Indicate the main differences between a project and a program and operational activities, differences between projects and business processes?

The program is a complex of interrelated projects.

A program is a set of projects or a project characterized by the particular complexity of the products created and/or methods for managing its implementation. The main difference between project activities and operational activities is the time of activity. A project is a temporary undertaking designed to create unique products or results. Operations is a function aimed at continuously performing activities to provide a recurring service or produce the same product.

Projects differ from operational activities in the following ways:

• · projects have a limited duration, i.e. projects are temporary;
• · projects have a large number of critical risks;
• · projects can undergo a large number of significant changes;
• · a team is usually formed for one project.

A business process is a regularly repeating sequence of interrelated activities (operations, procedures, actions), the implementation of which uses resources external environment, value is created for the consumer and the result is given to him.

Table 1. Differences between projects and business processes

Have you ever confused the term stage with the term process? And the term briefcase with the term final result? Perhaps not, but project management terminology can be confusing. This article will help you find answers to your questions.

In this article

Introduction to the basics: stages, processes, portfolios and products

A project is simply a set of activities that occur according to a schedule and produce some output. Some projects are autonomous, others have a "No" attitude and transition into the organization. On the other hand, some projects are part of larger activities, such as milestones, processes, programs and portfolios.

Stages

Projects can be planned based on stages, which allows you to jointly manage multiple projects related to the same goal. Let's say a charity needs to hold a fundraiser every year. To manage all projects associated with this task, the charity divides projects into three stages: planning, event and follow-up. Each stage contains several projects.

Processes

Activities in two different projects may be interrelated; thus forming processes. Let's say there are two projects: one contains the activities required to develop a technical issue tracking system, and the other contains the activities required to hire and train support staff.

The combined set of activities from the two projects forms the process of creating a call center. The result of the process is a fully operational call center.

Programs

Program is a group of projects that are managed together to effectively leverage their relationships. For example, a construction company that is working on a new neighborhood manages each home in the neighborhood as a separate project. Grouping projects into a neighborhood program makes it easier to track the progress of an entire neighborhood and plan for outside resources such as cement trucks or landscaping contractors.

Portfolios

Some project managers may use portfolios to align projects and programs with relevant strategic business objectives. For example, a software company has identified three strategic business goals: Industry Innovation, Secure Software Development, and Excellence in Customer Support. The organization creates portfolios for each of these goals (Innovation, Safety, and Support) and maps current projects and programs to them.

Final results of the project

Projects, stages and processes lead to some result, which is called end result. Typically, the end result is a specific tangible item, such as a document or finished product. The end results can be not only products and goods, but also results or services. The following table shows some examples of these types.

Microsoft Project and existing project management system

Taking it step by step even further, a project management "system" refers to an integrated set of processes, techniques, methodologies and tools that are used to plan and track projects. Microsoft Project is a tool within larger system project management. Projects, also called project plans, are saved as separate files within Project 2010 and can be grouped into larger activities, such as milestones, processes, programs, and portfolios.

There is some misunderstanding and therefore confusing usage of terms when it comes to program management. Sometimes a program is called a project. Sometimes a project is called a program. In addition, sometimes the portfolio and the program are mistakenly used instead of each other. This article will help you understand the key differences and identify the unique aspects of portfolio, program, and project management.

In order to begin to distinguish between these concepts, you should imagine a hierarchical pyramid. At the very top of the pyramid is portfolio management, which contains all programs and projects that are prioritized based on their business goals. Below this is program management, which contains many projects that are interrelated as they support specific business goals. Programs contain many projects, but projects can be independent and part of a portfolio. Projects differ from programs in that they are tactical in nature.

Let's explore each concept in more detail:

Portfolio management

One of the key aspects of project portfolio management is that it is a process that is clearly aligned with the direction of the business. Priorities are established through an appropriate optimization process for the organization. Risks and rewards are considered and balanced, and programs are selected based on their alignment with organizational strategy. An overview is provided by program and project implementation so that adaptations of the portfolio can be made if necessary. Strategic changes can also cause portfolio adjustments.

