Managing High Tech Programs – Simple & Real World Relevant
(Open this link Program Management Guide with Emphasis on Managing High Technological Development Programs now and save or read what follows first and then open and save the file)
There are many textbooks, papers and the like that address Program Management. Often Program Management is treated as a subset of Management Science and can be very comprehensive as part of a college course in the subject. Oftentimes the material discussed elsewhere is analytical including linear programming. From my perspective it is treated in detail that is more than is needed when actually managing high tech programs encountered in the real world. The focus of the material contained in the read that I have developed is a program management guide for managing high tech programs. Of significance, I was deliberate in keeping it relevant to what will be encountered most often in the real world.
Important PM Attributes for Managing High Tech Programs
Although not mandatory, what is beneficial when managing high tech programs beyond a business management ability, is experience and education in a technical discipline. It is preferable that it be in one of the technologies that comprise a measurable portion of the project being executed. Beyond this, what a Program Manager (PM) needs is an understanding of what constitutes a project. This entails how to break it down into manageable segments, and an understanding of basic tools to be employed to help facilitate the execution of the project and leadership of the team.
In my view there are a few but important key traits that a PM should embody to be successful when in charge of managing high tech programs:
- Experience and education in technology, preferably in one of the technologies that comprise a measurable portion of the project being managed – Avoids complete dependency on technical personnel for assessing and guidance on steps to take in understanding issues.
- Knowing what questions to be asking and assessing the answers to regarding issues in-process during each stage of a project’s lifecycle.
- Tenacity and the avoidance of intellectual laziness – knowing what is needed to be done, no matter how intrusive to the status quo, and initiating action to do it.
- Knowing it is their role to make a decision particularly in the midst of conflicting opinions.
The Benefits of What You’ll Learn
My motive in producing this Program Management Guide for Managing High Tech Programs is to offer a relatively brief but useful synopsis of the topics that a PM will be exposed to in the conduct of such programs. The emphasis is on managing high tech programs and I’ve included lifecycle phase specific checklists. These will help enable the PM to focus on the important issues at hand at each stage of the project’s lifecycle.
In addition to benefiting the PM, the material presented in the overall document is of benefit to those who will be on the team being managed by the PM. It is the team members who will be responsible for executing the hands-on efforts identified in the checklists as well as having the needed understanding of the PM processes discussed.
Specifically, this read will help you learn what is important in managing each phase (identified and discussed in detail) that constitutes the lifecycle of a technical development project with powerful checklists provided as an aid to help assure success.
Added Content & Enhanced PM Process Learning
Although there is the presumption that the basics of Program Management are a prerequisite for this read, I’ve included the ‘Program Management Tutorial‘ in this document as well to augment this presumption. Additionally, I have provided an expanded discussion with more analytical detail on the key process of Risk & Opportunity Management inclusive of Risk Mitigation & Opportunity Realization.
For completeness, because of its importance, I’ve included a discussion of and provided a simple application of a Root Cause & Corrective Action Process. The need to determine the root cause of negatively impactful issues that almost always arise when managing high tech programs is essential. The objective is to have corrective / preventive actions implemented in a timely fashion to preclude further erosion of project’s goals. Getting to the real / root cause or causes and not just the symptoms of the problem is key. The goal is to assure that the fixes implemented are not just ‘band-aids’ but are truly adequate to prevent reoccurrences. The method presented is both simple in concept and application.
Also, because it may be encountered on the job, I’ve provided an introductory familiarization with an Agile (sometimes called Lean) Management Process known as Scrum. It is a management process whereby the Program Team leads itself and the role of the Program Manager is defined differently than in a traditional sense.Some examples of the material discussed are provided so that you can begin to see the benefit of having a copy of the entire document.
The following link provides a free copy of the guide for you to copy/download. Hope it adds value to your career when tasked with contributing to the management of a high tech program as either the lead program manager, the lead engineering manager, or simply as an engineer assigned to the program.
Program Management Guide with Emphasis on Managing High Technological Development Programs