High Impact Techniques Program Managers should be aware of 9 high-impact techniques. It’s not simple to run a project or a programme. If managed and planned properly, managing multiple projects, trying to stay on top of deadlines, and allocating resources among priorities would be enough to drive anyone crazy. The good news is that programme managers in particular are skilled at managing and monitoring numerous complex projects at once, ensuring that programmes achieve their desired results.
9 High Impact Techniques Program Managers
In this article, you can know about 9 High Impact Techniques Program Managers here are the details below;
However, this is not caused by some sort of sorcery or hocus pocus. The likelihood of project success depends on programme managers and project managers having a thorough grasp of high-impact techniques and project management methodologies. So, we compiled the fundamentals of nine techniques that, if you don’t already know them, you should. Let’s first define the distinctions between project management and programme management as well as their connections.
What is program management?
Let’s start by discussing programme management’s fundamentals and how it varies from project management.
Programs and programme management are described by the Project Management Institute (PMI) as “a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to achieve benefits not possible from managing them separately.”
Applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to programmes is known as programme management.
According to this definition, dependent initiatives are a component of larger programmes.
Similar to this, Atlassian compares programmes and tasks to trains to explain their differences.
In the breakdown, drivers (project managers) run trains (projects), bringing a group of people together to accomplish objectives.
A programme would be made up of a number of trains (or projects) moving along various lines.
The programme manager is the station operator in charge of all the project trains.
Despite the fact that we view programme management and project management as closely related fields, it is important to differentiate between the two and comprehend their distinctions.
Projects typically consist of fewer, more narrowly concentrated tasks with prompt due dates.
Programs frequently have broad scopes, ambiguous or shifting deadlines, and a large number of interdependent outputs and results (from the projects).
Businesses need projects and programmes to help them accomplish their objectives.
9. techniques you should know
No matter how complex they are, running programmes and projects takes a lot of coordination and effort.
You should be aware of these nine high-impact techniques whether you are a programme manager or project manager to be successful in your position.
Program evaluation and review technique (PERT)
How it works:
Program Evaluation and Review Technique is referred to as PERT.
It is a tool for visual project management planning for intricate tasks.
The U.S. Navy Special Projects Office created the method to streamline complicated project planning in 1957.
With PERT, you can estimate how long a job should take to finish and visually display the timeline and dependencies.
Photo credit: Asana
To create a PERT chart, adhere to the five stages from Asana listed below:
- Identify and compile all essential project duties and associated data.
- Task constraints should be defined.
- Establish a connection between project duties.
- Calculate the duration of your endeavour.
- Oversee job completion management.
Why it has a big effect
A PERT diagram offers a comprehensive overview by showing how duties relate to one another and potential timelines.
Understanding dependencies will help your team’s assignments work out better.
These images can be used for a variety of projects, but they can also give you insight into a programme and aid in better project planning.
Critical path method (CPM)
How it works:
A project management tool for scheduling project tasks is the critical path method (CPM).
Simply enter the variables that make up the project and the ideal time frame for finishing each component to create a project.
The team must complete the longest series of interdependent tasks in a specific sequence along the critical path in order to finish the project on time.
The critical route must be identified using three essential factors.
As follows:
a list of the steps needed to finish the job
Dependencies on the tasks
how long each job takes
CPM charts can be used, like PERT, to offer a graphic summary of a project.
Why it has a big effect
CPM is a fantastic project management instrument for assisting with efficient resource management, avoiding bottlenecks by emphasising dependent work, and informing project planning.
If time is of the importance, it can eliminate or reduce non-critical tasks.
Maintaining the progress of a programme can be made easier by understanding the critical path for tasks within it.
Work breakdown structure (WBS)
How it works:
A work breakdown construction (WBS) is a tool used in project management to divide big, complicated projects into smaller, more manageable chunks and milestones.
A WBS is “a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and produce the necessary deliverables,” according to PMI and the PMBOK® Guide—Third Edition.
ProjectManager.com
Using Gantt charts, spreadsheets, or other visual hierarchical representations, Wrike advises gathering important input, determining the project scope first, and openly prioritising the work.
You can simply assign the deliverables and tasks to project team members for completion once you’ve outlined them.
Why it has a high impact: Programs may have ambiguous or protracted deadlines, making it more difficult to delegate tasks and forecast how future work will affect project timelines.
Project organisation and decomposition enhance resource planning, foster stronger stakeholder relationships, and help establish expectations that are reasonable.
This approach is a fantastic way to get a broad overview of all programmes’ projects and track their advancement all under one roof.
Gantt chart tool
What it is: One of the most popular and well-known project management instruments is the Gantt chart.
A bar chart called a Gantt chart is used to visually show project activities and tasks in relation to time.
They provide users with an instant overview of the activities within the project or programme, including their start and end dates, durations, overlaps, and the complete project timeline.
Associated with Instagantt
Interesting fact: In the middle of the 1980s, a Polish engineer named Karol Adamiecki created the first Gantt chart.
Henry Gantt, an American engineer and project management expert who developed his own version of the chart after Adamiecki, gave the Gantt chart its name.
Why it has a big effect
Gantt charts are straightforward but offer programme managers and project managers all the data they require in a single location.
They concurrently emphasise task dependencies and milestones by displaying the project timeline and the timelines for individual tasks within the chart.
These graphic timelines are put together with the aid of programmes like Smartsheet and Instagantt.
Agile project management
What it is: The incremental methodology of agile project management is most frequently applied to initiatives in the software development industry.
