Agile Candor

This article was first  published by Scrum Alliance  on July 22, 2013. During the last few years, my view of how programs work has evolved. It has moved from viewing program management as traditional "old-school" handling of multiple projects and product portfolios (dry and boring) to seeing program management as a key to ensuring organization success that aligns the organization with its vision, strategy, and innovation. I think of program management as a crucial tool that makes an organization successful by pointing its entire energy and focus toward its most important initiatives and fulfilling its promise to customers, shareholders, and employees. Why do organizations need programs? "Programs are a group of projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually," according to PMI. What do organizations have to gain by investing in coordinating and controlling multiple projects as a program? This is simi...