program-manager

name	program-manager
description	Expert program management for multi-project coordination, portfolio governance, dependency tracking, benefits realization, and cross-functional stakeholder communication. Use when standing up a new program, managing cross-project dependencies, creating governance structures, tracking benefits realization, or reporting program status to steering committees.
license	MIT + Commons Clause
metadata	{"version":"1.0.0","author":"borghei","category":"project-ops","domain":"program-management","updated":"2026-03-31T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["program","portfolio","governance","strategic","coordination"]}

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:

1. Executive Summary -- One paragraph describing the program
2. Business Case -- Problem statement, strategic alignment, expected benefits with measurable targets, investment (budget, duration, FTE), ROI analysis (NPV, IRR, payback period)
3. Scope -- In/out of scope, assumptions, constraints
4. Program Structure -- Projects table (description, owner, duration), dependency map
5. Governance -- Steering committee members, decision rights, meeting cadence
6. 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

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely Cause	Resolution
Cross-project dependencies cause cascading delays	Dependencies identified too late or dependency owners not empowered to resolve conflicts	Run dependency mapping at program kickoff and refresh biweekly; assign a named owner to every high-risk dependency with authority to escalate
Benefits realization tracking shows zero progress months into execution	Benefits not baselined at program start, or measurement relies on lagging indicators only	Establish baselines before project kickoff; define leading indicators that show early directional progress (e.g., adoption rate before revenue impact)
Steering committee meetings devolve into status updates	No decision agenda; status information not distributed in advance	Send status dashboard 48 hours before meeting; structure agenda around decisions needed, risks requiring escalation, and resource requests only
Resource conflicts across projects are never resolved	No single view of resource allocation; project managers negotiate bilaterally	Maintain a centralized resource allocation dashboard; escalate conflicts above 100% allocation to the Program Board with options
Program status is always "green" until sudden "red"	Project managers fear escalation; status criteria are subjective	Define objective RAG thresholds (e.g., >5 days late = Amber, >15 days = Red); normalize escalation as a positive signal, not a failure
Governance overhead slows delivery	Too many approval gates, overlapping governance bodies, or unclear decision rights	Streamline to three governance tiers maximum; publish a RACI for every decision type; delegate routine decisions to lowest appropriate level
Stakeholders disengage from the program	Communication is generic, too frequent, or not relevant to their interests	Segment communication by Mendelow quadrant; tailor content to each audience's concerns; reduce frequency for low-interest stakeholders

Success Criteria

• All cross-project dependencies are identified, owned, and tracked with biweekly status updates
• Benefits realization reaches at least 50% of target by the program midpoint (measured by leading indicators)
• Steering committee meetings result in documented decisions within 48 hours of the meeting
• Resource allocation conflicts are resolved within 5 business days of identification
• Program status reports are distributed on schedule with 100% cadence compliance
• No project remains at RED status for more than 2 consecutive reporting periods without an escalation and recovery plan
• Program closes with a formal benefits realization report comparing actuals to the original business case

Scope & Limitations

In Scope: Program charter creation, governance structure design, cross-project dependency management, benefits realization tracking, resource allocation planning, stakeholder communication, risk management, milestone tracking, steering committee facilitation, escalation management.

Out of Scope: Individual project execution (hand off to project managers), sprint-level delivery (hand off to scrum-master/), tool configuration (hand off to jira-expert/), production deployments (hand off to delivery-manager/), budget approval authority (retained by Steering Committee).

Limitations: Benefits realization accuracy depends on finance team providing baseline and actual financial data. Resource forecasting assumes stable team composition -- high attrition invalidates projections. Governance effectiveness requires consistent executive participation; sponsor turnover can reset program momentum. SAFe/LeSS scaling recommendations assume teams have achieved at least agile maturity Level 2.

Integration Points

Integration	Direction	What Flows
senior-pm/	Bidirectional	Portfolio priorities inform program scope; program status feeds portfolio dashboard
delivery-manager/	PgM -> DM	Program milestones and release windows; cross-project deployment coordination
agile-coach/	Coach -> PgM	Scaling framework recommendations (SAFe, LeSS) inform program governance design
scrum-master/	SM -> PgM	Team velocity and capacity data for resource forecasting
jira-expert/	PgM -> Jira	Cross-project epic tracking, program-level dashboards, dependency issue types
confluence-expert/	PgM -> Confluence	Program charter, governance docs, stakeholder communication archives