It places a strong emphasis on getting input and adapting to change.
The Agile Manifesto, which is the basis for Agile methods, contains 12 guidelines for productive work.
There are many different methods available within Agile project management, which pertains to the overall best practises for planning and carrying out projects.
Lean development, extreme programming (XP), Scrumban, Kanban, and Scrum are some of the most popular Agile models.
Why it has a significant impact: A variety of team types can be supported by agile project management.
By offering connection points, such as daily standups to change directions as necessary, the Agile methodology fosters team adaptability.
Because teams can iteratively incorporate customer input and show improvements in quick turnaround times, it may lead to higher customer satisfaction.
Finally, when teams use Agile effectively, it increases autonomy by empowering team members to take initiative and make choices on their own rather than waiting for approval through expensive and time-consuming processes.
Scrum framework
Scrum is a Rapid project management methodology.
This method is widely employed by teams working on software.
Scrum is more flexible and lightweight than other frameworks because teams can alter it midstream to produce a superior result or product.
Development teams depend on the Scrum framework because it is flexible enough to respond to shifting market conditions.
The timeboxed activities sprints, sprint planning, daily Scrum, sprint review, and sprint retrospective are all included in the framework.
A Scrum master typically acts as the team’s leader and is in charge of getting rid of roadblocks in the way of team members’ ability to complete their job.
A product owner and the production team are additional crucial team members.
The core of this structure is rapid, iterative growth.
Why it has a high impact: Following the Scrum framework allows teams to divide difficult tasks into manageable workloads, just like the other methods mentioned earlier.
One key advantage of sprints is that they enable teams to concentrate on a small number of tasks at once as opposed to attempting to handle too many at once.
The framework also keeps teams moving (sprints happen rapidly), which is helpful for completing a programme or project with a long deadline.
Waterfall methodology
What it is: The waterfall project management method divides a project into a series of stages, with each phase starting only after the previous one has ended.
Wrike claims that this technique functions best when team members are working linearly in roles that are clearly defined on a project where they do not anticipate the goals to change.
Professionals in project management and software development frequently contrast the waterfall approach and Agile.
While the latter is linear and sequential, the former is iterative and flexible.
The waterfall method’s stages usually go in the order listed below:
Requirements
Verification of Design Execution
Maintenance
Why it has a big effect
The waterfall method offers structure and can help with programme and project cost and deadline projections due to the linear setup of its setup.
It works best for projects that you don’t anticipate to change over time and for deadline-driven teams that must adhere to strict schedules.
Extreme project management (XPM)
How it works:
The method of “extreme project management” (XPM) is used to handle complex and uncertain projects.
Instead of concentrating on the timeline and scheduling parts of project management, XPM focuses on the people side of it.
The XPM approach stresses controlling one’s mindset, is future-focused, and is about distributing power.
It’s a technique for teams with projects that move quickly, have complicated outcomes, frequently change their requirements, and are driven by people.
In eXtreme Project Management by Doug DeCarlo, you can find out more about this method.
Why it has a high impact: XPM works best with high-complexity projects, quick work, changing project requirements, trial-and-error methods, and teams with flexibility outside of processes in a continuously changing business environment.
Teams that use XPM are better able to handle the unknown because the structure enables project plans to be adjusted.
This method prioritises delivering the desired outcome, not an initially planned one, and works well for teams with fluid work.
Adaptive project framework (APF)
How it works:
The goal of the adaptive project framework (APF), also known as adaptive project management (APM), is to allow for flexibility in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
Within this structure, team members create adaptable plans and modify the project as necessary to take account of changing conditions.
The stages of APF consist of:
Cycle strategy for the project
Checkpoint cycle build for clients
Closing analysis
Why it has a big effect
This framework’s most important advantage is that it equips teams with the skills they need to effectively respond to the unexpected.
It works well when market trends change quickly, customer requirements are constantly changing, technology changes are a major factor, or when business goals and objectives are unclear.
Although both APF and XPM are techniques for dealing with the unexpected, APF concentrates on shifting environments while XPM concentrates on the human element of project management.
How to choose a suitable project management methodology
There is no one method that works for everyone for selecting a technique that will be most effective for you and your squad.
Each one has advantages that are most effective in particular settings and conditions.
Uncertain of where to begin or which option to attempt first?
Reduce the collection by taking into account the following:
Line of work: What line of work are you in?
Market and business trends are they steady or erratic?
Are your company objectives advancing or becoming more stalled?
How soon must project deliverables be produced?
Project complexity and program size:
Are the tasks in your programme complicated or simple?
Which connections are there?
Do you require a system to assist you in organising and decomposing difficult tasks?
Team and organization size:
What size squad do you have?
Do you have clearly defined and established responsibilities for team members, or do you adopt a “all hands on deck” strategy?
Be careful not to overstructure your squad.
Team members’ preferences:
The preferences of your staff should be taken into account when choosing a methodology.
You might want to move Scrum to the top of your list if your team is 20 people and 18 of them favour it.
If one (or more) methodologies come naturally, don’t attempt to impose them.
To Lead projects and programs with impact
Use these effective project management techniques to steer your projects and programmes.
Keep in mind that projects are condensed, specialised labour with time constraints.
Programs are more comprehensive structures that encompass numerous related projects.
Some of the high-impact techniques you should be familiar with include PERT, CPM, WBS, Agile, Scrum, and XPM.
Consider your field of work, project complexity, team size, and team members’ preferences when choosing a methodology to support your project or programme.