ABSTRACT
Regardless of the program size or scope, success is always defined as fulfillment of program benefits in a certain period of time while remaining under a certain budget. The theory of constraints explains that scope, schedule, and budget are three important aspects of any program or project, and if one of these elements changes then it will likely have an impact upon another aspect (Guide to the Project Management Book of Knowledge, PMI, 2013a). Many program managers believe that the impact is proportional to the change; however, understanding best practices may offer insight into reducing these impacts. In some cases, the fundamental ideas need to change in a program in order to achieve these best practices, while in other cases these best practices can be superimposed upon a program in order to achieve greater success. The program manager is left to address program culture as each program culture is different. However, a resourceful program manager should try to apply different best practices in order to achieve greater mega-program success. The objective of the program manager should be to apply different best practices to mitigate issues pertaining to scope and schedule through the application of best practices of the virtual program management office (VPMO) and complexity theory (CT).
