Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010

And of course in BrE, where the term is recognised but not common, it
would be "programme".  It's not computer code.

That is apparently one possibility:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/24/messages/1182.html

    Posted by ESC on October 11, 2003
   
   In Reply to: Get with the Program! posted by Brian from Shawnee on
   October 10, 2003
   
   : I first heard this expression in 1982. I believe it was used by
   members of addiction recovery groups to encourage new members to
   stick to the recovery plan.
   
   I don't know which came first the use of "program" for
   recovery/support groups or the following.
   
   PROGRAM - "Promoting something for one's personal benefit." The
   Mainstream 1960s. From "Flappers 2 Rappers: American Youth Slang" by
   Tom Dalzell (Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, Md., 1996)
   
   "1) A verbal strategy, a scheme or plan of verbal action for
   handling any situation. 'Girlfriend working her program.' Similar to
   'game,' in the sense of a story or 'rap' used to obtain a desired
   end. However, runnin a program can be positive or negative, whereas
   runnin a game is deceptive and manipulative.
   2) The established routine or pattern of something - an
   organization, an event, an activity, etc. 'Yo, git wit the program,
   baby!' (said to a member of an aerobics class who has slowed down
   during an exercise session).
   3) The way you operate, your life style, your way of doing things.
   'Any dude that ain wit my program can go right back where he came
   from cause I'm not havin it.'" From "Black Talk: Words and Phrases
   from the Hood to the Amen Corner" by Geneva Smitherman (Houghton
   Mifflin Co., New York, N.Y., 1994)