Program Management Across Many Projects at Once
One project is easy to see. Fifteen related projects, sharing an outcome and the same people, is where things go wrong. Group them into a programme and see the whole thing.
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What is program management?
Program management is running a group of related projects as one thing, because they share an outcome, an owner, or the same part of the business. It is a level above project management: instead of asking whether one project is on track, you ask whether the whole initiative is. Orangescrum groups projects under a programme, rolls their progress up to that level, and puts the result on the dashboard.
Why programmes lose control
The view above the project
01Rollup
Cost and budget at programme level
See the total against the approved budget, not just each project against its own.
Shared capacity
See where projects are competing for the same people, before both plans assume they have them.
02Reporting
Risks across the programme
Track risk at the level where it actually matters, above any single project.
03Programme
Create one
Give the programme a name, an owner, a business unit, a priority, and a start and end date.
Priority
Set a priority on the programme so the portfolio has an order, not just a list.
A timeline of its own
The programme carries its own start and end dates, separate from the projects inside it.
Names stay unique
Two programmes in the same workspace cannot share a name, checked on save and enforced in the database.
Delete without losing work
Deleting a programme releases its projects rather than deleting them, so nothing is lost by regrouping.
04Projects
Group them under one programme
A project is assigned to a programme from the project form, and can be moved between programmes later.
Create one straight into it
Start a new project from inside a programme and it arrives already attached.
Open the programme's projects
Click through from the programme to a project list filtered to just that programme, with a way back.
How many and how many people
Each programme shows its project count and the number of people across those projects. Available in Cloud.
05Rollup
Progress from the real work
Programme progress is built from the closed and open tasks in every child project, not from a status report.
Your own progress basis
Where weighted progress is configured, the programme rollup uses it instead of a plain task count. Available in Self-Hosted.
It moves as the work does
Nobody updates a programme percentage by hand, because it is recalculated from the tasks underneath.
06Finding
Filter by priority, unit, or manager
Cut the programme list down by priority, by business unit, or by the person who owns it.
Search by name
Type part of a programme name to find it in a long portfolio. Available in Cloud.
Sort the list
Order the list by name, timeline, or priority. Available in Cloud.
Cards or a table
Switch between a card grid and a table, and the choice is remembered. Available in Cloud.
Save the filter set
Keep a named view of the filters you use often instead of setting them again. Available in Cloud.
07Across projects
The flow map
One diagram of every dependency and link that crosses a project boundary inside the programme. Available in Self-Hosted.
What kind of link
The map labels the relationship, such as finish to start, and counts how many there are. Available in Self-Hosted.
Jump to the work item
Click any node on the map to open the task behind it. Available in Self-Hosted.
Programme knowledge
Wiki pages can be linked to a programme, not just to a project or a task. Available in Self-Hosted.
Feeds Scaled Agile
Programmes can be attached to an Agile Release Train and picked as the source of a SAFe backlog.
08Reporting
The programme summary widget
A dashboard table of every programme with its owner, due date, status, progress, and days remaining.
Overall programme progress
A donut splitting your programmes into completed, on track, delayed, and at risk.
Keep it or hide it
Both programme widgets can be shown, hidden, and reordered on the dashboard like any other.
09Access
Twelve programme permissions
Separate rights to create, edit, view, delete, add and remove users, and to see customer name, budget, default rate, tolerances, and cost approval.
People see their own programmes
People who are not admins see only the programmes that contain a project they are on. Available in Self-Hosted.
Unlimited users
Every plan includes unlimited users, so putting every project team into the programme costs nothing extra.
How a programme is run
For people who own more than one project
Which edition includes what
| Capability | CloudManaged SaaS | Self-HostedOn-premise / private cloud | Open SourceCommunity Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Programme cost and budget | Premium | ✓ | ✗ |
| Capacity across projects | Premium | ✓ | ✗ |
| Risk register | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Programmes grouping projects | Premium | ✓ | ✗ |
| Rolled up progress | Premium | ✓ | ✗ |
| Programme dashboard widgets | Premium | ✓ | ✗ |
| Card and list views, search, saved views | Premium | ✗ | ✗ |
| Cross project flow map | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Weighted progress on the rollup | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Programme linked wiki pages | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Twelve programme permissions | Premium | ✓ | ✗ |
Program management FAQ
Can I see where projects compete for the same people?
Yes, and this is usually the reason teams need programme level views. Capacity is counted across every project a person is on, so you can see the clash before both plans assume they have them.
Can I track risk at programme level?
Yes, in the Self-Hosted edition, which includes the risk management module. Risks are scored and tracked with their mitigation.
What is the difference between a project and a programme?
A project delivers one defined outcome. A programme is a group of related projects run together because they share an outcome, an owner, or the same part of the business. Programme level questions are about the initiative as a whole, not any single project.
Which plan includes program management?
It is on the Cloud Premium plan and included in the Self-Hosted edition. It is not in the free Community Edition, where the module is removed rather than hidden.
Does progress roll up automatically?
Yes. Programme progress is built from the actual tasks in every child project, so it updates as the work does rather than depending on someone writing a status report. In Self-Hosted it follows your configured progress basis, including weighted progress.
Can I see where one project is blocking another?
Yes, in the Self-Hosted edition. The programme flow map draws every dependency and link that crosses a project boundary inside the programme, labels the relationship type, and lets you click through to the work item.
What happens to the projects if I delete a programme?
They are released, not deleted. The projects lose their programme and carry on, so regrouping a portfolio is safe.
Can I control who sees a programme?
Yes. The programme module has twelve separate permissions covering creating, editing, viewing, deleting, and managing its people, as well as commercial fields. In Self-Hosted, people who are not admins see only the programmes containing a project they are on.
Is this the same as portfolio management?
They overlap. A portfolio is usually everything an organisation has in flight, whether or not the pieces are related. A programme is a related group working towards one outcome. Orangescrum supports both patterns with the same grouping and rollup.
How many projects can sit in a programme?
There is no limit in the product, and because every plan includes unlimited users, adding the people from every project does not change the price.
See the whole initiative, not fifteen projects
Program management is on the Premium plan and in Self-Hosted. Every plan includes unlimited users.