Related projects, steered as one programme.
Fiatto adds up the figures of the linked projects into one programme. You set a programme budget against them, see how slippage carries through the chain, and record status reports and decisions for the steering committee.
Included from CompleteThe problem
Anyone steering several projects together often lines up the figures by hand.
A programme in a spreadsheet
Each project has its own budget and status. The total sits in a separate file that is updated again before every steering committee.
Slippage you see too late
When one project runs late, the next one moves with it. That only shows once the next project's schedule no longer holds.
Decisions recorded nowhere
What the steering committee decided about budget or scope sits in minutes or an email, not with the programme itself.
Three steps above the projects
Group, budget and roll forward in one programme.
Example · fictitious data
1 · Group
The projects added up, from the same sources
A programme has a goal, an owner, a sponsor and a time frame. The figures of the linked projects, such as margin, budget and risk, come from the same sources as the project screen and are only added up. A schedule verdict shows whether the programme is on track, at risk or late.
2 · Budget
One budget against the project budgets
Set a budget on the programme for its whole time frame. Fiatto shows how much of it is allocated to projects, how much is invoiced and how much is still unallocated. Once the programme starts, the original budget is locked as a baseline. You move budget from one project to another in a single step, and that transfer is recorded as a decision in the decision log.
3 · Roll forward
A roadmap that rolls slippage forward
Record dependencies between projects or phases: the successor only starts once the predecessor is finished, with a lag if needed. Slippage moves through the whole chain. The what-if slider shows straight away which projects finish later if one project runs a number of days late, and whether the programme goes past its end date.
Steering as a programme
See what only becomes visible above the projects.
Example · fictitious data
4 · Flag
Clashes and joint purchasing
Fiatto flags when the same person is booked on several projects of the programme in one week with more firm hours than capacity. A subcontractor working on several projects is listed as a dependency. Suppliers and items the projects buy separately become visible, with the total volume and the spread in unit price, and without a running contract they are a candidate for a framework agreement.
5 · Forecast
A final forecast and the risks of the whole
The estimates at completion (EAC) from the projects' earned value come together against the programme budget. A project without a forecast does not get an invented one; the total then counts as a lower bound. The open risks of all projects sit in one probability and impact matrix, with a top list by exposure, and you can escalate a project risk to the programme.
6 · Account
Status report, decision log and benefits
Every month the owner finalises a status report with a rating for schedule, cost, risks and benefits. Fiatto proposes ratings based on the figures. A finalised report can no longer be changed, can be downloaded as a PDF and is emailed to the sponsor. Steering committee decisions go into a log that cannot be changed. Benefits that only arise from the combination of projects are tracked on the programme itself.
Setup
Start with projects you already have.
Create the programme
Record the goal, the owner, the sponsor, the time frame and, if you like, a budget.
Link the projects
Choose the programme on each project, or link them all at once from a spreadsheet, with a trial run first.
Record the dependencies
Indicate which project or phase waits for which. The roadmap then rolls slippage forward and you can draw up the first status report.
Questions about programmes
Is a programme a second set of books?
No. The figures stay on the projects and come from the same sources as the project screen. The programme adds them up and puts its own budget, roadmap and reporting next to them.
Who sees a programme's amounts?
Whoever may see the project figures. Without that right you can see which projects belong to a programme, but not the budget and the margins.
Can a status report or decision be changed afterwards?
A draft can, a finalised status report and a recorded decision cannot. If a decision no longer holds, you record a new decision that revokes it. The old one stays as the steering committee took it.
When can a programme be closed?
When no running projects remain linked and the close-out checklist is complete: the benefits have been handed over to someone in the line organisation and the lessons learned are recorded, on the programme or on one of its projects. A cancelled programme does not need the checklist.
How do we link existing projects in one go?
With a spreadsheet: one row per project, with the programme and the project number. A programme that does not exist yet is created. The trial run shows in advance what will change, and if there is a single error nothing is changed.
See how this works on your programme?
30 minutes, on projects that belong together.
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