2. Agenda
• Program Initiation
• Typical Scenario
• Risk Mitigation
• Managing for Success
• Sample Dashboard/Metrics
• Summary
3. Program Initiation
• Program requirements
o Scope identified
o Budget identified
o Resource requirements/skill sets clearly defined
o Resource requirements (hardware/software)
o External requirements (vendors/subcontractors)
o Program Manager assigned
• Calendar for the operational requirements
o Upgrades
o Maintenance Windows
o Outages
o All Planned activities
• Program management
o Qualified program manager requirements
• Cost
• Schedule
• Resource Management
• Decision Making Process
o Agreements defined on assignments
o Escalation
4. Scenario
• Need for a new program is defined
• Business agrees on the priority
• Resources assigned are not dedicated and have daily operational
responsibilities
• Program manager may or may not be dedicated to the task depending upon the
scope
• Program manager may or may not be an experienced program manager
• Managers responsible for production/operations control the resources assigned
to the program
• Production always has the top priority
Programs managed in this environment have a high
probability of failure
5. Risk Mitigation for Shared Resource programs
• Define the production environment calendar
o Identify all the planned work that can be forecast at the moment
o Use history to identify unplanned outages/requests that are hidden each week
• Unplanned patches
• Application updates
• Agree on the resource requirements with the resource managers
o Agree on the individuals assigned to the program
o Identify the escalation process when schedule requirements aren’t met
• Identify contingency plans for resources
• Define the planned milestones up front
o Programs typically fail within the first 30 days if not well defined and managed
• Manage the key metrics for the program
Mitigate your risk up front with planning and a risk management plan
6. Plan for Success
• Managing with shared resources is a challenge
o Production will always take first priority
o Critical KPI’s
• Milestones
• Applied time to the program
• Define your milestones at a granular level with weekly completions
o Don’t wait for 30/60 days in the program before your first milestone is due
o Up front it’s critical to have your milestones defined by individual on the program
o You understand quickly if you are headed for the “Red Zone”
• Scope of the program has to be mapped to the milestones
80% of all programs will fail in the first 30 days if
not well defined or managed
7. Sample Dashboard
At one glance you know you’re either on track or not
8. Summary
• Mitigating your risk up front ensures you meet cost and
schedule
• Work the up front requirements so that you can be
successful
• Working in a share resource environment is reality for most
organizations
• Manage by the numbers
Managing programs requires detailed up front
work and day to day management