PM Magazine - Fall 2020 Issue 14

FALL 2020 / ISSUE XIV

PM

magazine

SPRING 2019 | PM magazine A PUBLICATION BY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY’S GRADUATE PROGRAM IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

MANAGING PROJECTS DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC PROCUREMENT AND BUDGET MANAGEMENT ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY DURING AN UNCONVENTIONAL PHASE PAGE 5

ADAPTATION FUNCTIONING OPTIMALLY DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC PAGE 2

CYBERSECURITY AN EMERGING NECESSITY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT PAGE 8

PM Magazine

PM magazine | FALL 2020

CONTENTS

EDITORIAL MESSAGE

What was once thought to be a time-limited crisis event has now turned into an ongoing exercise in team resilience, tenacity, and innovation. The landscape has changed for the world, how we work, and how we care for our co-workers, friends, and family.

As I mentioned in the last edition, we are still in the realm of unknown-unknowns and continuing our work by using the most innovative and flexible methods possible to account for our new environment. This fourteenth edition is truly the first “all-virtual.” production of the PM Magazine. The students undertaking this virtual production have used all of their talents, resources, and skills to bring this magazine to fruition.

So with that said, welcome to the fourteenth issue of Morgan’s Project Management (PM) magazine, a magazine designed by the Masters of Science in Project Management students as part of their capstone course requirement. Keeping in mind the pandemic environment and all of the challenges that have come with it, the theme chosen this year is “Managing Projects During a Global Pandemic”. This is meant to offer great recommendations that all can use to survive in a virtual world and has key nuggets of information on processes, tools and techniques to help make a project manager’s task easier.

The team for this Fall 2020 issue consists of a small but mighty team of five. It includes Oluwashade Ajibade, Anmar Alshatry, Olufisayo Kuforjii, Amber Moreland, and Chiamaka Okonkwo. These students worked throughout a twelve-week period in a virtual environment to produce this edition. The articles consider procurement purchasing, stakeholder engagement, team activities, collaboration included, and maintaining efficient cybersecurity as we all work remotely.

We hope that you find our edition timely and it provides you with actionable strategies to help combat the challenges that you have in our “new working world”. Please enjoy our magazine.

Message from the Editor Monica Kay, D.B.A., PMP

Message from Contributing Authors

Oluwashade Ajibade, Anmar Alshatry, Olufisayo Kuforiji, Amber Moreland, and Chiamaka Okonkwo

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Turning the Corner of Schedule Management: The Pandemic vs Project Management – Sunday Aina, PMP

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Adaptation: Functioning Optimally During a Global Pandemic – Dion Golatt, Sr., CSM, ARPM

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From Risk Management to Crisis Management A Likely Pair – Dr. Monica Kay, PMP

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Stakeholder Engagement in a Virtual World – Tosin Sule

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Procurement and Budget Management: Answering the Questions of Demand and Supply During an Unconventional Phase – Yahaira Infante

Dr. Monica N. Kay, PMP Adjunct Professor, Morgan State University Editor, 14th Edition MSU PM Magazine

MESSAGE FROM CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS Over the last two years, our cohort has grown to have a greater understanding of the world of project management. As we bring this phase of our education to a close this semester, we stop to reflect on the events that have led us here. By 2020, we have endured a journey that none of us could foresee happening, the spread of COVID-19 through not only the United States, but through the world. Businesses around the globe have been greatly affected due to the pandemic. To tackle and manage disruptive and unforeseen events, project managers have had to find ways to evolve, adapt, and carry on with successful project delivery. However, in a crisis such as what we have seen in 2020, many project managers have been faced with new challenges and uncertainties.

Such challenges included companies and project teams going from face-to-face working environments to a total virtual work environment. With this came the need for new ways to communicate effectively with team members and stakeholders.

The pandemic has affected how and where work is done and has had a great impact on the meaning of crisis management. In addition, the pandemic has ensured that organizations pay attention to cyber security to protect data stored and accessed remotely, thus introducing new risks. During the course of this semester, we have learned to actively face the challenges of COVID-19 as it took away our in-class experience. We have had to rely on our virtual communication skills to get through this process. It was not a crystal stair getting to this point, but we made it through and are proud of what we

Team Development: Recruiting 6 Project Lessons During an Atypical Period – Carla Traci Preston

7 Effectively Managing Projects to

Scale Through Unprecedented Times – Michael Pearse

8 Cybersecurity: An Emerging

Necessity in Project Management –John Jacob

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have achieved. In creating this 14th edition of the PM Magazine, the process has shown that project management must evolve to the changing dynamics the pandemic has presented. The lessons learned from this magazine reveals strategic ways to improve future projects as we continue to navigate our new normal.

Project Management in the Era of COVID-19 – Rob Testerman, PMP, CSM, MCP Diverse Landscapes in the Midst of a Global Pandemic and Moral Crisis: How Global Law Firms are Coping – Alyssa Eskra, MS

Contributing Authors,Student Biographies Photos and Graphic Design by Sydney Nicole Kay

FALL 2020 | PM magazine

TURNING THE CORNER OF SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT THE PANDEMIC VS. PROJECT MANAGEMENT COVID-19, the pandemic that has rocked the better part of 2020, has not been fair to the Sunday Aina, PMP United States economy, and Senior IT Project neither has it been to the world Manager of Information Technology (IT) project management. In the Exelon Corporation project management world, COVID-19 is what we call the “unknown unknown” which no one foresees. Upon the full outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in March 2020, my software design and implementation project were significantly impacted.

Developers and contractors could not meet on-site anymore, and did not install on-premise servers and databases before their due dates. We lost efficiencies due to changes in work patterns as resources were forced to fully work from home and cater to their families at the same time. Our estimated activity durations were affected, which resulted in falling behind schedule on the project’s critical milestones (PMI vs.PMBOK, 2017). We were classified as a “Red” project when it came to the company’s schedule performance measurement. Conversations with colleagues in the IT project management environment revealed similar situations and circumstances regarding the impact of COVID-19.

“ A critical area for us was ensuring we were optimistic in setting new timelines to ensure deliverables had enough time to be completed. “ Our reality was that we were having issues with our schedule and would not be able to deploy the application on the date expected by our stakeholders. To get the project back on track, we had to have difficult discussions with our project sponsor on the need to change the project baseline and rework dates - no one wants to hear this - it was a difficult conversation to have, but it was one to be had. After extensive meetings, our project was approved to undergo rework through the change control board process.

We subsequently had to undertake the following tasks to ensure the project was saved and to resume our schedule.

1. Stakeholder engagement: According to the project management book of knowledge guidelines (PMI, 2017), our stakeholder engagement plan was reviewed to set new

expectations with all stakeholders concerning responsibilities, milestones, and deliverables.

We had to conduct several meetings to review dates, set program evaluation, review technique (PERT) estimates, and work out revised resource schedules. A critical area for us was ensuring that we were optimistic in setting new timelines to ensure that deliverables had enough time to be completed. It would be a disaster if we had to go back to our stakeholders to plead for more time, again!

2. Consider cost implications: The triple constraint of project management came into play while we worked remotely (PMI, 2017). The extension of our schedule meant resources were going to be on our project for a longer time. This always implies more cost to the budget but luckily for our project, we had previously carried enough budget contingency. This helped absorb the extension of the project schedule and subsequent rebaselining.

