Programme management can be seen as a very stressful experience but it doesn’t have to be. With well implemented risk & issue management (taught as part of our MSP Training Courses) a programme is more likely to succeed. In this blog we look at why risk and issue management is such an important part of any programme.

Risk/Issue

A risk is a possible occurrence that may damage a programme. For something to be designated a risk there should be a realistic probability of something going wrong that would have a negative impact on a programme. It is important to keep risks realistic or the list will just keep growing.

An issue is when something actually occurs. If an issue was earlier identified as a risk then either the risk was not properly managed or at least there will be a system in place to resolve the issue immediately. Risks turning into issues are better than issues appearing with no prior planning as the resolution will take longer and the cause of the issue will have to be determined.

Well defined risks & issues

It is important to define risks and issues properly so that the entire team buys into the definition. For risks you should consider the likelihood of it happening, the material damage and whether it is a normal management risk or something extraordinary. As for issues the main focus is on material damage and harm to the project. Read the rest of "Risk & Issue Management – Take the stress out of programme management"

Unlike PRINCE2 which governs how to run individual projects, Programme Management covers controlling groups of related projects (if they are unrelated projects then it becomes portfolio management).

When business objectives grow and cannot be achieved with a single project, the objective must be split down into smaller projects to be managed individually.

The smaller projects will all be designed to achieve the longer term business objective, and whilst each project is likely to have its own project manager, it is the Programme Managers job to ensure that all the projects achieve their targets and objectives.

What does the Programme Manager do?

As the running of individual projects is the responsibility of the Project Managers, the Programme Managers’ responsibilities include:

• Setting the baseline
• Agree roles and responsibilities
• Programme Planning
• Prioritisation
• Stakeholders communication
• Progress Reporting
• Benefits Management
• Quality Management
• Risk Management
• Deal with Issues relating to the programme as a whole
• Closing the Programme

If you would like to discuss your requirements for MSP training please give us a call on 01273 622272.