Projectified

The citizen development revolution has arrived. With low- and no-code platforms, more people can quickly learn how to build apps—without waiting for the IT department.Arjun Jamnadass, managing director at FTI Consulting in London, discusses how citizen development can reduce the burden on IT teams and deliver the solutions teams need more quickly.Christian Peverelli, co-founder of WeAreNoCode in Los Angeles, talks about empowering citizen developers and how organizations can make the most of the movement. Key themes[01:05] The growth of citizen development[03:26] Delivering value by quickly creating solutions[06:08] Recognizing citizen development as another way to deliver projects[07:59] Empowering nontechnical team members[11:08] Rethinking agile with low- or no-code platforms[13:19] Training citizen developers

The pandemic has fundamentally shifted how people work. While some sectors and regions struggle, others are full of activity. So what does that mean for project leaders and their careers in 2021? Alice Chow, a director at engineering giant Arup in Hong Kong, China, discusses what she’s seeing on the post-COVID jobs landscape. She also explains why project leaders should strengthen their listening skills. Lindsay Scott, co-founder of Arras People in London, shares her outlook on job hot spots for this year. The career columnist for PM Network also talks about how project leaders can align their personal risk appetite with career opportunities. Key themes[01:04] Uncertainty and opportunity in 2021[02:32] The 2021 outlook[04:38] Improving listening skills to better address clients’ needs[07:46] Analyzing personal risk: Seeking safety or new opportunities in adversity[12:08] The world of work post-COVID-19

Wildfires are a devastating, natural phenomenon. But as climate change makes the world hotter and drier, the threat has intensified. Following megafires on Australia’s Kangaroo Island and in the Pantanal in Brazil, project teams got to work helping animals and looking at ways to future-proof their increasingly fragile ecosystems.Rafael Hoogesteijn, jaguar program conflict director at Panthera in Porto Jofre, Brazil, discusses how teams collaborated with the government and local community stakeholders to help the jaguar population as wildfires raged in the Pantanal. Pat Hodgens, fauna ecologist at Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife in Kingscote, Australia, talks about how teams are collaborating on the Kangaroo Island recovery, an effort that made PMI’s 2020 list of Most Influential Projects. He shares details on his team’s efforts to aid a small marsupial native to the island after its habitat was burned in the bushfires. Key themes[01:12] Wildfires: A growing threat around the globe[03:08] Teams, firefighters & military work together to fight Pantanal wildfires[07:04] Partnering with the community to help jaguars[12:10] Initiatives to help the Kangaroo Island dunnart[16:29] Lessons Learned: Act fast and put resources toward wildfire prevention 

Virtual learning was already a high-growth sector, but that was nothing compared to skyrocketing usage among children shut out of schools by the pandemic in 2020. While there have been promising results, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Mac Glovinsky, global program manager at UNICEF, talks about how his team accelerated the growth of Learning Passport, a virtual education program that’s ranked number 3 on PMI’s 2020 list of Most Influential Projects. He also shares how despite increased digitalization, there’s still a need for humans to be involved in online learning. Boye Oshinaga, co-founder and CEO at Gradely, discusses the project to create the online learning platform and how the team blends virtual learning with in-person instruction. And virtual learning isn't just for students—project leaders can use online tools and classes to upskill, too. Tony Byrnes, PMP, director of program management at Altice USA, discusses how PMTraining.com’s live online training classes helped prepare him and his team for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification exam.Key themes [00:58] Virtual learning: Promising results with room to grow[02:19] Accelerating and expanding UNICEF’s Learning Passport[07:50] The future of edtech: Delivering access as well as learning [12:19] Working with teachers to create online lessons[15:39] Blending virtual learning and in-person instruction[19:00] Using online learning for professional development

Projects have the power to not only benefit business but society as a whole. But to achieve positive social impact, the same strategic mindset behind the drive for bottom-line results must be applied to ensure projects create a better world.TED@PMI speaker and marketing consultant Khulan Batkhuyag discusses how keeping things simple can help teams be agile and how her visits with Mongolian nomads changed her views on sustainability and her approach to projects.Okka Phyo Maung, co-founder, CFO and CMO at RecyGlo, shares how the Myanmar startup is using tech to reduce pollution in waterways through better waste management and data analytics. He also talks about how his company is helping make the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals a reality. Key themes [01:10] Seeking positive social impact isn’t just the right thing—it’s also the smart thing to do[03:36] Keeping things simple to increase agility[06:28] Sustainability: Developing something that’s resilient [09:54] Consider the social impact of your work [12:43] Pursuing positive social impact through data [14:44] Why the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals are so important  Projects have the power to not only benefit business but society as a whole. But to achieve positive social impact, the same strategic mindset behind the drive for bottom-line results must be applied to ensure projects create a better world.     TED@PMI speaker and marketing consultant Khulan Batkhuyag discusses how keeping things simple can help teams be agile and how her visits with Mongolian nomads changed her views on sustainability and her approach to projects.  Okka Phyo Maung, co-founder, CFO and CMO at RecyGlo, shares how the Myanmar startup is using tech to reduce pollution in waterways through better waste management and data analytics. He also talks about how his company is helping make the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals a reality.  Key themes [01:10] Seeking positive social impact isn’t just the right thing—it’s also the smart thing to do[03:36] Keeping things simple to increase agility[06:28] Sustainability: Developing something that’s resilient [09:54] Consider the social impact of your work [12:43] Pursuing positive social impact through data [14:44] Why the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals are so important  