3. Reorganize the project team’s working approach: Our human resource unit enabled remote network access for resources that previously did not have it. Our physical meetings were rescheduled to online sessions, and we established “work from home” best practices.

4. Communicate: To effectively manage communications, we crafted out a well thought-out message to all stakeholders.

Using the key concept of written form of communication (PMI, 2017), we explained the

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project’s problem, the cause, the effect, resolution, and new expectations for deliverables as agreed with the project sponsor and key stakeholders.

“The need to constantly communicate and improvise has never been more important for project managers with the advent of COVID-19.”

The above are some of the actions that had to be taken to get the project back on schedule. After successfully rebaselining the project, we have now adopted our remote project team to ensure we effectively manage time - the scarcest resource on every project.

These best practices include encouraging and leveraging video conferencing and online solutions such as Microsoft Teams, Skype, and Zoom for all meetings. This is because it is easy for conversations and discussions to be misconstrued on virtual calls. For this reason, the use of video calls instead of audio calls is advised to ensure that non-verbal cues are not lost in conversations.

Additionally, we support mobile versions of these applications to ensure that remote resources are easily reachable. We utilize online document management tools such as Microsoft SharePoint to ensure that several resources can jointly collaborate on deliverables while ensuring efficiency. The team also works towards proactively scheduling meetings and meeting minutes are always sent out to verify that everyone is up to date on the latest action items and developments. We conduct daily stand-up calls to allow teams resources to share task progress, risks, and issues. The project team also leverages status reporting dashboards where updates can be easily accessed on the project’s progress.

The global pandemic has brought many changes to organizations’ work patterns and this has affected most project schedules. While time is one of the scarcest resources to manage when executing any project, with adequate planning and communication, it can be well managed and controlled.

The need to constantly communicate and improvise has never been more important for project managers.

The advent of COVID-19 means that project managers have to be more innovative in managing their teams, especially remote teams, to effectively manage time and deliver stakeholder expectations.

Reference: Project Management Institute, 2017. A guide to the project management body of knowledge: (PMBOK guide) (6th ed). Project Management Institute.

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PM magazine | FALL 2020

ADAPTATION: FUNCTIONING OPTIMALLY DURING THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC The Dilemma

It was mid-March of this year, I was one of the five passengers Dion Golatt Sr., on a return flight from Nashville, CSM, ARPM Tennessee, as the airports, and Senior Manager of seemingly, the country, had Facilities Project been shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. I immePearson, Inc. diately knew that the way my facilities team delivered projects was about to change. Our projects would typically include in-person site tours and investigations, contractor site visits, on-site project execution, post-construction walkthroughs, office set-up and turnover to our client. Moreover, our staff was co-located in the office, to provide the necessary collaboration to complete project tasks. How we would proceed during uncertain times would prove critical to our project and corporate success.

2. Centralization

Centralization of data collection was critical because the teams no longer had daily access to the office where hardcopy project files and information may have been stored. Alternative methods of information gathering, sharing, and storage were necessary in order to maintain the seamless transfer of information. We began uploading files to the cloud for storage and set up “channels” for individual projects. Additionally, we

“Since project managers spend most of their time communicating with team members and other stakeholders (PMI, 2017), we were forced to use technology as a tool to facilitate the necessary communications. “ At Pearson, we have been able to successfully work remotely for many years as we have had the necessary technology in place to deliver virtual education.

However, for your company, working remotely may be a completely new experience proving to be a real challenge, which requires proper planning and execution.

The following recommendations assume that your team, or company has the necessary technologies including but not limited to; computers, mobile phones, internet services, remote access to software.

1. Communication With the restrictions and guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), normal modes of communication became impossible. Since project managers spend most of their time communicating with team members and other stakeholders (PMI, 2017), we were forced to use technology as a tool to facilitate the necessary communications.

We requested video coverage or conferencing in place of site visits. We were able to use video conferencing technology tools for meetings, and instant messaging replaced person-to-person communication as well. These applications allowed constant and quick communication with stakeholders in varying locations without the fear that the communication has been lost in a pile of emails. The project manager must be careful to schedule meetings that are held at appropriate times for stakeholders located in varying time zones.

Additionally, we would recommend strict adherence to an agenda as a video conference can become unwieldy if not managed properly. Attention was paid to the processes involved in managing and monitoring project communications.

“This crisis served as a reality check and provided insight to some of the areas that we were able to ignore and some of the small things and inefficiencies that we were able to tolerate. “ Conclusion

Three C’s Success Structure This crisis served as a reality check and provided insight to some of the areas that we were able to ignore, and some of the small things and inefficiencies that we were able to tolerate (Docquin, 2020). With the need to be as nimble as possible to quickly transform how we managed our projects; we chose to focus our attention on the three C’s to success. These areas may not necessarily be new for the project manager, but a reevaluation on how we manage them as project managers required a renewed and updated focus due to the pandemic.

pictures of the progress and submit them via the PMIS to document the current project status. Use of the PMIS also provides the ability to request project updates, percentage complete, and other information without the requirement that the other user have access to the web-based software.

incorporated the consistent use of our project management information system (PMIS). PMIS as a tool cuts across a lot of project management knowledge areas, it is a tool that is used in project integration, cost, schedule, communications, risk, and resource management (PMI, 2017). This PMIS had been previously used to produce and manage schedules but we now use it to track resources, store information, send and request updates, provide project reporting including but not limited to: risk log, issues log, project status dashboard, Gantt charts, and key performance index (KPI) status.

The pandemic was an unforeseen condition that seemed insurmountable. However, I discovered that many of the tools for my project success were readily available and awaiting my use. We often hear how humans only use a small percentage of our brain’s ability. I feel as though I was only using a small percentage of the software’s capacity and applications that had been provided. It is clear that the most important tip for the project manager during a pandemic is to communicate. In project management, effective communication means that your spoken and written communications are clear, concise, complete, coherent, and ethical (PMI, 2017). The use of technology is key and it is a resource that should be incorporated into any successful project management plan. Although the processes do not change during a pandemic, how we as project managers accomplish the processes will. Stay nimble and flexible and use the tools that are within your reach.

3. Control

References:

Monitoring and controlling project work is the process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting the overall progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan” according to (PMI, 2017).

I have come to realize in my years of experience that with construction, “seeing is believing”. I recall standing outside an office with the furniture vendor while the contractor feverishly completed the installation of the carpet as he had earlier said that “all of the carpet was installed” and they were ready for furniture. We analyzed and planned risk responses for a couple of new risks which we identified that may arise. In order to monitor and control a project remotely, the project manager will have to rely on local stakeholders to take

Docquin, C. (2020, April 3). What the Covid-19 Crisis Can Teach Us About Project Management. Retrieved from Sciforma:https:// www.sciforma.com/blog/what-covid-19-crisis-can-teach-usabout-project-management Project Management Institute (PMI). (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.).

Newtown Square, Pa: Project Management Institute.

FALL 2020 | PM magazine

FROM RISK MANAGEMENT TO CRISIS MANAGEMENT A LIKELY PAIR

Six months ago, the landscape of the country had changed. Just a year Dr. Monica Kay, PMP ago, wearing facemasks Adjunct Professor was something that was only used for medicine Morgan State University and emergency personnel. Now it has become synonymous with safety and preventing the spread of disease. Organizations have had to become nimble, amp up their communication processes, and transition from an in-person and face-to-face to a 100% virtual space that encompasses both their organizational staff and their clients. As project managers, we all know about the risk management process, and having a risk management plan that identifies risks, preparing qualitative and quantitative analyses, and risk monitoring and control (PMI, 2020). Hopefully, as a project manager, you have positioned yourself to account for “known knowns” and maybe even some “known-unknowns.”

