Let’s start by saying that most business organizations need these two personnel – program and project managers. In a way, one will create the roadmap (the program manager) while the other defines the route and identifies all stops along the way (the project manager).
Put differently, project managers are tasked with the management of individual, specific projects, one at a time, from start to finish. But a program manager is charged with a group, or maybe even groups of projects — simultaneously. Similar roles, right? Except that there are marked differences in their day-to-day job functions, their goals, and even job qualifications.
By the end of this article, you’ll be left in no doubt about the differences that exist between program managers and project managers, what each role entails, areas where their job bring them together, and points of divergence between their roles.
Specifically, you’ll be able to tell:
- What program management is
- What project management is
- The differences between a program manager and a project manager
Let’s dive in.
What Is Program Management?
The crucial goal of program management is to enhance the long-term fortunes of a business. A company that values competitive advantage will invest in program management as a way to future-proof the organization, ensuring friction-free decision making in the long-term.
A program manager’s work is long-term. It includes many different projects, and is often designed to support the larger objectives of an organization.
Further, program management is usually permanent in nature since they’re designed to serve the business’ strategic goals. In creating a program of action, a business firm will usually take their long-term objectives into consideration. These will then be mapped into annual initiatives that may influence the types of projects the business will embark on.
In turn, the program manager oversees this large, long-term program of the organization and expertly aligns these with the bigger picture goals of the business.
What Is Project Management?
This is the better-known “cousin” of program management. Similar to program management, project management must necessarily identify with the goals of an organization. But unlike program management, project management deals with things that are short-term in nature. This is to be expected since a project doesn’t last forever—a terminal date is often announced at the commencement of a project.
Almost every industry employs the tool of project management to care for important businesses.
You could say that program management sets the tone for what project management will have to focus on. And as opposed to program management, project management pursues specific outcomes within a specified timeline. If the program manager is mandated to transform the company’s digital infrastructure over a period of time for example, it is the project manager that puts boots on the ground to ensure the transformation happens. In that sense we can add that project managers take the program managers’ goals and crystallize these goals into actionable ideas.
What is the Difference between a Program Manager and a Project Manager?
The major differences between project managers and program managers can be narrowed down into the following 2 key areas:
- Orientation and Qualifications
Project managers are usually detail-oriented business planners who have a knack to keep a project moving. They often possess academic qualification and certifications in project management. They must necessarily possess industry-specific experience and be at home with project management software and planning tools.
Meanwhile a program manager is looked upon as a strong leader, one who can focus on and pursue business strategy over time. He is an experienced budget planner, program strategist, and good communicator who seamlessly liaises with various teams across departments. Some program managers may have functioned as project managers earlier in their career.
- Job Responsibilities
By reason of their job functions, both program managers and project managers administer projects and must facilitate communication between members and major stakeholders. But after that, their job functions begin to diverge. Whereas the project manager focuses on the details of a given project, the program manager will superintend over multiple projects and endeavor to align these with the objectives of the organization.
Again the responsibilities converge on the project strategy, risk assessment and planning, quality control and reporting of performance to major investors and other stakeholders as well as to company leadership.
Additionally, the project manager’s role goes further to include developing work schedules, communicating with team members on a regular basis, and ensuring that deliverables and milestones are achieved.
Further differences between a project manager and a program manager include the following:
- Program managers have responsibility over groups of projects, while the project managers lead teams to accomplish individual projects. This suggests that as a program manager, you are a more strategic player in the firm than the project manager.
- Arising from the above job function, program managers clearly have greater managerial duties than project managers, since they’re charged with overseeing multiple projects. In some industries, this often translates to higher salaries and other benefits for the program manager.
- A program manager can be tied to a particular program indefinitely. Not so with the project manager whose project has a fixed end, and so he must necessarily move from one project to another. He is in charge of a project from its beginning to completion. After which he is expected to move on to the next project.
Wrapping Up
In the end, we can say that program managers and project managers both perform critical roles within an organization. While there are observable similarities in their job functions, there are also significant differences. The key difference being that project managers must focus on more temporary projects, complete this and move to the next project; whereas program managers oversee an entire company program, serving the company’s strategic goals and supporting long-term initiatives.
It is conceivable that a program manager may stay in his role for years on end — perhaps permanently. But this cannot be said of the project manager who must transit to the next project the moment a current one is delivered. In their respective roles, each fills vital needs in every modern organization.
