PMI's credentialing service now offers the PgMP^sm certification.   The PgMP is meant to acknowledge the qualifications of the professional who leads the coordinated management of multiple projects.   But is this certification right for you?  What if you're a PMP?  What if you aren't? 

 

Project Managers are tactical positions. Their focus is on the project deliverables and communicating with stakeholders -- but all as described within the project charter and project plan.  The need for the tactical view is based solely on the definition of a project: a one-time unique work effort with a defined beginning and end.

Program Managers by the nature of their job need to be more strategic than tactical.  Within the projects of a Program there is a subject matter that is a constant theme in the project work.  The program manager must organize these themes so they connect to the company's mission and vision and delivers the actions that make the strategic plan feasible.

Gobbledy-gook?  Only if you think project work is the reason for your company's existence.  In some firms, that is the work; in others it's the infrastructure that supports the rest of the company as it delivers its products/services. So Project/Program Management is no different than strategic/tactical management.  Someone needs to be looking at the big picture and assessing what the direction should be.  Someone else needs to deliver the detailed actions that accomplish the strategic goals of the company