What happens when the unthinkable occurs that produces the dreaded “unknown unknowns”? Such was the case with the pandemic and the herculean efforts to continue work, especially organizational with perfect management essential business functions. This is where crisis management comes into play. Crisis management is close relative to risk management, usually joined together via contingency planning—Plan A, B, or C when your mitigation activities fail to yield the desired results. In our current situation, organizations have had to dust off their contingency plans or continuity of operations plan to ensure that they can continue. The question becomes, does the planning really help, or should executives and/or project managers wing it based on their gut reactions to the situation at hand. The short answer to this is that any preparation, however small, can be the difference between an organization surviving or going out of business.

subsequent profit from a project management rationale. This is the reason why the organization exists. For non-profits and governmental organizations, the reason becomes the agency service to its beneficiaries and clientele. Even if your revenue and profit remain intact, customer retention and goodwill may also be damaged by an unintentional misstep by your company. Lastly, to make all of this work in a crisis, you need staff to run the operations; your business continuity plan must account for staff that is deemed essential.

Project managers have the added responsibility of being the implementers, responders, and reporters during a crisis. They motivate, marshal, and monitor the ever-changing environment to provide a comprehensive scenario of the crisis.

“Project managers have the added responsibility of being the implementers, responders, and reporters during the crisis.”

Steps to Consider for Crisis Planning and Management As a project manager, there are a few key steps that you can take when a crisis appears.

Before the Crisis FEMA (2020) thinks that before any crisis occurs, your organization should have: 1. Key decisions on critical business assets and functions that are deemed essential.

2. Test those functions and activities to ensure that personnel can execute against the plan.

3. Provide a business impact and risk analysis and obtain plan approval by your executives.

4. Socialize the plan with those key areas and components that need to be known.

“The project manager in 2020 must be nimble and pivot when necessary when a crisis occurs.”

This preplanning gives the project manager the playbook that identifies key action sports of communication that must take place.

The biggest reason for having an investment in a business continuity plan is to ensure revenue and

During the crisis event, key considerations should be undertaken to ensure the staff’s health and safety to avoid loss of life and limb. Once established, execu-

During the Crisis

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tives and project managers need to take an immediate inventory to identify what has been affected by the crisis. This should be followed by: 1. Identifying any contingency plans or continuity of operations plans that help identify the essential personnel and activities, budget, and/or contract.

2. Communication with the executives and organizational communications resources to message the status appropriately internally and externally to your stakeholders.

During the crisis, the project manager must keep a pulse on the changes that may occur on a daily or hourly basis.

After the Crisis Once the crisis has been averted, it is time to resume normal business operations, which may mean returning staff to their regular working stations or returning staff that may have been borrowed from other regions. This also entails ending emergency contracts and providing an after-action report to executives that denote lessons learned to identify possible risks that can be used in future mitigation and contingency planning efforts.

So, what does this mean for the project manager in our existing environment?

The project manager in 2020 must be able to nimble and pivot as necessary when a crisis occurs.

This includes using all of the project management tools at your disposal, including risk management plans and processes that continue cost and human resource considerations. Using this as a basis, a project manager can use both risk management and crisis management in tandem to continue to produce successful outcomes even during a crisis event.

References: Federal Emergency Management Administration, 2020. Continuity guidance for non-federal entities. Retrieved from: https://www. ready.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/continuity_guidance_circular.pdf Federal Emergency Management Administration. 2020. Business continuity planning. Retrieved from https://www.ready.gov be-informed Project Management Institute, 2017. A guide to the project management body of knowledge (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.

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PM magazine | FALL 2020

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IN A VIRTUAL WORLD

It is typical to schedule various physical meetings with project stakeholders, but the pandemic has made this almost impossible. This has brought Tosin Sule about the need to look for Manager, Health Plan other means to engage Information Services stakeholders to deliver successful projects. The MedStar Health onset of a global pandemic, often resulting in an atmosphere of unprecedented pandemonium and uncertainty, can deliver a huge blow to the best laid out plans. After observing a few projects get derailed due to lack of strategic and deliberate consideration for all those who may be impacted by the project, the importance of stakeholder engagement cannot be overstated.

The COVID-19 pandemic has required project managers to become increasingly creative and steadfast in identifying, establishing, and cultivating ongoing engagement strategies to address the often unique and varying needs of project stakeholders.

“During a pandemic, it must be understood that the need for stakeholder engagement does not take the backseat.”

Stakeholder engagement is the process by which a project involves and engages its stakeholders according to their needs, interests, and impact (PMI, 2017, p. 87). This includes those who can influence the project’s success and those who may be affected by the project’s decisions and outcomes. It is important for the project management team to identify and analyze stakeholders as early as possible in the project life cycle (PMI, 2017, p. 503). During a pandemic, it must be understood that the need for engagement does not take the backseat. The project management team must tailor their stakeholder engagement strategies to adapt to the current atmosphere that the pandemic has created. They must also ensure that major stakeholders remain at the expected engagement level through proper communication channels, especially regarding milestones, progress, roadblocks, and risks that the project might be facing. Project managers must

therefore engage stakeholders to fully understand their unique expectations and negotiate skillfully to achieve a common understanding.

The stakeholder engagement process aims to influence project outcomes positively by creating frameworks that foster effective channels of communication. Communication must be delivered in an effective manner to gain the approval and support of stakeholders.

Before the current pandemic, physical meetings were encouraged to disseminate information at various phases of the project. Now that the world has basically gone virtual by working from home and not being able to meet physically, project teams are left with engaging the project stakeholders in a virtual environment.

While some organizations have always operated virtually and have teams across different geographical locations to achieve project goals, others have been forced to pivot quickly due to the pandemic and set up new ways of operating in a remote work environment. This has meant a steep growth curve in the acquisition of virtual work tools to support an alternative to the physical workspace. These investments should be made strategically and with policies

in place to govern their implementation across the organization. With proper implementation and training, some organizations have been able to achieve wins in internal and stakeholder engagement through use of virtualization tools.

One of the wins is the huge increase in leveraging of video conferencing as an alternative to physical meetings. Video conferences allow large groups of individuals to interact over their computers and phones as they deliberate on project concerns. These virtual conferences and meeting rooms can be set up to align with the audience and scope and even allow for limiting voice participation to a selected subset of speakers and presenters. This is sometimes necessary to minimize audio feedback and unnecessary banter. These virtual meeting spaces can also be used for ad-hoc face-to-face meetings between members on the same team or across stakeholder groups.

“ Effective communication must be delivered in a manner that ultimately results in gaining the stakeholder’s approval and support.”

In creating policies for virtual stakeholder engagement, project managers should clearly define the scope, while providing background and perceived impact to the project goals.

Ownership and proper governance are also important when setting standards. This may include setting aside considerations to allow stakeholders to be trained to effectively leverage tools. As with other processes in the project management space, it is important to measure, report, and continually improve any engagement strategies over the long term. In a fast-changing technological world, new tools will emerge to provide improved functionality or bundle previous functionalities in better ways.

