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When is a project a programme?

In as much as many people ask me to talk about the difference between project work and business as usual, when I look out into the world I see a lot of what are projects called programmes, and vice versa. “Not the end of the world, don’t you have some marking to do?” You might ask but actually, it is important as how you deal with the two is very, very different.

PRINCE2, a project mangement method, defines a project as “a management environment created for the purpose of delivering several business products according to a specified business case”.  Managing successful programmes (MSP), a programme management method, defines a programme as (deep breath) “a temporary, flexible organisation created to co-ordinate, dirct and oversee the implementation of a set of related projects and activities in order to deliver outcomes and benefits related to the organisations strategic objectives”.  These two definitions may not, on the face of them seem that different to you and that’s because they’re not….

 

The first misconception is that a programme is just a collection of projects.  Not so, a collection of projects is just a big project, but it seems that if you run more than one project at a time, you are called either a senior PM (correct) or a programme manager (er, no).  The second mistake is that a programme is just a very big project.  Again, not so.  Take Hollyrood, the millenium dome or Wembley stadium….all projects.

 

What defines the difference between the two is predictability.  A Project has defined outcomes from the start.  The road to get there may be long and winding, but your target is clear; build a bridge, a road, a building, an IT system etc.  You have a clear idea of what you have to do.  A Programme is unclear.  You may have a clear idea of what you want, but not how to get it.  An example might be the war in Iraq; everyone knows the eventual goal “win the war”, but no-one can cleary draw a map and say, “this is what that looks like”.  This means that a programme is a journey, a journey which you need to bring your stakeholders along on.  A programme is a much more political animal than a project.  It’s about building concensus, guiding people to decisions that are right for them and the greater good.  A project is about getting clear goals and then going off and achieving them, thus requiring less input from your customer; they tell you what they want and you go and get it for them.  With programmes the customer may not know what they want, or how to get it.  You may not even know who your customer is at first!

 

With projects, it’s all about deliver the right thing.  With programmes it’s about delivering the thing right.  In a project if you deliver what you were told and the customer isn’t happy, with all due respect Sir or Madam, that’s what you asked for.  With a programme the fact that they are not happy is intrinsically linked to the success of the programme, so if they are not happy, even if it’s, on paper “right”, you may need to change it to gain concensus because remember, you need to get these people to use what you’ve given them.

 

A Project manager is just that, a manager.  I’m not belittling what project managers do, after all, I am one.  It is a tough, demanding job that involves delivering no matter what comes at you.  These are the muck and bullets people who get the job done.  A Programme Manager is a leader, they must be more pragmatic, lose small battles to win the war, be political, keep stakeholders engaged and happy.

 

If you have a body of work to do, consider this; is it clear what I have to do?  If the answer is yes, it is a project.  If the answer is no, it is either a) a programme, or b) a badly defined project.

 

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it…