Chris Yiannas Program Management 101

Program Management 101
A no-nonsense approach to program management from the school of 'hard knocks'
Author: Chris Yiannas Proton Aerospace
Planet Terra: September 28, 2014
A no-nonsense approach to
program management from the
school of 'hard knocks'
Author: Chris Yiannas
Proton Aerospace
Program Management. What is it, and
what is it not? Many books have
been authored and published and the
world is full of promising students
with University MBA Degrees thirsty
to 'cut their teeth' on a project
delivered to them on their lap. But
how are programs generated? Is it
simply a supply and demand issue?
Is it as easy as marketing, making,
and selling 'widgets'? Can demand
be created? What drives
consumerism? Are the governments
also a 'consumer? Is the whole
world a large consumer pool? How
are program managers stacked and
what role do they play in this
world of ours? I will dispense
with the standard 'cold hard facts'
of program managing and provide a
different 'face' to the 'business'
at hand. For those who think that
they know everything about
effective program management this
may serve as a humorous refresher.
For those who are aspiring to be
effective program managers read on.
Who knows perhaps you may even take
some of the skills outlined here to
start a successful business.
Let us start first by defining what
is a 'program'. I will not
redefine it for you based on what
you may find in the dictionary or
your books, but keep in mind that I
differentiate 'a project' from a
'program'. A project is something
fairly well defined and of limited
scope with finite beginning and
end. A program on the other hand
encompasses many projects or major
programs within it, and these are
typically buried and shown in the
WBS (Work Break Down Structure) of
the overall 'Master Schedule'
program. For those familiar with
programming languages in the
software world, you may also think
in terms of large self-contained
subroutines designed to do a
certain specific job within the
overall context of the software
matrix system we live. Since you
are a work in progress, you may
actually be surprised to find out
that your whole life is sort of a
program. Perhaps then, this is the
single most important program that
you will ever run, your life.
Because you are born, you exist.
You receive inputs and provide
outputs based on a thinking process
that is formed and impacted by your
environment. You are affected and
affect others in ways that many
people have not understood. In this
world, if you have not taken stock
of your life properly, the majority
of the time you act and indeed are
an 'employee'. There is nothing
wrong with being a contributing
employee to the overall process.
However, if you learn the rules and
regulations and act on them
judiciously then you can become an
effective program manager of your
life. Are you up to the task? If
you can accomplish this then you
can truly help others.
Let us look at another example of
program management, 'mother earth.'
Could you be a program manager for
the whole planet? How would you run
the planet? Would you have a large
corporation? Who would you invite

to be in your board of directors?
Would you divide the world into
smaller projects based on
topography or geography based on
large sections perhaps using the
continents as natural divisions? Or
would you divide the world based on
population concentrations? What
type of technology would be
appropriate? Would you have
countries? How would they be run?
How would you tap into and realize
for the benefit of Humanity all
there is of this planet internal
and external including near earth
space in a sustainable way? How
would you allocate the planet's
resources? More about resource
allocation later, but what do you
think is the most important
resource allocation? Is it the
oceans, the fish, the animals,
energy production and distribution,
'oil', or water, or nuclear energy,
the seas, the mountains, wheat
production, or food production and
distribution, gold or iron ore
other mineral resources,
pharmaceuticals or other exotic
precious metals?
Actually, if you guessed that
Humanity is the single most
important resource to be allocated
you guessed right. You, as a Human
Being are the most valuable
resource.
There are about seven billion of us
on the surface of this planet. The
planet can support probably fifty
billion people if it was managed
properly but it is not. On this
planet, and others, all the
products and services that program
managers manage go to support all
aspects of our living conditions.
In our world, a single key element
that drives program management is
by design a Value-Based system. The
system derives its power from a
'Value' that after striping the
humanistic attributes of day-to-day
operations, it is by Design is a
Calculated Monetary Value. It is
based on a fictitious value of
either a precious metal such as the
'gold standard' or it is based on a
fictitious value of a coinage such
as the United States dollar. So
long as everyone agrees to follow
certain rules the system overall
progresses in a snail pace unless
there are inputs that change the
flow rate and thus progress is made
at a faster pace or stepped
function or even resembling an
exponential function. Throughput
can be modeled via an electric
circuit, which can be in series or
in a parallel circuit. The math is
relatively simple. Wealth
accumulation is the subsequent
wealth distribution to strata of
society. A pyramid, or a cone can
be used to explain that as one
moves to the apex she accumulates
more wealth. This wealth is
supported and is also distributed
to the various strata of society,
all the way down to the base. There
is a constant 'Flow' or movement or
Mobility of the Human Resource such
that Competition is created and
individuals move from the base to
the Apex and from the Apex to the
Base. You need to think what would
happen if somehow this constant
'Flow' of movement suddenly
stopped. Many times, restructuring
occurs in violent ways meaning
wars. Wars of course are also
business driven and have existed
since antiquity. Program managers
therefore, occupy a specific place
in the worldwide machine so that
via effective program management
they get things done anywhere
within the pyramid or conical

