Project Management War Stories

PM War Stories #28 – Delivering Capital Projects on Time: A Case Study on the "Road" to Success

Download PMW_0028_Capital_Projects.mp3 (21.8 MB)

For the State of Delaware, managing the construction program of roads and bridges involves hundreds of projects with thousands of resources to be managed all across the state.  Throw in a mixture of large scale multi-year projects with multiple smaller projects and poor project scheduling, and you can end up literally stopping an entire city in its tracks.  With that in mind, it is critical that a capital program of this magnitude requires extensive workflows and project scheduling capabilities that move beyond the basic scheduling of project dates based on an existing resource pool.   In fact, project scheduling can in effect become both program managers and project managers doorway to obtaining the visibility they need with through the centralization of project information to achieve project success while keeping their constituents satisifed.  

In this episode we sit down with industry insiders, Bob Perrine and Connie Post of the Delaware Department of Transportation or DOT to discuss the challenges and complexities of managing a portfolio of capital projects.

Bob Perrine is a civil engineer with 30 years experience in the vertical and horizontal construction industries. He has worked in federal government, private industry, and state government. Currently, Bob is the Constructability Review Engineer / Master Scheduler for the Delaware DOT where he is responsible for managing the master schedule for the capital construction program, performing constructability reviews of all capital construction and many maintenance and operations projects within the DOT, as well as for determining the construction duration for each of the projects within the capital program.    

Connie Post, my other distinguished guest, has over 28 years of experience in Information Technology, and 18 years of experience in Project Management. She is a member of the PMI Delaware chapter and has also served as an instructor for WorWic Community College. Connie is currently an independent consultant with the Delaware DOT and her responsibilities include project management, requirements analysis and implementation of new systems, systems integration, and business process review. 

In this episode, Bob and Connie will share how the Delaware Department of Transportation improved visibility, communication, resource planning, and delivery of capital projects by moving from an ad hoc system of spreadsheets, usually not synched, to Oracle Primavera.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Offroad”
2. Interview with industry insiders – “Collins Avenue”
3. The closing of the episode – “Greasy Wheel"

PM War Stories #27 – Project Portfolio Management Goes Hollywood . . . or at least to the Program Management Office

Download PMW0027_PPM_for_Svcs.mp3 (16.8 MB)

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is as much about prioritizing project deliverables as it is about communicating priorities to the stakeholders involved.  Carefully conveying the appropriate messages to all parties will ultimately determine the successful results of a PPM methodology put in place. Visibility to stakeholders in a consistent manner coupled with a standard approach to delivering the details of project performance and business cases to launch new projects ensure better results in stakeholder buy-in.

There is no better example than Hollywood when it comes to conveying a consistent message to its audience (i.e. its stakeholders).  In this vein,  this episode will examine how visibility delivered in a consistent manner can sustain the success to both a portfolio of projects and/or a single project to its stakeholders - regardless of their celebrity status .

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In Part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Kris Reynolds, who has over 10 years of project management experience and has led numerous projects in healthcare and software application development. He is the Director of the Program Management Office at Macrovision, formerly TV Guide, and currently serves as president of the Project Management Institute PMO Local Interest Group of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tonight Kris discusses how a solid project portfolio management strategy has enabled his PMO to sustain its success.

If you would like more information about Macromedia’s PMO, creating and maintaining a program management office, or about project portfolio management software, then check out Episode 26, Episode 25, Episode 24, and Episode 20.

In Part 2, Willie Mayket, our in-house project management specialist, sounds off in “Painfully Honest with Willie Mayket”. This episode’s target is the Hollywood sign and its evolution to stardom.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Highlight Reel”
2. Interview with industry insider – “Investigation”
3. Painfully Honest with Willie Mayket – “Elysium”
4. The closing of the episode – “Island”

PM War Stories #26 – Project Portfolio Management: Defining Benefits, Building the Business Case and Setting Priorities for Projects within the PMO

Download PMW_0026_PPM_PMO_Business_Case.mp3 (9.1 MB)

Project Management practitioners understand that running a Project Management Office (PMO) means different groups within a company will compete for their projects to take priority.  As in any group dynamic, individuals are continuously assessing how they can better position themselves for success.  It’s the PMO’s role to step in to accurately assess the business benefits of all projects and prioritize them in relation to the greater good of the company as a whole.  More importantly, strategic alignment to corporate objectives is key to understanding where sponsored projects fit within the company’s portfolio – the wrong priority can mean the difference between order and chaos.  It’s for this very reason PMOs exist to objectively define the business benefits of all the proposed projects at arms length from the business units in which they emerged.  In many cases, business units propose projects to eliminate subjective risk.  It’s the PMO’s role to assess the proposed risk and implement an objective risk management strategy that can in the end avoid unnecessary costs associated to projects “deemed” necessary.

