Prince2

Five Steps to Becoming a Programme Manager 
August 2010

Have you been there, done that and got the T­shirt in project management? Time to move on to programme management? Then here are a few things to consider: 
1. Qualifications: You can’t get away from them. They are a good way of learning and demonstrating to your employer that you have the fundamental knowledge and skills. They also showcommitment to your self-development and to your career. The OGC’s Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) and the PMI’s Programme Management Professional (PgMP) are two recognised qualifications worthconsidering. 2. Experience: Several years of experience in dealing, not only with all the accepted nuts and bolts of project management, but also with tricky political situations and tricky people while stilldelivering a successful project would help to show your mettle. 3. Understanding the Role: Broad shoulders are useful as a programme manager for you are accountable for the success, and failure ofcourse, of the programme. Responsibilities will include planning programme-level activities and schedule of projects, defining terms of reference as well as setting policies and procedures andstandards. 4. Multi-tasking and multiple techniques: The programme manager has a wide range of responsibilities and needs to be able to oversee multiple projects to ensure that they stay on schedule and bringbenefits in keeping with the company’s strategic goals and objectives. At the same time you must factor in problems you might have as well as ways to solve them. A good knowledge of techniques neededfor planning, monitoring and controlling programmes, of business change tools, of benefits identification and management techniques and of budgeting and resource allocation are all essential ingetting the right end result. Success comes too from knowing how to delegate and that comes from knowing your team. 5. Excellent people skills: A trite but true requirement, for as the programme...