Jennifer Bridges, PMP, on how program mangers differ from project managers. Try our Award-Winning PM Software for free: https://www.projectmanager.com/?utm_s...
Science & Technology video by Youtube Channel
According to PMBOK, program is a group of projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually. 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).
Programs may also involve a series of repetitive or cyclical undertakings; for example:
■ Utilities often speak of an annual “construction program,” a regular, ongoing operation that 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.