Measuring Program Success

Now that we know the scope, how we'll work together, and who needs to work together, we need to get aligned on specific measures of success for the program. How will we know if we are successful? What are our main objectives? What are the key results and outcomes we are hoping for?

Your role in measuring success

Measuring the success of a program is a crucial aspect of technical program management. It helps to determine whether the program is meeting its objectives and delivering value to the organization. A variety of metrics can be used to measure the success of a program, depending on the specific goals and objectives of the program.

As a technical program manager, it's your responsibility to:

• Drive clarity around identifying the most appropriate metrics for measuring the success of the program. You may or may not be setting the actual metrics, but you're still responsible for clarifying them.

• Track and report on these metrics throughout the program lifecycle. This is exclusively your responsibility.

Outcomes vs. outputs

Knowing the difference between outcomes and outputs will help you set high-quality goals for your program.

• Outputs are the things that come out of a project—like products, services, or results—and can be measured in terms of quantity or quality.

• Outcomes are the changes or impacts that happen because of a project. They can be harder to measure because they often involve complex systems and can be influenced by many factors.