ABSTRACT
Given the dynamic nature of today’s environment, the power industry’s modernization efforts will require a broad range of approaches for program design and program management. Particular attention should be given to the growing number of first-of-a-kind projects, which rarely have robust best practices or templates for design and delivery. In the past, companies had the option of either (1) waiting for the uncertainty to clear or (2) following rather being a first mover to de-risk and hedge their bets. In the current environment, those options are not always available, as technology refresh cycles have become shorter and the pace of change has accelerated. Program management needs to adapt and account for planned obsolescence. By grouping a program’s projects by “project archetype” and fitting them with different program design options, from waterfall to design thinking. Depending on the nature of the project, a better fit-for-purpose approach must be taken. The program organization is structured to make it easy for necessary collaboration and communication. Team members and the broader company leadership have defined roles and responsibilities. There must be a shared understanding of the governance processes, though the success of realizing a company’s goals indeed resides in the activities conducted by the working-level teams. While senior business leaders are not involved in the daily details of program management, they play a critical role. They must ensure the program design matches the program portfolio to deliver on the company’s modernization objectives, and they must provide a conducive operating context—which includes clarity on the shared purpose, expectations, measures of success, and incentives that align with desired behaviors.
