How business technology program managers strengthen their companies

When it comes to crafting better digital experiences, people often focus on project managers—those who own business-critical technology initiatives at the project level. Maybe a company is rolling out a new digital tool. Or it’s moving its employees from a dated or excessively expensive piece of software to one that provides more value at the right cost. No matter the specifics, the project they are implementing is just that: a project. 

Program managers, however, think and work one level higher. They oversee larger sets of projects that are usually tied to some greater theme, usually an overarching business goal. Their role requires them to take a higher-level, more strategic view than the project managers they direct, and it’s not hard to understand why. Individual projects come with fixed start and end dates. In contrast, business programs can remain priorities indefinitely, in the same way core business goals often do.

When it comes to employees and the digital workplace, the best program managers concentrate on keeping employee-facing digital projects aligned with the high-level business goals they’re tasked with helping realize. And they’re using the power of a digital adoption solution to do so.

A dynamic approach to programs—and the goals they serve

In extreme cases, a project goal can lose its connection to a broader business goal before it even gets off the ground. That’s because business technology project managers will often argue the business case for a project at the planning stage. Once that initiative gets off the ground and underway, however, it’s easy for it to fall out of alignment as the project evolves and business goals change with time.

To guard against this, business technology program managers should guide their project teams to build and manage digital projects in an agile, iterative way that evolves in step with business and employee needs. 

Iteration is the key to efficiency

Program managers focused on business technology goals should be encouraging more experimentation with ways to best drive digital transformation—empowering employees to adopt software tools and use them in desired ways. This iterative approach leads to better processes for guiding teams through new ways of working, and the digital adoption solution makes this crucial work both easier to execute and more impactful at scale.

The best digital adoption solutions can give business technology program managers an unparalleled view into what’s working to drive transformation—and what isn’t. Not only can they assess how effective various process interventions are against one another—say, two versions of an in-app guide designed to onboard employees to a new process or workflow—they also provide compelling insights via powerful analytics. This data helps program managers understand which applications, processes, and digital transformation projects are providing the most value for the business—and why—so they can make more informed decisions moving forward.  

Better tech results, better business results

A core focus of business technology program managers is on understanding the employee experience and the various wants and needs across an organization’s workforce, then taking the necessary steps to help them be effective at their jobs. 

Here again the best digital adoption solutions empower them to succeed. Pendo’s Cross-App Analytics not only allows program managers to understand how work happens across apps and over time, it also allows them to direct project teams to create targeted, individualized support within and across apps so they can make work better and easier for employees. 

Pendo also helps bring employees into the process. Surveys delivered within the app can collect important feedback that shines a light on the employee experience in a uniquely contextual way because it’s being given where and when work happens. A thriving business relies on thriving employees—and business technology program managers are setting both up for success.

To learn more about how Pendo helps align technology goals with business goals, sign up for a custom demo here.