Program Life Cycle
Phases, not waterfalls
The program life cycle is the set of phases a program passes through, each ending in a review or gate. The commonly tested structure is Program Definition (formulating the program, building the business case and benefits plan, designing governance, authorizing the program), Program Delivery (authorizing and integrating components, managing interdependencies, tracking benefits delivery), and Program Closure (transitioning benefits to operations, confirming sustainment, releasing resources, capturing lessons).
Program activities - benefits management, stakeholder engagement, and governance - run across all phases; answers that confine them to a single phase are usually wrong. Component projects have their own life cycles and may start and finish at different times inside delivery; the program does not need every component fully planned before the first one launches.
Traps. (1) Treating the life cycle as strictly sequential: phases can overlap, but gates still require deliberate decisions. (2) Confusing program life cycle with product life cycle. (3) Assuming the program manager directs component work - component managers do; the program manager integrates, oversees, and resolves interdependencies. (4) Assuming closure means all projects are done - a program closes after benefits are transitioned and sustainment is confirmed.
Rule of thumb - the gate question. At every phase gate the governance body asks three things: does the business case still hold, are benefits still aligned to strategy, and are risks within tolerance? A 'no' triggers a change request or termination recommendation, not silent continuation.
Worked example. A component project finishes early and the question asks what happens next. The answer is not 'close the program.' The program manager confirms outputs are integrated, checks the effect on dependent components and benefit metrics, and updates the benefits register and transition plans; the program continues until benefits are transitioned and sustained.