Program Management

One of the first things I do to get a handle on execution is to map out the work in flight in the form of a roadmap. When there are multiple teams shipping stuff, one of the best ways to improve coordination, collaboration, and planning is to make a simple roadmap. Just even putting the …

One of the ways to be awesome at work is to create roadmaps that lay out the big “projects” or “initiatives” for your team.  This helps you easily plan in a visual way, get your team on the same page, and communicate to other teams, both your impact and what’s going on. No “Black Box” …

Execution excellence as a one-man band is one thing.  Execution excellence for a team or group is another. One of the best ways to improve execution excellence for a team or group is to map out the portfolio, programs, and projects. Having clarity on the portfolio, programs, and projects is a starting point for mastering …

What is a Program Manager (PM)? While the Program Manager role seems unique to Microsoft, in general, when you map it to other companies, it’s a product manager, or a project manager, or a combination of the two.  At Microsoft, there are various flavors of PMs (“design” PM, “project” PM, “process” PM, etc.) and even …

Here is a quick map of the process groups, knowledge areas, and processes in the Project Management Body of Knowledge(PMBOK).  Regardless of the PMI certification, I think it’s useful to know how the knowledge for project management is organized by experts and professionals.   This will help you more effectively navigate the space, and learn project …