Beyond Projects

PMO health check for projects

How do you spot an unhealthy project? And what’s the role of the PMO in pulling the plug?

Risk and interdependency in programs

An examination of how interdependencies between projects lead to risks that are particular to programs, and a proposal on how to manage these.

Program management literature, a comparison

Different people working in many diverse program management areas have different perceptions about the nature and application of program management.

Resource management for programs

Is resource management the greatest challenge in multi-project environments? Effective resource management continues to be a challenge for many programs, with availability being the number one resource selection criteria.

Understanding the program management office

Is the program management office stuck between portfolios and projects, or the glue that holds everything together?

What is the difference between a project and program management office? The answer is in the nature of programs and projects.

The difference between project and program management

The Project was in trouble. Established to deliver vital business transformation through the implementation of a revitalised end-to-end IT system, The Project was several months behind schedule, and well over budget. Worse still, there was scant light at the end of the tunnel. Pressure was on to deliver or heads were going to roll, and stress inside the project team was high.

Choosing a PMO toolkit

Theoretically at least, a good project manager should only need a pencil and paper to control his or her project. Anyone with memories of the ‘good old days’, calculating a 1,000-task CPM network by hand, would probably dispute this and remember their joy at discovering project management software.

The changing face of portfolio management

Change is here to stay. Not so long ago, the accepted wisdom was that organisations would introduce change, stop and consolidate, then gear up to change again. Change was a disruption to normal. Today, organisations are in a state of constant change or “permanent whitewater” as leadership development expert Peter Vaille termed it. Today, ‘normal’ […]

Program management education – where are we now?

Education in program management is currently provided through both vocational and postgraduate academic programs, leading to recognised qualifications. This is predominantly provided by organisations with courses and programs accredited by either or both of the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) and Project Management Institute (PMI). The relevant vocational qualification is an Advanced Diploma of […]