Solutions that work: Why the best IT manager knocks down sacred cows

The goal of my position as a program or senior project manager is not the successful application of methodologies such as SAFe, Agile, or Prince2. It is not the frantic clinging to tightly controlled schedules, formal milestones, or inflexible management positions. That is never the goal. The goal is always simple: achieving a working result.

Ultimately, our sector isn’t about a specific piece of software, applying the latest technology, or even designing the perfect architecture. What it is about, however, is ensuring the customer can actually work. Today, tomorrow, and in the near future. How exactly do you get there? That is rarely predictable beforehand. And it is precisely that unpredictability that makes this profession so incredibly fascinating to me.

Roles

Within a project organization, we distinguish between different roles: the project leader, the project manager, and the program manager. Initially, the distinction between these roles is primarily based on the scope of the project and the required level of management expertise. The project leader role is a less demanding role than the project manager. And a program manager is often the manager of a collection of different projects. Definitions can vary by organization, but generally speaking, this definition is applicable.

The broad foundation: Knowledge of the details

As a project leader, you need a helicopter view to manage a project. At its core, this involves being able to distinguish between main issues and minordetails, and being able to oversee what is needed to achieve a goal. In the role of program or senior project manager, a helicopter view alone is not enough. You need in-depth knowledge of the details, built on a broad foundation. To act decisively, you must understand both the strategic motivations of an organizationand grasp the technical aspects. This means that you must be able to discuss (and have insight into) virtually all IT disciplines:

• Development & Programming: How are solutions actually built?
• System & Network Administration (Infrastructure): Is the foundation stable and secure?
• Data, Analytics, and QA roles: Are we steering based on the right data, and is quality assured?
• Cybersecurity & IAM: Are the systems and identities well protected?
• Support & Functional Management: How does the technology ultimately land with the end user?
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Which new possibilities are changing the playing field?
• Management, Advisory & Organization: How do IT choices align with the business strategy?

The absolute key skill of this profession? Understanding processes and goals, engaging in high level technical discussions, and—when the situation demands it—daring to challenge sacred cows, entrenched working methods, or dogmas.

The difference between a Project Manager and a Program Manager: The case of ‘Application X’

While a project manager focuses purely on achieving a predetermined goal, a program manager takes a fundamentally different view. After all, a formulated goal is always the result of a number of questions asked. The art is to first determine whether that initial question was correct, and whether the answer truly helps the organization move forward. That might sound vague, but it is actually very concrete.

Consider this practical example:

An organization announces: “We want to start using Application X for all processes within the organizational.”

A traditional project manager picks up on this goal and gets to work immediately. The project quickly turns into a political battle to “sell” and “roll out” Application X. The project manager defends the management decision, encounters fierce objections from the workforce, and realizes that no one is actually waiting for the change. The result? An laborious process full of pushing and pulling.

A program manager  approaches this differently and asks a question that is often unwelcome at the outset: “What does the organization actually really want to solve with Application X?”
Challenging a management decision is difficult. It requires in-depth insight into decision-making processes, knowledge of management layers, and operational sensitivity. The goal is not to undermine the decision, but to understand the real need. By not blindly adopting objectives, you can formulate the long-term vision in such a way that all departments collaborate on both their own objectives and the larger organizational goal.

The operation is the goal

The outcome of that critical attitude is often far simpler and more effective in the end. Perhaps Application X is indeed deployed, but not everyone needs to work with it. Or we roll out Application X, but ensure that systems Y and Z are automatically fed in the background to reduce the workload.

In short: Application X is never the goal; the operation is the goal. This paradigm determines the success or failure of a change.

Program management requires a keen eye for all IT disciplines, organizational processes, internal politics, vision development, and decision-making. Only by cleverly combining all these ingredients can you create a solution for the organization that actually works. That process is complex, demands a strong vision, and offers me the daily challenge that energizes me.

Sjoerd Oudenhuijzen
Program- /Senior Project Manager