Project Management - Q3 - Sep 2018

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SEPTEMBER 2018 BUSINESSANDINDUSTRY.CO.UK PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE Digital disruption has a huge role to play going forward P8

APM’S DEBBIE DORE Project

management has never been a more popular career choice P2

PMO Eileen J Roden and Lindsay

Scott talk careers and the value of an effective PMO for organisations P12

Mark Geoghegan, Defence Equipment and Support “A project manager needs to lead and must be comfortable being in a position that puts them at the very front of a situation” P6

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Project Management

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Change Management Institute Mel Franklin and Gill Perry discuss the importance and influence of change management P4

Defence Equipment and Support 2017 APM Project Professional of the year, Mark Geoghegan, shares his insights from the defence sector P6

Elizabeth Harrin 5 key skills for today’s project management professionals and why we will need project managers with interpersonal skills for many years to come P6

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Chartered status helping to drive new generation to project management Now recognised as an invaluable profession for our economy, project management is increasingly becoming a popular choice for students. Career diversity is driving this interest in the profession according to Debbie Dore, the new Chief Executive of the Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered body for the project profession.

“Project management is such an interesting career opportunity,” she says. “It crosses all sectors.

You could be involved in delivering Glastonbury or the Olympics one year, Brexit the next.”

The days of starting a role at the age of 18 and then being continuously pigeon-holed are numbered. Young people yearn for a more varied and impactful career.

“When we look at research, we find that, commonly, they want to make a difference. Project management is a great environment in which to do that.”

Today, opportunities for project professionals to make a difference by delivering change and benefits are rife. “Government continues to invest about half a trillion pounds in a range of projects from aircraft carriers to hospitals, and relies on the project profession to deliver

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them on time and on budget.

“Success breeds success. People started to believe in the critical role of project management when they started seeing big successful projects, like the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

“The growing impact and size of these projects places them under growing scrutiny from UK and global stakeholders who’ve set an extremely high benchmark when it comes to benefits and value. Continually exceeding this benchmark has gone some way to bolstering the status and visibility of the profession.”

Becoming chartered There’s been a huge interest in the new chartership for project professionals (known by the designation – ChPP).

In the week following the launch of the programme this May, over one thousand visited the official webpage.

That enthusiasm has not waned since: “We have had in excess of 7,000 downloads of the standard guidance to date,” Dore explains. “At the end of October, we will be able to announce the first Chartered Project Professionals, and it will be in the 100s rather than a handful.”

Not only does chartership raise the bar of project professionalism, improving project success delivery and ultimately ensuring that

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Debbie Dore Chief Executive, Association for Project Management

Project management is such an interesting opportunity. You could be involved in delivering Glastonbury one year, Brexit the next. projects benefit the public, it also demonstrates an on-going applied technical knowledge. “Continuous professional development is a condition of the standard. This is an important part for us because of industry changes,” Dore says.

“Every year ChPPs commit to doing a minimum of 35 hours of professional development. That’s a core part of making sure whoever employers recruit has a relevant skill set.”

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Transient economic landscapes need project management “We are living in a world of rapid change, and most of that change stems from a project. Projects need to be delivered professionally so they bring about part, or all, of the change effectively.

“The project management profession is vital to the wider economy and – with Brexit looming – it will have a huge role to play to provide expertise in managing transition. It is a profession that provides skills that are needed now and in the future.”

In times of economic uncertainty, we all have a vested interest in project management. By all accounts, it is likely to shape Britain’s post-Brexit destiny. The move to introduce a chartership that will provide support to project professionals, bolstering both their employability and credibility, certainly comes at the right time.

With the boom in projects set to continue, it’s important that the profession is delivering added value to employers. When they employ a chartered individual, they can be assured that they have met a standard of professional, ethical and developmental competence, which will also flow through to public confidence in the profession over time.

This level of competence will

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allow positive social and economic change, through the delivery of world-class projects. It seems that, as people move away from perceiving project management as behindthe-scenes admin, spreadsheets and updating old processes, this profession will continue to rapidly flourish.

About APM With demand for project managers at an all-time high, the Association for Project Management (APM) became a chartered body in April 2017. It has therefore developed a bench-marking standard for individuals – Chartered Project Professional (ChPP).

Launched in May 2018, the chartered designation (ChPP) is recognised internationally and acknowledges a project professional’s commitment to ongoing development, ethical practice and high standards.

APM is set to welcome the first Chartered Project Professionals in October 2018.

Simon Doherty Read more on apm.org.uk

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How the project revolution will transform management and organisations As routine operations are becoming evermore automated, corporations are looking at bigger, more creative projects to organise their work, open new markets, gain sales opportunities and boost profits.

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he rise of the ‘gig economy’ of short-term contracts and freelance work is the subject of endless discussion these days, but a similar movement towards a ‘project economy’ in the corporate world has gone almost unnoticed, says project management guru, Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez.

Companies are quietly moving emphasis from routine operations such as making, selling and shipping products, to larger, longer and more profitable projects. They still make the products, but they use them in bigger and more creative contexts.

“There has been a disruption, or shift, to companies dedicating more

and more resources in terms of staff and budgets to project activities,” Nieto-Rodriguez says. “Employees and senior executives are devoting more time to projects. However, it’s rarely full-time; it’s on top of their operational roles in finance, marketing, sales, etc.”

Thinking big as productbased companies move into selling projects An exciting approach is to amplify a company’s products into new markets for high-value projects. Philips, for example, is moving from simply building and shipping medical equipment – such as body scanners – to bidding to build whole hospitals. “Why sell a few machines when you can sell a project that spans 20–25 years? I believe that product-based companies will all change into selling projects,” says Nieto-Rodriguez.

The idea may be adopted even at the consumer level, he predicts: “Imagine if Nike applied the same concept; you want to run the London Marathon, so

you go to Nike. Rather than just selling you some trainers, they work with you for the next few years. You buy the shoes, of course, but they will also sell you personal training, nutrition advice and health monitoring.The challenge for companies is to find out how they can get involved with someone for five to ten years and make their dreams happen.”

The emergence of the project economy is also being driven by the rise of robots, which are set to take over some aspects of work, such as production, sales and distribution of mass-produced products. “Very soon, everyone will be doing projects, with automated intelligence (AI) and robots doing the operational, day-to-day activities.

This is already happening in some industries,” he says.