In this episode, we will examine how project management offices can use project portfolio management tools to define benefits and build business cases to determine which projects to pursue.  To do this, we sit down with industry insider, Beth Partleton, who has more than 30 years of project and portfolio management experience in manufacturing and construction. During her illustrious project management career, she was the Director of Strategic Projects for Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; she was a founder, charter member, and president of the Milwaukee/Southeast Wisconsin PMI Chapter; she was Chair of the PMI Educational Foundation Board of Directors  and lastly she served on the Board of Directors for PMI’s Manufacturing specific interest group. Today she will be sharing her insights and war stories around setting project priorities by properly defining project benefits and building the business case justification.

Hope you enjoy the episode. Thanks again to our community for sharing their war stories.
 
Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Catwalk”
2. Interview with Beth Partleton – “Kickflip”
3. The closing of the episode – “Yearbook”

PM War Stories #25 – PMO Success: Determining the Role, Personnel, and Maturity of the Project Office

Download PMW_0025_PMO_Success.mp3 (13.5 MB)

It is not very difficult to convince project managers of the value they bring to the table.  The reality is project managers are always a piece of a bigger picture within the organizations they represent. Although many understand the the value of project management, there are equally as many within the organization that still need convincing of the role project management plays in meeting corporate objectives.  In this regard, project management offices (PMOs) all face a similar predicament from their initial establishment defining their role within the organizations they serve to reaching full maturity by securing complete stakeholder buy-in and becoming true drivers of their company's success. 

At the end of the day, like any other department within an organization, the PMO will be judged on its performance.  For PMOs this means getting the job done in a timely fashion within budget and according to specifications, while optimizing the available resources at hand.  Consequently each project success linked to the PMO will lead to perceived value and stakeholder buy-in.  In other words, a PMOs maturity is based on its history of success.

In this episode, we will examine teammates, maturity, and success in the project office.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In Part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Alison Mills Long, who has over 18 years of experience in project management in the financial services industry. She is a founding member of the PMI Columbus, GA Chapter, and served as vice president of Communications & Publicity as well as Chapter President. She is also an instructor for Continuing Education and The Cunningham Center for Leadership Development at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA.

Alison is currently vice president and BankCard Services Project Office Manager for a leading financial services company.  In her current position, Alison's responsibilities include the overseeing new bankcard product launches, advancing soft skills, and managing compliance projects, as well as acquisition activities including portfolio conversions. Today she will share her insights and experiences in defining the role of the project management office, assessing organizational maturity and team skills, and measuring success.

In part 2, we go roaming with the Salty Dogg to examine March Madness  and its effect on decision making.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Catwalk”
2. Interview with Alison Mills-Long – “Alliance”
3. Roaming with the Salty Dogg – “Collins Avenue”
4. The closing of the episode – “East Ender”

 

PM War Stories #24 – How to Create a PMO and How to Maintain a Successful PMO through an Effective Project Portfolio Management Strategy

Download PMW_0024_PMOs_And_PPM.mp3 (16.2MB)

Creating a Project Management Office (PMO) requires a large commitment on the part of an organization in centralizing and streamlining its project activities.  Often the creation of the PMO overshadows the actual maintenance and success of its function.  In fact, 25% of PMOs typically fail in the third year of their existence.  Given this reality, its important for organizations to design a PMO that is built to last.  Meaning, PMOs require to have the right infrastructure and buy-in in order to succeed.   Implementing a Project Portfolio Management (PPM) methodology that accurately aligns an organizations corporate objectives with its active projects is what keeps the PMO machine going.  Without the fuel driven by sound PPM best practices a PMO's chances of success hang in the balance.  
 
In this episode, we will examine how to create a project management office and more importantly, how to successfully maintain it through an effective project portfolio management (PPM) strategy. To do this, we will look at PMOs in a service organization and a manufacturing company.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In Part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Kris Reynolds, who has over 10 years of project management experience and has led numerous projects in healthcare and software application development. He is the Director of the Program Management Office at Macrovision, formerly TV Guide. His PMO was named one of the Top 20 Outstanding project management organizations in the October 2007 edition of PM Network magazine. Kris is a frequent author and lecturer on project portfolio management, PMOs, and project management, and currently serves as president of the Project Management Institute (PMI) PMO Local Interest Groupof Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tonight Kris discusses how his organization created a PMO to develop and indoctrinate a consistent project management methodology and project management discipline.

