PMO Notebook has information for Program Managers, Project Managers, Scrum practitioners and PMO Leaders.
My focus in the first part of 2024 has been The Effective Program Manager series - these 12 articles cover topics for new Program Directors and Program Managers, as well as information on advanced topics for those with significant experience. These articles cover methods for delivering business value and outstanding program outcomes (these are a passion of mine), techniques for developing a strong understanding of yourself, your business partners and the program team, and the importance and nuances of working with executive stakeholders. (These articles won't cover the basics of planning, monitoring execution, reporting and such - that information is widely available elsewhere.). A few of those articles are highlighted immediately below, and the full index appears here.
For mid-2024, I'm starting a collection of articles on IT Portfolio Management, covering the importance of this function and techniques for a robust implementation.
In late summer, I'll continue refreshing the agile and Scrum articles (all written over a decade ago) along with the project management articles.
Bill Hoberecht -
My career has always been centered around Program Management - it's where my interests have been, and I've been very fortunate in having positions and consulting engagements that have given me terrific experiences in creating new programs, recovering failing programs, and most importantly delivering value to the business.
In building a solid foundation for leading programs, I studied quality with W. Edwards Deming, obtained my PMP certification, and completed training at the SEI as a CMM Lead Assessor. I gravitated to leading large programs - most were between $50M and $200M, with the large programs spanning many international locations.
When agile started gaining traction, I completed Scrum Master training with Ken Schwaber. In recent years, Scrum and Kanban have been my preferred methods when an agile mindset is present and agile methods can be effective. I continued my professional development completing SAFe SPC training with Dean Leffingwell.
Most of my programs have succeeded. A few, however, have been “challenged” or have “failed” (using Standish Chaos Report terminology) – these programs have yielded significant lessons learned that continue to influence my approach to projects. These lessons are all incorporated into the materials you’ll find throughout PMO Notebook.
More on my background is in my LinkedIn profile.