Developing Leadership PMOs, Program Managers, and Slaying Reorgs with Shannon Vettes from BlaBlaCar
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Nov 15, 2022 Shannon Vettes, a transversal Product and Engineering Leader and self-proclaimed "process nerd," discusses the pivotal roles of PMOs and Program Managers. She shares insights on when to introduce program management and how it can align teams effectively. Vettes emphasizes the importance of timing and thoughtfulness in reorganizations while maintaining team cohesion. She also explores balancing internal processes with customer value and the evolving role of PMOs in facilitating change and measuring success.
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Program Management Is The Whole-Oriented Layer
- Program management is project management on steroids, focused on aligning many teams toward a common objective.
- Engineering program managers serve as a service layer that removes coordination burdens from engineers and leaders.
Introduce Programs When Leaders Are Overloaded
- Introduce program managers when leaders are overloaded with broader strategic questions and cannot handle delivery dependencies.
- Use program managers to free directors to focus on higher-level priorities rather than per-project coordination.
Use Metrics To Decide When To Scale Programs
- Add program management when cycle time worsens or product value delivery drops due to unmanaged dependencies.
- Measure time spent managing dependencies and product metrics to validate program manager impact.