6.3: Conclusion
- Page ID
- 137955
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Conclusion
Program delivery is the longest and most complex phase of the program life cycle. It is where components are authorized, executed, integrated, and transitioned, and where the program's intended benefits begin to materialize, which means the program manager's primary focus throughout this phase is integration: ensuring that the outputs of individual components work together to produce the outcomes that justify the program's existence in the first place. To get there, components pass through three subphases during delivery: authorization and planning, oversight and integration, and transition and closure. Since multiple components typically operate in different subphases at the same time, the program manager must continuously coordinate their interactions rather than treating each component as a self-contained effort. This coordination is carried out through program integration management, the core activity of the delivery phase, which involves dependency management, interface management, decision management, and conflict resolution.
Monitoring performance across all of this requires both quantitative rigor and judgment. Earned value management provides the quantitative foundation for performance monitoring, comparing planned value, earned value, and actual cost to derive performance indices and forecasts, and at the program level this EVM data is aggregated across components to reveal trends that might otherwise stay hidden in individual component reports. Change management has to keep pace with this complexity as well, evaluating the cross-component impact of every significant change, since a change in one component can easily cascade across the entire program if left unexamined. Risk management during delivery narrows its focus accordingly, concentrating on risks that span components, threaten benefits realization, or arise specifically from how components interact with one another. Quality management follows the same logic, ensuring that integrated outputs meet program-level standards with particular attention paid to the interfaces between components, since that is typically where integration problems first surface.
Key Terms to Remember
- Component Authorization: The formal process of initiating individual projects or subsidiary programs within the program based on governance criteria.
- Program Integration Management: The management of activities that identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various processes and activities within the program.
- Earned Value (EV): The budgeted cost of the work that has actually been completed at a given point in time.
- Cost Performance Index (CPI): A measure of cost efficiency calculated by dividing earned value by actual cost. A CPI below 1.0 indicates the program is over budget.
- Schedule Performance Index (SPI): A measure of schedule efficiency calculated by dividing earned value by planned value. An SPI below 1.0 indicates the program is behind schedule.
- Estimate at Completion (EAC): A forecast of the total cost of the program based on current performance, most commonly calculated as BAC divided by CPI.
- Program Change Management: The process of capturing, evaluating, and dispositioning change requests at the program level, including assessment of cross-component impacts.
- Dependency Management: The tracking and resolution of connections between program components to ensure outputs are delivered in the right sequence, format, and quality.
- Progressive Elaboration: The iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a program management plan as greater amounts of information and more accurate estimates become available.
- Integration Testing: Testing conducted to verify that outputs from different components work together correctly at the program level.