system and thus goods and services
and wealth is distributed to upper
and lower tiers and the levels of
society distributing the wealth
within their respective capacities.
So, do you want to be a program
manager? Do you want to get things
done? Consider this. Can you tie
effectively your shoelaces? When
did you learn how to do this task
and what was the process? What?
There are no shoelaces on your
shoes? You chose a solution
utilizing Velcro? Or perhaps you
dispensed altogether with all these
other solutions and wear shoes with
built in elasticity via elastic
bands or simply you wear boots? Do
you recognize that some others
thought outside the 'box' for you
and made products that you now use
and take for granted? Thus, as a
program manager do not think in
limited terms, use all resources
available to you but always think
outside the 'box'.
You may have met people that cannot
tie their own shoelaces. Think,
what specific abilities is a child
learning by the simple task of
tying his own shoelaces? Then, look
at the population at large, male
and female what percentage of males
utilizes shoes with shoelaces and
what percentage of females utilizes
shoes without shoelaces and why?
Male and female can be successful
program managers. Ask your self do
program management styles vary
greatly based on gender, or only in
the peripherals while the core of
business style is 'strict business
rules', a sort of Quality Control
built into the Management System
designed to almost always bring the
desired outcome?
Let us now look briefly at
different positions that we all
recognize. Is a politician a
program manager? Is an army
general a program manager? Is a
captain a program manager of her
ship? Is a cook a program manager
of his kitchen? Is a priest a
program manager of his flock? Is a
doctor a program manager of his
operation during surgery? Is an
attorney who was just made partner
a program manager? Is a President
of a country a program manager? The
President of a corporation is he a
program manager? Are the
Universities Corporations? How do
they differ? Each person manages in
accordance to his capacity and his
authority in a specific place in
space-time until 'retirement.' But
how does program managing differs
in the 'business world'?
In the so-called 'business world'
the bottom line is the successful
execution of programs, or projects
that provide quality goods and
services to customers. The 'middle
man' that takes a product for
example from the farmers,
reprocesses it and sells it for a
profit is a program manager. Thus,
program managers they can serve the
population at large, or they can
serve a very select group a 'niche
market' of a few individuals. Some
of the biggest customers are the
governments who generate specific
demands to be filled in all sectors
of society. It should be clear by
now that a project or program has
by necessity inputs and outputs,
with the end goal of successful
program execution, meaning the
delivery of the product or services
at the right price to capture
market, while at the same time

increasing profit margins, or in
other words Adding Value. These
profits are then redistributed to
the owners of the corporation; the
stockholders get some of the
profits and a percentage of the
profits are reinvested to continue
development of new programs. And
the cycle the 'Flow' continues.
As you progress, you will grow from
project manager to program manager.
This means that you will manage
either several smaller project
managers, or a fairly large multi
billion-dollar program yourself
perhaps being in the top position
of the IMF (International Monetary
Fund). Being a 'Senior Level 3'
program manager, a position that
usually provides you with 'perks',
you may be given your own vehicle.
As you circumnavigate mother earth
with your 'perk', in your advanced
anti-gravity machine that can take
you anywhere on the planet within
fifteen minutes, you would land at
specified locations to check how
the 'program management of mother
earth' is progressing. You will
prepare your self in anticipation
of a business review meeting with
the other important 'stake'
holders. These can be the
President, the Vice Presidents,
Business Development and Marketing,
Operations, Accounts Receivables
and Payables, other Engineering and
Manufacturing, Other Program
Managers etc. You would devise
strategies, talk and take
accountability from the lower
'level 2' or 'level 1' program or
project managers. You will not
micromanage, but you should pay
very close attention to every
single word or detail they provide
to you, no matter how 'angelic'
they may appear. This after all is
serious business. Every word has a
specific meaning, as do their
facial expressions and their
posturing. You should be nice and
cordial but very firm questioning
all results. Take nothing for
granted. If you are not satisfied
with their answers you should ask
again until you are satisfied or
bring in the most knowledgeable
person in the subject within the
organization to get answers. If
answers are still not provided, and
something is amiss you gather all
available data and make a command
decision and solve the issue on the
spot. It is your job. But there
may be times that alas, you have to
report to your friendly Vice
President after a game of golf and
bring 'outside help'. I should
caution you though that as the
bearer of bad news that cannot be
easily fixed, you may get the
blame, whether it is actually your
fault or not, is at this point
immaterial, and you will may be
blamed and get the 'ax' or a 'kick'
in the 'ass' and you will be thrown
out from the corporation. Thus, it
pays to know early in the game as
much as possible about all there is
to know in the program or programs
you manage and to have friends in
high places-literally! Do not wait
until Program Review to discuss
serious issues. In the Program
Review there should not be any new
'surprises'. If indeed you
discover issues within the program
you are entrusted, and you cannot
solve them, you bring them to the
higher levels for resolution early
in the process. No one likes
'surprises'.

