Whether you’re a Project Manager navigating the complexities of project and program management or a PMP candidate looking to deepen your understanding, distinguishing between projects and programs is essential.
Though often used interchangeably, projects and programs are distinctly different. Grasping the differences between project and program objectives, scope, timelines, management approaches, and team roles and responsibilities enables more informed decision-making.
I will do a project vs program comparison in this post covering the difference between them, as well as providing insights into their characteristics, and how they relate to one another.
Equipped with this knowledge, you’ll be better positioned to excel in project or program management and contribute to your organization’s strategic goals.
Project vs Program: Overview
To understand the key differences between projects and programs, it’s helpful to first define what each entails. This overview will provide a brief definition of projects and programs along with their main characteristics.
What is a Project?
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Projects have defined objectives, scope, timelines, and resources. The purpose of a project is to accomplish a specific goal that brings value to an organization.
Project characteristics include:
- Having a defined start and end date
- Following a project life cycle with phases like initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing
- Having constraints such as budget, resources, and time
- Creating a unique deliverable or outcome
- Involving uncertainty and risk
- Requiring a Project Manager and project team with specialized skills
- Having clearly defined project objectives and milestones
You can think of a project as a single focused effort of a team to deliver a product or service within the established timeline and budget.
What is a Program?
A program is a group of related projects and activities managed in a coordinated manner to gain benefits not available from managing them individually. Programs have a broader scope and their objectives are strategic.
Characteristics of a program include:
- Aligning with the organization’s strategic objectives
- Having an extended timeline, sometimes over several years
- Managing multiple interdependent projects and tasks
- Requiring oversight from a Program Manager and governance boards
- Coordinating resources across projects
- Aiming to achieve long-term business change and benefits
- Having more complex risk profiles and stakeholders
- Focusing on realizing measurable business outcomes
You can think of a program as a portfolio of projects and other activities grouped together to help achieve an organization’s strategic goals through realizing long-term benefits that extend beyond individual projects.
Difference Between Projects and Programs
While projects and programs are related concepts, the two have some key differences. Understanding these differences is essential for anyone involved in Project or Program Management.
1. Scope
The scope of a project is narrower, focused on accomplishing specific objectives and delivering defined deliverables.
In contrast, a program has a broader scope, working towards strategic goals through the delivery of multiple projects and other activities.
2. Timeline
Projects are temporary endeavors with a defined start and end date. The timeline is limited to complete the work and meet milestones.
Programs on the other hand can span several years with a more flexible, long-term timeline working towards broader strategic outcomes.
3. Objectives
Project objectives are tangible and precise, like developing a new product. Program objectives are more overarching, like gaining market share. While project objectives drive projects, program objectives align projects to strategic goals.
4. Management
Project management involves planning and managing project activities, resources, budgets, schedules, and risks.
Program management oversees the coordination between multiple projects to ensure strategic alignment, efficient resource utilization, stakeholder engagement, and benefits realization.
5. Risks
Project risks relate to the individual project, while program risks consider the overall scope, complex interdependencies, changes across projects, and strategic factors. Program risk management takes a wider view.
6. Teams
A Project Manager leads the project team responsible for delivering project objectives.
In contrast, a Program Manager oversees multiple Project Managers to align projects and ensure coordination between project teams and stakeholders.
7. Change Management
Project change management handles revisions within the project scope. Program change management evaluates proposed changes at the program level considering the impacts across projects and alignment with objectives.
8. Governance
Project governance provides a framework for project delivery. Program governance involves aligning projects to business strategy through program boards, steering committees, and stakeholder engagement at senior levels.
Relationship Between Projects and Programs
While projects and programs have distinct characteristics, they also have an interdependent relationship.
Programs are made up of multiple, interconnected projects as well as other activities that all work together to achieve the program’s strategic objectives. The program provides an overarching structure to coordinate and align the projects.
Conversely, projects exist within programs and their successful completion is necessary for realizing the program benefits. The Project Managers oversee the delivery of project objectives while the Program Manager coordinates the projects to ensure alignment.
Some key connections between projects and programs include:
- Programs group related projects to optimize resource utilization, manage interdependencies, reduce redundancies, and gain efficiencies between the projects.
- The program roadmap sets the vision and context for the project teams to see how their individual projects fit into the overall program.
- The Program Manager works with Project Managers to allocate resources, set priorities, manage risks, and drive collaboration across project teams.
- Program governance boards oversee project health, progress, and continued alignment with strategic goals.
- Projects may share common program management processes, tools, and standards related to communications, procurement, quality control, etc.
- Project outputs collectively contribute to achieving the program benefits and strategic objectives.
Understanding this symbiotic relationship empowers both project teams and program leaders to work synergistically towards shared business outcomes.
Project vs Program Example
Let’s look at an example to illustrate the differences between a project and a program.
A software company initiates a project to develop a new customer portal. This involves designing, building, testing, and launching the portal within a 6-month timeframe with a dedicated project team. The Project Manager oversees completing project tasks, managing risks and issues, and delivering the portal by the deadline.
Separately, the company kicks off a customer experience improvement program which includes multiple projects and initiatives. This 3-year program aims to increase customer satisfaction, retention, and growth.
