Issue #2 — On Program Management

For better or worse, I spent my time at Google sailing under the flag of program management. It's a convenient place to put the enterprising generalist, the utility player, or the "mini-founder." The downside is that we can get mistaken for just another project manager. Not to knock those skills—everything I achieved at Google was been built on a foundation of fundamental program management activities.

This week I've written about some of my experiences with program management, and also how that applies to the world of open source software.

More Than Just Spreadsheets: Becoming an Enterprising Program Manager

The term "program manager" doesn't exactly scream "rockstar." It conjures images of project plans, endless meetings, and maybe a slightly-too-organized state of mind. And yes, those spreadsheets and timelines are essential tools in our arsenal. You need the basics down before you can do anything. But to define the role by project management skills alone misses the bigger picture.

What Is An Open Source Program Manager?

As tech companies depend on open source projects as part of their strategy, many have created their own OSPO (Open Source Programs Office), and hired open source program managers to staff them. In this article I'll take a look at what these OSS PgMs do, based on my own experience running open source strategy and program development at Google.

Why Self-Advocacy is Crucial for Program Managers

As program managers we are the orchestrators, the facilitators, the ones who make things happen behind the scenes. We thrive on ensuring everyone else has what they need to succeed. But here's a lesson I learned the hard way: in the high velocity world of tech, quiet competence can easily be mistaken for unimportance. If you don't tell people about your work, it might as well not exist.

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Until next week!

cheers,

-- Edd