Thinking will have to become change-orientated and flexible The change to a project economy will disrupt the lives of executives brought up in a world of routine and

predictability. “The gig economy is really based on projects that require different skills, especially for executives who today spend maybe 10% of their time on projects and the rest on the day-to-day.This will be radical for them as they will have to spend much more time on change and projects than they do today, which requires a different skill set,” Nieto-Rodriguez says.

The trend will impact project managers as well, forcing them to become more entrepreneurial and business-minded. “In China, I researched how companies like Alibaba are organised, and they are much more project-based. Operations are carried out by technology, so these organisations are very flat. Someone will come along with an idea, and if the feasibility study makes sense, they setup a formal project with a full-time team to create it. Once it has been launched, the same team will lead that business, so project managers (PMs) will look different in the future from what we know today. Future PMs will be entrepreneurs, business people who look at the

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez World Expert in Project Management, Author, Advisor, Professor and Speaker

financials to make sure the idea becomes a profitable business rather than PMs who just create a project and move on to the next project.”

The teamwork needed on projects can make for more rewarding careers The project economy may even make work more rewarding for us humans, Nieto-Rodriguez believes. “The best way to re-humanise work is by projects, like entering a marathon or the Olympics. It brings you closer. You get the best memories when you have been part of a team that did something worthwhile.”

Chris Partridge Catch Nieto-Rodriguez’s next book early next year “The Project Revolution: How to Succeed in a Project-Driven World”

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Progressive, agile projects need change management

Change management is not an afterthought. Intentionally managing change is key to reducing the risk that a project investment is wasted. Benefits come from using the project deliverables to work in a better way. Change management delivers that better way of working.

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rojects are now being evaluated on a wider range of metrics than in the past. Clients have moved from success metrics such as the project being on-time, on-budget and meeting quality criteria to a set of metrics that reflect what has been achieved as a result of the project, not just the final output that the project achieved.

The new success metrics include:

project deliverables into business processes.

This provides significant support to anyone in the business who is being asked to create change alongside their overwhelming list of business-as-usual responsibilities.

One integrated project and change management plan

• Improved customer satisfaction • Improved employee engagement

Melanie Franklin Co-Chair, Change Management Institute UK

Gillian Perry Co-Chair, Change Management Institute UK

• Lower costs • Higher revenue To achieve this, project managers (PMs) have a wider responsibility than just the ‘go-live’ date. It is what happens once the project has launched that matters to clients.

Have things improved? How so? Are things easier? Are they selling more? Have their costs reduced? Change management fills the gap between project launch and realisation of benefits.

Project managers must embrace change management Change management techniques and activities can benefit PMs by: • Enabling easier implementation of outputs from agile projects. PMs can plan the launch of products from each completed sprint as a well-run routine, with everyone clear on exactly how to hand-over products to users.

• Improving risk management to identify the risk of lack of adoption to new ways of working, which seriously impacts benefits.

• Increasing the relationship building ability of the PM as it is the change that clients are trying to achieve, so PMs who share this objective are on the same page as their clients. PMs who can help achieve this new way of working are more valuable than those who just hand over the project deliverables. Projects provide the

Progress in this industry grows our economy and provides skilled jobs for the future. business with the tangible elements of change.

They create outputs, which are the means to change, but on their own they do not generate change. Change management, however, delivers new ways of working. It encourages motivated staff who are willing to work differently.

Thus, project management plus change management creates real change.

Agile project management is changing the game Agile project management means more change is being created, more frequently throughout the project lifecycle. We no longer have a single launch date, with plenty of time to prepare. To avoid getting left behind we must help our customers create new ways of working at the same pace that agile projects deliver.

Change management is risk management Too many projects are deemed to have failed, even when they delivered on time and to budget, as the investment has not generated the expected payback. There is an urgent need to close the gap between the value promised in the business case and the benefits realised.

Integrating change management activities into the project plan is a risk mitigation strategy.

As one of our thought leaders passionately argued: “Resistance to change is the biggest risk to benefits realisation.” Change management activities reduce this ‘benefits risk’ by ensuring

that the project deliverables become a valuable part of organisational change.

Change management makes projects better Change management is not more work for the PM. Change management is a series of carefully curated conversations that generate awareness of the need for change, understanding the benefits of the change and creating the desire to make the change happen. Effective PMs already have these conversations, but this emphasis on creating new ways of working must be captured in the project plan so it can be tracked, just like any other deliverable.

Change management increases credibility of project managers PMs may worry about whether or not they have the credibility and authority to suggest the actions needed for changing business as usual.

Working together, PMs and change managers can help the business understand what steps in the current process will no longer be needed, as well as giving them a description of the new capabilities and constraints that help them re-imagine how they will work.

By overseeing the process of change, the PM becomes a trusted partner to the business, appreciated for their knowledge of how the business can get the best out of the new features. The trusted PM can hear first-hand if there are difficulties in incorporating the

The team need an integrated project and change plan with activities to encourage people to practise new ways of working, build a sense of acceptance for change and participate in opportunities to review and redesign their ways of working.

Measure outcomes not outputs Performance measures need to change. Existing project measures are: • Creating deliverables listed in business case • Achieving deadlines and budgets • Meeting quality criteria In future, there should be a focus on questioning business impact as a design criterion when developing and testing project deliverables.

PMs must ensure that measures, which relate to benefits predicted in the business case, are part of the everyday conversation of how the project is performing.

Resources for managing change As a closer alignment between project management and change management develops, resources from the Change Management Institute, which is committed to providing practical guidance on how to manage change, can help to bring these two branches of management together for successful, benefit-realised projects.

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Delivering transformation s outcomes faster

competition, changing ng Market client needs and evolving behaviours are s customer challenges every business will

k

be familiar with. Remaining relevant in today’s digitalfirst age isn’t easy, but it is both exciting and essential.

Regardless of size, all businesses share the ambition of future-proofing their offering. As the world we live in changes, so must businesses, and so opens the door to transformation.

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ore and more businesses are realising the importance and value of transformation. Digital technologies, together with the right people, bring the opportunity to rejuvenate legacy businesses and drive growth, helping companies stay ahead of the competition and deliver what customers want. A successful transformation is one that looks not only at the needs of today, but also of tomorrow.

delivering change faster, without compromising the quality of outcomes.

Engaging people

Craig McMurrough Head of Consulting, Implementation and Change

Taking an agile approach For a transformation programme to deliver, the right approach needs to be adopted. Flexibility is key and offers the best grounding for outputs to be realised in a responsible and beneficial way. Small or large, businesses will be met with challenges, and they need to have the right technology, tools and people in place to respond effectively.