As you already gather, program
management is not for the light
hearted. Program managers are
responsible people, they are go-
getters they are the one's that
make or break the backbone of a
corporation. They are the ones that
spend countless hours at night
reviewing every single detail of
multiple projects until a
successful program runs like a well
oiled machine runs it self. Well,
almost, alas, there are times that
even well oiled machines have
outlived their usefulness.
Successful program managers
understand the processes within the
overall process and look at the
program as an Organic Live System.
Therefore, successful managers
apply Systematic Solutions to
anything that comes in their path,
and eliminate systemic problems.
Program managers are positive
people and impart the same positive
attitude to anyone that works in
their program and beyond.
Program managers are quick
learners, they keep a keen eye for
new developments and processes to
bring into their programs a lower
cost, an increase in volume and
capacity, a decrease time to
market, and do it with exceptional
quality. This may seem difficult to
some but it is doable. Think of
Harvesting. How is it done
nowadays? How was it done in the
past? Has the process changed or
have the means of harvesting
changed? Thus, understand the
difference of means versus process.
Can you change the means of a task?
Can you change the process? if a
sub-process does not work well,
change the subroutine to make it
work. After all, you would not
want your antigravity machine to
break down while you circum
navigate earth because a faulty
rivet broke loose and fell and
interfered with the mercury
propulsion system while you are
hovering above the Pacific Ocean.
Right? Program managers identify
key technologies and bring them to
the organization for review to
create new business opportunities
programs. You will need to work
closely with the BD (Business
Development) and a series of a sort
of 'gotcha' eye opener charts will
be created. Do not be surprised to
find out that large successes had
their birth in small ideas that
seeded new beginnings.
Here's an example of a 'typical'
small idea, a single chart on a
'Control Systems Technology' that
could represent a small beginning.
It could also be supplemented with
a sort simulation video the BD guys
provide to start your presentation.
After you submit the internal
proposal together with a Cost

Estimate and ROI (Return on
Investment) and the Master
Schedule, etc, etc, that you will
have created, the 'Corporate
Structure' will evaluate your
proposal and you may get a 'go
ahead', or they may even give it to
another program manager to manage
it depending on your work load. If
this happens, don't get too upset,
think always of the Big Picture.
Upper management may have other
plans on how to execute and bring
to fruition your idea.
If you are able to accomplish all
these, and have happy customers,
then rightfully you will have
earned your wings in the glorious
Earned Value System. Remember your
customers are both external and
internal.
It may surprise many to find out
that in a majority of corporations
program managers compete for
resources allocation within the
same corporation. The competition
in very large corporations can
resemble the competition for
spheres of influence of countries
at the global level. They compete
for funds, they compete for people,
they compete for engineering
processes, they compete for
materials, they compete for
manufacturing, they compete for
shipping, they compete for space
and they may even compete for the
same customer base. This fact
makes for some very interesting
'discussions' among the program
managers. Many times a program
manager loses a 'fight' even if she
knows 'karate'. The word comes
from above and decisions are
usually final. A visit to the
local bar may smooth things out
along with a small bonus, which
always helps to swallow a loss.
Thus, program managers get training
on how to deal in the political
arena. You recognize this in the
political arena and sphere of
influences that govern our earth.
Did you know? Each program is
indeed and operates as a small
corporation. In this sense a
program manager has to make
alliances with other program
managers to help each other's
programs. Additionally, in the case
of large corporations an outright
buy out of other small corporations
may happen so that the major
corporation gains certain expertise
very quickly and grows by
acquisition. Furthermore, it is
not uncommon that two or more
programs are brought under one
umbrella within a large
organization much in the same way
as small companies combine forces
to compete or are bought by larger
organizations. It stands to reason
then, that if a program manager in
his dealings finds a good small
company, a high performer, and the
value of a small company is for
example fifty million dollars, then
a good program manager should be
able to make the case to upper
management to acquire a business,
restructure it and bring it within
the fold of the corporation.
Hopefully but not always, he or she
may end up managing the new
'program' or 'business' if it is
not taken as a precious jewel by
one of the Vice Presidents. It is
not uncommon to see small
corporations to form Alliances with
each other and create a new entity.
This new entity is a larger
corporation formed in order to