PMI’s 2020 Most Influential Projects highlights more than 250 bold, breakthrough efforts—spanning sectors and continents. Guests discuss three of those initiatives: Hugh Lawson, project director at Sydney Metro in Sydney, discusses how the massive project will transform transportation in the city and how COVID-19 created opportunities to challenge long-held assumptions. César García Marirrodriga, project manager at the European Space Agency in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, shares what scientists hope to learn about the heliosphere from the Solar Orbiter’s seven-year mission. Rob Wright, of Public Services and Procurement Canada, talks about how the project team created a long-term vision with built-in flexibility for a multiyear restoration of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  Key themes [00:56] PMI’s 2020 Most Influential Projects[02:24] Sydney Metro to bring new ways to move around the city[04:43] Challenging long-held assumptions and finding opportunities in COVID-19[07:00] Sydney Metro transforming transportation for years to come[09:31] Solar Orbiter: Unlocking secrets of the sun[12:25] Creating a long-term vision with built-in flexibility for Parliament Hill Rehabilitation[15:03] Using Centre Block as an apex project to drive strategy[17:37] Lesson learned: Bring construction and design together on day one

Command and control leadership is losing ground to a new style—one that emphasizes creativity, resilience, authenticity and a willingness to reach out for help. Two TED@PMI speakers discuss the must-have skills of the modern leader.Billy Samuel Mwape, PMP, assistant information and communications technology manager at Development Bank of Zambia in Lusaka, discusses resilience and letting team members make mistakes. He also talks about a very personal project: unifying a team of therapists in response to his son’s diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Chiwuike Amaechi, PMP, principal subsea intervention engineer at Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Co. in Lagos, Nigeria, discusses the power of storytelling and shares how he uses the skill to drive home the points he wants to make to his team. Key themes [01:17] Leaders wielding creativity, empathy and resilience[02:46] Traits of resilience: Know the roadmap and be transparent[07:01] How uncertainty drives creativity[12:19] Using storytelling to unite teams[14:20] The role of listening for storytellers[16:06] When crafting stories, reflect and be deliberate

Innovation in the healthcare sector takes time—with companies devoting long hours to research and clinical trials while adapting to regulatory changes along the way.  Leo Rapallini at Medtronic in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA discusses how his team upgraded the world’s smallest pacemaker for a bigger share of the market. He talks about how company culture and a passionate, multidisciplinary team helped the organization deliver disruptive innovation.  Andy Molnar at UVD Robots in Boston, Massachusetts, USA shares how the company scaled up to meet a global increase in demand for its autonomous disinfection robot. He also discusses how he sees bots helping humans do more strategic work in healthcare.   Key themes [02:16] Staging development: Starting pacemaker innovation with the Micra VR[06:08] Micra AV: Giving a tiny pacemaker an upgrade[08:25] Company culture, passionate team key to disruptive innovation[12:07] COVID-19 shines spotlight on sanitation across industries[14:13] How UVD Robots scaled up to meet spike in demand[19:06] Robots not taking over—helping humans do value-added work in healthcare 

India is at a crossroads, a moment that may determine whether its economy can grow fast enough to support its rising population. To survive—and thrive—will require new ways of thinking.Rachna Singh, IT deployment program manager at Amazon in Bengaluru, discusses how the IT business has changed in India over the course of her career, what lies ahead—and the skills project professionals need to succeed in the sector. Ankur Jain, founder and CEO at Bira 91 in New Delhi, talks about some of the challenges he’s faced while scaling up his craft brewery and how cross-functional teams are helping his company innovate.Key themes [01:14] A time of growth in India [03:03] Change of mindset and innovation in IT[05:40] Focusing on communication, risk and technical skills[08:06] Bringing craft brewing to India  [13:43] How cross-functional teams help Bira 91 innovate 

There’s a lot riding on the future of food—our personal health, the health of our environment and the growing issue of food security. One potentially promising solution? Plant-based foods.Giulia Braghieri, head of growth and expansion at NotCo, discusses how the Chilean company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to create plant-based versions of food staples like mayonnaise, milk and more. She also talks about how NotCo uses agile to turn the founder’s ideas into reality. Troy Swope, co-founder and CEO of Footprint, discusses plant-based packaging for food. He shares how each project pushes the U.S. company to innovate and iterate its products.Key Themes [00:56] The plant revolution in the food industry[03:00] Using AI, machine learning to create plant-based food[07:26] Using agile to turn ideas into reality[10:45] Effect of consumer climate awareness on the food industry  [12:51] From microprocessors to food: Creating plant-based food packaging [15:48] Focusing on customers and their products