Agile is an important term when it comes to transformation. Not just a behaviour, agile is a project management technique, which focuses on

Laura Cruikshank Senior Consultant, Implementation and Change

collaboration over bureaucracy and lengthy planning phases. To give a recent example, the results achieved by a large European mobile telephone provider prove its success. The approach enabled rapid development and refinement of improvement tactics without time-consuming mobilisation and diagnostic stages. The organisation was able to assess and evaluate ideas from multiple perspectives, taking technical, social and commercial factors into consideration. A tried-and-tested approach, it provides a structured path to

The right approach will only work with the right people. Culture is an integral part of an organisation, and one that needs to be nurtured. Transformation is difficult to achieve in a culture which is resistant to change, and staff should always be at the heart of transformation to achieve change that lasts. Change needs to happen with people, not to them.

Those leading transformation projects need to understand the culture and behaviour of a business, so change plans can be developed and implemented in a way that complements and enhances the running of an organisation. The right people need to be engaged from the very beginning, and ideas created in collaboration with them. Involvement encourages buy-in, which for a business, is crucial.

It’s not only the people inside an organisation which need to be understood, but also those externally.

Technology has revolutionised the way businesses interact with customers, and organisations must

adapt to continue delivering services which delight. Customers have more control through the increase in ways they can engage with businesses, whether that’s social media, via an app, or through web chat. Organisations in the know on their audiences and open to digital technologies are in the best position to succeed.

A successful transformation relies on a constant focus on knowing what the customer wants. Businesses must combine the building blocks of established, recognised technology with newer solutions to deliver against demand at that moment. Tactics need to be robust, but flexible enough that, if and when needed, they can be adapted for maximum results.

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Elizabeth Harrin FAPM, Author of Project Manager

5 skills project managers need to succeed in 2020

Be a visual communicator Leaders have spoken about the value of communication at work for years, and it is important for project teams. However, being good at writing documents is no longer enough. Great project managers can digest data into visual images, making complex problems easier to understand. Consider using: • • • •

Charts or tables in project reports instead of lots of text Photos and videos to show progress Mind maps to show concepts and requirements Visual task organisation methods like Kanban. As your English teacher might have taught you: “Show, don’t tell.”

Be creative with teamwork Teamwork has moved beyond awkward icebreaker exercises and raft-building days. Project managers are more likely than ever before to be working with a team of varying ages, experience and backgrounds. Be open to listening to the different cultures in the team and look for ways that you can all learn from and embrace your differences.

Try using gamification for a bit of healthy competition where appropriate.

Foster trust Today, project teams come together more quickly and are expected to turn around results faster than ever. You’ve probably got people of different nationalities based in different locations, too.

As a PM, you have to get people to trust that their colleagues are doing the right work, and trust that they’ll hear about things that affect them. We need openness and transparency beyond anything teams have had in the workplace before.

Oh, and you might be doing all this online without ever having spoken in person to those individuals. That brings us to…

Manage remotely, without micromanaging Project managers need to be adept at using technology for collaboration. You can tap into expert resources around the world because there are no location barriers.

However, building relationships with remote project team members takes skill. Help remote colleagues feel part of the bigger picture by involving them in meetings and checking in regularly. Not too much – micromanaging is a big no no. Make sure everyone knows how to use collaboration tools to ensure free flow of ideas and tasks.

Handle curveballs You won’t find ‘handling curveballs’ in management books, but PMs need to adapt and flex. It’s a fast-paced world. Things change. Consider the implications of that change, get on board with it (however annoying it is to have your plans disrupted) and get the team on side too. Then keep moving forward.

As we move further into the 21st Century, more and more of the ‘traditional’ skills like scheduling and risk analysis can be done by smart machines. You can’t (yet) digitise how it feels when a colleague says you are doing a good job, or helps you get through a difficult day at work. We’re going to need project managers with fantastic interpersonal skills for many years to come.

Project management roles in the defence sector are varied and challenging Chinook Project Team Leader, Mark Geoghegan, discusses project management within Defence Equipment and Support, entry points into the career and the skill set required to succeed.

How would you describe your current role?

I’m the Chinook Project Team Leader within Defence, Equipment and Support (DE&S), which is the procurement agency of the UK Ministry of Defence. My job is to enable the Chinook Helicopter Force to deliver its pivotal role for defence.

What examples of project management roles exist in DE&S? We have everything. I mean everything; from relatively new project managers on small items of equipment, right up to portfolio leaders delivering some of the UK’s largest projects. For example, we have teams looking at the sixth generation of fighter jets; the hugely impressive Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers; world-leading chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) technologies; complex weapons and missile systems; air traffic control systems; and, of course, the iconic Chinook Helicopter.

There is a lot to get excited about, a lot to challenge and motivate you and if delivering these projects doesn’t get you out of bed on a cold day, nothing will!

What kind of skill set do you need to be a good project manager?

Firstly, I think that project management is a wide field and is open to a rich and diverse range of skills, experience and abilities. The key for me is being organised, being inquisitive and, most importantly, being passionate about what you do.

Mark Geoghegan Chinook Project Team Leader, Defence Equipment and Support

Anyone who wants to make things better, see a change and make a difference, would suit a PM role.

A project manager needs to lead and must be comfortable being in a position that puts them at the very front of a situation, which can often be an uncomfortable position, so you need to be confident – but not arrogant.

Anyone who wants to make things better, see a change and make a difference would suit a PM role. Likewise, regardless of background, people who are driven to succeed and want to make a difference would gain a great deal of satisfaction in being a project manager.

I have had the benefit of working for and with some amazing project managers, and one thing jumps out at me – they all have a great sense of humour, enjoy being with people and achieving against adversity.

What do you recommend as a good entry point into project management?

Project management is a diverse field, drawing on equally diverse people from all backgrounds and experiences. Although you can absolutely start off your career

Q

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as a project manager, the CivilA: I Service and other industries haveed to embraced the apprenticeship route.age I personally think that havingmen some wider experience first re-a pl ally helps - be it in an engineer-mat ing and technical background ormin business and service background.proj Starting with a grounding and then I h moving into project managementas a really helps and gives an extra layertorie of perspective. man The most important aspect ofmai being a good PM is leading peo-I loo ple. People make a project success-if th ful, tools and techniques help, buthelp team work, empowerment, follow-edge ership and of course leadership are key to the result. Those that have worked in teams before can bring much-needed people orientated skills into working in and delivering complex projects.