In part 2, I sit down with industry insider, Beth Partleton who has more than 30 years of project and portfolio management experience in manufacturing and construction. During her illustrious project management career, she was the Director of Strategic Projects for Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; she was a founder, charter member, and president of the Milwaukee/Southeast Wisconsin PMI Chapter; she was Chair of the PMI Educational FoundationBoard of Directors and lastly she served on the Board of Directors for PMI’s Manufacturing specific interest group. Today she will be sharing her insights and war stories around the importance of PPM to maintain a successfully operating PMO.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Greasy Wheels”
2. Interview with Kris Reynolds – “Half Moon Bay”
3. Interview with Beth Partleton – “Glide”
4. The closing of the episode – “Electric Rodeo”

PM War Stories # 23 – The Stakeholder Factor: Looking to the Past and Future to Mitigate Project Risk

Download PMW_0023_Risk_Strategies.mp3 (25 MB) 

Probably the most difficult challenge project managers face when mitigating risks within their projects is anticipating their stakeholders impact on the outcome of their projects.  Risk Management has become a vital discipline in the planning of project uncertainty often the result of stakeholder activities.  Properly employing a defined set of metrics in a systematic manner provided by proven methodologies such as Earned Value Management (EVM), in conjunction with the "softer" techniques touted by Risk Management experts can save a project from being derailed by the unpredictable reality of human intervention .   As a result, project managers are constantly balancing stakeholder actions, or in some cases inactions, based on historical knowledge and anticipated future events to achieve the best results in mitigating project risk.

In this episode, we will examine how organizations can mitigate risk through effective risk and stakeholder management strategies.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.
 
In Part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Rich Maltzman who has over 30 years of project management experience. He is a Senior Manager in a large telecom's Global Program Management Office, looking after the career path, certification, development, skills management, etc. for more than 2,000 project managers. His current projects include Scope Crepe, a delicious blog about project management and life, and Fiddler on the Project, a book to help project managers keep their balance atop the roof consisting of the traditional project constraints (time, budget, and so on) and the change brought about by the project – all while producing a tune to inspire the various stakeholders. Tonight he will be sharing his insights and experiences in the management of stakeholders and the mitigation of risks.

If you would like more information about coping with or mitigating project risks or developing an effective risk management strategy, then check out:
 
   Episode 5, Creating a PMO: Coping with Risks &Uncertainties of Project Management (Part One);
   Episode 6, Creating a PMO: Coping with Risks &Uncertainties of Project Management (Part Two);
   Episode 16, Mitigating Risks in Project Management; and 
   Episode 19, Risk Management: Why opponents to the project are your most important external stakeholders.
 
In Part 2, the Technology Corner, I sit down with Charlene Thompson, who has over 15 years of project management experience. She is the Vice President of Programs for the Kansas City chapter of PMI,  and is a member of the PMI College of Scheduling. Currently, Charlene works for the EG&G Division of URS as Project Engineer for Alliant Techsystems  (ATK) at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. ATK has more than 17,000 employees in 21 states and is a leading supplier of aerospace and defense products, munitions, smart weapons, propulsion and composite structures. Today, Charlene discusses how ATK uses Primavera's earned value management system to mitigate risks and manage stakeholders while performing complex, long term maintenance projects at the munitions plant.

Thanks again to our community, please keep the war stories coming.
 
Music Notes
 
1. The opening of the episode – "Catwalk"
2. Interview with industry insider – "Collins Avenue"
3. Technology Corner – "Investigation"
4. The closing of the episode – "Electric Rodeo" 

PM War Stories #22 – Non Profit Projects: Managing Stakeholders While Serving the Greater Good

Download PMW_0022_Non_Profit_Projects.mp3 (11 MB)

Good project management means a detailed understanding of the role stakeholders play in the organizations they serve.  Like most industries, the non-profit sector has it own set of rules that require careful attention when managing projects that drive its organizations.  Further complicating matters, not for profit organizations are faced with an additional element outside of "the on time, within budget and within specification" mantra.  Non profit organizations need to ensure that their projects adhere to their altruistic ideals while managing a mix of professional and often a group of volunteer stakeholders that are passionate to the cause they represent.

This podcast will examine how to manage stakeholders in non profit projects while serving the greater good.

Today, we sit down with industry insider, Michael Kamel, who has nearly a decade of experience in engineering and project management. Currently he is the President & Chairman of the Board of Directors of PMI Montreal, and also sits on the board of directors of the Management Consulting Division of the Academy of Management.  Michael works as a Manager in Strategy & Operations for Deloitte Consulting in Montreal where his practice covers the domains of strategic planning, strategy deployment, innovation strategy and project management. Today he will be sharing his insights and war stories on managing projects and stakeholders in the non-profit sector.

