time
they spend on it.

5. The average automobile has some 30,000 individual components. Do you

mind telling us, at a high level, how you would manage its assembly?

Planning for something complex requires breaking it down into manageable pieces. I’m
not much of a gearhead, but I would say first I would build a few teams to handle distinct
areas of production, such as interior, body, engine, chassis, frame, suspension and
transmission. I’d figure out the most efficient order of manufacturing, and have the work
done accordingly. Then I’d have a separate quality team look over the work, perform
test drives and recommend process improvements.
Q1. What are the causes of a project failure?
 
The most common failure of a project is due to the lack of communication. Some of
the other prominent ones are lack of flexibility and direction.
 
Q2. What is program governance?
 
Program governance is the way of providing structure and guidance to a program so
that it aligns with the organisational goals.
 
Q3. What are the most important metrics according to
you?
 
This answer is more about how you measure the effectiveness of the program and
how the metrics lead to value measurement. Some of the important metrics that you
should consider discussing are cost variance, schedule variance, resource
utilisation, customer satisfaction, quality and gross margins.
 
Q4. Are you familiar with the PMI code of ethics?
 
PMI members have determined that honesty, responsibility, respect and fairness are
the values that drive ethical conduct for the project management profession.
Download the PMI code of ethics from their website to have a good understanding of
those ethics.
 
Q5. What is the difference between the role of a project
manager and a program manager?
 
A project manager is directly responsible for handling the projects while a program
manager is responsible for the overall functioning of the project group.
 
Q6. How is change management important in program
management?
 
Any adjustment and changes can have an impact on various aspects of program
management. There can be an impact on the processes, systems, job roles and
organisational structure. This is why change management is important to understand
the effects and how to manage it effectively as changes are inevitable in a work
environment.
 
Q7. How will you gather the needed program
participants?
 
Tell the interviewer how you plan to inculcate interest among potential participants
and the different channels that you use to reach out to them.
Q8. What strategy do you prefer – control vs
management?
 
Program management is about managing the program and not babysitting the team.
You need to effectively communicate with the members and not be a control freak.
 
Q9. How do you evaluate the complexity of a program?
 
The complexity of a program depends on its components, the number of people
involved in it and how much organisation it needs.
 
Q10. Have you ever had to deal with a program that was
falling behind schedule?
 
It cannot happen that all the time programs finish on schedule perfectly. You will
face issues related to quality and schedule. Tell them how you have handled those
issues in the past and how will you deal with it better in the future.
 
Q11. How do you determine if a project is healthy or
not?
 
To determine if a project is healthy or not, you should be able to determine a lot of
metrics associated with it. Some of the metrics have been discussed in question no.
2.
 

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Q12. How do you deal with a communication problem
while managing a problem?
 
The best way to avoid any communication problem is to fix a communication plan in
the planning stage of a program. If there is a clear plan, there will be less confusion
when the program is in process. There are various tools like fishbone analysis and
RACI chart which can help in getting a good communication plan in effect.
 
Q13. Discuss the ways you will handle stakeholders?
 
Keeping the stakeholders in the loop is the best way to handle them. Remain
respectful and keep an open communication regardless of how they interact back.
 
Q14. How will you manage your sponsors?
 
Sponsors are the executives who are responsible for the program initiation. As a
program manager, you will need to show high commitment and involvement levels to
have the sponsors on the good side.
 
Also Read>>PMP Certification Benefits
 
Operational>>
 
Q15. How do you group projects into a program?
 
There are two methods – a) the common organic method of tying together similar
projects or b) top-down method starting from a business outcome.
 
Q16. How do you prioritise a group of projects?
 
Explain how you feel which projects are essential to the success of the program and
why they are prioritised. Projects that need more management and has more risks
are usually prioritised before others.
 
Q17. What are the ways you can minimise
dependencies between different projects?
 
To minimise dependencies between different projects, as a program manager, you
should collaborate with the project managers and use effective team management
tools.
 
Q18. How do you arrive at your program budget?
 
Creating a program budget depends on various criteria like the program parameters
that are involved and the various resources that are being utilised, with a value
placed on each factor.
 
Q19. How can you control the scope of projects?
 
As program managers are controlling various projects, to handle them efficiently,
they should clearly define, control and document control specifications.
 
Also Read>>Project Manager Interview Questions &
Answers
 
Q20. Does small and large businesses have similar
processes?
 
No. The demands for large and small businesses differ and that is why the practices
are not similar.

 What does a program manager do that project managers don’t?

 What’s the role of technology in program management?
 Which metrics do you use most frequently?
 What’s your experience with program charters?

 What would you use six sigma for?

 Why is change management important for this role?
 How do you avoid scope creep?
 How do you keep up with industry trends?
 What are the most common reasons that projects fail? When having to monitor different
projects,
 how do you prioritize them? If you were assigned a program with a 6-month deadline,
 how would go about planning and delivering outcome?
 Imagine you’re halfway through the completion of a program, when there’s a change in
the company’s business strategy or objectives. How would you handle this?

 Describe the most recent program you managed. What was your contribution?
 Tell me about the biggest challenge you’ve faced while managing a team of project managers
 How did you measure the success of deliverables in your last program? How did you choose
the best metrics?
 Describe how you developed a budget and allocated resources for a past program
 Have you ever had to deal with a program that was falling behind schedule?
 Have you ever faced a communication problem while managing a program? Who with and
how did you resolve it?
  Tell me about a time you found it difficult to negotiate with a sponsor/stakeholder.
What did you do?