The goal remains simple, stakeholders must be carried along every step of the way. Leveraging the best tools and strategies to keep stakeholders engaged must be approached strategically and deliberately to build relationships, manage risks, and ultimately achieve project success.

Reference: Project Management Institute, 2017. A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.).

Project Management Institute.

FALL 2020 | PM magazine

Yahaira Infante

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PROCUREMENT AND BUDGET MANAGEMENT ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY DURING AN UNCONVENTIONAL PHASE

Procurement Manager

Many procurement managers have rapidly changed their strategic sourcing methods due to the uncertainties that the pandemic (COVID-19) brought with it to the country. During mid-March of 2020, organizations in the U.S. and across the globe were faced with the challenges of keeping their businesses running as well as making employees’ safety a top priority. There was an imminent major shift within our environment, which presented the abrupt closure of corporate offices, retail stores, restaurants, and any business which provided goods and services to clients and consumers alike. In my role as a procurement manager for a major global law firm, it was imperative that I developed an immediate long-term approach, which placed people at the forefront in order to operate in a model. This continued to service our internal customers with a continuum to the relationship alignment of our preferred suppliers while considering a reduction of spend within the alignment of the ecosystem model around cost and demand. Simply put, I had to re-strategize how procurement in my firm was planned, conducted, and controlled (PMI, 2017). As a procurement manager, it was required to observe traditional procure-to-pay activities, and I immediately evaluated the shift to a full immediate remote work mandate for all non-essential workers. This meant that my procurement team had to adopt techniques like data analysis, and source selection analysis (PMI, 2017) to revamp the sourcing of goods with suppliers to meet the technological requirements in order to turn your kitchen,

DLA Piper LLP (US)

“With a revised procurement management plan and strategy, we assessed supplier diversity and initiated the collaboration”

bedroom, or home office space into the ideal work environment. As with any increase in the need for goods, the demand for goods within the technology space presented immediate constraints in availability and delivery, which resulted in cost increase, leaving little opportunity for cost negotiations and savings.

Our procurement team was presented with the challenge of competing with other buyers who were also encountering scarcity of webcams, affordable laptops, monitors, headsets, etc.

These are all the tools typically available within our corporate office space, which now was restricted to re-entry in phase one of COVID19 closures. As a procurement manager, there was an opportunity for an initial response on dealing with the crisis, to recover and tackle the present situation while continuing to meet the procurement sourcing needs of the firm amid these challenges.

During the review of category spend for our firm, we identified suppliers who were at financial risk due to COVID-19, and we enhanced our visibility. The unexpected occurrence “unknown unknowns” brought a shift to our risk management plan and risk responses. This allowed for re-evaluation of the supplier risk management within Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers (Accenture, 2020). With a revised procurement management plan and strategy, we assessed supplier diversity and initiated the collaboration between firm stakeholders to support the firm’s preferred suppliers, inserted cost reduction opportunity programs, and re-balanced our strategy management. Our final stage in the project was the analysis of spend management from the lens of business continuity to strive for a long-term strategy given the unknowns of COVID-19 and rumors of a great depression wave. It was vital that key performance indicators (KPIs) and value propositions were needed to promote clarity and collabo-

ration between the procurement department, key stakeholders, and executive sponsorship.

These key performance indicators were necessary in order to operate a resilient procurement operating model given the new norm in our country and the financial economic crisis.

“There was an opportunity for an initial response on dealing with the crisis, to recover and tackle the present situation while continuing to meet the procurement sourcing needs of the firm amid these challenges.“ Investing in great procure-to-pay tools, procurement policies and guidelines which allow for immediate decision making during a pandemic crisis, has proven to be a vital success in the continuum of our procurement department where savings not only drove the bottom line, but supports everyday workers who are in the frontline for continued success and dedication to the core values of the firm.

References: Accenture. (2020, April 14). Accenture (Supply Chain and Operations). Retrieved from Accenture Website; COVID-19: Managing the Impact on Procurement For Resilience andGrowth:https:// www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/consulting/coronavirus-procurement-recovery-growth Project Management Institute (PMI). (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide). Newtown Square, Pa: Project Management Institute.

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PM magazine | FALL 2020

PROJECT TEAM DEVELOPMENT: RECRUITING LESSONS DURING AN ATYPICAL PERIOD

Unprecedented. New Normal. Human Capital.

Carla Preston Talent Acquisition. Social Justice. Just a few of the Former Global buzzwords and phrases Supply Chain which describe 2020. For Management many companies, the first Executive quarter of the calendar Stanley Black & year is normally the time Decker to revisit plans put in place for resource management.

Strategic plans are updated, project plans, budgets, and resource plans are finalized, and yearly objectives are cascaded. The first quarter is also when managers confirm the resources needed to deliver commitments, this process is identified as the estimate activity resources in the project management body of knowledge “PMBOK” guide (PMI, 2017). Alternatively, talent and human resources acquisition leaders diligently review resumes using different tools and techniques in order to select potential resources for interviews, which in turn will be acquired for project team development.

However, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, no travel, no office tours, no meet and greets, no face-to-face discussions, no handshakes, there were freezes on external hiring and resource addition, furloughs and reduction-in-force actions (Haber, 2020). The pandemic literally ravaged if not eliminated resource and recruitment budgets and plans.

As we entered the third quarter, some companies re-established their resource management plan. Resource and talent acquisition managers had to become even more innovative and creative in defining recruitment and resource acquisition methods, processes and policies. So, what does a company do when a) its recruitment plans/strategy and b) “normal” recruiting and acquisition processes are no longer available.

“Resource and project managers are required to think and act much differently than in the past; they use tools like expert judgment, meetings, PMIS, virtual teaming and data analysis.”

Resource and project managers are required to think and act much differently than in the past; they use tools like expert judgment, meetings, project management information system (PMIS), virtual teaming and data analy-

sis. There have been recruitment lessons from COVID-19 to prove that: a) hiring does go on, b) exceptional candidates do exist; and c) lessons learned will become the norm. Noted below are recommendations to minimize resource on-boarding challenges during this unusual time.

1. Create A Clear Vision for Short and LongTerm Recruitment Recognizing that all positions may not be defined as a critical need, project managers must evaluate and select the roles which will support the project’s profitability, growth and transformation. It is imperative to: a) Prioritize hiring plans accordingly b) Fill essential, critical positions first c) Ensure which essential roles will be just as important in the long term and d) Identify exceptional candidates with the leadership and technical competencies required today and in the future. The goal is to put together a well-defined resources management plan, bearing in mind the possible risks involved in resource management.

2. Build and Develop A Diverse Workforce One of the objectives of developing a project team is to create a dynamic, cohesive and collaborative team culture (PMI, 2017). The “Black Lives Matter” movement has emphasized the need for diversity in the workplace. However, it’s not just about hiring for color, but instead building a workforce that creates a sense of diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging to the team. Per the Boston Consulting Group, “businesses with an above-average diverse leadership team report 19 percent higher revenues than those with less diverse leadership” (Picincu, 2020). Why? Because a diverse employee base performs better and is more innovative than those in which diversity has not been a priority.

3. Hire Today for Tomorrow In the COVID-19 hiring cycle, talent acquisition professionals and project managers are selecting candidates who are qualified not only for today’s needs but are also flexible, adaptable, and have a continual learning mindset for future projects. Companies that are only hiring for the skills required today are being shortsighted and not strategic.