A: I cate What are the biggest perks to do of the job? man I have been exceptionally fortunate;focu I have travelled across the worldfirst extensively, across North Ameri-tion ca to the deserts of Jordan. My earnings have allowed me to have the lifestyle that a young lad who started his career on a production shop floor “pushing two buttons,” never thought was realistic.

Despite all of this I have two perks I think of when it comes to my role and what it has given me. Firstly, I met my beautiful wife. If I hadn’t been a project manager in DE&S I never would have met her.

The second point is the daily perk of knowing that what I am doing really makes a difference to the men and women who are defending and protecting our country. These men and women are either using the equipment I have procured, or they are identifying the next generation of improvements for new capabilities to keep people safer – it is incredibly rewarding, humbling and it is this that motivates me every single day.

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How Nadine balanced home life and upskilling for a job in nuclear materials

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A: The course was perfect for my lev-

Nadine Lofthouse Planning Engineer, Sellafield Ltd

Q: Why did you choose the project academy?

el of knowledge. I had come into the project world completely fresh. The course gave me a good overview of all aspects of projects. I gained an understanding of the overall project lifecycle, what is involved in estimating, earned value management, network diagrams, the critical path and what is included in a business case.

Some of the aspects of the course were directly related to my role as a planner so these have already been of huge benefit to me when I’m carrying out my day-to-day role. The other aspects, which are not directly linked to planning, have also been beneficial to me as they have allowed me to have a greater understanding of the processes that go on outside of my role, so I can ask relevant questions and understand how that will impact on me.

CivilA: I changed roles last year and wanthaveed to upskill. I was working as a packute.age planner within waste managevingment and moved into a new role as re-a planning engineer in the nuclear eer-materials area of the business. I had d orminimal background knowledge of und.projects and the way they work. hen I had started my career at Sellafield mentas a chemical analyst in the laboraayertories, before progressing into waste management, where I dealt with A: This qualification would have been t ofmaintenance tasks and breakdowns. very difficult for me to achieve withpeo-I looked to the project academy to see out the project academy. I have two ess-if there were any available courses to small children at home and the fact buthelp me build up my project knowl- that I have been able to undertake this qualification during my working ow-edge and support me in my new role. week means I didn’t have to sacrifice are precious time with my children in have order to progress in my career. It’s ring allowed me to have the best of both ated worlds in my career and home life. verA: I completed a university certificate in project controls. I would love s to do the foundation degree in project management eventually. My plan is to nate;focus on developing in my new role orldfirst and then aim for further educameri-tion using the academy. arnthe SPONSORED tarthop ever

Q: How accessible is the course?

Jamie Reed Head of Development and Community Relations, Sellafield Ltd

“As a partner of the Northern Powerhouse, we are proud to be making innovative interventions to help underpin the UK’s industrial strategy. The Project Academy for Sellafield is one of those interventions, creating a pipeline of skills, improving education in the North, developing entrepreneurship and attracting new investment.

The academy is an exemplar demonstrating the contribution industry can make to the country’s economic future and the exciting vision for the North.”

Q: What course did you do?

rks I and met been ever

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Global economic trends demand broad project management skills

Q: How does that course support your career?

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Wes Robinson Training Manager for Project Delivery, Sellafield Ltd

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he global economy is becoming increasingly project-orientated. The need to train and upskill project managers has never been greater. Traditionally, project managers were most used in sectors such as construction and engineering. However, industries such as professional services and healthcare have begun to utilise project managers to improve efficiency, save time and save money.

This wider appreciation of the role of the skilled project manager has created a talent shortage, highlighted the need for more diversity and revealed concerns over project managers’ mental health.

It has also emphasised that for those already working in the industry or considering project management as a career it is essential they gain experience in different areas.

For example, today’s project manager requires expertise in technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as leadership and business management skills.

Project management needs investment and training to upskill Wes Robinson is training manager for project delivery at nuclear decommissioning company Sellafield. He has worked in project management for 18 years and is well aware of the need to improve and expand training and to upskill and ensure any project workforce is diverse.

He wants to attract more apprentices into the industry, and this month, the University of Cumbria will become the first site to offer a degree Level 6 Apprenticeship. The Level 4 Associate Project Manager Apprenticeship has already been taken up by around 800 people.

“Interest in project management as a career is growing but the industry needs stability and investment in terms of training and skills to boost awareness of everything from project effectiveness and risk management

Fast facts – Sellafield Project Academy

to planning and control and engineering,” says Robinson.

This Level 6 Apprenticeship has been designed with the global nature of today’s project management industry firmly in mind. It was devised by Sellafield and other leading employers including BAE Systems, British Airways, Rolls-Royce and Transport for London.

Mental health training is important in project management As the project management sector tackles a skills shortage, those working in it face heavier workloads and more components that could be a source of mental fatigue. The importance of offering training to help protect people’s mental health cannot be overestimated.

“Being a project manager in any industry can be a stressful job. There must be training around time management, for example, which is very important, especially for apprentices.”

Encouraging more diversity will also help to plug the skills gap. Companies need to encourage more women into project management and recruit from different social backgrounds.

Robinson says there is a 50/50 split when it comes to hiring apprentices and he encourages all companies to widen their recruitment net.

“Diversity is crucial to bring in different ideas and perspectives when working on projects,” he says. “Among our apprentices you do find that many 19-year-old women are more organised than the 19-year-old men, but the males often have more leadership experience.”

Robinson set up the Project Academy for Sellafield in 2016 to provide the specialist education, training and professional qualifications necessary to deliver complex and challenging projects. The Academy is being used by Rolls-Royce as a benchmark for its own training school being launched in Derby.

For more information, search Sellafield prospectus 2018/19

1.

Over 500 individuals currently enrolled

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93% pass rate

2.

1,390 students since launch in April 2016

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3.

Students include staff from 16 supply chain companies

First academy in the UK to offer university certificates in Project Scope Baseline Management

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Over 30 schemes available from one-day introductions to PhDs

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Highly commended at the Daily Telegraph Educate North Awards

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£350k saved on project training and education within the first two years

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Top 13

disruptors in project management Disruptive technologies ranked by total impact among our survey respondents:

1.

Cloud solutions

2.

IoT (Internet of Things)

3.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

4.

5G mobile internet

Harnessing disruption for competitive advantage

D

isruption is universal.

