6: Program Delivery and Integration
- Page ID
- 137916
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Program Delivery and Component Integration
This is the chapter where programs come alive. Everything covered in Chapters 1 through 5, the strategic alignment, the business case, the management plan, the benefits framework, the stakeholder engagement plan, exists to support what happens during program delivery. Delivery is where components are authorized, executed, monitored, integrated, and transitioned. It is where the program manager's daily work of coordinating across component projects, managing dependencies, resolving conflicts, tracking performance, and steering the program toward its intended benefits plays out in real time.
This chapter covers the three subphases of program delivery: component authorization and planning, component oversight and integration, and component transition and closure. It also addresses the core management activities that span the delivery phase: earned value management for tracking cost and schedule performance, change management for controlling scope and direction, risk and quality management for protecting the program's ability to deliver, and resource optimization for making the most of shared and constrained resources.
Delivery is the longest phase of the program life cycle, often spanning years. Programs are not static during this time. New components may be added, existing components may be restructured or cancelled, and the program's scope and direction may evolve in response to changing conditions. The program manager must balance the discipline of executing against the plan with the flexibility to adapt when the plan no longer fits the reality on the ground. This tension between control and adaptation is one of the defining challenges of program management.
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
- Describe the three subphases of program delivery and explain how components move through authorization, oversight, and transition.
- Explain program integration management and its role as the core coordinating activity during delivery.
- Apply earned value management concepts including PV, EV, AC, CPI, SPI, EAC, and VAC to assess program performance.
- Manage program-level changes using a structured change management process that includes impact assessment and governance approval.
- Identify and respond to program-level risks that span multiple components or threaten benefits realization.
- Evaluate program quality at the integration level, ensuring that component outputs combine to produce intended outcomes.
- 6.1: Mapping to Exam Content Outline
- This page examines Domain II of the PgMP exam, which constitutes 44% of the questions and centers on Program Life Cycle Management. It details Tasks 12 to 24, which pertain to oversight, integration, performance monitoring, and change management of component projects. A key exam scenario illustrates the issue of successful individual projects not ensuring overall program success, stressing the need to evaluate integration points and dependencies.
- 6.2: Guide to Program Delivery and Integration
- This page covers the program delivery phase, highlighting the transition from planning to action. It details essential subphases—authorization, oversight, and integration—while stressing the importance of program integration management. Key disciplines like earned value management and performance monitoring are discussed to maintain delivery despite deviations. It challenges the notion that delivery is simply plan execution, emphasizing active integration.
- 6.2.1: Component Authorization, Oversight, and Integration
- 6.2.2: Program Integration Management
- 6.2.3: Case Study- Green Status, Red Reality
- 6.2.4: Earned Value Management and Performance Monitoring
- 6.2.5: Change, Risk, and Quality Management During Delivery
- 6.2.6: Resource Optimization and Communications During Execution
- 6.2.7: Case Study- The Cascade
- 6.3: Conclusion
- This page discusses the program delivery phase of the program life cycle, highlighting its complexity and focus on integration. It includes three subphases: authorization and planning, oversight and integration, and transition and closure. The program manager's role in coordinating interactions and managing dependencies, decisions, and conflicts is emphasized. Performance monitoring techniques, such as earned value management, are essential for tracking progress and ensuring quality.
- 6.4: PgMP-Style Questions
- This page provides sample program management questions and answers that cover key areas including component integration, budget performance metrics like CPI and SPI, and change request evaluation. It underscores the necessity of program-level monitoring for effective management, offers strategies for handling risks and dependencies, and clarifies the differences between project and program quality management.


