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1.5 Related Endeavors
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Certain types of endeavors are closely related to projects.
There is often a hierarchy of strategic plan, program, project, and subproject, in which a
program consisting of several associated projects will contribute to the achieve of a strategic
plan.
These related undertakings are described below.
Programs may also involve a series of repetitive or cyclical undertakings, for
example:
In some application areas, program management and project management are
treated as synonyms; in others, project management is a subset of program
management. This diversity of meaning makes it imperative that any discussion of
program management versus project management be preceded by agreement on a clear
and consistent definition of each term.
Subprojects are typically referred to as projects and managed as such.
Programs. A program is a group of projects managed in a coordinated
way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually [2]. Many programs
also include elements of ongoing operations. For example:
The "XYZ airplane program" includes both the project or projects to design
and develop the aircraft as well as the ongoing manufacturing and support of
that craft in the field. Many electronics firms have program managers who are responsible for
both individual product releases (projects) and the coordination of multiple
releases over time (an ongoing operation).
Utilities often speak of an annual "construction program", a regular,
ongoing operation which involves many projects. Many nonprofit organizations have a "fundraising program", an ongoing
effort to obtain financial support that often involves a series of discrete projects,
such as a membership drive or an auction. Publishing a newspaper or magazine is also a program__the periodical
itself is an ongoing effort, but each individual issue is a project.
Subprojects. Projects are frequently divided into more manageable components
or subprojects. Subprojects are often contracted out to an external enterprise or to
another functional unit in the performing organization. Examples include:
Suprojects based on the project process, such as a single phase.Subprojects according to human resource skill requirements, such as the
installation of plumbing or electrical fixtures on a construction project. Subprojets involving technology, such as automated testing of computer programs on
a software development project.
Project Portifolio Management. Project portifolio management refers to the
selection and support of projects or program investments. These investments in projects and
programs are guided by the organization's strategic plan and available resources.
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