It is happening at a faster pace than ever before, altering markets, creating new competitors, and forcing change across industries — even those long considered immune. According to Project Management Institute’s (PMI) report, 91% of organisations are feeling the impact of disruptive technologies. Those that are not currently experiencing the impact are preparing for disruptive technologies to change their business over the next five years.

Poor project performance is wasting millions This wave of disruption calls for organisations to design new strategies, establish new priorities, and rely onsuccessful implementation of the projects that will drive the change that is needed. An Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey supported by the BrightlineTM Initiative revealed that 59% of senior exec-

utives admit that their organisations often struggle to bridge the gap between strategy design and its practical day-to-day implementation.

Only one in 10 organisations is able to successfully deliver all of their strategic objectives. One of the negative effects of this gap between design and delivery is evident in PMI’s Pulse research, which found that for every £1 billion UK organisation invest in projects and programs, £108 million is wasted due to poor performance.

6.

Building information modelling (BIM)

7.

Advanced robotics

8.

3D printing

9.

Blockchain

10.

Autonomous (self-driving) vehicles

11.

Large-scale energy storage

12.

Innovative organisations are developing new ways to work to gain competitive advantage. Our research shows that an average of 71% of the projects of innovators — organisations that have a mature digital transformation strategy, are risk tolerant, and have adopted and made disruptive technologies a priority — meet the original goals or business intent.

Innovate in tech and software to get ahead Nevertheless, there are organisations that are thriving in these turbulent times. For example, Caterpillar and Deere & Co. are evolving as major tech players, and DuPont is now providing software and analytics tools to help farmers improve efficiency, profitability, and sustainability. Even municipalities like the City of Amsterdam are investing in 3D-printing to construct bridges.

Mark A. Langley President and CEO, Project Management Institute

5.

Voice-driven software

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Innovators in our research commit to project excellence by: Using disruptive technologies to their benefit

Embracing the value delivery landscape

Innovators are leveraging disruptive technologies to encourage greater efficiency and automation, increase productivity, promote the development of better products and services, automate mundane tasks, advance innovation, and drive better decision-making.

As innovators look to compete in future ways of working, they are using the full spectrum of competencies that enable organisations to deliver their projects and programs — what we call the value delivery landscape. It includes all approaches to project delivery — predictive, iterative, incremental, agile, hybrid and next practices (future approaches). Adopting a value delivery landscape mindset allows organisations to minimise risks, control costs, and increase value by selecting the approach that best fits the needs of the project and the organisation.

Elevating the project manager The role of the project manager continues to expand.

It will remain essential for project managers to bring expertise in traditional functions, but innovators believe that the role of the project manager will evolve to one that advocates for the technology, motivates teams to implement and supervises course corrections.

Innovative organisations are developing new ways to work to gain competitive advantage.

Establishing a supportive culture Some innovators embrace a startup mindset as they expand their traditional portfolios and launch projects in new sectors. For example, household appliance innovator Dyson announced a project investment to develop an electric car by 2020, and furniture manufacturer IKEA veered into the tech realm, developing software for a series of connected lighting products and launching a new augmented reality-shopping app.

Gene sequencing

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Genomics SOURCE: PMI’S NEXT PRACTICES: BENEFITS OF DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES ON PROJECTS (2018)

It will not be enough to simply embrace today’s best practices. Organisations will also need to lean into what we call “next practices” — the tools, techniques, and processes that encompass what is likely to come in the years ahead.

These include a range of dynamic practices that leading organisations are embracing — design thinking, DevOps, cognitive computing, and more. Every organisation must adapt to change or risk being disrupted by competitors they may never see coming.

For more information, visit pmi.org/uk

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7 lenses of transformation 7 Lenses is a simple tool to guide your organisation’s transformation journey created by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) and Government Digital Service (GDS). It is a result of extensive collaboration between colleagues from across government who have first-hand experience in leading large-scale transformations, supported by external experts.

Peter Taylor Head of Global PMO and Author/Speaker

GET CONNECTED AND GET SOCIAL TO BE SUCCESSFUL ‘Business agile’ is the approach of providing greater flexibility and faster decision-making in the modern business world.

It is increasingly apparent that organisations now rely on faster levels of change. That means more projects and that, in turn, requires a closer connection between executive leaders and the project delivery community.

Leading executives, it seems, sometimes do too little about such business evolution and strategy implementation. They do not apply the appropriate level of attention to such critical organisational change, and often relegate sponsorship and leadership to lower management. While they get on with their day jobs they are, in fact, anything but business agile.

1 2 3

How to get fired at the C-level A four-year study by LeadershipIQ.com identified a striking statistic after interviewing 1,087 board members from 286 public, private, business and healthcare organisations that fired, or otherwise forced out, their chief executive. The number one reason CEOs were fired was ‘mismanaging change’.

The consequences of a lack of business agility Beyond potentially losing your job (at the C-level, anyway), the impact of not being business agile can be serious. The business can lose pace with competitors and market challengers, and even with rising regulatory compliance in some industries.

Business agility can only be achieved with a move towards more social project management, i.e. decentralised control and greater collaboration, supported by strong and engaged executives and a focused and accurate representation of the portfolio.

To be truly successful in delivering change, and therefore strategic intention achievement, every organisation must: • Understand the reality of their change investment and the associated business and personal/individual impact • Take up, willingly and effectively, the ownership of such change programmes at the C-level • Invest in professional leadership for this change with skilled and experienced project sponsors and project managers • And connect all the above three – in this case two out of three is bad!

This connection – executives through sponsors to project deliverers utilising modern, social connection tools – gives a solid foundation for true ‘business agility’, which is the only effective way to manage at faster levels of organisational change, against which businesses need to deliver.

Find more on thelazyprojectmanager.com

4

Vision Do you have a clear and aligned vision of the desired outcome?

The vision creates the case for change and describes the user’s needs the social and policy outcomes of the transformation. It defines how the organisation will operate.

Design How will the organisation be configured?

Having a coherent design is important because complex transformations need a view of how the whole picture fits together to deliver the vision.

Collaboration Are you collaborating with all affected stakeholders?

Successful outcomes can only be achieved when people across organisational boundaries are doing the right work at the right time.

5 6 7

Accountability Is it clear who is accountable?

Accountability is about clearly defining the roles within the organisation and the transformation - knowing who is ultimately accountable for what, empowering people to deliver and holding them to account, internally and externally.

People Are you supporting people to change the way they work?

Engagement starts with those people who are affected by the programme and those that are supporting the transformation.

Leadership Have you got the right leadership skills in place?

