The Art of Large-Scale Change
Unpacking Programme Management
Happy Tuesday, Transformation Friends. Another week, another opportunity to go Beyond the Status Quo.
Today, we’re going to look at an approach called programme management (yes, that's "programme" with an 'm-e' at the end). It's an approach suited to large-scale change initiatives, especially ones that grapple with the unpredictable and ever-evolving challenges of VUCA: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.
In my day job, I spend my time working with the largest transformations in the Government of Canada. Programme management is nascent, and it’s something that we’ve introduced to the ways we manage and oversee these large transformations (see the Directive on the Management of Projects and Programmes if you’re interested in the policy).
We still have a lot to learn and growing to do, but I thought I’d offer an introduction to programme management using the Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) framework. If you're as curious and passionate about effecting transformation as I am, you'd want to get acquainted with MSP.
Today I’ll give a primer on MSP, breaking down its intricacies and drawing the distinctions that make it stand out from project management. At the very end, I provide a list of further reading on this subject.
So grab your morning coffee, and let’s get started.
Defining the Basics: What is a Programme?
Here is the definition of a programme from MSP:
Programme: A temporary structure designed to lead multiple interrelated projects and other work in order to progressively achieve outcomes of benefit for one or more organizations.
Breaking this down, here are the key characteristics of a programme:
They create change.
They are temporary.
They lead multiple interrelated projects.
They achieve outcomes progressively and incrementally.
They can span multiple organizations.
Let’s look at each of these more closely.
Create Change
At the centre of every programme is a specific ambition: to create change that helps us achieve our organization's objectives. It’s a similar ambition to a project, but programmes operate on a broader, more macro-scale. Whereas a project is focused on creating outputs, a programme is focused on creating outcomes—the ripple effects of those outputs. It's these outcomes that induce more profound, lasting shifts within an organization. So, while projects give us the tools, the role of a programme is to ensure these tools create the lasting change we desire.
In a bit more detail, the path to this change in a programme looks like this:
A project in a programme delivers outputs.
Together, outputs generate capabilities.
Capabilities are embedded into the Business As Usual (BAU) to achieve outcomes.
Outcomes lead to organizational objectives and are measured by benefits.
It’s helpful to give the formal definition of these concepts:
Output: The tangible or intangible deliverable of a project or activity.
Capability: The completed set of project outputs required to deliver an outcome; this exists prior to the transition to BAU. It is a service, function, or operation that enables the organization to exploit opportunities.
Outcome: The result of change, normally affecting real-world behaviour and/or circumstances.
Benefit: The measurable improvement resulting from an outcome perceived as an advantage by the investing organization(s) and which contributes towards one or more organizational objectives.
Temporary Structure
Programmes share a crucial trait with projects: they're both temporary structures built with a purpose in mind. For programmes, as mentioned above, it’s to realize specific outcomes and benefits. Once these objectives are met, or if the organization deems further investment unnecessary, the programme wraps up, eliminating the need for its governance and management. This aspect highlights another critical difference between a programme and a project: a programme focusing on incremental value delivery (see below) can end at various intentional "landing points" after achieving all or part of the intended change. In contrast, a project typically must be fully completed to deliver value.
Leading Multiple Interrelated Projects
A programme is an umbrella organization that manages a variety of interrelated projects. However, the programme's function extends beyond mere coordination. It oversees, directs, and makes critical decisions about what work is done and when it’s done and adapts plans according to new information as it emerges.
In simpler terms, while individual projects focus on specific outputs, a programme ensures these outputs align and work together towards a broader organizational objective.
Achieving Outcomes Incrementally
Programmes employ an incremental approach to deliver outcomes and are structured to provide progressive and continuous realization of benefits.
To do this, programmes are organized into Tranches:
Tranche: The work required to deliver a step-change in capability and benefits realization. Several interrelated projects and other work may be involved in a tranche.
