Many organizations have worked hard to develop their strategic plan, and yet a year or two down the line, they notice that they've not made enough progress towards their goals, or that their teams and departments have diverged down different paths, on projects or activities that don't align with their strategic objectives.
While program management and project management are often related, there are key differences that set them apart. For organizations that run programs, it’s important to understand these differences so that their program leaders and project managers are working towards the same organizational goals, and are aligned on projects that support program initiatives and organizational strategic priorities.
Successful projects and programs should be governed by a clear strategy, which should be designed to deliver business benefits. However, it is surprisingly easy for the work carried out as part of these programs or projects to drift off of the intended course or to become misaligned from the wider strategic objectives.
From program management, through to team building training, there are a number of steps that can be taken to improve this alignment. Below are four outlined steps that explain how they can contribute towards a situation where project work and business strategy are pulling in the same direction:
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While strategic planning and project management are not the same, they are closely related, and they both deserve attention.
Think of strategic planning on a macro level, as something that is organization wide. Project management, however, is on a micro level, as it can be applied to individual projects throughout your organization, and across various departments. Project management can also be employed as a part of the implementation phase of your strategic plan.
Every time I hear the word scope creep I picture this big scary monster that sucks away time and money from projects.
As a business leader or owner, you likely understand and oversee many aspects of your organization: marketing ,sales,finance etc. However, many people have trouble balancing all the tasks required complete a certain project in a particular area. This is why the world has project managers to help sort out all the details in sequential order so that your project will be completed on time and within the budget.