It contains projects like developing the customer portal, building a mobile app, overhauling the support center, and mapping customer journeys. The Program Manager coordinates these customer-focused projects, manages dependencies, and ensures they collectively achieve the intended benefits and business outcomes.
While each project focuses on specific deliverables, the overarching program aligns them to improve customer experience. This example illustrates how programs strategically group multiple projects to realize benefits greater than the sum of their parts.
Project Management vs Program Management
Project management and program management are related disciplines with some distinct differences.
1. Objective
The objective of project management is to complete projects on time, within budget, and meeting requirements. Program management aims to realize business outcomes and benefits by coordinating multiple projects and activities.
2. Scope
Project management handles the tasks, resources, and timelines for a single project. Program management oversees multiple interconnected projects across departments, balancing priorities and dependencies.
3. Timeframe
Project management operates within the project timeline, focused on hitting milestones. Program management takes a long-term view, adapting as needed over the years to meet strategic goals.
4. Change Management
Project change management assesses and approves changes within the project’s scope. Program change management evaluates proposed changes at the program level considering impacts across projects.
5. Risk Management
Project risk management identifies and mitigates project-specific risks. Program risk management manages risks on a broader level, addressing enterprise and strategic risks spanning projects.
6. Stakeholders
Project Managers engage project team members, sponsors, and clients. Program Managers coordinate stakeholders across projects, including senior executives and external partners.
7. Governance
Project governance provides guidance on meeting objectives for individual projects. Program governance ensures alignment with business strategy through program boards and steering committees.
Project Manager vs Program Manager
Project Managers and Program Managers serve critical leadership roles using their specialized skills to drive initiatives forward.
However, there are some key differences between these positions in terms of their scope of responsibility, time horizons, change management approaches, risk mitigation strategies, stakeholder engagement, and reporting structures.
1. Responsibilities
A Project Manager focuses intently on planning and executing a single project, guiding their team through the project life cycle to complete the defined scope on time, on budget, and meeting requirements.
In contrast, a Program Manager oversees an entire program consisting of multiple complex and interdependent projects working towards a common strategic objective.
The Program Manager aligns the projects, facilitates collaboration, optimizes resources shared between projects, and ensures the program as a whole realizes intended benefits and goals.
2. Timeframe
Project Managers operate within the finite timeline of their individual project, pushing to complete milestones and deliver results.
Program Managers take a wider lens, viewing programs that may adapt and evolve over the years to meet changing organizational needs in pursuit of broader strategic goals.
3. Change Management
Project Managers strictly manage changes within the boundaries of the project scope and objectives through change control processes.
Program Managers on the other hand continually evaluate proposed changes at the program level based on impacts across constituent projects as well as alignment with overarching business strategy.
4. Risk Management
While Project Managers mitigate project-specific risks that could hinder their distinct project’s progress, Program Managers take a holistic approach to identifying and controlling risks across teams, schedules, budgets, resources, and objectives that could affect the entire program’s performance and outcomes.
5. Stakeholders
Project Managers engage directly with their project team, sponsors, and clients.
Program Managers coordinate a vast array of both internal and external stakeholders across multiple projects and leadership levels to gain buy-in, manage expectations, and foster open communication channels.
6. Reporting
Project Managers report on metrics related to the project triple constraint – scope, time, and cost.
Program Managers track and communicate progress toward strategic goals and benefits realization to provide insights into the health and performance of the overall program.
Project Management Office vs Program Management Office
Organizations often utilize Project Management Offices (PMOs) and Program Management Offices (PgMOs) to enhance how they manage projects and programs.
There are some key differences between the two models:
1. Scope
A PMO oversees all projects across the organization, setting standards and optimizing resources.
In contrast, a PgMO specifically coordinates multiple strategic programs comprised of interdependent projects.
2. Objectives
The goal of a PMO is consistent and effective project delivery across the organization.
On the other hand, a PgMO aims to align programs and their constituent projects with business strategy and corporate objectives.
3. Timeframe
PMOs support Project Managers throughout the duration of individual projects, keeping a focus on on-time delivery and milestone achievement.
PgMOs maintain a much longer-term view that spans programs over multiple years, adapting as business needs evolve.
4. Governance
PMOs establish governance frameworks and processes to provide guidance for Project Managers on meeting objectives for each project.
While PgMOs oversee program governance boards comprised of senior leadership that drive executive-level strategic decisions for programs.
5. Change Management
PMOs enable standardized project change management processes to assess and incorporate alterations within a project’s scope.
In contrast, PgMOs evaluate proposed changes at the program level based on the potential downstream impacts across constituent projects and alignment with overarching program goals.
6. Reporting and Metrics
PMOs aggregate and consolidate reporting on budgets, schedules, risks, issues, and milestones across projects.
On the other hand, PgMOs track the realization of intended benefits and achievement of strategic key performance indicators (KPIs) to provide insights into the overall health and progress of programs.
Final Thoughts
Properly delineating projects and programs is crucial for organizations managing both types of initiatives to achieve strategic goals.
While often used interchangeably, projects and programs have distinct characteristics, objectives, timeframes, governance, risks, and management approaches. Understanding the nuances helps Project Managers and Program Managers optimize plans, resources, and team collaboration.
With insight into where projects fit into the bigger program picture, you can improve decision-making to drive more successful outcomes and maximize benefits for your organization.
