Program Closure: Scenarios for closing or continuing the program

People familiar with program management understand that when all the program components associated with the program has been transitioned, the program enters the program closure. According to the standard for program management, there are two possible scenarios. The first scenario is that the program closes as planned and the other scenario is that the program transitions to another program that continues with the benefit realization. 

People familiar with program management understand that when all the program components associated with the program have been transitioned, the program enters the program closure. According to the standard for program management, there are two possible scenarios. The first scenario is that the program closes as planned and the other scenario is that the program transitions to another program that continues with the benefit realization. 

Based on my practitioner experience in delivering many programs, I see multiple other options as well. Here, I will present other scenarios. 

1. New benefits identified: Either due to finding a new unexpected opportunity (e.g.: patent) or newer strategic opportunities related to the business case to continue being viable (adjacent market expansion), it is possible that the program cannot close as planned. In such cases, the program may be extended by identifying, analyzing, and evaluating the benefit by the program steering committee. The program manager must evaluate the interdependencies with this new component and the previous transitioned components to maximize benefits.

2. Emerging threats or opportunities: A business case primarily exists to justify the business needs. These business needs are going to be influenced by enterprise environmental factors. These are uncertain and unknowable events that the business will constantly monitor. Some of these events may include market, economic and technology disruptions, legal and regulatory changes, governance mandates and compliance considerations, etc. Any combination of these factors may identify newer benefits requiring the program to be extended so long as those benefits are adjacent, relevant, and tangential to the program objectives.

3. Benefits obsolescence: Even when a specific program component is completed, when it comes to the program closure stage may lose its significance because that benefit is no longer needed. This could be due to the competitive landscape where a competitor has released an operational capability that the program component can no longer meet (e.g.: Early patent or regulatory approval, competitive pricing, strategic alliance with significant supply chain advantage). Alternatively, the company may have shifted the organizational priority that the program as a whole or the component alone may no longer be relevant for operations to sustain them invalidating the need for transition.

4. Absence of operational readiness: Another challenge is that the operations team may be having other priorities that make it difficult for the program to transition. This can manifest due to issues that have materialized deprioritizing the component transition over other operational challenges. Alternatively, the operational team may not have the resource constraints (capability, skills, or competencies) or process maturity to be ready for transition.

As part of all these happy path and alternative closure stages, many frameworks can be considered for making the decisions. Some considerations include the following.

1. Strategy Evaluation: Business case validity, market forces review, capability analysis, capacity analysis, and strategic priority review,
2. Alignment Assessment: Strategic alignment, Resource analysis, Cost benefit considerations, Risk assessment and evaluation, and Stakeholder impact analysis
3. Decision Considerations: Modify and transition benefit, temporary hold and release, early closure, and create an alternative program.