survive the competition. They also
grow by acquisition.
Surely most of you aspiring program
managers have been to several types
of restaurants. Many business
discussions take place during or
after a good meal. Next time pay
close attention. I learned this
lesson early in my career when the
VP of 'Mc Donnell Douglas Aircraft'
now 'Boeing' walked in one day and
invited several of us to lunch. If
you go to a restaurant, the waiter
or waitress politely will ask you
if you want 'drinks' since they
just happen to run a 'special' or
'gourmet fries' or 'salad' or
'desert', thus increasing the Cost
or Value of the meal. They are very
good sales persons. This means
profit to them, while presumably
satisfying your thirst or appetite
superbly so that you come back to
do business with them again. If
this is the case, then you become a
repeat customer in their
'operations', and their Operations
VP will love you as will the rest
of the team. The waiter is a
'front line' sales person as well
as a server. He is 'managing' a
'project' a table or as many tables
or 'projects' as are allocated to
him. Although he may or may not
like his 'job' the bottom line is
that the waiter is there to perform
a function so that sales are made
and the corporation 'the
restaurant' makes money to pay him.
But, he cannot act alone. No man is
an island! Think how would you go
about building a starship? Would
you do it all buy yourself? Could
you do it all by yourself?? Or do
you need a large number of people
working to create a huge
undertaking an assembly in space
itself? They would have to work in
series and in parallel in large and
small teams, using specialty
materials, while they will have a
large support system that will
provide all necessary means
including food in order to make
this task happen. And what a mighty
task it is. Building a spaceship
Earth.
He has to have a sustained support
group and a system. Here is a list,
not an exhaustible one, but it
illustrates the concept. They are,
raw materials (potatoes, meat,
celery, vegetables, etc), kitchen
space with stoves, the cooks, food
servers, dishwashers, complete bar,
refrigerators, tables, table
cloths, chairs, spoons, knives,
forks, napkins, ambiance, certain
music, clean restrooms, upper
management to ensure quality
control (as well as to dispel any
squabbles for resource allocation)
It may astound some but the sale of
a number of aircraft by the
manufacturer to a foreign country
goes through the United States
Government even if it is commercial
aircraft sale business, and a lot
of 'special' offerings to sweeten
the deal are made and many include
a sort of advanced bartering system
which today we call 'offsets'.
Thus, deals are made for example
for the sale of F-16's to a country
and the deal may include that the
aerospace giant will assist in the
promotion and sale of specific
items from the customer country. In
one particular case, certain

commercial aircraft were sold and
as part of the offset deal a number
of tonnage of 'spam' literally, had
to be dumped to the local market
and thus it was more cost efficient
for the aerospace giant to simply
deliver and distribute the 'spam'
and 'cheese' as part of Christmas
good will to its thousands of
employees. Many techniques are
used and are there and will provide
the Sales Team with all the
necessary tools to get the job done
with a smile, and increase Earned
Value. If the place is of certain
business it may come with
'bouncers' to keep the people from
misbehaving. In the case of the
corporate world the 'security'
private police takes the place of
the bouncers. They are very busy
during layoff times and yes, as
business shrinks programs get cut
and program managers also do get
laid off. They are not immune to
the sickness.
Those of you who aspire to become
program managers will do well to
understand that the restaurant
people were working many hours in
the night to prepare the place
before the doors open for business.
In the same way, as a captain
because of necessity must know
everything about the ship and the
crew in order to have 'smooth
sailing', the program manager must
know everything. In the same way
you will spend many hours at night
reviewing and preparing for
reviews. The reviews may be
required at specified intervals, or
they may happen unannounced. You
will spend many hours past mid
night talking to your customers on
the phone. If you run your own
small business you will do exactly
the same. If you are a small
business owner you are also the
building manager, and the police
will call you at three in the
morning if the alarm goes off in
the office.
The program review is a financial
review and the business statement
of the program. Therefore you will
need to be close to your friendly
Procurement and Financial
person(s). You need to have
updated reviews with them at
regular intervals; do not wait
until program review period. They
also get swamped from other
programs. In very clear terms your
program review states the Customer,
the Contract Value, the Estimated
Final Value, the Contract Type
(Fixed Firm Price or Time and
Material), the PoP (Period of
Performance), the Work Scope, the
Financial Overview (typically
supported by Detail Analyses
showing the progress), the Earned
Value, the Master Schedule showing
Critical Path Items, Stoplight
Items (Chart(s) of green, yellow or
red items), Risk and Opportunities
Identification, and Forecast. Many
times programs are 're-baselined'.
What this means is that, a program
was bid for a certain dollar amount
but if it is for example a high
risk new technologies program then
the costs are usually higher and at
some point in time the program cost
and the EV are all 're-baselined'
from the prior EAC (Estimate at
Completion) assuming that the
original estimate is no longer
valid. This can happen in any
program such as for example the new
high technology F-35 aircraft, I
consider as being a good high
technology system. It was a high-
risk program since many new
technologies were to be developed
and incorporated in the system for
the very first time. The program
has now reached a maturity level.
As a program manager of new high-
risk high payoff products you will
run into schedule and budget cost
overruns. However, how you manage
them and how you can bring a
successful product into the
production pipeline is the great
challenge and task. The following

