Why Program Managers Do Not Get Respect
That's because Program Management is not just about managing programs
It is widely known that Project Managers do not get respect.
There is not a child who dreams of being a project manager. Maybe a firefighter, a rock star or an astronaut, but a manager of projects? There’s something inherently dull about the words “project” and “manager.” They’re not terms that come to mind when people dream about future careers. And it follows that in the professional world saying you are a project manager won’t get you much respect either. To many being a PM means you fit this unfortunate stereotype: you were not good enough in your field to be an engineer or ambitious enough to start a company, and through politics and self-inflation, you find ways to take credit for the hard work done by others. It stings, but that’s the sometimes well earned stereotype.
Many PMs unintentionally reinforce this view by trying to get everyone to pay attention to the work they do produce: the meta work of spreadsheets, specifications, presentations and status reports, failing to realize that to most in any organization, these are the least interesting and most bureaucratic things produced in the building. This mismatch of value sends the PM and his/her team into a downward spiral: the PM asking for more and more respect in ways guaranteed to push people further away.
Here is one example:
“Watermelon status reporting” describes the phenomenon where the Red Amber Green (RAG) status of the project appears to be green from the outside, but if you dig deep into it, it's actually RED right through and has serious issues.
So we know about the sorry state of the art in Project Management already. Now lets look at Program Management.
Program Management is the broader practice of managing Projects in a Program:
Program Management is choosing the right Projects and then doing the Projects right.
This looks like a very respectable definition of Program Management. So where do Program Management go wrong resulting in disrespect and disengagement?
There is a little known trick in Mathematics research:
Take two widely different branches of Mathematics and combine them to do cutting edge research.
Here is an example:
Take Arithmetic and Geometry (seemingly there is no connection between these two disparate branches) and produce
Arithmetic Geometry
In mathematics, arithmetic geometry is roughly the application of techniques from algebraic geometry to problems in number theory. Arithmetic geometry is centered around Diophantine geometry, the study of rational points of algebraic varieties.
In more abstract terms, arithmetic geometry can be defined as the study of schemes of finite type over the spectrum of the ring of integers. Arithmetic geometry has witnessed many significant results in past decades. Some of the better known examples include the proofs of the Mordell conjecture, Fermat's Last Theorem, and the modularity conjecture.
Got that?
This post is about Triangles and Rectangles of Program Management Geometry.
The Geometry lesson starts with the Iron Triangle of Project Management.
This triangle is called the Iron Triangle for a reason:
In life you cannot avoid the Iron Triangle - almost everything is a Project.
Let us first start with Time. Our lifetime is limited (at max 125 years). So very early on we understand that:
Life is deadline bound
We all have deadlines in life, and most of us are not happy about them. Some of us deal with this by taking to the Internet and reading articles on diverting things such as word histories. We do this in an effort to feel as though we are actually engaged in something useful, rather than simply procrastinating. If you are reading this because you feel pressured by some deadline that is hanging over your head, you can relax a bit, since no one is going to kill you for missing it. Although that has not always been the case; people did use to be killed for crossing a deadline.
In the 1860s, a 'dead line' was a line within or around a prison. Prisoners would be shot for crossing the 'dead line'. The sense of deadline that is most commonly found today (“a date or time before which something must be done”) did not begin to see use until the early 20th century. A deadline is a train barrelling down the track, and you’re the one strapped to the rails. The time-sensitive obligations that add both structure and suspense to our lives—tax returns, loan payments, license renewals, job applications, event planning, teeth cleanings, biological clocks—can inspire nauseating dread as much as plucky action.
So at this point we accept that Time and Deadlines are inevitable in our lives. But then we ask:
Deadline to do what?
This is where the concept of Scope comes into the view. We want to achieve some meaningful Purpose by certain Time Horizon. Here are three practical examples:
Pass AWS Solution Architect - Professional by October 2024
Finish PhD on Theoretical Computer Science by August 2025
(my daughters case)Electronically file Federal and California taxes by Sunday April 14
Finally:
Life is about managing Cost
Did you know that standing upright costs us energy since standing is fundamentally unstable position? Walking is even more challenging - since it is basically an inverted pendulum which is also moving. It costs several times the metabolic energy for a human to walk as it does to bicycle the same distance. Walking is often likened to the motion of two coupled pendula, because the stance leg behaves like an inverted pendulum moving about the stance foot, and the swing leg like a regular pendulum swinging about the hip. This analogy is used to explain conservation of energy during walking. In the absence of a dissipative load, the sustained periodic motion of a pendulum (or any jointed linkage of body segments) requires no net mechanical work. Walking like an inverted pendulum reduces muscle-force and work demands during single support, but it also unavoidably requires mechanical work to redirect the body’s center of mass in the transition between steps, when one pendular motion is substituted by the next. Production of this work exacts a proportional metabolic cost that is a major determinant of the overall cost of walking.
So simple standing upright and walking cost us. Now think about any Project - it is going to Cost you. Project Management comes into consideration since we do not have infinite money. So inevitably we Budget and strive hard to execute the project within Budget.