4. Throw Old Tactics Out | Embrace Technology Plain and simple, a company’s team is its most valuable resource. One of the primary responsibilities of talent acquisition and the project

manager is to discover the best candidates for the team and then successfully recruit, develop and manage them. If talent acquisition is unable to effectively interact with potential team members, then that presents a significant risk. The solution has either been investing in and/or enhancing the utilization of virtual meeting platforms. Virtual communication has provided a medium to personally interact with any candidate anywhere, anytime, and via multiple devices (Walden, 2019).

5. It is All About the Fit, the Fit, the Fit! Over the past few years, recruitment and team selection processes have been gravitating towards hiring based on a cultural fit and then to a lesser degree technical competency. So, while the candidate may have the required job skills, they must also have the personality and leadership attributes that align well with the organization. Offers are presented to candidates with the best overall fit.

“The goal is to put together a welldefined resources management plan, bearing in mind the possible risks involved in resource management.”

When Presented with Lemons, Make Lemonade Yes, the COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to present challenges. This challenge may have posed a threat, but it has also reformed and refined how project managers plan resource management. All six resource management processes which were thought to have required mostly face-to-face interaction have been disrupted, and they are being carried out virtually. This transformation did not reduce the quality or caliber of resources acquired for the team, rather it improved and simplified the cumbersome process of resource acquisition, development, management and control. We will continue to adapt and evolve.

Resources acquisition will continue; so, we must grab the lemons and make them into lemonade!

References: Haber, M. (2020, May 12). How to Hire During a Pandemic.

Retrieved from Inc.com:https://www.inc.com/matt-haber/ remote-hiring-strategies-coronavirus.html Picincu, A. (2020, july 06). What are the Advantages of a Diverse Workforce? Retrieved from Chron.com: https://smallbusiness. chron.com/advantages-diverse-workforce-18780.html Project Management Institute (PMI). (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide). Newtown Square, Pa: Project Management Institute.

Walden, J. (2019, July 17). 8 Reasons Why HR Professionals Love Using Zoom. Retrieved from GenerationDigital:https://www.gend. co/blog/8-reasons-why-hr-professionals-love-usingzoom

FALL 2020 | PM magazine

EFFECTIVELY MANAGING PROJECTS TO SCALE THROUGH UNPRECEDENTED TIMES Times of crisis are natu• Initiation: Ensuring that the ideas and rally challenging for script for the upcoming week is in place everyone, and change Owner • Planning: Ensuring that plans are is the only factor that Software Quality in place to schedule a meeting and remains constant. Agile Consultants, LLC execute the scripts. planning, based on my • Execution: Ensuring all actors are timely experience, remains the most crucial aspect gathered for the live broadcast. for a successful project in these unprecedented times. Imagine the impact the lock• Monitoring and Control: Ensuring what down had on projects that were in flight at was set out in the plan is what is being the height of the pandemic’s introduction delivered. to the world? Project managers had to • Closing: Documentation and making immediately adapt and become flexible sure all initiated conversations, and in their approach in managing their teams requests are closed off. (PMI, 2017, p. 23) and continue to strive to deliver successful projects. The pandemic introduced a sense Up until the declaration of the pandemic of uncertainty and fear as almost every- - in terms of the lockdown, restriction of thing came to a halt. I will be sharing my movement and large gatherings - we had experience with a case that reflects some predicted the quality of our deliverable of Deloitte’s recent research highlighting alongside the traditional project manageproject challenges as businesses struggled ment approach. Our focus were constraints to adjust as a result of the current pandemic of cost, time, and scope, which are known (Deloitte, 2020). The impacted phases as the triple constraints in PMBOK (PMI, according to Deloitte, are as follows: 2017). The pandemic however introduced a new variable - “Uncertainties”. Which is not 1. Project Planning and Management traditional, as seen in Figure 1 below. I like 2. Schedule Assessment to call it the ‘Diamond constraint’, alluding to opportunities in uncertainties as we will 3. Resource Planning see later.

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Michael Pearse

“Being ready, proactive, and familiar with the right technology tool is critical in managing projects in uncertain times.”

Case Study: Through the thick of the pandemic in the United States, I was directly involved in managing a project with continuous delivery and a tight weekly sprint. I managed about 10 team members and our objective for each week was to ensure a successful live streaming to our over 500 online viewers. This project’s typical milestones were performed according to the project management life cycle, as outlined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).

The Empathic View: The first factor that took the immediate hit once the uncertainty was clear was managing my resources. Understandably, my team members were also faced with challenges that were unrelated to the successful delivery of the project. The project however had a hard deadline on it and we only had the option of completely stopping it or finding alternatives to the uncertainties. We decided on the latter approach. I had to employ an empathic strategy in communicating with my team.

Empathy also builds trust, which in turn drives performance. We know that team members in high-trust organizations are more productive and collaborate better with their colleagues (Zak, 2019).

“The pandemic however introduced a new variable - Uncertainties“ Explicit and Transparent Communications: For managers, based on my experience, the empathic view of the situation with team members is critical in uncertain times, it shows that you also understand your team’s concerns and challenges that they too may be facing (Warrell, 2020). The project manager must be explicit and transparent in these communications with team members.

This has helped my team stay at a high morale during stressful times, which has resulted in tasks being delivered according to schedule. It is also fine to declare what you do not know as a manager in uncertain times like this (Zupsansky, 2020).

Tools-Ready: Get Ready to Adapt: Being ready, proactive, and familiar with the right technology tool is critical in managing projects in uncertain times. I have always been an advocate for technology and remote work. This gave me and my team an edge in the knowledge and familiarity with remote technology tools. All we needed to do was just switch. As emphasized by Gartner, every project manager must be familiar and ready to deploy these technology tools when needed (Gartner, 2020). Unprecedented times, as paradoxical as it may sound, are not new. The world has previously been impacted by the Bubonic plague and the Spanish flu (Hunter, 2007). Technology has helped us better manage pandemics as Covid-19, while uncertainties remain certain to happen. These uncertainties should be leveraged upon as opportunities.

It is a time to reset expectations internally within team members and externally. The forward-looking project manager must thus imbibe those attributes as earlier discussed in Figure 2, to effectively manage projects to scale through unprecedented times.

References: Deloitte. (2020, May 18). Impact of COVID-19 on capital projects, construction programsRetrieved October 28, 2020, from https:// www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/advisory/articles/impact-ofcovid-19-on-capital-projects-and-construction-programs.html Gartner. (2020). Magic Quadrant for Social Software in the Workplace. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.gartner. com/en/documents/3156923 Hunter, P. (2007, June). Inevitable or avoidable? Despite the lessons of history, the world is not yet ready to face the next great plague. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2002527/ Project Management Institute, 2017. A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.

Warrell, M. (2020, April 15). Do People Feel You Genuinely Care? Why Empathy Is Crucial To Leading Through Crisis.

Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ margiewarrell/2020/04/13/empathy-the-skill-that-outshines-allothers-in-leading-through-crisis/ Zak, P. (2019, November 27). The Neuroscience of Trust.

Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://hbr.org/2017/01/ the-neuroscience-of-trust Zupsansky, D. (2020, June 29). Leading Through & Beyond COVID-19; Best Practices for an Unprecedented Time (1038318286 794924230 S. Scanlon & 1038318288 794924230 S. Sawicki, Eds.). Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https:// huntscanlon.com/leading-through-best-practices-for-an-unprecedented-time/

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CYBER SECURITY: AN EMERGING NECESSITY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

A global crisis usually results in changes in a project management Author, CEO plan and the need to Cyber - Trik effectively manage the risk that arises with it.

Since the advent of this year’s pandemic, the protection of data and information has become a top priority in project management. Project managers now emphasize ensuring that security professionals in their teams provide solutions to help secure data and equipment as work gradually shifts from the traditional approach of working onsite to working remotely. Working remotely has yielded security challenges to several programs and projects. In line with this, cyber criminals have created several attack vectors that are being used to breach networks and gain access to data of ill-prepared organizations with poor risk management processes.

John Jacob

“The risk management plan should define the role of each team member and the impact they contribute to mitigate emerging cybersecurity risk.”

Risk management and its processes are important considerations when planning and executing a project (PMI, 2017). Projects involving the use of data and information are considered intellectual property or trade secrets that are meant for organizational use only. Access to these data by unauthorized personnel poses a security risk that can negatively impact a project. This is where cybersecurity comes into play. While project management involves the application of knowledge, skills, tools, methodology and techniques to meet the requirements of a project (PMI, 2017); cybersecurity safeguards the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) of information systems, networks, and information that is stored, processed or transiting in an information system (Bashay,

2018). The CIA triad drives every cybersecurity effort in an organization. Confidentiality is used to restrict unauthorized access.

Integrity assures that data or information has not changed when in transit. Availability ensures that information is available to the authorized user when needed (Bashay, 2018). With organizations transitioning from legacy systems to cloud systems, it is evident that cybersecurity is increasingly becoming pertinent and interwoven into modern-day projects and this is where project managers make use of information systems. Almost all the data generated from the systems managed are stored on network systems and transmitted through networks also.

In the field of cybersecurity, organizations such as the National Institute of Standard and Technology and Federal Information and Processing Standard establish standards and provide guidelines that guide cybersecurity professionals in their practice. In line with working remotely, project managers must establish a risk management plan which must be updated to manage emerging cybersecurity risks throughout the project life cycle.

For large organizations, the Information Technology (IT) department deploys enterprise-wide security settings and practices with most being automated. However, the risk becomes larger for smaller businesses and individual business projects as their security plans are often ill-prepared. Highlighted below are some best practices that can be implemented to mitigate these cyber risks.

Adequate training of all employees is required to expose them to security best practices to avoid any form of social engineering attacks. The risk management plan should define the role of each team member and their impact on mitigating emerging cybersecurity risks. Secured Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections should be established and team members need to be educated and encouraged to

practice safe browsing. Using browsers such as Brave, Start-page, Duck-Duck-Go can help keep privacy intact and prevent online activities from being monitored by cyber criminals. Automatic operating systems should be enabled to allow periodic updates on project management applications and operating systems. Also, the use of external firewalls and Windows defenders should be enforced on Microsoft operating systems.

“With organizations transitioning from legacy systems to cloud systems, it is evident that cybersecurity is increasingly becoming pertinent and interwoven into modern day projects.”

In conclusion, 95% of data breaches and data losses are due to human error and negligence (Ahola, 2019). Project managers and their teams have a role to play to ensure that they do not jeopardize the successful execution of their projects. Although global crises such as the coronavirus pandemic are not commonly encountered, it is still paramount that project managers update their risk register and accurately document their lessons learned register during this period. Implementing the best practices described above would mitigate the risks of data breaches, data losses, scams, and identity theft which can compromise a project. Prevention is still the best practice; project managers need to develop a risk response plan and implement it when data is compromised.

References: Ahola, M. (2019, October 18). Redirect Notice. Google. https:// www.google.com/amp/s/blog.usecure.io/the-role-of-human-error-in-successful-cyber-security-breaches?hs_amp=true.

Bashay, F. (2018, February 2). What Is the CIA Triangle and Why Is It Important for Cybersecurity Management? Retrieved from https://www.difenda.com/blog/what-is-the-cia-triangle-and-whyis-it-important-for-cybersecurity-management Project Management Institute, 2017. A guide to the project management body of knowledge: (PMBOK guide) (6th ed). Project Management Institute.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN THE ERA OF COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic shifts in how business is conducted across the United States and the entire world. In Maryland, Robert Testerman we watched the situation PMP, CSM, MCP change rapidly with each Program Manager passing news cycle. Starting with “it is overblown by Edwards Performance the media,” to “it is only Solutions in China,” and not long after, “it is only in a few states.” Eventually, once all of the toilet paper and disinfectant had stockpiled, we settled in for what we anticipated to be two weeks of isolation. After all, that should be all it takes to stop the virus’s spread (WBAL TV11 (2020).

Well, two weeks came and went, and as the infection rates continued to rise, the businesses that could shift their workforce virtually did so.

We saw Zoom’s rise at Edwards Performance Solutions and Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, and various white-boarding software. We also saw both learning and content management systems gain traction, allowing schools, governments, and businesses to find ways to stay productive. However, these tools merely serve as enablers, and without the workforce to use them, they would provide no value.

Project managers tend to lean more toward extroversion than most, with the profession focusing on communication, organization, and leadership traits. Many adults in the workforce have had to begin dealing with the added pressure of homeschooling their children while also remaining distant from friends and family.

It now becomes the responsibility of both the organization and the individual to maintain engagement and reduce the sense of isolation.

From the perspective of an organization, particularly one specializing in project management consulting services, this engagement has been intentional. It comes to our technology

be accomplished without sacrificing each individual’s well-being.

Being transparent with communications will allow each team member to feel connected to the organization and the decisions being made that impact how they conduct business. It is important to communicate frequently, be clear with expectations, but leave opportunities for questions and feedback where possible. It is easy to fall victim to the feeling of being moved through a current while living in this relative isolation, so seeking input from all levels of the organization, even in situations where this action would not typically occur, will contribute to individuals feeling more engaged and in control of their own situation.

“How do you maintain a good level of motivation and effectively live with this isolation? “

enablers. Leaders have asked that their teams begin each workday by logging into whichever communication platform they use to show the rest of the team members to expedite quick ad hoc conversations. Project managers have been encouraged to utilize video chat functions to improve non-verbal cues and make these conversations more personal (Hamilton, et al., 2010).

Regular check-ins, whether held with individuals or small groups, are another key to engagement. One item lost from in-person work was the opportunity for quick, informal conversations, which were a pillar of building and maintaining relationships. With the shift to a virtual environment, there is a tendency to wait until there is a distinct reason to meet with someone. Still, if that time between interactions extends too far, it is now contributing to a feeling of detachment, which is detrimental to collaboration. It is more important than ever to reach out to your team and your stakeholders, see how they are doing and how you can better support them.

2020 is the year of flexibility. It is important to be accommodating to adjusted schedules, increased distractions, and adapted environments. Many people are occupying physical space for work. They have not been accustomed to splitting their duties with supporting their children through the virtual school, caring for relatives, and maintaining the increased upkeep required of their residence. Being more flexible with working hours allows for work to

At Edwards, our President and CEO distribute a weekly communications bulletin covering topics from progress on the reopening plan, business wins and losses, community involvement opportunities, and commentary on national holidays and social movements.

