Value of IT and Program Management

It is very unfortunate that most IT systems are built on the principle of "Build it, and the benefits will come". It is assumed that the desired business outcome will happen automatically through faith.

I have seen this more that once. "Hey lets build a portal, and customers will come and use it". Sometimes I seriously start thinking about the "Value of IT" or it has just become cost of doing business rather than adding strategic value. Very often we see that IT departments are so deep buried in the tactical things that they forget why they exist? IT exists to support business and if it cannot add value to the business, then is IT required?

Anyways, from a project management standpoint... this has made me realize that "Projects deliver capability & Programs deliver benefits". The concept of program goes way beyond technology. Most often we would see thatorganizations think that the role of a program manager is the one who oversees multiple related projects/project managers. There may be some truth in this statement, but program management looks at the following things:

1. Business Need
2. Technology/ies required
3. Organizational Structure
4. People
5. Process

The combination of the above-mentioned elements defines a lifecycle of a program. From concept to "Benefits Realization". Any business initiative generally involves 20% of work around technology but the remainder 80% is around Change Management. If effort is put in all aspects, the chances of success are way higher and not just blaming the technology later that it did not work out.

Improving the odds of delivering business benefits requires more than just better project management. We have to take off the blinkers and look at the full program of activities involved in changing the business system, and then manage the investment program as a whole, with full knowledge of the linkage between initiatives, reach, people and process related issues involved.

In summary, a program is the meshing of technological and organizational change. If this perspective is not maintained, I am afraid.. IT will soon loose its strategic value.