charts illustrate a 'snap shot' of
the F-35 aircraft system. The
Lockheed Martin Team was able to
bring the F-35 program back on
track.
I want to emphasize that you should
look at all programs as Organic
Systems! This may be a machine, but
the bottom line is that Humans
designed, built, test, fix and re-
fix, manufacture, fly, support in
the field, and when the time comes
Humans will retire and recycle the
system to its elemental components
to reuse and formulate new systems.
Even intelligent self-teaching
replicating robots using 'fuzzy
logic' techniques borrowed from
Humans can be considered Organic
Systems due to their functions.
As you run programs, you will get
accustomed to the Master Schedule,
which has behind it all the
supporting data. This data comes
from a number of schedules, from
the team members and
subcontractors.
The F-35 presentation was made by
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program
manager Lorraine Martin and was
presented at this year’s Air Force
Association Air & Space Conference,
held just outside Washington.
When I served at the Board of
Directors for NASA's SATS (Small
Aircraft Transportation System)
South East Lab, Consortium program,
a Master Schedule was maintained up
to date laboriously showing all the
subcontractors and work performed
etc. As you grow as a manager, you
will keep a keen eye on the CPI
(Cost Performance Index) and you
will work to make it stay 'normal'
and 'positive'. There are many more
items I could write about the EV or
otherwise known as BCWP (Budgeted
Cost of Work Performed) but I will
not get into details here.
As a program manager you should be
prepared to answer all questions in
a succinct clear and concise
manner. The Vice Presidents,
customers, the government etc, use
all the data you provide, along
with all the other programs to
formulate a snap shot in time of
all programs, meaning in its
totality the status of the
'corporation', or of the 'state' or
the 'country' so that they can
devise the overall 'business'
strategy. Your program, every

program plays a role in the total
business, financial and strategic
strength valuation.
I have interviewed many young
people for potential positions
either at prior places of my
employment where I was part of a
hiring process, or for my own small
firm. I found out that many wanted
to be project managers from the get
go. And so I asked. How do you
know how long a certain project or
program should take to complete and
what the cost of the whole
operation should be. What are the
risks for failure? How can these
risks be mitigated? What is the
probability of success? Are there
any follow on program spin off
technologies or benefits from this
program or is it a single shot
program? What are the operational
requirements for sustainability
thereafter? What it the front
capital investment that I have to
make and what is the ROI (Return On
Investment?) Is this program a
'filler' program in the books or a
moneymaker? Yes, some programs are
there to sustain a business even
though they operate at a loss. If
you are given a program to manage
such as this, you should know it so
that there are no misunderstandings
later on during evaluation process
with your upper management. Find
out how large is the customer base?
Is it a single external customer or
are there multiple customers? Is
there a reserve-funding amount
allocated for the program? Your
job, should you decide to accept
it, is to not touch the reserve
funds, because alas from these
funds may come your year-end bonus!
I ask many prospective first
timers, how much did it cost for
them to finish the college
education, and how long did it
take? Is there anything that they
could have done differently to make
their education project more
successful?
Many times, when you are handed a
project to manage you may be given
a rudimentary Project Plan. Ask. Is
there a rudimentary project plan
format that the corporation uses
that you will receive and fix,
adjust and manipulate it to have a
successful program or will you
create one from nothing? Find out
who are they key players in the
Vice President positions directly
or indirectly affecting your
program. Find out who are the key
players in the Purchasing and
Materials, Operations, Customer
Relations, Human Resources
departments? Get to know the
Engineering Manager and the
Engineering staff. Get to know the
Manufacturing Manager and staff and
technicians. You will buy a lot of
pizzas and spend many nights with
many people to see high technology
high-risk high payoff programs
pushed through. You will learn a
lot in the process. Get to know
who are the key customers and make
sure you allocate some money for
travel expenses even in this
information age. Get an
understanding of who is who, and
treat everyone involved in your
program professionally. In all
relationships stay respectful and
'clean'. Be the trustworthy, you be
the person that both the external
as well as the internal customers
will come for solutions. Be
prepared to provide solutions very
quickly and redirect funds, people,
manufacturing, whatever it takes to
get the program successful. Always
remember, you need the support of
upper management to prioritize your
program because your program as
important as it may be to you, it
will experience delays if another
program has been delayed in
execution, thus impeding the
success of the project you are
entrusted. Understand the concept
of FIFO (First In First Out). If a
manufacturing machine is working on
a 'blisk' (bladed disk) that takes