Lo Transformation leadership is about creating h the right amount of uncertainty to generate productive organisational distress.

Planning Do you have plans set out in realistic delivery phases?

This helps you to understand where you are heading and have a way to measure that the transformation is on track, while understanding how any critical services will be sustained during the change.

Transformation in government Collectively we are delivering a set of transformation projects that will realise almost £50 billion of long-term benefits for citizens.

•

Total: 53 programmes.

•

Involving 12 government departments and agencies.

•

Including more than 100 new digital services.

Transformation projects improve citizens’ interactions with the state and their access to vital public services.

They help transform people’s lives for the better.

Examples of projects •

The Digital Census programme provides vision for a fully digital Census by 2021.

•

The Digital Services at the Border programme will transform the way we ensure safe and efficient movement of people and goods.

•

The National Crime Agency Transformation programme will bring together multiple systems across police forces, helping to identify, prevent and tackle organised crime even quicker.

•

The Making Tax Digital programme will enable people to report and calculate their taxes online.

About the IPA: The IPA is the centre of expertise for infrastructure and major projects. We support the successful delivery of all types of infrastructure and major projects, ranging from railways, schools, hospitals and housing to defence, IT and major transformation programmes.

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Managing long-term projects by short-term goal-setting

Long-term project management demands commitment to a long-distance goal. Sarah Smithson motivates ting her team by providing clear day-to-day tactical direction while navigating long-term strategic objectives erate and ensuring that every member of her team feels empowered to reach their potential.

T

here can be few industries that require project managers to combine patience with diplomacy and communication skills so well as the defence industry. It is these soft skills that Sarah Smithson believes will ensure the young people training in project management will progress to management level at missile systems manufacturer, MBDA. As a Business and Project Management Executive at MBDA she is wellplaced to observe how these attributes, combined with hard work and training, are crucial to the success of projects that can last anything from 10 to 40 years.

In these long-term projects, no project manager is expected to oversee a new system from cradle to grave.

Instead each project manager is required to make sure incremental steps are taken on time, and to budget, to keep long-term plans on track.

“Much of my role is getting the balance right between long-term thinking and pushing a project forward,” she explains.

“Any project manager will know the natural tension between future-proofing what you are working on today with the need to keep a ss- project moving forwards to deliver ng it on time and to budget. To do that, I need to work closely with my chief

engineer, each project’s management team and multiple stakeholders throughout the business, such as engineering, commercial, finance and procurement. It’s a varied mix.

Then there is obviously the customer and their broader sponsors , who are paying for the new capability,” says Smithson.

“It is the ultimate project management challenge; being able to communicate well with people and take them along with you so, everyone is singing from the same proverbial hymn sheet.”

A larger sense of purpose drives the team Keeping teams involved in the minutia of a long-term project so it is kept on track and within budget may sound like a tall order when nobody is likely to be involved for more than part of the project length. It is helped through team-wide understanding of the greater purpose of coming into work each day, Smithson maintains.

“As a project manager at MBDA you always have to bear in mind that we are all a part of a very important process that defends our nation’s freedoms,” she says.

“MBDA is the only European group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of

exactly what it says on the tin and be delivered at the right time, at the right cost, to the right specifications.”

Flexible roles attract diverse talent

Sarah Smithson Business and Project Management Executive, MBDA

I suspect some women may have felt in the past that defence is a male industry but that’s changing. current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). So, at some point in the future, our armed forces are going to need us to have done our jobs to make sure they have the best equipment at their disposal. That equipment must do

Smithson is very optimistic about the future. Although there is still some work to be done to achieve the right balance of diversity at the senior levels within MBDA UK, she feels the business is doing all it can do to provide a flexible working environment which will ensure the best female and male talent is attracted and retained.

She has certainly never felt held back or constrained in her career path. She joined MBDA after university, working initially in facilities management roles before getting her break as a project manager a decade ago. With a new role within the main business came more responsibility but also plenty of training to ensure she was fully qualified for her developing career. She would have no hesitation in recommending her career, and employer.

“I think things are really improving in gender balance because project management, to me at least, is one of those areas where the soft skills so many women naturally have, or have developed, are so vital,” she says.

“I suspect some women may have felt in the past that defence is a male

industry but that’s changing. I can safely predict, from all the young women I’m seeing rise through the ranks, that MBDA is doing all it can to make sure the best person for the job is selected, Irrespective of gender.

I am certainly enjoying a rewarding and successful career where I’ve taken two bouts of maternity leave and have seen many male colleagues who have taken paternity leave too.”

“Flexible working will give young people the confidence to apply for roles within MBDA and encourage them to stay if they choose to raise a family,” says Smithson. It is by attracting and then, crucially, retaining top talent, she predicts, that the company can expect to continue its work in achieving a more gender-balanced workforce that will rise through the ranks and bring greater diversity at managerial levels.

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What is a PMO? A PMO is a department or business unit within an organisation that enables decision making and provides delivery support for projects,

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programmes and portfolios. PMOs come in many shapes and sizes.

It can support project managers in the delivery of projects (a Project Management Office) and programme managers delivering programmes (a

Building a career in PMO

Programme Management Office). It can also support the senior executives in managing an organisation’s entire portfolio of programmes and projects, too, by facilitating the decisions around which programmes

Level two roles In level two, roles, such as the PMO Analyst, they can be supporting projects, programmes or portfolios. With a deeper understanding of how PMOs can bring value to an organisation through different functions and services, such as governance, risk management, prioritisation - the PMO practitioner can draw on development from both AXELOS’ P30® and AIPMO’s certifications. The former focuses on PMO frameworks and the services offered; the latter focuses on a more practical approach to service selection, design and implementation.

and projects are initiated. This type of PMO is often referred to as a Portfolio Office or an Enterprise PMO. The PMO is also the place where standards, processes, methods and tools for delivery are designed, creat-

There’s never been a better time to work in a PMO

Level three and four roles Lindsay Scott Director of PMO Learning, Founder of PMO Flashmob & The PMO Conference

What’s fascinating about working in a PMO is the sheer breadth and depth of roles available for people looking to carve out a long-term career. Not only is the PMO a place for those new to project management to gain experience, it’s also a place, for example, for a programme manager to move on and lead an organisation’s entire portfolio of programmes and projects - and lots of roles in between.

W

With levels three and four comes the management and leadership roles of PMO. Heading up programme offices, developing portfolio offices or leading enterprise level PMOs needs an in-depth knowledge and experience of what makes a PMO successful.

