Posted by Programs and the Future of Project Management
EVM & Scheduling Track
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Abstract:
Every government agency is concerned about funding. Those able to make the wisest capital investments succeed while others fall behind in cost and schedule overruns. For contractors and suppliers, increasing globalization has resulted in widespread competition in what used to be domestic markets. Vendors and service providers now routinely bid against global companies, even for local business. In order to remain competitive, businesses are re-examining their management processes to ensure all operations demonstrably serve the larger goals of the organization.
Program Management is gaining prominence as a means of effectively aligning operations to these strategic goals. Government projects have relied on Earned Value Management for years as a means of tracking performance, but with a new groundswell of interest in program management, EVM is only part of the picture. Program Management encompasses EVM and project management as well as a product’s progression into process management and the rest of its life- cycle, incorporating not only expense, but also funding metrics. The resulting approach to life-cycle management provides greater accountability, clearer project and program ownership definitions, greater operational efficiency, and critical cost savings.
For years, “project” and “program” have been used interchangeably by practitioners. While these terms are deeply related to one another, they are in fact distinct disciplines, and their key differences are gaining more attention. This session will discuss the three primary types of programs, how project, program, and process management relate to one another, and where other established management and accounting disciplines fit in.
Author(s):
Simon Dekker
Dekker, LTD
Simon Dekker is President and Chief Executive Officer of Dekker, Ltd., an industry leader in the field of program and project management solutions. Mr. Dekker was the original author of the Dekker PMIS™ (Program Management Information System) software suite.
Mr. Dekker is an expert on the implementation and integration of contemporary program and project management techniques. His diverse experiential background in scientific applications, business management and administration, program and technology management, and systems engineering projects has made him an invaluable partner to commercial enterprises, government agencies, and government contractors needing to streamline their project management systems. Prior to co-founding Dekker, Ltd. in 1984, Mr. Dekker directed the business and engineering computer centers for the Ballistic Missile Program Office, and was a software engineer for scientific, satellite, and defense projects.
He has published articles and given lectures for various trade associations, private enterprises, government agencies, and universities throughout the United States and Europe on the topics of Project Portfolio Management (PPM), Performance Measurement, and Earned Value Management (EVM).
Vance Kotrla