Project Management & Program Management, what is the difference ?

According to the PMBOK, “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.”So you can say that a project is temporary in nature, i.e. once the project achieves its objective its existence comes to an end, and the objective of a project is to create a unique product, or develop a system to provide you any service, or is the result of any task.

Project management is the process that helps projects achieve their objectives. These processes include initiating the project, developing the plan to execute the project, executing the project according to the approved plan, controlling the project activities throughout its lifetime, and finally handing over the output of the project to the client, and closing the project. Simply put, project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.

A program is a group of related or similar projects managed in a coordinated way to get the benefits and control not available from managing them individually. This means that in a program you will have multiple projects which are either similar or related to each other. 

Program management is defined as the centralized coordinated management of a program to achieve its strategic objectives. In program management you only manage the interrelated or interdependent projects as a group to achieve the desired result. The objective of program management is to optimize the utilization of resources among projects and reduce the friction or constraints so as to increase the organization’s performance.

The following are a few differences between project management and program management:

• In project management you manage one individual project while in program management you manage multiple similar or related projects.
• A project can be a part of a program but a program cannot be a part of a project.
• Program management addresses the management of project management. It helps you set the project management processes and measure the project results.

The following are a few benefits of program management:

• Less conflict among projects
• Optimal utilization of resources
• Resource constraints are minimized
• Better communication and coordination among projects
• Improves organization’s performance

A project is a temporary endeavour to create a product or service, and consists of tasks and activities. Project management is the act of managing and co-ordinating this set of tasks and activities to bring forward and deliver the project. 

A program is a set of several related projects, overviewed by a program manager. Hence, program management is the task of managing several related projects which are part of a larger set called a program.