Welcome to our 4-part blog series on program and project governance. In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business landscape, being effective at both is crucial for organizations to successfully implement their strategic initiatives. In this series, we will explore the key components of program governance and project management, highlight their importance in driving successful outcomes, and provide practical tips for implementing them in your organization.

Let’s start with a comparison of an Information System (IS) program and project. An IS program refers to a long-term strategic initiative aimed at achieving specific organizational goals by leveraging information technology, systems, and processes. It involves managing and coordinating multiple projects and resources to achieve a broader outcome, such as rolling out a global SAP S/4HANA template over multiple regions and business units to establish a common ERP platform across your entire organization.

On the other hand, an IS project is a temporary endeavor with a defined scope, timeline, and budget, aimed at delivering a specific outcome or product. It focuses on implementing a specific solution to meet a particular business need or goal within the constraints of time, cost, and resources, such as implementing SAP S/4HANA or to innovate using S/4HANA and SAP technology.

In summary, an IS program focuses on long-term, strategic, often organization-wide objectives, while an IS project is a more tactical approach that delivers specific and often narrower outcomes within a limited timeframe. Now that we have defined and discussed the differences between the two, we’ll shift focus in the next post to outline the key elements that go into successful governance, namely the structured framework and set of processes that govern the planning, execution, and monitoring of multiple projects under one program. 

Reach out on LinkedIn or send an email if you have questions you’d like us to address. Our experts would love to help you elevate your program governance and project management to the next level. Stay tuned to our blog for more insights and best practices throughout the month.

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Here are links to all 4 blog posts in this governance series: Part I: Understanding Programs vs. Projects  |  Part II: Defining Rules, Procedures, and Policies  |  Part III: Defining Committees, Bodies, and Structures  |  Part IV: Decision-making Rights and Tools