PMcrunch

Managing large projects and programs is challenging and most agree that one of the best approaches is to break large projects and programs down into smaller readily manageable projects. Once this is done, a strong project manager can typically get their hands around the well-designed project and achieve success. The real challenge, or that, the biggest challenge becomes managing the interfaces among the various smaller projects.

Managing the interfaces among projects requires strong organizational people and often technical skill sets. It is important for the project manager to recognize all three of these critical areas and to make sure they are covered.

Smaller projects that make up a bigger project or program invariably have interfaces at a technical level. Output from one of the smaller projects technically is input for another of the smaller projects. This input and output typically or can be quite complex and depending upon how complex it is may deserve the attention of a highly qualified technical person or sometimes even a team.

There are tremendous organizational challenges that also exist on the interface of multiple coordinated projects. These organizational issues demand solid organizational design, where each of the separate projects is allowed to be sufficiently independent to achieve its own desired results, and yet, sufficientl constrained to make sure that those results are what are necessary where it interfaces with other projects.

The interpersonal issues that can exist at the interface among multiple projects can be quite complex and political. One major issue is clearly defining and enforcing the scope statements of each of the separate projects in a well-coordinated way to fit in to the over-all larger project or program objective. This requires constant attention because political and interpersonal issues can sometimes skew the original scope of each individual project.

While large projects can be daunting and complex, they can become much more manageable when broken into logical units of smaller projects. The challenge for the project or program manager then becomes managing those interfaces. The project or program plan must be designed to anticipate challenges at the interfaces among the separate projects, especially where these projects intersect in terms of technical, organizational and people considerations.

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John Reiling, PMP
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