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228 Chapter 8 • Program and Project Management

increased use of communications and discussions with the teams to understand the team issues better
and how the scope and modifications would affect the implementation. As the project moved forward,
the project executive needed to bring the project manager and teams together to review the status of the
project. In doing this, management would begin to regain the trust lost early on regarding the project.

PROJECT TEAM
Program management and project management are often used interchangeably, yet there are
significant differences between the two. Before discussing the topic of what role program
management has, it is important to define what it is. “Program management is the coordinated man-
agement of interdependent projects over a finite period of time in order to achieve a set of business
1
goals” and “focuses on achieving business results to create a competitive advantage while project
management focuses on planning and executing the work required to deliver the end product.” 2
Project management is tactically focused, whereas program management is strategically focused.
Companies sometimes choose to use only a project management approach to projects (e.g., an ERP
implementation). This approach is often problematic in that projects may meet their goals with re-
gard to cost, quality, and time, yet fall short of meeting the business objectives originally outlined in
their business case. ERP implementations often consist of several projects simultaneously. Each pro-
ject manager is concerned with his or her own piece of the overall puzzle; but it’s the program man-
ager who must link many different individual projects, that are often missing, together and make sure
that the overall business goals are managed and addressed. The program manager might also be
managing projects that have nothing to do with the ERP implementation, but which do contribute to
the overall business goals. “In the program management model, the program manager manages
across the multiple functional projects, while the project manager manages within a single function-
al project.” 3
When a company decides to implement an ERP, a business case must be created that outlines
the business goals to be achieved. The primary goal should never be simply to upgrade existing lega-
cy systems to a more robust ERP. There should be true business goals that the company must meet
as a result of the implementation (e.g., improved customer service, increased market share, and cost
savings or cost avoidance). The actual ERP implementation will require several different project
teams over the course of several months or years. It is the role of the program manager to keep all of
these projects moving in the same direction to achieve the business goals outlined in the business
case. Each individual project manager has his or her own goals to manage in a project. The sum of
the successful individual projects equates to the achievement of the overall business goals. “Program
management integrates the individual elements of the projects in order to achieve a common
objective.” 4
Program management (Figure 8-2) is the responsibility of the project executive (sometimes
called the project director). Both the project executive and the project manager(s) make up the ma-
jority of the PMO. Even though the PMO ensures that project teams are moving forward, they must

1 Martenelli, R., and Waddell, J. (October 2004). Program Management: Linking Business Strategy to Product and IT
Development. www.pmforum.org/library/papers/prgmgmt.doc (accessed May 1, 2005).
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.