A Plan for Implementing Program Management in an Information Technology Organization

Program management is a methodology that can be used by an organization to facilitate the delivery of strategic outcomes through development of capabilities that enable an organization to obtain expected benefits. It is best suited to be implemented across an entire organization but can be adapted for use in individual parts of an organization. This thesis defines what constitutes program management, identifies the prerequisites for enabling a successful program management environment, describes the program lifecycle and associated activities and proposes a plan for program management implementation in an Information Technology organization in a Fortune 500 electric and gas provider in the northeastern United States. I argue that there are three major areas that should be addressed for an organization to facilitate the successful implementation of program management: 1) development of an understanding and consensus across the organization of what constitutes a “program” and what “program management” entails; and how program management is related to but different from project and portfolio management; 2) how program management can be used to achieve strategic outcomes; and 3) the management infrastructure and resources that are needed to effectively implement program management