1. How does a program differ from a project?

Area
Program
Definition
A program is a portfolio comprised
of multiple projects that are
managed and coordinated as one
unit with the objective of achieving
(often intangible) outcomes and
benefits for the organization.

Objectives

Scope

Duration
Nature of the
problem

Nature of the
solution

Stakeholders

Outcomes often intangible;

difficult to quantify; benefits often
based on changes to organizational
culture and behaviors; introducing
new capabilities into the
organization; tending towards
subjective.
Not tightly defined or bounded;
likely to change during the life
cycle of the program.
Relatively long term typically
eighteen months to three years.
Ill-defined; often disagreement
between key stakeholders on the
nature and definition of the
problem.
A significant number of potential
solutions with often with
disagreement between stakeholders
as to the preferred solution.
A significant number of diverse
stakeholders; probable
disagreement between them as to
the definition of the problem & the
preferred solution.

Project
A project is a temporary entity
established to deliver specific
(often tangible) outputs in line with
predefined time, cost and quality
constraints. A project should
always be defined and executed and
evaluated relative to an (Executive)
approved business case which
balances the costs, benefits and
risks of the project. The project
business case should be managed
under change control.
Outputs tangible; relatively easy
to describe, define and measure;
tending towards objective.

Strictly limited; tightly defined; not

likely to be subject to material
change during the life of the
project.
Relatively short term; typically
three to six months.
Clearly defined

A relatively limited number of

potential solutions.

A relatively limited number of

stakeholders.

Risk profile

Relationship to
environment

Resources

Program risk is more complex and

potentially the impact on the
organization if a risk materializes
will be greater relative to project
risk. Programme failure could
result in material financial,
reputational or operational loss.
Environment within which the
project takes place is understood
and relatively stable.

Project risk is relatively easy to

identify and manage. The project
failure would result in relatively
limited impact on the organization
relative to program risk.

Environment is dynamic; and

programme objectives need to be
managed in the context of the
changing environment within
which the organization operates.
Resources to deliver the project can Resources are constrained and
be reasonably estimated in
limited; there is competition for
advance.
resources between projects.

2. When might it be needed to organise work into a program?

-

Related projects where doing them together provides some sort of benefit or
efficiency.
The program should have a clearly defined charter indicating the strategic goals that
the stakeholders are trying to meet and the planned solution (projects) to meet those
goals.
The specific deliverables of each project would be defined when each project starts
and should align with the strategic goals of the program. The program is usually long
(think years) and the level of integration can differ greatly between projects and
companies.

3. Give three typical focus areas for measuring program success.

Success can be measured into two basic way: (i) the targets; (ii) result.
Measuring the success of a program include:
- Environmental result.
- Compliance rates
- Progress in returning significant violators to compliance
- Measures of compliance monitoring
- Number of enforcement responses
- Monetary penalties assessed
- Measures of technical assistance

4. In program management, what is a tranche?

Tranche (pronounced trarnsh) is a slice, portion or grouping of investments in a portfolio.
Used in a program it refers to a related group of projects whose collective completion allows
progress to the next program stage.
Gate reviews between stages
Check program performance against criteria for exit from the phase just completed
Determine readiness for continuing to next stage

5. Why might network analysis be useful in prioritising elements within a program?

Effective planning of projects requires careful thought and the application of logic.
The network analysis includes the following:
a. A list of all activities required to complete the project (Work Breakdown
Structure)
What has to be done: focus on what activity or task need to be done, at
the first stage do not consider who is going to do what
Decide the order in which it is to be done using logic network: put the
task into retangles and join them with arrows to show the sequence or
precedence: the logic relationships between them, i.e. some tasks could
be done in parallel to save cost and time rather than consecutively.
b. Time (duration) that each activity will take to completion
c. The dependencies between the activities
Why do we need Network analysis:
a. Network analysis calculates (i) the longest path of planned activities to the end
of the program; (ii) the earliest and latest that each project can start and finish
without making the program longer.
b. Determines critical activities (on the longest path)
c. Prioritize activities for the effective management and to shorten the planned
critical path of a project by: (i) Pruning critical path activies; (ii) Fast tracking
(performing more activities in parallel); (iii) Crashing the critical path
(shortening the durations of critical path activities by adding resources)
Critical path: is the sequence of activities which add up to the longest overall
duration. It is the shortest time possible to complete the program. Any delay of
an activity on the critical path diretly impacts the planned program completion
near critical paths. An additional parallel path through the network with the
total durations shorter than the critical path is called a sub-critical or noncritical path.
In conclusion, Network analysis is an effective and powerful method of assessing:
Tasks (projects) which must be carried out