Each tranche represents a distinct phase of progress, with "landing points" at its conclusion.
Landing Point: A control point, following delivery of a tranche, at which a programme can be redirected or closed
These landing points are significant milestones where the accumulated benefits and outcomes of the prior projects are assessed. The result of a landing point is that stakeholders have experienced change: an incremental step forward has been delivered and transitioned into the organization’s BAU, and outcomes (change) have been observed and measured through benefits.
This structure ensures continuous benefits to stakeholders throughout the programme's lifecycle and offers clear checkpoints where the programme's trajectory can be adjusted, based on new information or shifts in the broader context, or offers a safe place to close the programme.
Spanning Across Organizations
Programmes are inherently versatile. Given the extensive scale of the change they aim to implement, they frequently extend beyond organizational boundaries. This can mean impacting various business lines within a single organization or spanning multiple entities, such as several public-sector departments. Despite this vast reach, a programme's core objective remains the same and serves as its foundation: to ensure the progressive achievement outcomes of benefit.
Programme vs. Project: Which is better?
It’s a rhetorical question because the answer is: it depends.
It’s not that one is superior to the other. While both programmes and projects are instrumental in driving change and innovation, their approach, management style, and flexibility differ.
As I mentioned in the intro, programme management is best suited for initiatives with high levels of VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
These are environments where the path from the current state to the desired future state is not linear and cannot be predicted with any certainty.
Programme management differs from project management in dealing with these environments through these contrasts:
Scope and Objective: Projects have a more narrowly defined scope and specific objectives. They operate with a clear beginning and end, producing a defined output or product. On the other hand, programmes encompass a broader vision, aiming to achieve beneficial outcomes stemming from multiple projects' collective results.
Duration: Projects typically have a fixed duration, culminating when the desired output is achieved. In contrast, programmes can span across varying time frames, adjusting their duration based on the evolving outcomes they aim to accomplish.
Management: Projects follow a more linear management approach, working step-by-step to achieve a set goal. Conversely, programme management is more dynamic, with the need to manage interdependencies between different projects and ensure alignment with overarching organizational objectives.
Flexibility: Given their broader scope, programmes often need to exhibit greater flexibility. They are structured to adapt to changes and new information, ensuring that the desired outcomes remain in focus. Projects might have less wiggle room for modifications once initiated due to their narrower scope.
I also think it’s important to decouple the size of the investment with its complexities, risks and impact. For example, a 5 million dollar investment for one organization to undertake a significant digital transformation may be better suited to programme management, whereas a 50 million dollar investment for another organization to upgrade its servers may be better suited to project management.
Wrap up
Organizational transformation is an assortment of intricate strategies, methods, and approaches. The choice between project and programme management isn't about picking the superior approach but rather about aligning with the specific needs and complexities of the initiative at hand.
I hope this has given you some insight into programme management. Understanding the nuances between these methods is essential for those involved in transformation as it offers us different tools to use.
Let’s close today by thinking about these questions:
Where do you see the potential for transitioning from traditional project management to a more expansive programme management approach in your current role or projects?
How do you believe the principles of programme management might reshape the future of large-scale initiatives in your organization or sector?
Reflecting on your experiences, can you identify past challenges or failures that might have benefitted from programme management's holistic and adaptive nature?
Until next time, I'll see you Beyond the Status Quo.
References and Further Reading
Flyvbjerg, B. (2014). Megaprojects and risk: An anatomy of ambition. Cambridge University Press.
Flyvbjerg, B., & Gardner, D. (2023). How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors that Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything in Between. Signal.
Government of Canada. (2022). Directive on the management of projects and programmes. https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=32594
Government of the UK. (2020). Guidance: Programme Management. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/project-and-programme-management
Project Management Institute. (2017). The standard for program management. Project Management Institute.
Thiry, M. (2016). Program management. Routledge.
Williams, D., & Parr, T. (2004). Enterprise programme management. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.