We would also like to remind our listeners that it is not too late to sign up to receive a free copy of our upcoming Industry Report on new product development.

The industry report will provide project managers, engineers and executives insight into the technology and tools to develop, manage, design, and produce products from idea generation to commercialization.

If you would like to get a free copy of the report, which will be published in January, click here and complete the registration form today.

Thanks again to our community, please keep the war stories and suggestions coming.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Perspectives”

2. Interview with industry insider – “44^th Street”

3. The closing of the episode – “Electric Rodeo”

PM War Stories #21 – Earned Value Management: Using metrics to better gauge project milestones

Download PMW_0021_EVM_and_Milestones.mp3 (27.4 MB)

With businesses around the globe experiencing the pinch of a hurting economy, project managers and PMO leaders are looking for ways to mitigate project cost overruns by carefully gauging their resources and activities at every critical milestone.  In light of this reality, measuring techniques such as earned value management have been pushed to the the top of project managers' agendas in order to assist their organizations during these volatile times.  

So what is Earned Value Management (EVM) anyways?  EVM is a technique for objectively measuring project performance by combining the measurement of project scope, schedule and cost into one single integrated metric.  Sounds like a silver bullet?  Think again.  Like most project management methodologies, without the proper stakeholder buy-in and when misapplied EVM can yield inaccurate results that can potentially derail a project's path to success.  Alternatively, since its introduction in the 1960's by the US government, EVM has had a long history of helping project managers in the private sector and government contractors in the public sector in measuring the cost and performance of their projects.  

In this episode, we will examine the advantages and disadvantages of earned value management in providing metrics to better gauge project milestones.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In Part 1, the Technology Corner, we sit down with Charlene Thompson, who has over 15 years project management experience. She is the Vice President of Programs for the Kansas City chapter of PMI, and is a member of the PMI College of Scheduling. Currently, Charlene works for the EG&G Division of URS as Project Engineer for Alliant Techsystems (ATK) at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. ATK has more than 17,000 employees in 21 states and is a leading supplier of aerospace and defense products, munitions, smart weapons, propulsion and composite structures. In this episode, Charlene discusses why ATK switched from Microsoft Projects to Primavera to manage complex, long term maintenance projects at the munitions plant.

In Part 2, we will be talking to industry insider, Larry Bradshaw who has over 15 years of project and portfolio management experience. He is the founder and owner of Commonwealth Data Systems, Inc. Larry has extensive experience with IT Software Program and Project Execution as well as detailed leadership in software development, testing, implementation and support. In this episode, he will be sharing his insights and war stories around earned value management.

I would also like to remind our audience that it is not too late to sign up to receive a free copy of our upcoming Industry Report on new product development.

The industry report will provide project managers, engineers and executives insight into the technology and tools to develop, manage, design, and produce products from idea generation to commercialization. 
 
Participating vendors include Autodesk, Infor, IFS, Microsoft, Primavera, and Siemens–UGS.

The report will feature thought leadership, best practices and customer success stories in key verticals, such as aerospace, consumer goods, process manufacturing, financial services, publishing, and many others, to help project managers, engineers, and executives succeed.   

If you would like to get a free copy of the report, which will be published in January, click here to complete the registration form today.

Thanks again to our community, please keep the war stories and suggestions coming.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode - "Offroad"
2. Technology Corner - "Half Moon Bay"
3. Interview with Industry Insider - "Two Seater" 
4. The closing of the episode - "Electric Rodeo" 

PM War Stories #20 – Project Portfolio Management: How your PMO can strategically align projects with corporate goals

Download PMW0020_PPM_for_Visibility.mp3 (29.9 MB)

Often Project Management Offices (PMOs) are setup in response to an increasing volume of projects that are in desperate need to be managed, prioritized and tracked so that they deliver on the expectations of the corporations they serve.  Whether these projects drive the organizations operations or are core to the services delivered to customers, aligning their outcome with corporate goals is key to their success in the eyes of both internal and external stakeholder at hand. 

With this in mind, Project Portfolio Management (PPM) as a discipline is the governance framework of choice most PMOs embrace in order to efficiently and effectively manage the limited resources and long list of tasks on multiple projects residing at any given time within an organization.  This careful balancing act between resources and projects PMOs seek to achieve, requires the necessary visibility PPM can provide so that prject leaders can strateigcally align their success with corporate goals.

