Engineering Trends

You Can Be a Star Program Manager

by Todd Yuzuriha

As you progress in your job, you will likely find yourself longing for the simpler times you enjoyed when you started out. Gone will be the days when you when you only worked with people in your group. It’s inevitable that you’ll work on larger project teams; you may even lead complex projects. Working with team members around the world, and across such varied functional areas as marketing, hardware and software engineering has become the norm in today’s workplace.

With that in mind, what skills do you need to be successful? I recently caught up with Scott Killops, software program manager at Intel Corporation. He had just finished leading a one-and-a-half-day training program for Intel program managers. His class had 22 participants, with another 40 on a waiting list — an indication of the high interest in what he offers today's professionals. Killops shared some of the keys for successful program management.

Develop 360-Degree Communication Capability

“The trend today is that programs are getting more complex,” Killops said. “Compared to 20 years ago, more and more programs involve multiple sites, remote development partners, project team members across different divisions, external suppliers, and work with contract manufacturers.” With all the levels of interaction, communication skills are critical. A successful program manager needs to know how to tailor communications to suit the audience. The communication needs to be effective upward to the executives sponsoring the program, sideways across various project teams, and downward to individual project teams.

“Communication to executives should be concise and straight to the point,” he said. “The level of detail increases when communicating sideways, and increases even more when talking with the project team.”

Killops recommends having face-to-face meetings at the beginning of projects, to establish rapport and trust within the project team. After that, teams can meet weekly by teleconference or videoconference calls, if they can’t gather in person.

Planning Well is Essential

For any complex program, managers must establish the objectives early on. They need to determine the scope statement, budget and schedule as part of the overall program planning process. Killops suggests defining the roles and responsibilities of the project team, then stating how communications should normally flow, and how decisions will be made for the project cycle. Managers can also present the comprehensive plan to their executive team for authorization, before officially kicking off the program.

Business Leadership Skills

“The complexity of many of today’s projects requires program managers who have strong business and leadership skills,” Killops said. He noted that business skills are necessary, because program managers constantly have to balance trade-offs in terms of cost, schedules and project features, with what the company really needs.

Negotiating and influencing skills also play a big role in successful program management. Since team member responsibilities and program objectives are usually determined but not detailed at the outset, program managers must shape the project and gain acceptance from people who typically don’t report directly to them. They can achieve such recognition by learning the art of influence and negotiation.

In essence, program managers need to have a sense of ownership to lead a program to successful completion. “If you see gaps,” Killops said, “take the initiative to fill them in any way possible. Communications, planning, initiative and flexibility are all needed throughout the course of any program.”

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Todd Yuzuriha is the author of How to Succeed as an Engineer: A Practical Guide to Enhance Your Career. (www.engineeringsuccess.com)