Program Management Program management has similarities to the management of an ecosystem - not just the biggest fish are important

Why New Abilities Are Needed The mix of possible projects and support activities - training, infrastructure, molding expectations - means that there is no template in which you can set a few options to describe each of the things that need to be done. They are too strongly intertwined for that. The future existence of a project or support activity needs to be controlled, as well as its timing. Logical connections among the elements becomes an important part of program management. More descriptive structure - more states - more flexibility

Getting the Best Mix

All Sorts of Constraints No real limit on the complexity of the constraints you can embed to reflect reality

Linkable Undirected Structure The logical structure linking the constraints follows how we reason

Controlling Existence Influences flow through the network A FALSE state coming out of one ACTIVITY will cause the XOR to switch the control pin on another project to TRUE - the states in the network control existence in the plan

Jumping About It is not enough to use Constraint Reasoning - staying within consistent states. Most planning is about jumping from one state to a new state inconsistent with the last. The program model needs to be useful in evaluating scenarios inconsistent with the current plan - of reorganizing itself so some new plan is consistent. The model structure is active, uncommitted and self-modifying.

The system is more comprehensible because it uses logical states in uncommitted structure to guide its actions and it responds dynamically to changes in its structure The System as a Thinking Tool

A Telco Example Working out when, or whether, to commit to each new wave of technology is influenced by the state of the market as much as anything - put it in the plan

Planning Spectrum The technology supports the acquisition process, from bubble diagrams to detailed project plans

Impact On Program Management Active Structure technology provides the ability to describe the interactions of many projects, all jostling for attention and resource and all potentially contributing to the organization’s future.