The BCS certification PPSO Advanced Practitioner is aimed at those managing project, programme or portfolio offices, as is the AXELOS P3O® Practitioner.

For senior leaders in Enterprise PMOs, the AIPMO IPMO-Expert certification is the most advanced learning and development option available.

To forge a successful, long-term career in PMO – moving from a supporting to leading role – needs practitioners who are passionate about seeing project management thrive in organisations.

ith this diversity available there are plenty of skills, knowledge and experience to be developed – from reporting and data management to portfolio management; facilitation to leadership; from minute-taking to restructuring the enterprise framework for project delivery.

There are four recognised career levels for those working in a PMO. With level one, the entry level Project Administrator and Project Support Officer works closely with the Project Manager and team. Building up skills in planning, reporting and secretariat, these roles are well supported by the knowledge gained through the British Computer Society’s (BCS) PPSO Essentials certification.

This level of PMO work is an ideal place to break into project management work.

ed and maintained. This is often called a Centre of Excellence.

many industries for many years in various forms, from the purely administrative support function through to delivering essential reporting and/or undertaking effective project controls and governance. Their role has not always been understood and their value often questioned (as reports and research has confirmed in recent years).

However, the tide has turned. While organisations recognise the value of projects (and even programmes and portfolios), they do present organisations with a whole host of challenges that sit outside the role of individual project managers who are busy delivering projects (with a greater or lesser degree of success).

5 questions organisations ask about projects: • “When is a project a project? When does a piece of work need to be formally managed as a project?”

Eileen J Roden Consulting Director of PMO Learning, Lead Author of P3O® Best Management Practice

The term ‘project’ is now used in everyday conversation to refer to almost any activity that has a start, middle and end, be that at home, at school or at work. This coincides with a much greater awareness and understanding in organisations of the benefits of using projects to deliver changes into the organisation and externally to their customers.

P

rojects are ubiquitous! You can’t get away from them. For example, HS2, or a business change project we’re currently managing or perhaps the rollout of a new IT system.

This explosion of projects has seen a huge increase in project management roles and the desirability of those roles.

What is also becoming understood by organisations is the need and value of an effective PMO as the central, beating heart of the project ecosystem; that part of the organisation that provides guidance and support to all those involved in the delivery of project and programmes, from senior executives to end users and customers.

PMOs are not new. They have been around in

1.

Understand what the business needs from the PMO. Provide the functions and services that add the most value and give the biggest return on investment.

2.

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Learn everything there is to know about project, programmes and portfolio management - then understand everything there is to know about PMOs. There is new research and insights emerging all the time; use it.

3.

• “How should the project be delivered?

What methodology should we use? What governance is required?”

• “How do we decide which projects need to be done?”

• “How many projects are currently being delivered across the organisation?

Are they delivering the benefits we expected?”

• “What individual competence and organisation capability need to be developed to improve the success of project delivery in our organisation?”

An effective PMO provides the focus, processes, tools and expertise to support the organisation in addressing all of these.

The role and scope of PMOs is no longer being pushed by enthusiastic PMO professionals but demanded by senior executives within organisations. The PMO is now recognised as essential, not just for project success, but for the organisation’s success.

What a challenge!

Those of us who have been working in PMOs for many years are excited by the opportunity this brings to professionalise the roles and career path for PMO professionals.

Build a strong, well-skilled and passionate PMO team. Create principles and values, manage with a ‘servant leadership’ ethos ( the idea that you should be willing to support the greater good even if it means temporarily sacrificing yourself or your ideas.

It embraces the concept that meeting the needs of others is what allows communities and businesses to reach their full potential) and create a committed, high-performing team.

4.

Don’t neglect your behavioural and interpersonal learning and development. Businesses need PMO leaders who can lead, communicate, negotiate and influence. Working with people across the business needs advanced business management skills.

5.

Understand if you’re a builder or a grower. If you prefer to set up PMOs rather than the longer-term role of growing and maturing a PMO - find your niche and go with it.

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Richard White Event Director, Project Challenge

Facing project challenges

Accountable project managers are needed for challenges in 2019 Rebuilding the Houses of Parliament is arguably one of the biggest and most complex projects ongoing in the UK today. If the Palace of Westminster were social housing, it would have been condemned long ago due to asbestos, crumbling infrastructure, subsidence and animal infestations, plus a hundred other issues. But, as a UNESCO world heritage site, central to the UK’s democracy and tourism industry, this enormous building must be renewed brick by brick – all while the operations of government continue, somehow, in the background.

Added to this is renewed talk of creating a pedestrianised zone near the building to prevent terror attacks. David Hemming, Parliament’s Deputy Managing Director of Strategic Estates, is part of the team leading the painstaking and undoubtedly expensive renewal job. But while politicians, architects and advisors chew over this thorny issue, projects of all descriptions face their own sets of challenges. Across the UK, organisations are implementing IT updates, employee benefits packages, product launches and office relocations.

Many projects have an international profile, extended timelines, or incorporate disparate teams that must work together seamlessly to hit their objectives. This can prove difficult at a time when the world is facing unprecedented political and socio-economic turbulence.

Brexit, the Trump effect, new tariffs, currency fluctuations and freak weather events are all rocking the project management environment in 2018. Projects continue to be challenging and the expectations of board-level directors are as high as ever.

Project management is at a crossroads in 2018. The task of fulfilling objectives has never been more complicated, yet transparency and reporting standards mean that project, programme and portfolio managers are accountable from launch to completion.

Projects with a lack of preparation will find they are quickly exposed.

Projects that are organised and methodical will hit deadlines and deliver on budget.

About Project Challenge David Hemming will reveal how he plans to rebuild the Houses of Parliament in a keynote presentation at Project Challenge, the UK’s biggest project management show, taking place at London Olympia on 9-10 October. Project Challenge, which is free to attend, offers 40 seminars on different aspects of the conundrum, ranging from change management to training, via agile, resource management, benefits and PMO development. In short, everything project managers need to deliver in a changeable world.

There are also more than 50 exhibiting organisations on hand to introduce the latest developments in project management products and services, including software, training and literature.

Project Challenge is the best place to discover how you can guide projects in 2018.

For more info, visit: projchallenge.com, or call: 01256 762460

Construction project management needs uniformity in international standards

C

onstruction workloads in the UK are continuing to rise. Project management in this area not only occupies a central role in development and driving successful completion of projects, but recent constructionrelated tragedies have also highlighted the need for better management of both new-build and maintenance schemes. While there are many other challenges in construction, adoption of consistent and global construction standards would allow better management of projects, and would also give the UK a boost in attracting investment into vitally needed infrastructure projects.

