Portfolio Entry 2 - Program Theory

Geraldi et al. (2022) characterised projects and programs as shown in Table 1. Referring to academic journal papers and industry reports, discuss the differences between projects and programs in terms of the following three components:

Benefits management

Stakeholder engagement and communication

Governance

Table 1. Overview of projects and programs (Geraldi et al., 2022)

Project	Vehicle of change delivering pre-defined attributes Single event with a defined scope Temporary, often pre-established specific start and end point, with institutionalised termination Plan - execute logic
Program	Vehicle of strategic benefit - end results are not as well specified Collection of projects - not a single event, and hence, offering possibility for an emerging scope Temporary, yet its start and end points are not as well-defined as in a project. Its termination becomes a choice Learn and mature logic

Geraldi, J., Teerikangas, A., & Birollo, G. (2022). Project, program and portfolio management as modes of organizing: Theorising at the intersection between mergers and acquisitions and project studies. International Journal of Project Management, 40, 439-453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2022.03.005