MSP is specifically designed to address the most common challenges that organizations encounter when leading investments in change. It is designed to align programmes and projects to organizational strategy and to provide governance.

MSP 5th edition consists of a set of principles, themes, and processes that provide a clear roadmap for the programme lifecycle and ensure successful organizational outcomes:

The 7 principles are the driving requirements that are continually required to achieve value from programme management. The 7 themes help organizations to identify key roles, responsibilities, and give very practical guidance illustrating how MSP can be used according to the reasons for a programme. The 7 processes provide a route through the lifecycle of a programme with an emphasis on the incremental nature of a programme enabling a cyclical progression towards the desired future state.

The MSP 5th edition guidance focuses on flexibility, adaptability, and responsiveness by adopting an incremental approach to the programme lifecycle and thus enabling organizational agility.