Understanding program execution

A key benefit of the integrated approach to program management is that the same schedule generated during the planning phase is used in the execution phase. The complete traceability between the program schedule and the program WBS and all its artifacts ensures that data used throughout the program management lifecycle is consistent and visible to all stakeholders.

After awarding the contract or receiving approval from management for an internal project, the program team can adjust the program schedule to match the agreed upon start date. After creating an earned value baseline using the external Earned Value Management System (EVMS) software, the program manager can initiate the execution of the program.

During the execution phase, the tasks are automatically triggered based on their start date and the completion of the predecessor tasks in the schedule. All the work packages for the corresponding WBS work packages are assigned to the responsible functional organization for execution. The deliverables generated for each functional work package are sent through a review and approval process by the leaders of the respective functional organizations.

During the execution phase, the program management team can update the WBS and the schedule to handle any delay in the execution of the tasks or any failure or missed scope tasks. The WBS and schedule can also be updated to manage program risk and opportunity.

Regular status updates can be sent to the EVMS software to create the earned value report. Additionally, during the execution phase, the functional organizations can re-estimate the cost for the work packages for future tasks in the schedule.

An EVMS file can be generated from the corresponding Task Info object and WBS properties.