several weeks to complete and there
is an issue with that item, then
your part will also be delayed.
Trust, but verify what Purchasing
or Engineering or manufacturing is
telling you. Allocate funds to
visit personally subcontractors to
examine personally the quality,
speed of execution and delivery of
critical and non-critical
components. Remember, if the number
of threads in the bolt provided by
a sub-supplier are different than
the number of threads in the hole
in the part you cannot and will not
complete assemblies and suddenly
the Critical Path in the Schedule
changes because of small item such
as 'bolts' and the whole program
may be at risk of timely
completion, and time is money-
Literally.
Check for materials specifications.
If for example the bolts specified
on the drawings must be made out of
Titanium alloy, is there another
substitution material that can be
made? Check how long does it take
to cure a composite part utilizing
a clean room facility? After all,
you would not want to burn the
cookies you bake in a dirty oven at
home. Use statistical methodology.
How do you, as a program manager
personally insure Quality? The
answer is simple. The answer is
straightforward. By asking and
ensure that the QA (Quality
Assurance) exists in the work of
all others in the organization
working on your program. Check and
visit the sub-contractors
facilities to insure quality even
if they are certified to the latest
ISO Standard. Do a top down and
bottoms up review at the program
start, and in frequent intervals.
Understand who is working on your
program and why you are the one who
is doing the hiring, it is within
your power and capacity as a
manager to question all charges.
Take nothing for granted.
Look at everything from an Organic
System Standpoint. It does not
matter if the project you are
managing is a coffee pot or a
turbine engine. You should look at
them as systems that will perform a
certain function. A Coffee pot is
less complex than a turbine Engine
but is has its peculiarities if it
has to operate under FAA Rules and
regulations inside an Aircraft! Get
to know all rules and regulations
that affect your program. Many
times, I dealt with international
customers and they have their own
set of rules and regulations.
Get to know the software that the
company uses for its program
management system. Nowadays, the
software is interlinked with
software at the corporate
structure. For example, if you are
overseas the capability exists to
download at specific intervals
coded progress made to the home
corporate structure. Do not
micromanage but stay close 'keep
your ears to the ground'. Do not be
afraid to make changes to ensure
the success of your programs. Be
careful too many changes means that
the continuity is lost, cost and
program delays may be incurred and
trust on your ability to manage may
also be lost.
Empower people but not all people.
I do not bring this issue lightly.
Some want to be 'empowered' for the
'glorification' but they bring
nothing exceptional to the table.
Therefore, identify the ones who
really know and contribute to your
program, place them in key

positions as leaders to lead the
rest to get the job done.
These same people are the people
that can advise you late at night
if it need be of problems that
'sprang up' along with possible
solutions.
Get to know both the Engineering
Manager and the Manufacturing
Manager very well. They can help
you they know the strengths and
weaknesses of their respective
organizations. Sometimes it may
make sense to outsource work. Small
companies may have very good
expertise to do exactly what needs
to be done and within the time and
budget constrains. Check their
credentials and test them. Ask and
look at the resumes of the people
that will or already work your
program. Get to know the software
and hardware used. Learn the feed
rate of machines ask for
statistical distributions. You
should know there is a huge
difference between cutting soft
metal, for example Aluminum they
show you at the popular
manufacturing shows, and aerospace
materials found in certain
applications. Look at the drawings
yourself ask for the calculations,
ask for possible material
substitutions bring in
manufacturing in the process as an
IPT (Integrated Product Team) early
in the process. Ask for your
engineers if they are
'multidiscipline' and if they have
learned how to design for
manufacturing. I remember one time
a mechanical engineer designer
designed for me a beautiful
bracket. It really was a piece of
art in the computer. One could make
a plastic piece of it using 3D
laser deposition and put it on a
table. But its functionality to the
program was zero. It was not
something to be manufactured easily
and the 'engineer' expected the
'stress group' would tell him if it
would withstand the loads! There is
an old statement that a large
portion of the money in engineering
is spent to get the last ten
percent of the answer. But, the
last ten percent of the answer of a
turbine blade operating at over
1700 0
F in a hostile environment is
important to the integrity of the
part. Your job then is to make sure
that you get the ninety percent of
the answer completed as fast as
possible in record time. This will
give you some leeway for the last
ten percent. Make everyone
accountable, make them understand
they are members of the team.
Do not waste time on endless
mindless business meetings. Invite
only those who are needed only for
the time they are needed. They,
being the key lead people can
disseminate what is required to the
rest of the team. This is also
part of their job.
Do not allow major co-mingling and
elbow rubbing between the customer
and the people that work in your
program. This is something that I
have seen in some places during
reviews or if the customer
establishes a local office within
the corporate facility as it may be
required by contracts. It is your
job to know your customer. You do
not want to find out from your
customer over dinner that an
employee 'in confidence' said
something untrue and preposterous
about an aspect of your program or
may inadvertently expose secrets of
any other program since the
'employee' may happen to work on

