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Structure a program

This guide is for program owners and teams overseeing delivery. It shows how to create a program, define its role in the strategy, and find the projects it coordinates.

Define the benefit you want to achieve​

A program coordinates related projects to deliver a shared benefit. Before creating it, identify the expected change, the projects needed to achieve it, and the dependencies to monitor between them. PMI program management standard

At our fictional distribution company, the “Distribution improvement” program contributes to the goal “Improve delivery punctuality.” The “Optimize delivery routes” project reduces late departures, while “Improve picking slot reliability” helps ensure orders are ready before loading. Together, the two projects help deliveries arrive on time. The program belongs to the “Delivery reliability” portfolio. Organize a portfolio

Create the program​

Select your organization and identify a goal from its current strategy, the program name, and its scope. You need program write access. Depending on your permissions, Program Space may show only programs assigned to you, for example as program owner or owner of one of its key results.

  1. Open Programs → New Program. In Program, select “Improve delivery punctuality” as the Strategic goal and enter “Distribution improvement” as the Program name.
  2. Complete Description, choose the Owner, and enter the planned dates if known. Under Portfolio, select “Delivery reliability” if available. The portfolio link is optional.
  3. Select Next. Add key results in Key results, or continue to Review and add them after creating the program.
  4. Check the summary and select Create program. Find it in Programs → Program Space. If you get an error after adding key results in the wizard, check the list for the new program before trying to create it again.

If the expected goal is missing, check the organization and current strategy. If you enter both dates, the end date must be on or after the start date.

Find the program’s projects​

In Projects → New Project, choose Program under Parent entity, then select “Distribution improvement” under Parent program. This action requires permission to create projects. After creating the projects, open the program from Program Space and go to OKR Tracking → Projects. The linked projects appear here. Expand a project to see its key results when available.

To define how the program contributes to the strategy, see Align the program’s key results.