Roles and responsibilities of program manager

Video 1: Introduction to the definition of Program Manager

Roles and responsibilities of program manager are very complex. For that reason, it is difficult to define them. They can vary from managing multiple projects to managing multiple projects with operational responsibilities, additionally to being accountable for profit or cost targets based on business strategy. Moreover, a program manager has the main supervision of the scope and status of several related projects at once which all together contain the program in order to ensure that the program goals are achieved. This accumulation of responsibilities of a diversity of projects and operations means that the program manager should be able to balance business targets and project/operational performance. His decisions are both tactical and strategic in nature. The program manager must establish an environment that allows the project managers to complete their projects successfully. In more detail, the main leadership duty is to bring more clarity to the team. Occasionally, the project management office (PMO) may not have sufficient insight of the risk, issues, requirements, design or solution and the clarity that is given from them. In that case, the program manager may be well placed to accept calculated risk and then define clarity in his own terms or to provide this insight by actively seeking out such data from the project managers although in large and/or complex projects, a specific role may be required. However this insight arises, the program manager needs this in order to be confident that the overall program goals are achievable.

Big Idea

Roles and responsibilities

Some of these functions are the coaching and developing the employees either the existing or new ones, decision-making, resolution of performance problems, evaluation of performances,

1. Planning/scheduling – Project management tools allow you to plan and delegate work all in one place with tasks, sub-tasks, folders, templates, workflows, and calendars.
2. Collaboration – Email is no longer the only form of communication. Use project management tools to assign tasks, add comments, organize dashboards, and for proofing & approvals.
3. Documentation – Avoid missing files with file management features: editing, versioning, & storage of all files.
4. Evaluation – Track and assess productivity and growth through resource management & reporting
5. Governance: the health and progress of the program
6. Alignment: vision, goals and objects of the program
7. Assurance: verify and validate the program
8. Management: review and report on the project
9. Integration: optimizing performance across the program
10. Finances: tracking costs of the program
11. Infrastructure: allocating resources of the program
12. Planning: a road-map for the program
13. Improvement: assessing performance of the program

Application

Skills

1. Leadership
2. Communication
3. Collaboration
4. Critical Thinking
5. Finance
6. Project Management

Tools

Program Manager

1. Dashboard
2. Gantt Chart
3. Task Management
4. Reporting
5. Timesheets
6. Planning

Comparison with project manager

The main difference between a program manager and a project manager can be described by two: creation and compliance. The former one is responsible for creating the business environment culture and the project manager should comply with.

Example

Big construction companies often undertake complicated projects, such the construction of metro.