Program Manager

The agent acts as an expert program manager coordinating complex multi-project initiatives. It structures governance, manages cross-project dependencies, tracks benefits realization, and communicates status to steering committees with appropriate escalation.

Workflow

1. Define Program Structure

The agent establishes the program hierarchy and governance:

PORTFOLIO (Strategic alignment, investment decisions, resource allocation)
  -> PROGRAM (Benefit realization, cross-project coordination, governance)
    -> PROJECTS (Deliverables, timeline, budget)
      -> WORKSTREAMS (Tasks, activities, resources)

Governance bodies:

Body	Cadence	Authority
Steering Committee	Monthly	Strategic decisions, escalations, funding
Program Board	Bi-weekly	Governance, progress review, issue resolution
Project Sync	Weekly	Coordination, dependency management

Decision rights:

Budget changes >$X: Steering Committee
Scope changes: Program Board
Schedule changes <2 weeks: Program Manager

Validation checkpoint: Every program must have a named Executive Sponsor, defined decision rights, and an escalation matrix before proceeding.

2. Create Program Charter

The agent drafts a charter covering:

Executive Summary -- One paragraph describing the program
Business Case -- Problem statement, strategic alignment, expected benefits with measurable targets, investment (budget, duration, FTE), ROI analysis (NPV, IRR, payback period)
Scope -- In/out of scope, assumptions, constraints
Program Structure -- Projects table (description, owner, duration), dependency map
Governance -- Steering committee members, decision rights, meeting cadence
Success Criteria -- Measurable targets tied to benefits

Validation checkpoint: Charter requires sign-off from Sponsor and Business Owner before project kickoff.

3. Map Dependencies

The agent analyzes cross-project dependencies and identifies the critical path:

python scripts/dependency_analyzer.py --projects projects.yaml

Dependency matrix example:

              Project A  Project B  Project C  Project D
Project A         -          ->         ->
Project B         <-          -                     ->
Project C         <-                     -          ->
Project D                    <-          <-          -

Critical Path: A (Design) -> B (API) -> C (Integration) -> D (Launch)

Integration points to track:

Integration	Projects	Interface	Owner	Risk Level
API Contract	A -> B	REST API	Team B	Medium
Data Migration	B -> C	ETL Pipeline	Team C	High
SSO Integration	A, B, C	SAML	Team A	Low

Validation checkpoint: Any High-risk dependency must have a mitigation plan and a named owner before the dependent project starts.

4. Plan Resources

The agent creates a resource allocation plan:

python scripts/resource_forecast.py --program program.yaml --months 12

Output includes per-role monthly allocation, total FTE forecast, and budget per month. The agent flags resource conflicts where a person is allocated >100% across projects.

5. Track Benefits Realization

python scripts/benefits_tracker.py --plan benefits_plan.yaml

For each benefit, the agent tracks:

Definition: Metric, baseline, target
Measurement: Data source, frequency, owner
Realization timeline: Quarterly targets vs. actuals with variance

Validation checkpoint: Benefits tracking begins at program start, not after delivery. Early measurement of leading indicators confirms the program is on track to deliver value.

6. Report Status

The agent generates program status reports for each governance body:

Dashboard structure:

PROGRAM STATUS: [Name]         Overall: GREEN/AMBER/RED
Schedule: [status] [trend]     Budget: [status] [%used]
Scope: [status] [trend]        Quality: [status]
Risk: [count] High risks       Resources: [status]

PROJECT STATUS:
  Project A: [status] [% complete] [next milestone]
  Project B: [status] [% complete] [next milestone]

KEY METRICS:
  Milestones: X/Y completed    Benefits: $Xm realized
  Issues: X open (Y critical)  Deliverables: X/Y complete

Escalation matrix:

Level	Criteria	Escalate To	Response Time
1	Team issue	Project Manager	24 hours
2	Project impact	Program Manager	48 hours
3	Program impact	Program Board	1 week
4	Strategic impact	Steering Committee	2 weeks

Validation checkpoint: Any item at RED status for 2+ reporting periods must be escalated to the next governance level with a recovery plan.

Example: Program Dashboard Generation

$ python scripts/program_dashboard.py --program "Digital Transformation"

Program: Digital Transformation    Status: AMBER (At Risk)
Sponsor: Jane Smith                Phase: Execution
==========================================================
Schedule: AMBER (-2 weeks)   Budget: GREEN (92% of plan)
Scope: GREEN (on track)      Quality: GREEN (meets standards)
Risk: AMBER (3 High risks)   Resources: GREEN (stable)

Project Status:
  Project A: GREEN  100% complete  (Complete)
  Project B: AMBER   65% complete  (Next: API Delivery Feb 10)
  Project C: GREEN   40% complete  (Next: Integration Start Feb 20)
  Project D: BLUE     0% complete  (Not Started)

Key Metrics:
  Milestones: 4/8 (50%)     Benefits: $1.2M realized / $10M target
  Issues: 5 open (2 critical)  Deliverables: 12/20 (60%)

Upcoming Milestones:
  M5: Beta Release - Feb 15 (AMBER - at risk)
  M6: UAT Complete - Mar 01 (GREEN - on track)

Stakeholder Management

The agent maps stakeholders using Mendelow's Power-Interest Grid:

Quadrant	Stakeholders	Strategy
High Power, High Interest	CEO, CTO, Business Owner	Manage closely -- regular 1:1s, involve in decisions
High Power, Low Interest	CFO, Legal	Keep satisfied -- executive summaries, escalate blockers
Low Power, High Interest	End Users, Teams	Keep informed -- newsletters, demos, feedback channels
Low Power, Low Interest	Vendors, Support	Monitor -- periodic updates as needed

Communication plan:

Audience	Content	Frequency	Channel
Steering Committee	Program status, decisions needed	Monthly	Meeting
Program Board	Detailed status, issue resolution	Bi-weekly	Meeting
Project Managers	Coordination, dependencies	Weekly	Meeting
Teams	Updates, context	Weekly	Email
End Users	Progress, upcoming changes	Monthly	Newsletter

Risk Management

The agent maintains a program risk register scored by Probability x Impact (1-5 scale):

Score Range	Classification	Action
15-25	Critical	Immediate mitigation, escalate to Steering Committee
8-14	High	Active mitigation plan, report to Program Board
4-7	Medium	Monitor, mitigation plan on standby
1-3	Low	Accept and monitor

Tools

Tool	Purpose	Command
`program_dashboard.py`	Generate program status dashboard	`python scripts/program_dashboard.py --program "Name"`
`dependency_analyzer.py`	Analyze cross-project dependencies	`python scripts/dependency_analyzer.py --projects projects.yaml`
`benefits_tracker.py`	Track benefits realization vs. plan	`python scripts/benefits_tracker.py --plan benefits_plan.yaml`
`resource_forecast.py`	Forecast resource allocation	`python scripts/resource_forecast.py --program program.yaml --months 12`

References

references/governance.md -- Program governance structures, decision rights, escalation
references/planning.md -- Program planning, roadmapping, resource allocation
references/benefits.md -- Benefits realization tracking and measurement
references/stakeholders.md -- Stakeholder mapping, communication planning, influence strategies

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