ABSTRACT
A programme is controlled successfully if all its constituent projects have been finished as specified, the key performance indicators are achieved and all the shareholders and other major stakeholders are satisfied. A business case sets out details of the proposed programme and attempts to justify the reason for authorization. The task of approving or rejecting a business case must be loaded on to an executive at board level, but preliminary filtering and recommendations can be done by a strategic portfolio board, always provided of course that one exists in the organization. Programmes tend to last for several years. Breaking the programme into stages makes it easier to envisage the work and improves programme control. The most important stakeholders should be represented on a programme steering committee. An important control factor is the need to ensure that all people involved in the programme are given appropriate information through regular and dedicated communication.
