I’m a PM…no, not that

Project Managers, Program Managers, Portfolio Managers, and Product Managers are all often referred to by the acronym “PM”. What’s the difference?

Project Managers, Program Managers, Portfolio Managers, and Product Managers are all often referred to by the acronym “PM”. What’s the difference between all these different roles, and how are they similar? Understanding how these roles can, and should, work together can improve how you collaborate in your organization, and accelerate value delivery.

Project Managers (PjM)

Project Managers work at the leading edge of the project-driven value chain. Project managers lead the execution of projects, ensuring delivery of the value the projects are expected to achieve for the organization they are being delivered by. Project Managers might handle a single project, or many projects, typically depending on size or complexity.

Projects are are all discrete, with specific start and end dates. The work of a project manager is to organize the start of project work, deliver that work, and then complete whatever steps may be required to close the project.

Program Managers (PgM)

Program Managers handle a group of projects, strategically organizing their delivery, identifying and coordinating resolution of dependencies among them. Program Managers might be organized around an operational process, a product, or just a group or type of projects. They sometimes have responsibility for operational duties in the same domain as their projects.

Portfolio Managers (PfM)

While portfolio management might bring to mind high-finance, portfolio management covers the overall selection of projects for an entire organization, or some other cohesive unit, such as a line-of-business, allowing greater strategic vision in project selection and conflict resolution. ‍

Portfolio Managers play an important role in larger projectized organizations where there may be many ideas, but limited resources. In those cases, selecting the right projects and helping ensure those important projects make it to completion can be critical to the success of a project.

Product Managers (PrM)

Product Managers aren’t necessarily interested in projects, but their title has the same acronym, so lets talk about them - it’s common to encounter information about product managers when looking up information about “PMs”. Product managers are typically focused on an entirely different value chain, organized around one or more product for which they are responsible. While a product doesn’t live forever, in comparison to a project the lifecycle of a product may well represent immortality. In any case, Product managers will sometimes work within organizations that projectize some of their work, while still remaining focused on the product. However, some product managers fulfill a set of responsibilities that are, in reality, not dissimilar from those of a project manager.

Projectized organizations can involve a variety of roles with differing responsibilities. Understanding the roles of others who might be working around you, on some aspect of the same projects you may be leading, can ensure that you work effectively in the project environment in which you operate.