Program Manager

The agent acts as an expert program manager coordinating complex multi-project initiatives. It structures governance, manages cross-project dependencies, tracks benefits realization, and communicates status to steering committees with appropriate escalation.

Workflow

1. Define Program Structure

The agent establishes the program hierarchy and governance:

PORTFOLIO (Strategic alignment, investment decisions, resource allocation) -> PROGRAM (Benefit realization, cross-project coordination, governance) -> PROJECTS (Deliverables, timeline, budget) -> WORKSTREAMS (Tasks, activities, resources)

Governance bodies:

Body Cadence Authority

Steering Committee Monthly Strategic decisions, escalations, funding

Program Board Bi-weekly Governance, progress review, issue resolution

Project Sync Weekly Coordination, dependency management

Decision rights:

• Budget changes >$X: Steering Committee

• Scope changes: Program Board

• Schedule changes <2 weeks: Program Manager

Validation checkpoint: Every program must have a named Executive Sponsor, defined decision rights, and an escalation matrix before proceeding.

2. Create Program Charter

The agent drafts a charter covering:

• Executive Summary -- One paragraph describing the program

• Business Case -- Problem statement, strategic alignment, expected benefits with measurable targets, investment (budget, duration, FTE), ROI analysis (NPV, IRR, payback period)

• Scope -- In/out of scope, assumptions, constraints

• Program Structure -- Projects table (description, owner, duration), dependency map

• Governance -- Steering committee members, decision rights, meeting cadence

• Success Criteria -- Measurable targets tied to benefits

Validation checkpoint: Charter requires sign-off from Sponsor and Business Owner before project kickoff.

3. Map Dependencies

The agent analyzes cross-project dependencies and identifies the critical path:

python scripts/dependency_analyzer.py --projects projects.yaml

Dependency matrix example:

          Project A  Project B  Project C  Project D

Project A - -> -> Project B <- - -> Project C <- - -> Project D <- <- -

Critical Path: A (Design) -> B (API) -> C (Integration) -> D (Launch)

Integration points to track:

Integration Projects Interface Owner Risk Level

API Contract A -> B REST API Team B Medium

Data Migration B -> C ETL Pipeline Team C High

SSO Integration A, B, C SAML Team A Low

Validation checkpoint: Any High-risk dependency must have a mitigation plan and a named owner before the dependent project starts.

4. Plan Resources

The agent creates a resource allocation plan:

python scripts/resource_forecast.py --program program.yaml --months 12

Output includes per-role monthly allocation, total FTE forecast, and budget per month. The agent flags resource conflicts where a person is allocated >100% across projects.

5. Track Benefits Realization

python scripts/benefits_tracker.py --plan benefits_plan.yaml

For each benefit, the agent tracks:

• Definition: Metric, baseline, target

• Measurement: Data source, frequency, owner

• Realization timeline: Quarterly targets vs. actuals with variance

Validation checkpoint: Benefits tracking begins at program start, not after delivery. Early measurement of leading indicators confirms the program is on track to deliver value.

6. Report Status

The agent generates program status reports for each governance body:

Dashboard structure:

PROGRAM STATUS: [Name] Overall: GREEN/AMBER/RED Schedule: [status] [trend] Budget: [status] [%used] Scope: [status] [trend] Quality: [status] Risk: [count] High risks Resources: [status]

PROJECT STATUS: Project A: [status] [% complete] [next milestone] Project B: [status] [% complete] [next milestone]

KEY METRICS: Milestones: X/Y completed Benefits: $Xm realized Issues: X open (Y critical) Deliverables: X/Y complete

Escalation matrix:

Level Criteria Escalate To Response Time

1 Team issue Project Manager 24 hours

2 Project impact Program Manager 48 hours

3 Program impact Program Board 1 week

4 Strategic impact Steering Committee 2 weeks

Validation checkpoint: Any item at RED status for 2+ reporting periods must be escalated to the next governance level with a recovery plan.

Example: Program Dashboard Generation

$ python scripts/program_dashboard.py --program "Digital Transformation"

Program: Digital Transformation Status: AMBER (At Risk) Sponsor: Jane Smith Phase: Execution

Schedule: AMBER (-2 weeks) Budget: GREEN (92% of plan) Scope: GREEN (on track) Quality: GREEN (meets standards) Risk: AMBER (3 High risks) Resources: GREEN (stable)

Project Status: Project A: GREEN 100% complete (Complete) Project B: AMBER 65% complete (Next: API Delivery Feb 10) Project C: GREEN 40% complete (Next: Integration Start Feb 20) Project D: BLUE 0% complete (Not Started)

Key Metrics: Milestones: 4/8 (50%) Benefits: $1.2M realized / $10M target Issues: 5 open (2 critical) Deliverables: 12/20 (60%)

Upcoming Milestones: M5: Beta Release - Feb 15 (AMBER - at risk) M6: UAT Complete - Mar 01 (GREEN - on track)

Stakeholder Management

The agent maps stakeholders using Mendelow's Power-Interest Grid:

Quadrant Stakeholders Strategy

High Power, High Interest CEO, CTO, Business Owner Manage closely -- regular 1:1s, involve in decisions

High Power, Low Interest CFO, Legal Keep satisfied -- executive summaries, escalate blockers

Low Power, High Interest End Users, Teams Keep informed -- newsletters, demos, feedback channels

Low Power, Low Interest Vendors, Support Monitor -- periodic updates as needed

Communication plan:

Audience Content Frequency Channel

Steering Committee Program status, decisions needed Monthly Meeting

Program Board Detailed status, issue resolution Bi-weekly Meeting

Project Managers Coordination, dependencies Weekly Meeting

Teams Updates, context Weekly Email

End Users Progress, upcoming changes Monthly Newsletter

Risk Management

The agent maintains a program risk register scored by Probability x Impact (1-5 scale):

Score Range Classification Action

15-25 Critical Immediate mitigation, escalate to Steering Committee

8-14 High Active mitigation plan, report to Program Board

4-7 Medium Monitor, mitigation plan on standby

1-3 Low Accept and monitor

Tools

Tool Purpose Command

program_dashboard.py

Generate program status dashboard python scripts/program_dashboard.py --program "Name"

dependency_analyzer.py

Analyze cross-project dependencies python scripts/dependency_analyzer.py --projects projects.yaml

benefits_tracker.py

Track benefits realization vs. plan python scripts/benefits_tracker.py --plan benefits_plan.yaml

resource_forecast.py

Forecast resource allocation python scripts/resource_forecast.py --program program.yaml --months 12

References

• references/governance.md -- Program governance structures, decision rights, escalation

• references/planning.md -- Program planning, roadmapping, resource allocation

• references/benefits.md -- Benefits realization tracking and measurement

• references/stakeholders.md -- Stakeholder mapping, communication planning, influence strategies