According to authors Chuck Thomsen and Sid Sanders, "organizations with continuous building programs produce most of America's buildings," and "the construction industry has quietly and without fanfare changed from a project industry to a program industry." Thomsen and Sanders believe similarities within this process "offer extraordinary opportunities for continuous improvement that will shorten schedules, save money and improve quality."

By analyzing projects in a program to identify similarities and choosing similarities that offer the greatest possibilities for standardization, the authors say program managers can stimulate improvements. They discuss project teams, collaboration and improved contract terms to align the interests of key players. Well- defined projects have fewer delays, lower costs and less conflict, the authors note.

"Program Management 2.0" by Chuck Thomsen and Sid Sanders, 424 pages, CMAA, 2011