The leadership team hosts live virtual all-staff meetings and presentations from various organizations to support knowledge sharing and training goals. Early on in the quarantine, Edwards sponsored a physical and mental wellness check-in many mornings, open to all employees, to talk about exercise routines, healthy eating, and sharing ideas.

Professional development will help keep skills sharp and expand the tools readily available to each project manager. Boot camps, webinars, and self-paced study tracks are widely available, with even proctored exams being conducted remotely, so there is no reason to hold off on training goals. It is the responsibility and the benefit of both the employee and the organization to support this development and serves as another contributing factor to improving motivation and reducing isolation.

Beyond the change organizations have made, including some examples of those at Edwards Performance Solutions, the responsibility falls on the employee themselves. Project managers, in particular, are often driven by processes and ITTOs, yet the COVID-19 pandemic caused upheaval and breakdown in how many of us manage our days. It is imperative to adjust routines for this new normal to protect our own

physical and mental well-being.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is causing us upheaval today that takes us out of our comfort zone and tests our ability to manage change.”

Many of us are driven to reach for our phones first thing in the morning; however, this behavior places us in a reactive mode right at the start of the day. Instead of thinking about what you would like to accomplish and constructing plans for the day, you are putting out fires and solving your stakeholder’s problems. Besides, it is easy to plant yourself in front of your device and work continuously, as you do not have meetings to travel to or people to walk around and interact with; things you can do to help are: 1. You should budget time throughout the day to unplug, step outside, or change your scenery somehow.

2. Allow yourself to define your start and stop times each day, even if they are different from your pre-isolation routine. At least with that in mind, you will have a specific timebox to plan around.

So, how do you maintain a good level of motivation while in isolation? Each person has unique needs, but we all require flexibility from those we interact with and with ourselves. Like good project management, communication remains key (Berzkalns, 2003). Set professional development goals, give yourself time to reflect daily, and set a routine to unplug based on what works for your schedule. Utilize technology to your benefit and understand that today’s 2020 seems different from other years.

We need different emergency applications to avoid future danger. The fact that this is a global pandemic means we truly are all in this together.

References: Berzkalns, Liga (2003). Project communication-foundation for project success. Retrieved from: Project communication--the foundation for project success.

Hamilton, Gary; Byatt, Gareth; and Hodgkinson, Jeff (2010).

Anatomy of an effective project manager. Retrieved from: https:// theicpm.com/blog/item/3578-anatomy-of-an-effective-project-manager.

WBAL TV11 (2020). Hogan, state leaders, announce school closures, new steps amid coronavirus outbreak: Retrieved from https://www.wbaltv.com/article/hogan-major-actions-coming-after-first-community-transmission-in-maryland/31441141#.

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DIVERSE LANDSCAPES IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC AND MORAL CRISES HOW GLOBAL LAW FIRMS ARE COPING

The current health crisis has affected each person and industry differently.

Alyssa Eskra, MS Many of us in the legal Manager, Diversity and industry are fortunate in that services continued Inclusion to be delivered after a DLA Piper LLP (US) shift was made in how we work. By and large, my firm was financially unaffected as this helped us transition seamlessly to a 100% remote work environment due to the rollout of virtual meeting platforms and the systems the firm already had in place for client requests. As the mandatory remote work period may extend to January 1, our organization began to uncover challenges that were not immediately clear or previously experienced.

“We are experiencing specific challenges that are driving increased interaction and more meaningful relationships with our clients while better serving our own workforce.”

Operating in the new ‘norm’ has required a significant adjustment on a personal and professional level. We are seeing a greater need to collaborate, oftentimes more frequently, and employ the use of innovative tools to help with working virtually, i.e. our firm’s recent deployment of web collaboration software. While we are a global firm and our Diversity and Inclusion team specifically is co-located in the U.S., we are quite adept at working together remotely.

Before the pandemic, our projects were worked in a predictive life cycle where work was meticulously planned, whereas now, we are navigating through an adaptive life cycle for projects and working through the issues of switching to agile methodologies (PMI, 2017). With our current situation there seems to be a greater need for tools and processes for human resource management, activity traceability, information technology systems, and work performance management.

Lack of tools or processes are more difficult in the current working environment due, in part, to fewer opportunities to come together for working sessions and status meetings. While working sessions do occur and are largely handled with a fair amount of ease via video conferencing, the interactions and communication channels are different and deliverable completion seems to take longer due to a lack of face-to-face communication and real time collaboration. Put differently, the workload has not slowed and has arguably increased, further straining our resource allocations. If we could have defined processes and work performance data tracking to inform our quality of work, it would be more manageable and increase managers’ line of sight into incoming requests, pending work, and

deadlines given how spread out we are.

Additionally, both Chicago and Reston teams typically meet face-to-face at least twice a year to set and review annual goals for performance reviews. They also create a responsibility assignment matrix to determine which projects and upcoming initiatives each member will own during the year, and forecast operating costs during our budget management meetings.

These retreats allow us to collect work performance data to inform our progress reports, and work through any assumptions, issues and risks facing the team. We also convene for diversity training, professional development, and/or team building as well as facilitator-led collaboration sessions with other teams and departments, which is largely not occurring in the current environment. There is a heavy reliance on real-time responsiveness, accurate reporting, and frequent progress updates in order to keep a project on schedule and within budget delivery requirements.

Stakeholder/Client Engagement Through Diversity Not only are we experiencing a global pandemic, but also a public and global outcry for racial equality and social justice. This additional crisis has impacted how we work in unforeseen ways.

In the legal industry, we saw a push for change through our clients and client requests.

Companies are looking to better serve their stakeholders and hold true to their core values and in doing so by committing spend and diversifying at every level (Law360, 2020). We have seen an outpour of support for the Black Lives Matter organization and more broadly, racial justice and social equality from large companies across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Our country is at a tipping point and the way we do business has evolved with it. Our consumers are smarter and more socially conscious; how companies operate is important and diversifying their workforce and elevating diverse individuals to leadership positions is just one piece of the puzzle. It will be my job to ensure that clients are delivering on their promises and public commitments, as well as diversifying their legal spend.

Diversifying service providers, and more specifically, diversifying the actual work performed on the clients’ matters is part of a bigger conversation and is critical to the current movement and focus on elevating people of color in the legal industry. This effort ensures that our clients/

stakeholders with legitimate power are satisfied with our deliverables.

Clients are setting requirements for the actual work performed on their matters and are tracking mandated firm reporting on the following: 1) demographics of working timekeepers by attorney job title, 2) headcount, 3) hours worked, and 4) fees billed. Staffing matters from a diverse framework ensures the company/client is upholding their agreement to their customers and ensures equitable, substantive work and client engagement opportunities for underrepresented and minority attorneys as outlined in their contracts.

There is currently an increase in companies interested in establishing these criteria and others are further refining theirs. While DLA Piper has already implemented their own diversity standards as a Mansfield Rule (MR) 3.0 Certified Plus firm, a rule that “measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+ and lawyers with disabilities for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions” (DiversityLab, 2020), we are experiencing specific risks that are driving increased interaction and more meaningful relationships with our clients while better serving our own workforce.

As an industry, we still have a long way to go.

But, in a remarkably devastating social climate, clients are paying attention in all the right places and are being proactive; law firms are partnering in unprecedented ways; firms and companies are banding together to use their resources and brand to make a difference, take action, and give back to their communities. It will take a long time to see definitive and lasting change, but when we get there, we will look back and know exactly what it takes to get it done.

