Program Architecture

A program is an ongoing effort to provide a service or support where needed. Not to be confused with an initiative that requires limited-time efforts and special resources, a program is a part of an organization's structure to achieve a long-term strategy. Creating a program from scratch happens in six phases:

Idea Phase

Validating an idea starts with a solution-driven hypothesis to a real measurable problem. Paul Graham once said, "The most common mistake startups make is to solve problems no one has." Focus groups are a fantastic way to ask questions and test your hypothesis so that you can get honest feedback and avoid the niceties of family and friends. One thing to ask is, "What are the costs of not doing this?"

Building Phase

What do you do with an idea? Ideation is a creative experience. Big ideas, big vision... it's often a phase filled with big everything. The problem with big is that - whatever "it" is - can be overconsuming because it is all too abstract. Putting on your visionary cap can be helpful to use a systematic strategy - "design thinking" - to compile random kitchen napkin notes and colorful whiteboard brainstorms to track tangible, working models to build, test, and launch. Design thinking's origins date back further than you might realize, pre-dating Aristotle. When you get down to it, design thinking is just the scientific method adapted to create products, services, and experiences rooted in human experiences.

Language is power. Clear language saves time, money, and effort. Concisely defining a program's value proposition gives structure and clarity to the program's purpose and can inspire people to support and use the program. Ideas can often be complex and complicated, requiring exceptional planning and resources. Value propositions can trim down complexities and categorize large vision beneficiaries to get the most viable program (MVP) and roadmap. Planning in this building phase also supports values alignment between key early players who will provide vital feedback during early pilots in addition to helping formulate KPIs essential to tracking success.

As you determine stakeholders, the program will begin to form an early identity. Market research will continue to provide a sense of to whom the program belongs, giving it personality. The program will assume its identity and "soul" during the creative phase with a branding kit. A name, core values, colors, and taglines help others feel the program is tangible. Lastly, you will want to identify building blocks to the program along with a calendar of events (that may or may not align or avoid with global, national, or local events). These building blocks might include campaigns, initiatives, and events. Each building block is a purpose block. How does this block serve the program's goals by solving the stated problem and aligning the problem with KPIs?

Prelaunch phase

Where the scientific method excels in understanding objective and quantitative data, design thinking offers a way to collect and understand subjective and qualitative data, such as customer wants, needs, personal histories, and experiences. Program architecture requires constant feedback from stakeholders and straightforward ways of applying this feedback to improve the program and impact results. Without this feedback loop and parameters, you only obtain data.

Prelaunch is not about perfection. It's about information, adaptation, andknowledge. Creating a new program is similar to creating a new business.

You will need to put on your entrepreneur's cap. Your program must answer key questions for each functional area of an organization: compliance and operations, HR/ Team Management, Marketing and Sales, Finance and Accounting, Innovation and Production, and Fundraising and Development. In this prelaunch phase, you focus on each functional area of business along with creating specific and strategic plans:

Measurable Problem, Market Research, Value Proposition, Product Positioning, Reaching the Target Audience, Prototyping, Customer Validation, Go-To-Market Strategy, Launch Plan, Maintenance or Growth Plan, KPIs Plan, and Exit Plan

Each of these strategic plans may require consultation or research to determine the most efficient and impactful ways to deliver your program.

Use these twelve plans to form your Program Architecture or Blueprint. With concise language, you can create a twelve-slide deck or twelve- to twenty-four-page memo that outlines your program architecture in enough detail and focus to make it a reality, generate stakeholder buy-in, and begin pilots.

Iterative Process Phase

Software engineers, scientists, educators, and mathematicians typically apply this Iterative Process phase. Dedicating time to iteration when architecting new programs can incrementally improve them through repeated adjustment cycles. Once your program is in the market (post-launch), you can continue to schedule iterative process phases as a methodology to ensure it meets the evolving needs of your target market.   

Launch Phase

Launching a program is cause for celebration. To get to this point required hours of thinking, planning, testing, and retesting. The launch phase carries with it a sense of accomplishment and confidence. However, managing a program requires a drastic shift in mindset to avoid "shiny object syndrome." This mindset shift is because, to ideate a program, architects must adopt a visionary cap to make it possible to arrive at a launch. After a launch, the program requires an operator's cap. The operator is now tasked with traction channel optimization, engaging the network, market penetration, feedback analysis, iteration preparation, and general program maintenance. Operators are performance-focused, so the program can obtain enough valuable qualitative and quantitative data to measure impact, meaning the solution mindset needs to take a backseat to avoid disruption caused by too much creativity and too quick innovation.

Growth or Maintenence Phase (or Exit)

Once you tackle a successful launch, iterate again, and gain some traction, you may be ready to consider the following steps: growth or maintenance. There may be a third option - exit - if your program is best suited for adoption by another organization or a sunset if it is not performing well. Despite the outcome, the journey from ideation to this final phase is worthy of applause. "Is better die trying than living without doing nothing."- Rudzani Tags

Check out these worksheets and link to Google Sheet planning document to kickstart your Program Architecture planning.