IT Program Management Defined

Program management is now an official career field for federal information technology, according to standards issued Thursday by the Office of Personnel Management.

The updated standard follows up on a draft proposal OPM released for public comment in March. The final standard expands the definition of project manager to specify "work that involves managing one or more major multi-year IT initiatives of such magnitude that they must be carried out through multiple related IT projects."

The classification standards says an IT program manager "coordinates, communicates and integrates and is accountable for the overall success of the program, ensuring alignment with critical agency priorities. They are responsible for ensuring the work efforts achieve the outcome specified within the agency's business strategy, including appropriate strategic, life cycle management and capital IT investment plans."

Classification and job grading standards are used to determine the pay plan, series, title and grade for most federal workers. The program manager title joins the titles of IT project manager and IT specialist in the IT Management 2210 series.

In December, federal CIO Vivek Kundra unveiled a 25-point implementation plan for reforming federal IT, which called on OPM to take steps to significantly enhance the supply of IT program managers, including creating a career path to attract and reward top performers.