“There is heavy reliance on prompt responsiveness, accurate record keeping, and frequent status and progress updates in order to keep a project on track for on-time and within budget delivery.”

References: DiversityLab. (2020). An Open Letter From The 4.0 Firms’ Chairs & Managing Partners. Retrieved from DiverstyLab: https://www. diversitylab.com/mansfield-rule-4-0/ Law360. (2020, September 30). JPMorgan, Goldman GC’s Up The Ante On Diversity Promises. Retrieved from Law360: A Lexis Nexus Company: https://www.law360.com/legalindustry/articles/1315018/jpmorgan-goldman-gcs-up-the-ante-on-diversitypromises Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Progect Management Body of Knowledge ( 6th ed.). Newton Square, Pennsylvania, United States: Project Management Institute, Inc.

STUDENT TEAM Biographies

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Oluwashade Ajibade MBA c/o 2020 Oluwashade Ajibade earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Food Technology from the prestigious University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 2012. She is currently pursuing her Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Project Management at Morgan State University. Her areas of interest in project management are resource, cost, scope and risk management.

PM ROLE KNOWLEDGE MANAGER STATUSER

With vast work experience in business and project management, Oluwashade currently works at Bank of America as a fraud analyst. In her spare time, she volunteers at Maryland Foodbank in a bid to help fight hunger in Maryland. She earned her Scrum Master certification and will take the Project Management Professional certification which together with her MBA degree will launch her to the next level in career.

Anmar Alshatry MSPM c/o 2020

Anmar Alshatry obtained his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Technology in 2004. He is currently enrolled in the Master of Science program in Project Management (MSPM) at Morgan State University. Project management is to widen his knowledge and get the technical soft skill to excel in a challenging work environment. He aims to obtain the Project Management Professional (PMP) after his graduation. His accomplishments demonstrate his commitment, dedication, and passion for the field, including assessing four power plants and substations in different areas of Iraq under the supervision of the Washington Group Company and Parson Brinkerhoff Company.

He also trained engineers in diverse fields on using different equipment, installing and establishing procedures, while leveraging his formal education, teaching experience, and practical skills to develop the next generation of engineers. He participated in many academic workshops and conferences between 2006 and 2014, and at the same time gave a training at Power Generation Plant, University of Technology, and the University of Baghdad. Anmar is currently working as a Chief Operator Manager at Green PCB Tronics Company. He seeks a position that will demonstrate his personal values: career dedication, student development, problem-solving, and honest dealings with all acquaintances.

PM ROLE PROJECT PLAN MANAGER PHOTOGRAPHER

Olufisayo Kuforiji MSPM c/o 2020 Olufisayo Kuforiji is a masters student in the in Project Management (MSPM) program at Morgan State University and will graduate December 2020. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science from Morgan State University in 2015. Over the past couple of years, Olufisayo has gained experience working in the health field. Recently many small rehabilitation hospitals have joined the band wagon in becoming technologically savvy. This has afforded Olufisayo the opportunity of working on various projects and has sparked her interest in project management and technology.

PM ROLE ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER

Olufisayo’s experience in projects range from simple improvements in day-to-day processes to the total reengineering of systems from traditional paper based to automated systems. Her love for technology and its impact on the improvement of the workplace led her to pursue a career in project management. She believes that the MSPM program will help her obtain future managerial positions. With her education and project experience, obtaining a Certified Associate Project Management (CAPM) certification will give her leverage in further pursuing her career as a project manager.

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Amber Moreland MSPM c/o 2020

Amber Moreland is a 2016 graduate of Marymount Manhattan College (NYC) where she received a dual Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Communications and Dance. Amber is currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Project Management and Project Management Professional certification at the Earl G. Graves School of Business & Management at Morgan State University. She attended George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology and was a member of the Baltimore County All-Honors Dance Ensemble. Ms. Moreland is a member of Project Management Institute Baltimore Chapter, Greater Baltimore Urban League for Young Professionals, National Dance Honor Society, International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD), and Lambda Pi Eta Communications Honor Society. She has taught in the New York City Public School System as a Dance Enrichment teacher and has served as Assistant Director for the Baltimore County All-Honors Dance Ensemble (2018-2019).

Amber has taught at Baltimore DanceTech for 9 years, and is a member of the Infinite Grace Dance Ministry and Baltimore DanceTech Alumni Company. Amber currently works as a Diversity Coordinator on the National Diversity and Inclusion Team for DLA Piper LLP (US) where she runs logistics for firmwide events, data analytics for client RFPs/RFIs/Pitch, and serves as an administrator for the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. In her current position, Amber uses her studies in project management as reference tools to assist her with creating workflow tools for her diversity team, as well as using project document tools to assist her in planning firmwide events. Upon graduation from the Master of Science in Project Management program, Ms. Moreland plans on opening a dance school for inner city youth with her mother.

PM ROLE PROJECT MANAGER EDITOR

Chiamaka Okonkwo, CAPM MSPM c/o 2020 Chiamaka Okonkwo (George) is young, talented and has a brilliant mind. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Geological Sciences from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Nigeria in 2011. She obtained her Masters in Applied Geophysics from University of Lagos in 2018. She is enrolled in the Masters of Science in Project Management (MSPM) program at Morgan State University. Her professional career began in the financial industry, where she worked with Zenith Bank which is one of the leading banks in Africa for 5 years. This experience fueled her passion for both science and management. She is currently working as a Supply Chain Operations Specialist at CEVA Logistics and she is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI).

PM ROLE COMMUNICATION MANAGER SCHEDULE MANAGER

Chiamaka plans to become a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) before the end of her program in December 2020.

After her program completion, she wants to obtain a managerial role, working with great minds in a project management oriented organization. She looks forward to furthering her education, acquiring more professional certifications, combined with her wealth of experience to expand her capacity for personal growth to enrich every environment she finds herself.

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PM magazine | FALL 2020

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Our Program & Links to PMI 100% ONLINE GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Morgan State University’s graduate programs in Project Management are offered by the department of Information Science and Systems in the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. The MSPM program is suitable for professionals that want to develop their knowledge and skills to move up to senior planning, consulting, and project management positions. Applicants are required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, at least two years professional level work experience, and meet the MSU Graduate School admission requirements.

The program requires 30 credits and a comprehensive examination. Program participants complete courses as a cohort. The interdisciplinary feature of the MSPM allows students to take three supporting courses that form the focus areas in a wide range of fields.

Samples of courses offered include:

Foundations in Project, Program, and Portfolio Management

Students choose three courses from a list of over 40 courses to integrate project management skills in a specific subject area from Architecture; The Arts; Business; City and Regional Planning; Civil Engineering; Industrial Engineering; Information Technology; Science; and Transportation.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers membership to full time students in degree-granting programs at a college or university that has U.S. accreditation or the global equivalent.

A PMI student membership also offers discounts on certifications such as the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) and the Project Management Professional (PMP). Additionally, PMI in collaboration with MSU has held CAPM, PMP, PMI-RMP, Agile, and ITIL exam prep workshops on the campus of Morgan State and continues to offer the workshops every spring and fall.

Please visit us at www.morgan.edu, then proceed to Academic Programs.

Project Integration and Scope Management Building and Leading Successful Project Teams Project Time and Cost Management Managing Project Procurement, Quality, and Risk

1700 E. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, Maryland 21251

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