multiple programs, thus damaging
the company.
Remember know your customers
external and internal.
This is also part of quality
control. Quality means being
respected by customers. Do not
interfere with other programs but
do give help when you are asked. I
remember a customer of another
program whom I knew, took me aside
and in confidence told me to 'check
a few things' that did not seem to
be right on this other program, I
was not managing. You, being an
'ace' of a program manager, may
find yourself in this position.
Many customers may request you to
be the program manager by name. I
promised the customer I would, but
I did not overstep my bounds, nor
did I run straight to the Vice
President. Remember what I told
you about building trustworthy
relationships with other program
managers? This is also where trust
comes in handy. A small
confidential discussion with the
other project manager, and a dinner
with the customer with myself and
the other program manager and a
vice president got everyone
comfortable and things got squared
away. By the same token, be
grateful to your friends, Vice
Presidents and Presidents and
Program Managers, and all the
people who trust in you and at
times of need they stood by you. I
remember one occasion; I was taking
the late night flight to the
customer's site for presentations
and program reviews. Although I had
assurances from Engineering that a
everything was completed, as the
aircraft was landing, I turned on
my cell phone and listened to a
frantic message from Engineering
that a certain portion was not
completed it was not done! It was
literally a Quality miss. After
speaking personally with the
persons involved, I called the
customer's program manager and we
had a nice discussion over 'scotch'
late at night while looking at the
snow that was falling on the
ground. We discussed the issue and
I assured him and promised him a
quick recovery, and thus we
rearranged the schedule on the spot
together. He helped me cover this
aspect of the program in front of
his Vice Presidents who did pose
the question on overall program
impact. Rest assured, I made good
on my promise and brought a smile
back to my customer. I cannot
overemphasize it; be Trustworthy.
At times you will need to stand up
and take the heat. If something
goes wrong or is amiss in your
program, be it Engineering, or
Manufacturing, or Purchasing, or
Shipping, it is your responsibility
to always check the progress. I
remember fondly one likeable person
told me. 'Unless I call you with a
problem assume that everything is
alright and everything will be
delivered on time.' Guess what? It
was not delivered on time. He
blamed his subcontractors but so
what? It is your program, not his
program that suffers a schedule and

cost impact! Therefore, make the
phone call or better yet if you get
a bad feeling, get on the plane and
show up at your subcontractor's
facility unannounced. Thus, examine
the subcontractors. Sometimes, it
pays to actually use smaller but
high capable firms with a niche
when you need to do a very specific
job, for example a 'Level 3'
inspection. Small but highly
specialized companies such as L3I
(Level 3 Inspections), are ISO
Certified and they will welcome the
business and meet your schedule at
a lower cost. Understand that there
are experts in all fields of
technology that you can seek advise
for a reasonable fee. It is your
job to find them. Here is a small
advice. Always 'test drive, check
before you buy'. At other times, I
witnessed other program managers
scrambling to get engineering
design and support by outsourcing
part or all of the Engineering.
Although there are some reputable
engineering outsource companies,
the bottom line is that outsource
companies for the most part are not
responsible for any of the
engineering work. Therefore, many
engineering hours were spent on
documentation reviews with many
heated arguments on both sides.
Many times I had to wear another
'hat' and have been asked to step
in to design reviews to critique
correct or 'throw darts' at a
design. We do this all the time. We
invite other program managers and
VP's to certain reviews on major
programs. Sometimes we look at each
other and smile knowingly as we see
that the KISS principle was not
followed. You know the 'Keep It
Simple Stupid' principle. I learned
this principle on my first day at
McDonnell Douglas (now The Boeing
Co.) from an old timer. There, I
saw the pride of a young designer
engineer who thought(!) he used the
'Bruhn Aircraft Structures' book
correctly. I saw his ego crushed,
when the lead design engineer took
this person's hard but worthless
work, ripped it apart in front of
everyone, and through it in the
'for destruction' proprietary trash
bin. The young designer came to me
to complain but the Lead Design
engineer was correct not to mention
the fact that a week's worth of
work of forty hours was wasted
designing a 'longeron' with loads
on the 'shear panels' all wrong. I
explained it to the young designer
that, had he followed process and
quality this would not have
happened and he should learn
quickly and he would get paid at
least this time since he was
'salaried employee'. Mistakes are
costly at every level. They may
also cost peoples lives.
I will not give elaborate business
plans or teach you here how to
create program/project plans. I
remember I was asked to provide a
complete project plan as part of a
new business opportunity where my
small business was to be a
subcontractor to the OEM (Original
Equipment Manufacturer). I was told
by the hiring business that it was
a formality and the job 'was mine'.
Then, I found out that my program
plans were used thereafter for
internal consumption and the work
never came. And why should it come?
They now had a complete system of
how to execute the project, where
to buy from 'nuts and bolts' to
specialty materials and costs, even
'toilet paper'. Thus, as a program

