Project Management War Stories

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 #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”

PM War Stories #16 – Mitigating Risks in Project Management

Download PMW_0016_Mitigating_Risks.mp3 (21.2 MB)

Uncertainty is inherent to all projects.  Good project managers have developed their own strategies to both manage and mitigate project uncertainties that can have either a positive or negative impact on a project's outcome.  To further complicate matters, project managers must face overlapping or conflicting views of risk by both the business side and the project team.  What separates the good project managers from the bad is the ability not to only plan for project uncertainities, but the ability to manage risk across the entire organization.

In this episode we will examine the evaluation and management of project risk in its appropriate context, as well as how professional services organizations can mitigate risk when selecting an enterprise resource planning system or ERP system.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Dr. Wilhelm Kross, who is a recognized expert in the fields of risk- and project management. Currently he is President of the PMI Frankfurt Chapter and a Senior Vice President with Marsh GmbH, a subsidiary of Marsh - the world's leading insurance broker and strategic risk advisor. During his career, Dr. Kross has focused on IT mega-projects, crisis and turnaround management, and operational risk audits and management assignments in more than 30 countries. In this episode he will be sharing his insights and experiences in the management of complex and troubled projects while mitigating risks.

In Part 2, the Technology Corner, we sit down with David Hofferberth, who has over 20 years experience in the information technology industry. David is the Managing Director at Service Performance Insight, covering the services economy, with particular emphasis on white-collar productivity issues.  His area of specialization is the technologies that enable peak performance of people and service organizations. In this episode he discusses how ERP technology can provide business benefits and how to make effective ERP purchase and deployment decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and encourage you to send your questions, issues, and war stories.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Country” by The Videos 
2. Interview with industry insider – “Risk your life” by Flipper Dave
3. Technology Corner  – “Integration is InteGREAT” by Csub1
4. The closing of the episode – “PSA” by DynaMic Produktionz

 

PM War Stories #6 – Creating a PMO: Coping with Risks and Uncertainties of Project Management (Part Two)

Download PMW_0006_PMRisk_Part2.mp3 (12.8MB)

Part one of our August show brought to light the realities project managers face when coping with risks and uncertainties in their projects.  This episode will examine the consequences of both carefully managing and disregarding the signs of risk and uncertainty in projects.  Project managers more often that not are faced with coping with challenges that can stonewall their projects.  Those who have developed the appropriate coping skills to manage these challenges have a better chance in ensuring project success and being perceived effective in their jobs.  Inversely, those who ignore the signs of risk will most likely result in project failure and in some cases the loss of credibility as an effective project manager.

In light of this, the second episode of our August show will provide insight in which risks and uncertainties in project management have lead to success and failure in two different instances.   

In the second episode the show is divided into 2 segments:

In Part 1, we will bring you the second half of our interview with an industry insider. This month we will be talking to industry insider, Beth Partleton, the Director of Operations and Project Management for the Miller Brewing Company.  Beth has more than 30 years of project and portfolio management experience in manufacturing and construction and her current focus is developing a better link between portfolio management and Miller’s corporate strategy. In this portion of her interview she will be sharing her insights and strategies around the sustainability and success of the project management office she created for the Miller Brewing Company

In Part 2, Willie Maykett, our in-house project management specialist, will sound off in Painfully Honest with Willie Maykett. This episode will examine “The Flamingo” hotel construction project and its colorful project manager Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel whose blatant disregard of risk lead to his failure as a project manager and his ultimate murder, despite his incredible vision that would set the stage for the development of the Las Vegas hotel strip.

We hope you enjoy the show and encourage you to send your questions, issues, and war stories.

Music Notes
1. The opening of the episode – "Montreal" by Glass Rose
2. Intro to interview with industry insider – "Miller Light" by Cabomano
3. Intro to Painfully Honest with Willie Maykett – "Will he make it to monday?" by Undetermined 
4. Outro to Painfully Honest with Willie Maykett – “Casino Hero” by The Pseudonyms
5. The closing of the episode – "Beerology" by BrandX

PM War Stories #5 – Creating a PMO: Coping with Risks and Uncertainties of Project Management (Part One)

Download PMW_0005_PMRisk_Part1.mp3 (12.5MB)

Risks and uncertainties are inherent to all projects.  It is for this very reason that there is an entire discipline devoted to

Risk Management for project managers.  Successful project managers recognize the importance in taking the appropriate preventative measures to reduce predictable and unpredictable factors that can impact a project’s successful outcome.  More importantly effective project managers are excellent at coping with the challenges and uncertainties that can derail their projects at any point prior to their completion.  Successful project managers are masters at turning lemons into lemonade.

In this vein, our August show has been divided into two episodes that will examine risks and uncertainties in project management and the critical impact a project manager’s soft skills will have on a project’s outcome.   

In the first episode the show is divided into 2 segments:

In Part 1, we will go Roaming with the Salty Dogg and explore the care and feeding of a US army transport Liberty ship torpedoed in Bali by the Japanese in WWII.  This story exemplifies the reality of uncertainty and risk when embarking on a project.

In Part 2, we will bring you the first half of our interview with an industry insider. This month we will be talking to industry insider, Beth Partleton, the Director of Operations and Project Management for the Miller Brewing Company.  Beth has more than 30 years of project and portfolio management experience in manufacturing and construction and her current focus is developing a better link between portfolio management and Miller’s corporate strategy. Today she will be sharing her insights and war stories around the creation and maintenance of a project management office for the Miller Brewing Company.

We hope you enjoy the show and encourage you to send your questions, issues, and war stories.

Music Notes
1. The opening of the episode – "montreal stand up" by Lil JJ
2. Roaming with the Salty Dogg – "Ship Wrecked" by Lie Box
4. Outro to interview with industry insider and closing of episode – "Miller Lite Song" by Tonsen Sportsman