Reducing risk At present, there is a lack of uniformity in how construction and infrastructure projects and costs are measured and reported around the world, which can provide risks.

Ultimately, better management of schemes will depend on better decision-making regarding the complex tradeoffs between design, cost, quality and whole life considerations. In order for this to occur, these decisions depend upon better information and the need for standards to collect and compare data.

Common, international standards make decisionmaking simpler The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) set standards for its professionals in the industry, and chartered quantity surveyors – experts in the financial management of construction – commit to working to the best practice through RICS standards. They are often responsible for managing construction projects, and they also ensure the economic optimisation of construction projects through a process of prediction, control and challenge.

As construction becomes more global, both in terms of funding and implementation, international learning through common international standards becomes

organisations developing and implementing international standards for benchmarking, measuring and reporting construction project cost.

Alan Muse Global Director of the Built Environment, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

more important and ensures better information for investment decisions.

Clear standards against which professionals can perform their duties, eliminate ambiguity and promote best practice. They also help to ensure clients receive objective advice, delivered in a professional manner, with a consistent approach, and they provide clients with benchmarks by which to gauge services when employing professionals.

Standards in construction RICS chartered quantity surveyors adhere to the RICS ‘Black Book’. It promotes best practice and guarantees clients receive objective advice with a consistent approach. .

Aside from the ‘Black Book’, professionals should also adopt and be aware of International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS). ICMS is a high-level international standard that aims to provide greater global consistency in the classification, definition, measurement, analysis and presentation of construction costs at a project, regional, state or national/ international level. The standard has already been adopted by many leading global construction consultancies including Arup, Arcadis and Turner & Townsend.

The standard has been written by a group of independent industry experts, and the International Construction Measurement Standards Coalition (ICMSC) is a growing group of more than 40 global professional

Why adopt international standards?

The sector’s growth means there is an increasing need for effective project management. That growth fuels the need for more trusted, skilled and regulated professionals and the accurate reporting of costs. This is critical not only in terms of attracting investors, but also for assessing the economic viability of projects and maximising their impact.

Widespread adoption of ICMS in the construction market here could provide the UK with a real competitive advantage and also provides global consistency in reporting; the kind of consistency that inward investors increasingly demand, and government projects need.

Equally, project managers in construction need a strong understanding that ethical behaviour leads to better business outcomes.

Construction projects involve large financial transactions and a professional approach is required to objectively assess and decide the right course of action. International Ethics Standards (IES) provides best practice and is clear and very transparent about what professional ethics should be.

To succeed in project management, these skills and behaviours need to be augmented with high-quality soft skills in communication, negotiation and motivation.

Bringing all this together results in a chartered project management surveyor who can add value and allow more certainty and transparency in the construction process. This will bring further investment to an industry that needs to deliver a huge programme of work if societies are going to benefit from modern, reliable and sustainable housing and infrastructure.

See more at businessandindustry.co.uk

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Project management sector gets to grips with emerging technology With the developments in technology relating to things like 3D printing, artificial intelligence and blockchain, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the science fiction books that you read as a child were actually rather understated.

I

t’s hard to think of an aspect of society that’s quite as transient as the field of emerging technologies. It’s a sector that is evolving and expanding at an ever-increasing rate.

With the developments in technology relating to things like 3D printing, artificial intelligence and blockchain, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the science fiction books that you read as a child were actually rather understated.

Complex projects need efficient, goal-setting project mangers Given the complex nature of research and development involving emerging technologies and the number of stakeholders involved, it’s unsurprising that project management now plays a central role.

Dr Larissa Suzuki, a multidisciplinary computer scientist and project manager, is currently conducting research at London’s Global University. While attesting to the crucial nature of the role of project management in the process of technological advancement, she notes that it’s not without its challenges.

“You have to bring a lot of experts .uk and stakeholders together,” she

says. “You also have to involve the ‘customer’, like patients if it’s in the field of medicine or people who will be using this new piece of technology in their line of work. It has to be done in a very efficient way so that you can establish a timeline, set specific goals, create the strategy to achieve them and outline clear KPIs. Then you can measure if you are accomplishing your mission.”

Multifaceted projects need united stakeholder management Despite the far-reaching societal implications of emerging technologies and their potential to change society for the better, current project initiatives haven’t always got it right. They have mainly addressed data platforms as single and disjointed ICT development projects.

The problem with this approach is that it disregards stakeholders, data and crucial technology needs.

Consequently, such initiatives are susceptible to failure due to inadequate stakeholder input, information fragmentation and overload.

This can leave projects at risk of limiting themselves both in scalability and future-proofing

multifaceted approach going forward. Effective coordination, systematic system design and established project management frameworks must now come to the forefront to ensure the effectiveness of future projects in this fluid field.

Dr Larissa Suzuki Computer Scientist, Project Manager, Ambassador of the Institution of Engineering and Technology

Everybody needs to be part of the process at all times; everyone has a role. against technological, commercial and legislative change. Which, in the world of tech, seem to occur every other week.

Suzuki believes that the tech industry needs to reflect on these past pitfalls to create a more

All stakeholders have a role to play; project managers must encourage this “You need to not only coordinate materials and methods well but coordinate stakeholders well,” she says. “Everybody needs to be part of the process at all times; everyone has a role. A lot of uncertainties can emerge during the execution of projects involving emerging technologies; by the nature of the field the stakeholders could change at any time.”

“Project managers working on important technology have a responsibility to ensure that the right questions are asked at the beginning and [that they are] stuck to: What do we want to achieve?

When do we need to achieve it by?

How will we measure success?

It can be easy to get distracted during the project. To get caught up and make decisions without thinking, ‘Is this really contributing to our goal?’”

The future lies in project managers’ hands As science broadens our understanding of the world, new technology shapes our lives more and more. A future in which we could make clean energy from safely-extracted natural gas, use advances in stem cell research to help us regenerate healthy tissue after an injury and use machinelearning tools to accelerate education, is within our grasp.

How long we will wait for these advances will be down to the success of highly scalable and interconnected technological projects. The effectiveness of these projects will, by all accounts, depend upon project managers and their ability to create the perfect equilibrium between the needs of experts, teams, managers and all other stakeholders.

Simon Doherty

Read more at businessandindustry.co.uk

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