Program management in a technical environment is as much art as it is science. Effective program managers are able to combine management and leadership skills for the good of the program and the people entrusted to them. This book illuminates the entire life cycle of the program-from the customer's original concept to successful completion. It incl

This research attempts to understand potential root causes and underlying factors that influence defense acquisition program managers' decision-making. Using qualitative data gathered through in-person interviews and through review of multiple case studies as a research design, this project focuses on how program managers gain insight in the decision-making process. Results indicate that program manager decision-making is impacted by process, control, relationships, motive, and risk. Analysis of findings suggests that defense acquisition oversight and policies create an environment of risk avoidance, causing program managers to utilize interpersonal methods of management and decision-making as a method of control within their sphere of influence. Additional research into decision-making methodology of program managers during critical program milestones is warranted for a more thorough analysis.This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.I. Introduction * A. Background * B. Problem Statement * C. Purpose Statement * D. Scope * E. Method * II. Literature Review * A. Decision-Making * B. Sensemaking * 1. Klein, Moon, and Hoffman * 2. Weick: Organizational Approach * 3. Thiel, Bagdasarov, Harkrider, Johnson, and Mumford: Ethical Decision-Making * C. Naturalistic Decision-Making * 1. Militello: Naturalistic Decision-Making and Macro Cognition * 2. Klein: A Naturalistic Decision-Making Perspective on Studying Intuitive Decision-Making * D. Trust * 1. Sun: The Decision-Making Dilemma * 2. Stamp: Trust and Judgment in Decision-Making * 3. Hurley: Culture Setting * E. Organizational Decision-Making * 1. Proveda-Bautista et al.: Analysis of Decision-Making Models for Project Management * 2. Kim and Mauborgne: Fair Process: Managing in the Knowledge Economy * F. Chapter Summary * III. Data * A. Chapter Overview * B. Code Method * C. Categories * 1. Motive * 2. Culture * 3. Process * 4. Relationships * 5. Risk * D. Findings * 1. Interview Summary--Subject A * 2. Interview Summary--Subject B * E. Chapter Summary * IV. Analysis * A. Chapter Overview * B. Analysis Of Findings * C. Hypothesis and Theory * D. Chapter Summary * V. Conclusion * A. Summary of Research * B. RecommendationWith an annual $100 billion Department of Defense (DoD) procurement budget, the stakes are high for program managers (PMs) to adequately navigate the defense acquisition process. Defense acquisitions delivers the latest, most technically advanced warfighting capability through a complex, multi-layer process that delicately balances budget restrictions (cost), product delivery timelines (schedule), and required operational capability (performance). Changes to any one of these variables (cost, schedule, or performance) affects the others, and it is the responsibility of DoD PMs to orchestrate these trade-offs. Add to that balance different external complexities--such as unclear priorities, new threats, budget constraints, new or changing technology, regulatory and statutory requirements, layers of oversight, federal contracting regulations, changing requirements, organizational culture, personal bias, leadership priorities, and federal policy objectives-- and the PM decision-making environment becomes quite complicated.

Every CEO in the world, if questioned, will always complain that there are a lot of ideas to implement, but, unfortunately, insufficient resources to accomplish them. This book provides a solution to this dilemma by supplying techniques to assess the value of projects, prioritize projects, and decide which projects to implement and which to postpone. In addition, it describes various methods of balancing project portfolios and different strategic alignment models. The book provides thirty real-life project portfolio management case studies from pharmaceutical, product development, financial, energy, telecommunications, not-for-profit and professional services industries.

This book shows executive, project, program, and portfolio managers how ethical behavior can ensure that an organization has proper governance. Improper governance and unethical behavior have led to such well-known financial disasters as Enron and Madoff Investments. The book arms managers with two important tools: Small Sins Allowed (SSA) and Line of Impunity (LoI), which together can be the foundation for renewed and vigorous corporate governance. SSA is a powerful tool that helps managers establish a level above which adherence to ethical standards is expected. LoI aids managers in identifying ethical fault lines that may exist in a company and helps to keep unethical behavior in check.

Most project managers would agree that every project is unique. But not all project managers would agree that the best way to manage a unique project is unique. Many still cling to the old practice of having a methodology that is applied to all projects. "One size fits all" is still in common use, and this approach has proven to lead to project failure. Flexibility, situational intelligence, and creativity are essential to deliver project success. The need to recognize and master ever-changing requirements and environmental conditions is a tough challenge for professional project managers. The same practices that led to success yesterday may cause failure today. Selecting favorable responses to a given situation is often the most critical factor of the dynamics of success and failure. This book is designed to help project professionals assess a situation, predict the appropriate approach, methodology and achieving styles, and then apply them in a situational fashion. To guide project managers in selecting the appropriate responses, Situational Project Management (SitPM) shows how to assess a given project, determine its unique characteristics, and select the appropriate methods to complete the project. With this book, projects managers can use SitPM to develop profiles of their projects on the basis of the projects’ physical characteristics, the project teams’ behavioral characteristics, the enterprise environment, and the market environments receiving project deliverables. These profiles help project managers to determine the appropriate project life cycle approach and leadership style. The book also explores various ways to engage stakeholders on the basis of a project’s SitPM profile. The book’s author, Oliver F. Lehmann, has developed a set of templates to apply SitPM in practice. It can be downloaded from www.oliverlehmann.com/SitPM/Templates.zip.