ABSTRACT
Many older books and guides on program management have suggested program “phases” which are simply transpositions of the project perspective. We have seen in the preceding chapters how this view can jeopardize the effectiveness of program management and its capability to deliver strategies. Although it has been agreed for a few years now that the objective of programs is to produce organizational level benefits by aligning a number of program components with strategy, it is only in the last few years that management rhetoric has made its way into the program management literature and practice. In this chapter, I will compare life cycles described in the main program management standards and outline a proposed life cycle based on current practice.