So does that make Time-Scope-Cost triangle, the so called Iron Triangle, complete?
Not quite.
You still need to attain that mythical thing, also known as:
Quality
Let me tell you a story which was news the same week this article was written.
111-year-old John Alfred Tinniswood from England is now the world’s oldest living man, following the death of 114-year-old Juan Vicente Pérez (Venezuela).
112-year-old Gisaburo Sonobe from Japan was initially expected to be the new record holder, but he was recently confirmed to have passed away on 31 March.
Born in Liverpool on 26 August 1912 – the same year the Titanic sank – John’s exact age is 111 years 223 days as of 5 April 2024.
John is a great-grandfather and currently resides at a care home in Southport, where staff describe him as “a big chatterbox”.
Here is what this person said with his deep life experience:
“Always do the best you can, whether you’re learning something or whether you’re teaching someone.
“Give it all you’ve got. Otherwise it’s not worth bothering with.”
So in all your Projects, you need to strive for Quality while balancing Time-Scope-Cost triangle.
Now the Time-Scope-Cost triangle, the famed Iron Triangle of Project Management, is complete.
What about the Time-Scope-Quality triangle?
It is theoretically possible to govern Projects with Time-Scope-Quality triangle keeping the cost to be variable (greater Quality requiring increased Cost). While being a nice concept, in reality Projects are initiated with budgeted cost in mind (even for Agile Projects). What happens in reality is there is some flexibility in Cost but Quality is aspired to be best effort within the Cost constraint.
The picture above shows the Time-Cost-Quality triangle - this is so called Agile Project Management which aims for variable scope. Whatever it is - please do not call it Project Management. it may be called Agile Product Development.
We are now at the heart of this long post:
Program Management Geometry
Let me reveal the geometry to you:
If Project Management is about Time-Scope-Cost triangle then Program Management is about Time-Scope-Cost-Quality rectangle.
You are somewhat dumbfounded at this point:
Quality is already there in Project Management Iron Triangle. It is just inside the triangle. So what is the difference?
Here is the difference:
The nodes of the triangle (Time, Scope and Cost) are forces to be balanced. Quality is a consideration in the Project Management Iron Triangle - it is not one of the force to be negotiated with, to reckon with, to balance. Quality is a just an emergent attribute of a well managed and executed Project.
Since Quality is not a force - in many Projects it may be absent or weakly present.
Here is the difference in Program Management Time-Scope-Cost-Quality rectangle. Recall that:
Program Management is choosing the right Projects and then doing the Projects right.
Inevitably Program is much longer term compared to Projects. The right Projects are chosen and prioritized over a long arc of time and then they are rightly executed. So for Program Management, Quality cannot be an emergent attribute as a result of constituent Projects - it needs to be actively managed. As Projects are executed, Quality problems in the Program may become apparent. So Quality becomes a force - it becomes a node of the rectangle.
So what goes inside the Program Management Time-Scope-Cost-Quality rectangle? It is:
Sustainable Development
Again this is not rocket science revelation. Anything which is long term needs to be Sustainable by definition.
This Program Management Geometry theory - am I making this stuff up? Can I show a real life example to illustrate the pertinent concepts?
Of course I can. Ladies and Gentlemen I present you:
Boeing 737 Max Program!
In the screenshot above, Boeing CEO is being grilled on “Quality Escape”:
CNBC » How did unsafe air plane fly in the first place?
Boeing CEO » Because a “Quality Escape” occurred.
CNBC » Can you describe what it means? What is a Quality Escape?
Boeing CEO » I think that is a description of what people are finding in their inspections, um … uh … anything that could potentially contribute to an accident.
What???
Quality did not escape - a part of the plane did!!
How does Quality Escape from a Program like Boeing 737 Max?
I hope, by this length of reasoning you may be somewhat convinced on the theory of:
Program Management Geometry
Boeing is a capital light production powerhouse. At least that was the aim of Boeing Management. This strategy requires trust building partnership with the supplier network. It is increasingly becoming apparent that:
Boeing supplier partnership has become unsustainable leading to collapse of the 737 Max Program. The underlying cause is relentless squeezing of the suppliers in the name of profit leading to unmanaged or mismanaged quality - the so called Quality Escape.
For Program Management Quality is a force to be managed or it will escape.
Program Managers : Get Your Respect Back
Program Management is about Sustainable Development which in turn keeps the Program alive (i.e. not crashing). The Sustainable Development is not an emergent attribute of well managed Programs - it should be the operating agreement. If Sustainable Development is lost, Quality will be the first one out of the door. Then you will be left with Time-Scope-Cost mentality of the Projects and we all know that Project Management is not Program Management.
Travelers are refusing to onboard Max 737 planes or cancelling tickets altogether. Boeing CEO lost his job after airline CEOs requested a meeting with the board without the CEO present. Boeing needs to get the respect back and Program Managers at Boeing may use thinking similar to line of thought advocated in this article to earn the respect back.