This is a beautiful article. I wholeheartedly agree with these ten items. It’s a must read for all professionals, especially the change champions who are set to change the world, one step at a time.
Te Wu’s Comments on the article by Bas de Baat for CIO titled, “10 things smart program managers do”
Bas de Baat for CIO writes: “Change your thoughts and you change your world” – Norman Vincent Peale. For 20+ years I have been observing senior leaders who run enterprise-wide technology-driven-change programs and noticed 10 remarkable things they do. It is important to know that over the years they have made a habit of doing these things. For them it has become an automaticity. Here is what these smart program managers do:
1. Understand the business context. As one of the first things, smart program managers do an exhaustive read about the company and the industry it is operating in, with a focus on the corporate strategy, product and service portfolio, key markets and customers. The first weeks into a new engagement they seek to understand more than anything else. They engage with people to get a good sense of what’s really going on and go deep on aspects that may have a high impact on the success rate of the program. Even the most industry experienced program managers go through this step as they believe that good preparation is half the work and rules out any coincidence.
2. Nail down the scope of work. Smart program managers are keen on managing a realistic scope. They work closely with the parties involved and ‘squeeze out’ the ambiguity in the scope definition that ends up in contractual documents, project plans and schedules. With the understanding of the business context, they know how to prioritize the scope of work. That is not only important for planning and scheduling, but also for building a strong team that has the right skill mix. Of course they want to have a strong team across the board, but especially for those scope items that are business critical. Throughout the project life-cycle they relate almost everything that happens back to the scope. What is the impact? Can we still make it happen or do we need to adjust to stay the course? SNIP, the article continues at CIO, click here to continue reading…