In this episode, we examine how project portfolio management provides the necessary visibility into projects that impact an organization’s success by examining a manufacturing company and a media company.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In Part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Beth Partleton, who has more than 30 years of project and portfolio management experience in manufacturing and construction. Beth recently retired from Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she worked as the Director of Strategic Projects and was responsible for creating Miller’s project management office and for developing a better link between portfolio management and Miller’s corporate strategy. During her illustrious project management career, she was a founder, charter member and president of the Milwaukee/Southeast Wisconsin PMI Chapter; she was Chair of the PMI Educational Foundation Board of Directors, and lastly she served on the Board of Directors for PMI’s Manufacturing specific interest group. Today she will be sharing her insights and war stories around managing project priorities in a manufacturing environment.

In part 2, the Technology Corner, I sit down with Kris Reynolds, Director of the Program Management Office (PMO) at Macrovision, formerly TV Guide. Kris has over 10 years of project management experience and has led numerous projects in healthcare and software application development. His PMO was named one of the Top 20 Outstanding project management organizations in the October 2007 edition of PM Network magazine. Kris is a frequent author and lecturer on project portfolio management, PMOs, and project management, and currently serves as president of the Project Management Institute (PMI) PMO Local Interest Group of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tonight he discusses how his organization improved resource management, capacity planning and moved away from putting out fires to managing projects, all by switching from a system of spreadsheets, word documents and the ad hoc standard of the day to Daptiv PPM.

Special Announcement: Based on feedback from our audience, PM War Stories is partnering with the PMI Montreal Chapter to create and distribute the Product Development and Design Industry Report

The industry report will provide project managers, engineers, and executives insight into the technology and tools to develop, manage, design, and produce products from idea generation to commercialization. Examining key software vendors in project portfolio management, new product development and product life cycle management, the report will provide in-depth analysis of the state of the market. 
 
Additionally, it will feature thought leadership, best practices and customer success stories in key verticals, such as aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer goods, electronics, industrials, life sciences, process manufacturing, financial services, publishing, and many others, to help project managers, engineers, and executives succeed.   

Anyone interested in receiving a free copy of the report, which will be published in December, should complete the registration form today.

Many thanks to our audience, please keep the war stories and suggestions coming.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode - Torn Jeans
2. Interview with industry insider - East Ender
3. Technology Corner - Highlight Reel
4. The closing of the episode - Electric Rodeo

PM War Stories #19 – Risk Management: Why opponents to the project are your most important external stakeholders

Download PMW_0019_Opponents_Are_Key.mp3 (30MB)

Understanding who your stakeholders are and how they directly or indirectly impact a project plan requires planning that will ensure the best communication and risk management strategy facilitating the navigation of the bumps project managers will face along the road.  Good project managers understand that disparate groups of stakeholders need to be best aligned together to create a powerful coalition of support.  More importantly, carefully managing the risk of your opponents that are often part of this equation must be diligently monitored in order to maintain stakeholder alignment.  As the expression goes – “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

In this episode, we look at the relationship between stakeholder and risk management by examining the story of the Fiddler on the Roof, Cape Wind (Cape Wind opponents), and a mining project in South America.

Our show is divided into two segments:

In Part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Rich Maltzman who has over 30 years of project management experience. He is a Senior Manager in a large telecom's Global Program Management Office, looking after the career path, certification, development, skills management, etc. for more than 2,000 project managers. His current projects include Scope Crepe, a delicious blog about project management and life, and Fiddler on the Project, a book to help project managers keep their balance atop the roof consisting of the traditional project constraints (time, budget, and so on) and the change brought about by the project – all while producing a tune to inspire the various stakeholders. In this segment he will be sharing his insights and experiences on stakeholder and risk management.

In part 2, we sit down with industry insider, Dr. Wilhelm Kross, who is a recognized expert in the fields of risk and project management. He is currently a Senior Vice President with Marsh GmbH (a subsidiary of Marsh) and President of the PMI Frankfurt Chapter. During his career, he worked as a mine manager, functional manager and risk management specialist for assignments in more than 30 countries. His current professional endeavors focus on the management of complex and troubled projects, the application and implementation of operational risk and advanced decision analysis techniques in real life environments; and lastly organizational portfolio management to better align investments, products & service offerings, projects, and operations. In this segment he will be sharing his insights and experiences in the management of stakeholders and the mitigation of risks.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Yearbook”
2. Interview with Rich Maltzman – “Wild Card”
3. Interview with Dr. Wilhelm Kross – “Windy City”
4. The closing of the episode – “Glide”