Program management

A key feature of program management is business support and funding. Based on a definition based on decisions made at the portfolio management level, programs are sponsored by business needs. The program takes ownership of the benefits and is essentially measured by the achievement of those benefits. Programs may also have “benefit streams,” or sets of interrelated benefits, such as increased R&D capabilities combined with increased market penetration that cross-cut across multiple functions of the organization. Since programs, which by their nature consist of many projects, flow through functions in an organization, they have all the elements of a business system, therefore they are focused on general management.

Project management

Project management is concerned with delivering capabilities typically defined within a program. Projects are driven by strategies, but they do not have the strategic initiative that programs do. Instead, the project receives input elements, then develops and implements a tactical plan. Monitoring and ultimate measurement of success is often based on tactical considerations such as budget and plan rather than on achieving strategic business goals.

Now that you know the basic differences between portfolio, program, and project management, every organization should specialize in implementing these three processes. Some key factors, and how they will influence the implementation choices made, are given below:

• Industry: Industry provides insight into stability and consistency of operations. Some industries, such as pharmaceuticals, are driven by product life cycles, although there are longer cycles that involve extensive regulatory processes. Consumer electronics companies are moving towards shorter life cycles and faster developing technologies, while a little stabilization is observed. Construction companies highly focused on projects and work with very stable technologies and products.
• Organization size: All in all, larger size requires more formalities. Without structure in the relationships between strategies, managing portfolios, programs and projects can become a bit disjointed. Two points of focus demonstrate the presence of deliberate organizational structures for portfolio, program and project management, as well as a focus on special attention to building strong connections between them for the flow of information, communication and cooperation.
• Volume of transactions: The more narrowly defined operational capability present in production or sales based organizations will tend towards less formality and information will flow freely between portfolio, program and project management processes. In organizations that are well integrated horizontally, containing well-developed central competencies in research, marketing, production, supply, etc., there will be inherent divisions that need to be controlled. This will make the program more challenging to manage as these restrictions will be violated.
• Strategies: Like various operational considerations, strategy will influence the organization of portfolio, program and project management depending on how complex the strategy is. A key point not mentioned above is that strategic alliances have a significant impact on the extent to which these processes are well structured and controlled.

Standards for project portfolio, program and project management exist, and among them you can find clear definitions. The Worldwide Project Management Institute (PMI) has developed and published the following standards (free to its members):

• The Standard for Portfolio Management
• The Standard for Program Management
• A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Third Edition, 3rd Edition

Newer news items:

• 07/03/2010 23:15 - How often should you review your project portfolio?
• 17/01/2010 16:22 - What is project portfolio management
• 01/01/2010 20:58 - Four levels of project success
• 01/01/2010 20:41 -

The difference between a program and a project A program is a description of a model of future activity in one or more areas, designed to achieve certain results in the future. Project – represents a description specific situation, which must be improved, the most down-to-earth, concrete and doable form.

Basic requirements for the project LIMITED (in terms of time, goals and objectives, results, etc.) means that the project contains: stages and specific deadlines for their implementation; clear and measurable objectives; specific and measurable results; work plans and schedules; the specific quantity and quality of resources required to implement the project.

Basic requirements for the project INTEGRITY – the general meaning of the project is obvious and clear, each part corresponds to the overall plan and intended result CONSISTENCY AND CONNECTION – the logic of constructing parts that correlate and justify each other. Goals and objectives directly follow from the problem posed. The budget is based on the description of resources and is combined with the plan.

The main requirements for the project are OBJECTIVITY AND VALIDITY - evidence that the idea of ​​the project, the approach to solving the problem did not appear randomly, but are a consequence of the authors’ work to understand the situation and assess the possibilities of influencing it. COMPETENCE OF AUTHORS AND STAFF – an expression of the authors’ awareness of the problems, means and possibilities of solving the issue. Personnel proficiency in technologies, mechanisms, forms and methods of project implementation.

The main sections of the project text The name of the project (should be catchy, brief, expressing the main idea of ​​​​the content, a decoding of the name can be given). Organization - performer (name, address, phone number, details). Project manager (full name, position, place of work, address, phone number, titles). Geography (territory where the project will be implemented, coordinates of participants). Deadlines. Executing institution/organization - additional information is indicated that proves the competence of the performers, the type of activity of the applicants, the presence of achievements in the field of project activities, etc.