Where paralle activity (projects) can be carried out

The shortest time in which a program can be completed
Resources needed to achieve a program
The sequence of activities, scheduling, and timings involved
Task priorities

6. Define what is meant by portfolio.

Portfolio
Program
A portfolio is all the projects A program is a group of
for an organization created to related projects where doing
meet their strategic business them together provides some
goals. This could be all the
sort of benefit or efficiency.
projects for an entire
The program should have a
company or all the projects
clearly defined charter
for a division or business in a indicating the strategic goals
large corporation. A good
that the stakeholders are
way to think about the
trying to meet and the
portfolio is all the projects
planned solution (projects) to
under a PMO umbrella
meet those goals. The
where a corporate could have specific deliverables of each
a PMO for each business
project would be defined
area. The portfolio level will when each project starts and
handle, among other things,
should align with the
governance around the
strategic goals of the
project life cycle, standards, program. The program is
a document repository, and a usually long (think years)
project portfolio tool.
and the level of integration
can differ greatly between
projects and companies.
Ex:
Ex:
Competitive Consumer
Green Vehicles
Vehicles

Project
A project is temporary
undertaking to produce a
unique product, service or
result. Most people think of a
project as producing
something tangible, however
the deliverable of a project
could simple be an answer to
a question. People often also
get confused with a project
versus operational work.
How operational work differs
is that it is defined by
approved procedures and is
not a temporary undertaking.

Ex:
Improve Engine MPG
Lighter Metals for body
Alternative Fuel using
Biofuel

Definition 1: A portfolio is a collection of programs, projects and/or operations managed as

a group. The components of a portfolio may not necessarily be interdependent or even
relatedbut they are managed together as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

Definition 2: A portfolio is a high-level view of all the projects an organization is running

in order to meet the businesss main strategic objectives. It could be every project across the
entire company, a division, or a department.
Portfolio management is the centralized management of one or more portfolios, which
includes identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing, and controlling projects, programs
and other related work to achieve specific strategic business objectives.
7. What is CMMI?
CMMI stands for Capability Maturity Model Integration.
CMMI is a framework of best practices. The current version, CMMI-DEV, describes best
practices in managing, measuring and monitoring software development processes. The
CMMI model does not describe the processes themselves; it describes the characteristics of
good processes, thus providing guidelines for companies developing or honing their own
sets of processes.
The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) project is a collaborative effort to
provide models for achieving product and process improvement. The primary focus of the
project is to build tools to support improvement of processes used to develop and sustain
systems and products. The output of the CMMI project is a suite of products, which
provides an integrated approach across the enterprise for improving processes, while
reducing the redundancy, complexity and cost resulting from the use of separate and
multiple capability maturity models (CMMs).

CMMI is a process improvement training and appraisal program and service administered
and marketed by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and required by many DoD and U.S.
Government contracts, especially in software development.
Maturity model is a framework that is used as a benchmark for comparison when looking at
an organisation's processes. A maturity model is specifically used when evaluating the
capability to implement data management strategies and the level at which that company
could be at risk from said strategies.
8. Why might CMMI be an important issue for an organisation?
What is CMMI used for?
Organizations use the processes to help them develop, acquire and maintain products and
services, and to benchmark themselves against others. Better processes can mean lower
costs and better quality results, as well as more realistic timing estimates for projects.