PRODUCTS = this is the highest level of functionality that we require to implement the strategic plan. Typically products are the domain of a strategic business unit, but sometimes products are a joint SBU initiative.

PROGRAM = this is the tactical approach for balancing resources that must produce the products over time. Companies have only so much to spend on new initiatives to create products, so at a program level we can balance priorities to deliver the desired results in annualized “chunks” of work. With UPBEAT we can track many annualized delivery windows.

PROJECTS = endeavors to create a product (or enhancement), service or result required by the program. By definition, projects are focused on specific results in a time-limited, tightly budgeted scope of work.

Planning process = the overarching coordination of projects within programs to implement and/or enhance products, services, or results. In real life there are always trade-offs to consider with respect to what the resources should focus on. Individual project managers are focused on streamlining the work effort within their project scope to achieve time, cost, and quality objectives – however, what is good for a project might not be best for the company if projects start to compete for resources.

Central to long-term planning is a mechanism to keep track of what products, services, and processes are central to company operations. It is important to maintain a long-term view of how work for products must fit into the overall long-term plan for company investments. This is not a duplication of product-management: our focus is purely in the context of managing the development organization. The SBU paradigm for their product management is how to meet customer demand and how to put their marketing efforts into gear to manage and sustain that demand.

UPBEAT provides the mechanism for establishing the SBU costs for work in progress across the program management scope of work for an annualized bundle of commitments.

The key to achieving efficiency in projects is to have an overarching mechanism for coordinating work in progress so that projects coexist in an efficient non-competing arrangement – anything else leads to raiding (or hogging) resources as projects cannibalize each other in an attempt to meet narrowly focused deadlines. A project manager is responsible for a specific set of objectives and they cannot be concerned about the objectives of other projects, so there has to be a conflict management process that ensures overall strategic priorities are satisfied.

UPBEAT uses a “gating” principle to monitor the interaction between projects and to minimize conflicts by managing the availability of needed resources. In this model, the role of the project manager is to keep their projects viable even if delivery dates slip when higher priority initiatives get first dips on available resources. At this level we can implement the “change management” based on coordinating projects and keep clients advised of the reasons why certain projects must take a backseat to the higher priority work that needs to be expedited. We also manage costs across each individual program, while programs can span fiscal years to deliver more complex achievements. Managing fiscal year funding will be a key responsibility of the program management team, and possibly a reason for delaying work into a new fiscal year if required.

The main interaction with projects is one of coordinating across all projects to make sure that related initiatives are efficiently executed to achieve the collective objectives in a controlled manner. That means the project managers are accountable to the program management team as the representative of stakeholders, and the program management team is accountable to the stakeholders for the coordination decisions made in order to optimize the delivery of functionality with available resources and/or funding constraints. At a functional level, however, there will be normal stakeholder management at the project level to make sure that the project delivers the desired functionality within the project scope.

UPBEAT provides a clear view of how work in progress is optimized, and a greater awareness of the “big picture” typically leads to improved collaboration across project managers that have a prime directive of the program objectives to be satisfied. Project managers are responsible for the continuity of work in progress regardless of interruptions, and for the creation of collateral that allows the project to be resumed when there are available resources to do that. UPBEAT does not detail the project plans, nor does it impose project planning standards, so long as the plans can be consolidated into the program plan to provide updates.

A major consideration in this overall approach to coordinating many projects is that we keep track of the collective budget impact of program decisions. It is not unusual for a budget to be presented long before the start of a fiscal year, so when priorities change that can impact on what the program budgeted for. Within the budget allocation we can manage change as well as we do for individual projects, so if priorities change it is at the program level that we reposition projects in terms of priority as a collective backlog of work to be completed. This also accommodates a change in overall strategy, or in availability of budget funding, so that we can make intelligent recommendations for how to react to changes that we present to the Executive team for approval to move forward.

UPBEAT provides a comprehensive budgeting tool that integrates the costs across projects into programs, and to allocate those costs to SBUs involved in different programs based on their level of commitment and the anticipated benefits that each SBU will received from the work. This mechanism enables us to evaluate the budget impact of changes, which we can apply to determine what projects may be affected and where we need to reschedule to accommodate new constraints. Sometimes being able to show the consequences of new constraints can result in programs sailing through budget cutbacks without impact on work in progress.

Learning Formats       PMAP_UPB

This course is currently available in a classroom setting (public or company private) with approximately 30 contact hours (5 days).

PDF – Certificate Of Completion

Each course offers a certificate of completion that identifies the course, the student, and a brief description of the course. To receive a certificate the student must have attended at least 80% of the course sessions. This personalized certificate is forwarded to the student by Email.

PDF – Course Notebook

Each course includes a notebook in PDF format that provides the minimum knowledge the student must master in order to obtain the certificate. In the notebook you will find references to other study materials. Students receive the notebook by Email when their registration is confirmed.

PDF – Program Overview

An overview of this study program can be downloaded from the website by right-clicking on the program link on the enquiry page.

PDF – Current Training Schedule

A list of upcoming training sessions can be downloaded from the website by right-clicking on the schedule link on the enquiry page.

Registration – Service Providers

To register for any training course please look on the enquiry link page of your service provider (from where you accessed this website). On the page you will find a registration request form where you can order the course that you are interested in. The availability dates will be provided to you, along with payment instructions if you decide to go ahead.