manager it is your responsibility
to safeguard and keep ownership of
the program planning and control.
Sometimes project plans are
provided to the customer only after
contractual agreements. Usually
they are stripped of vital
information. The government most
often requests and gets every
single detail down to the last dime
spent. Always stay in contact with
the Contracts Department because
contracts also get updated. Execute
to the Contract.
Understand costs and the EVM
method. Here's an example you can
visualize. Suppose you are a
project manager for a certain part
in aerospace, perhaps a rocket
nozzle component that has to
withstand high temperatures. By now
everyone should be familiar with a
typical EVM X-Y curve that shows
cost in Y -Axis and Progress on the
X -Axis. Thus, as the money is
spent progress is made. At some
point the curves intersect. When
the money allocated draws to zero
the project should be one hundred
percent complete. If the curves do
not intersect early on, then the
program is in jeopardy. Thus, a
third axes may be also introduced,
a Z-axis which represents
Complexity. Alternatively the
complexity factor is built in as a
parameter in the 2D EV curves. More
complex systems or new research and
development on things that have
never been done before, have a high
'C' complexity factor or parameter
in the 2D equation.
In my line of business, in
aerospace, I have spent a good
portion in both the airframe and
the engine world. From an engineer
have grown to a 'Discipline Chief'
positions, managed people, as well
as a Program Manager of multi
million dollar programs in certain
organizations and I have run a
small business, Proton Aerospace,
concentrating in the research and
development aspects of new
products. I have been lucky in
this sense that nothing surprises
me technologically in any high
technology field. From nanno-
technologies, to gargantuan
structures to shape memory systems,
to adverse environment
technologies, advanced materials,
fluidics, electronics
bioengineering and robotics. I have
learned very well that: Today's high
technology is tomorrow's
obsolescence.
Therefore, I advise you to always
learn, learning never ends and it
is fun! While you manage, you will
create a symphony of people and
products that you will direct. They
are the employees of the company
you work. They are the team

members, the companies and the
subcontractors that you chose and
can bring to the table if the
purchasing department gets
overwhelmed and needs help. It is
your job to step in and bring
solutions to the table, to execute
your programs. By now you
understand that not everyone is cut
out to be a program manager. It
takes time, patience, and tenacity
to see things done right. Train
your self to be nice but to be
firm; train your self to study and
get to know your craft; You are the
'Program Manager'. They will love
you and respect you. A few may
mumble but it does not matter.
You are the backbone of every
organization. You are an
entrepreneur. You exercise your
entrepreneurship within the
corporation. Increase business
volume, execute programs, and
create new opportunities. Be
flexible. If programs get cancelled
and you are affected, be prepared
for new programs. You serve a
purpose. You create programs. It is
within your ability to do so and
thus with new programs you create
jobs you create wealth. Develop
the cradle to grave aptitude but be
prepared to jump to other programs.
Your valuable skills are needed to
quench 'fires' and you will work
with smart people making up 'tiger
teams' to make within budget and
time constrains the unimaginable
possible. Your skills will be
recognized and perhaps you will
move on to higher management or
Vice President positions or start
your own successful start up
company. You may even jump into
your antigravity transport vehicle
and go meet the other program
managers who manage the other
planets of our solar system and
delve into the musical 'harmony of
the spheres world'. If you can
manage, if you can accomplish this,
then surely you earned your value,
your place in a celestial world.
Remember though, that in the
Kingdom of the Heavens, there is no
such thing as a fictitious money
concept, and therefore a different
set of 'Gold Standard' Rules apply.
You know them, and thus, I will let
you figure them out for yourself.
Moreover, the valuable skills you
have learned as a Program Manager
here on this little planet of ours
Earth, will help you to serve here
and now as well as in the future
with renewed vigor and purpose.

Chris Yiannas Program Management 101

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Chris Yiannas Program Management 101