The main sections of the project text STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM (introduction) - the relevance of the project is determined by the significance of the problem, the solution of which the project is intended to contribute to. Relevance and novelty compared to analogues. Whose interests are affected? Its scale and what can happen if the problem does not find a solution. Analytical understanding: the problem must be presented in quantitative and qualitative terms.

The “Problem Statement” section is well written if: It reveals the need to complete the project; It describes the circumstances that prompted the writing of the project; The problem looks significant for the territory, for society as a whole; The contractor is competent enough to implement the project; The scope of the project is reasonable; it does not attempt to solve all the world's problems at once; The project is supported by statistical and analytical data, links to experts; The problem is framed from the point of view of whose needs the project serves, and not from the point of view of the “convenience” of the implementer; There are no unfounded statements, a minimum of scientific and special terms; written briefly and interestingly; A clearly defined way to solve the problem

The goal of the project is a conscious presentation of the results of the project. You can achieve results if you clearly know what exactly you want to achieve. Basic requirements for goal formulation: 1).achievability within the framework of this project; 2).provision of the final result of the project; 3).compliance of competence and preparedness with the financial, economic, material, technical, and organizational conditions for the implementation of the project.

Project Objectives A project objective is a specific part of a goal (item) to be accomplished, or an action you take to achieve a project goal. When formulating tasks, it is better to avoid imperfect verbs (promote, support, strengthen; and use the words: prepare, reduce, increase, organize, prepare. When formulating tasks, it is recommended to use the international SMART criterion (specificity, calculability, territoriality, reality, time certainty)

The “Goals and Objectives” section is successfully written if: Describes the expected results of the project that can be assessed; The goal is the overall result of the project, and the tasks are intermediate; It is clear from the section what changes will occur in the social situation; For each problem formulated in the previous part, there is at least one clear task; Goals are in principle achievable and results measurable; The authors do not confuse setting goals and objectives with methods for solving them; The language is clear and precise, there are no unnecessary, unnecessary explanations or references.

Content and mechanism for project implementation The main component of design is the choice of content, forms and methods of activity for project implementation. It involves a fairly detailed description in what directions, how, when, in what sequence, what and how will be done to obtain the desired results. You can’t act on the principle of “throw everything in a heap”!

Control characteristics for the section “Content and mechanism for project implementation” Clarity of structuring the project into parts and vision of their interrelations; An accessible description of the main activities and reasons for choosing these particular forms of work; From the section it is clear how, with whom, when and where the project will take place/implementation; Naturalness of the logical chain: problem – goal – task – method; There is no extra “water”, i.e. unnecessary descriptions, applications and other burdens of the text.

Planning is the most important part of the implementation mechanism. The plan must be consistent and convincing, and the composition of those responsible, performers, and means is clear. The activities of the plan are logically connected, the reasons for choosing these particular forms are clear. The plan is specified in various ways, including graphical form, for example: Actions Deadlines Responsible Resources Results Actual performers 1. 2.

Project performance assessments Quantitative indicators Demand for the project, public coverage, number of specific cases: shares, events, etc. Indicators social development personality Dynamics of the level of personal development: did not know how - learned, did not know - learned, etc., the quality of products is social creative activity(crafts, drawings, hikes, promotions), etc. Indicators of social adaptation of the individual Reducing the risk of asocial phenomena, increasing the level of activity, etc. Indicators of public opinion Popularity of the project, response in funds mass media etc. Technological indicators Clarity and efficiency of management, organizational culture participants, the level of the organization as a whole and individual events Economic indicators Correlation of costs with social and pedagogical effect, attraction of additional logistics resources

Financial justification for the project (the main focus should be on) How much total funds are needed to implement the project; What funds are available to the project organizers; What is the material and technical base; Which additional sources funding can be found (charitable donations, sponsorship fees, income from legally permitted activities, volunteer labor, etc.); For what purposes will the funds collected for the implementation of the project be spent? The project budget should be “three-column”, where the first column indicates the funds available to the applicant, the second - the requested funds, and the third - the total amount of expenses. RULE: the ratio between available and requested amounts for the project must be 50% to 50%