The concept of a program manager is one that is turning up progressively more routinely in recent years as this role is being adopted in an increasing variety of organizations. This post will attempt to define exactly what the role of a typical program manager is by going through the standard tasks one might carry out each day.

From a top level, a program manager is essentially a person that coordinates numerous projects towards the same aim. Through directing this group of projects like a group the objective would be to realize gains that would not have otherwise happened.

The things a program manager regularly accomplishes on a daily basis is listed below:

It is there responsibility to handle dependencies concerning the many projects running. A single dependency occurs when one particular project task is waiting for a undertaking in another project to complete before it can get started. By effectively coping with dependencies, or creating trade-offs where vital, they make an effort to make sure their programs perform as quietly and efficiently as is possible.

They need to manage benefits. Benefits are something good the organization enjoys for undertaking the program. Usually, this will be a financial profit, however it may very well be some other kind of gain, for instance. Our program manager will have to structure the projects that make up the overall program in a manner to maximise the rewards towards the corporation. This will imply for example going for early wins rapidly.

They have to manage communications. At all times they should insure that all communication flows easily to the people who need to know. This can comprise of communication in all directions: up-wards for the leadership team, and also downwards to individual members of the team. Communications will also need to proceed to other critical stakeholders on a regular basis.

Something else program managers have to do every day is handle risk. Program managers should keep observing risks making certain they’ve been handled in a manner so that they do not adversely affect the program. At a minimum they must ensure the steering group understands the important hazards. They should also have a look at risks and take into consideration how to potentially change them around and into benefits.

They manage the business case. The business case is the reason for the program along with the reason the program was started in the first place. Regularly they must ensure the program is worthwhile and heading towards its goal, whether it’s monetary or strategically orientated.

They must handle stakeholders. They should make certain that the win scenarios of important stakeholders are going to be achieved by the program. This will in addition assist the program manager in getting the help of important senior managers for instance departmental leaders who need to get on side in order to get things done and try to make the program a roaring success.

These are the most important things that program management professionals will perform on a everyday basis. Effectively they’re wanting to do anything that is needed to best achieve the benefits to the corporation. This is what program management is all about.

The aim of this article is to walk you through when and how you should use a RACI Matrix. A RACI Matrix is simply a tool you can use to help you to formally see who is doing what on your project. You will find them particularly useful when you need to manage complex projects which cut across several parts of a company or organization.

RACI is actually an aycronym for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Here is what you need to know about each of these terms:

Responsible: this is the person who actually person the task which needs to be done - they do the actual work.

Accountable: this is the person who approves the work which has been done by the Responsible person. They are thus said to be the accountable person - the buck stops with them.

Consulted: this person needs to be consulted as the work progresses. There can be many of these people. They are not doing the work and they are not accountable but there input is important.

Informed: these are those people that simply need to be kept up to speed as the work progresses. One way to do this might simply be by issuing regular status reports

Now that you know what each letter stands for, all that is left is to create your matrix. To do this, follow these steps:

1. List all tasks in the left hand column

2. List all the people involved across the top.

3. Now go through each task and determine who is accountable, responsible, consulted, and informed.

That’s it - I’m sure you’ll find a RACI Matrix very useful in managing complex projects.