Projectified

Innovation separates the leaders from the laggards. While there’s no surefire path to the kind of breakthrough creative thinking that leads to the next big thing, organizations are on the prowl for ways to spark innovation.Vidhya Abhijith is the co-founder of Codewave Technologies in Bengaluru, India. The PMI Future 50 leader talks about the link between design thinking and innovation, and how team members can push one another to think differently.Yuri Bartzis, innovation manager at Pomerleau in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, discusses how the company’s innovation teams seek out new technologies and working processes. He also talks about one of the innovation team’s pilot projects with Spot, an autonomous robotic canine. Key themes [00:42] Building cultures to spark innovation[03:19] How design thinking can help deliver innovative solutions[04:06] Stakeholders, team members, customers—all can share innovative ideas[08:10] Innovation initiatives to embrace new tech, work processes[10:48] Testing Spot, the autonomous robot, on a project site[12:26] Buy-in from upper management key to embrace innovation 

The World Bank estimates 1 billion people experience some form of disability. That means accessibility must be built into how teams approach every project—helping them deliver more value to everyone.Kathryn Rutkowski, PMP, senior program manager, Atlassian, Sydney, Australia, discusses how bringing in experts can help bring an accessibility sensibility to project teams. She also talks about designing projects with accessibility customers in mind to create a better experience for everyone.Matt Ligas, principal, Michael Graves Architecture & Design, Washington, D.C., USA, discusses a project to build accessible homes for military families and how feedback from the homes’ occupants has influenced design decisions. He also shares how architects play a key role in keeping an accessibility focus on projects.Key themes [00:57] Increased awareness, legislation for accessibility[02:36] Building accessible sensibility into project teams  [06:01] Design thinking: Think of accessibility customers as people with difficulties, not disabilities [08:07] Pushing Atlassian’s accessibility program forward[10:02] Making accessibility standard on projects, products[11:34] Personal experience puts focus on accessible design[13:29] Customer-focused design on Accessible Military Housing project[17:21] State of accessibility: We’re doing better than ever, but there’s still work to be done 

Without a permanent physical office, digital nomads are leading projects as they travel the world.Ott Vatter, managing director of the e-Residency program in the Republic of Estonia in Tallinn, Estonia, discusses how the project helped create a community for digital nomads. Christina Nguyen, PMP, strategy practice leader for Global Professional & Field Services, Dell Technologies, Austin, Texas, USA, talks about leading a project portfolio as a digital nomad. She also shares the lessons she learned and how the experience changed how she leads projects and teams. Plus, the value of online upskilling. Matt Koch, PMP, vice president and director of operations for the federal business unit at Atkins North America, shares how his team benefited from the online courses at PMTraining.com Key themes[03:28] The need for community among digital nomads[07:29] Discovering the “new normal” of the digital nomad lifestyle[10:17] Building connections through empathy[11:54] New challenges of remote working during COVID-19[15:21] Remote upskilling through PMTraining.com 

The world’s historic and cultural sites connect us to human history. Projects to preserve or restore these sites must be handled with care. Ray Pepi, president and founder of Building Conservation Associates in New York, New York, USA, talks about managing priorities of preserving a building’s cultural and historical significance while also setting it up for continued use. He also discusses how he sees structural conservation changing in the future.Kacey Hadick, director of project development at CyArk in Oakland, California, USA, talks about working with teams around the world to digitally document cultural heritage sites under their care, the challenges these teams face and how they can use the data in the short term as well as in the future.Key themes[02:40] Preserving history with the future in mind[03:58] Importance of research in restoring or conserving cultural properties [08:14] Future of historic preservation and sustainability[09:24] Digitally documenting cultural heritage sites and on-site problem-solving[11:43] Using data to call for action in Rapa Nui[15:13] How teams can use digital documentation now and in the future

A new generation of leaders is creating, transforming and defining The Project Economy. Meet a few members of PMI’s Future 50, a group of rising project leaders who are making their mark with bold thinking—and innovative projects. Kenneth Harris II, senior satellite engineer, Joint Polar Satellite System, NASA, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA, talks about his career journey and the future of project teams and STEM talent. Geetha Gopal, PMP, senior infrastructure projects manager, Panasonic Asia Pacific, Singapore, discusses the value of data, embracing AI and machine learning, and creating change within organizations. Miishe Addy, co-founder and CEO, Jetstream Africa, Accra, Ghana, shares how her organization focused on customers while digitizing logistics and connecting African supply chains. And PM Network® writer Tegan Jones discusses how this youthquake is reshaping the future and accelerating innovation in the project world. Key themes [00:50] The Future 50: Rising young project leaders transforming The Project Economy[02:52] Passion for the cutting-edge and family inspiration at NASA[05:32] All leaders are different[06:30] Focus on the future: More specialized project teams and the next generation of STEM talent[08:09] AI, machine learning and their value to organizations[10:30] Create change by gaining management support, evaluating resistance and listening[12:27] Taking the entrepreneurial spirit from the U.S. to Ghana[14:13] Customer focus in digitizing logistics, creating supply chains[17:27] Organizations moving from perfection to continuous learning and innovation[21:06] Putting the focus on results, not ego

What skills will help project leaders succeed in times of uncertainty? As organizations pivot and deploy virtual teams, collaborative, engaging leaders are steering their teams to success. Penny Pullan, PhD, PMP, founder, Making Projects Work Ltd., Loughborough, England, says when you’re working virtually, command and control doesn’t work. She shares the value of facilitative leadership and the importance of building a team culture and relationships when leading virtual teams.Luiz Dias, PMP, PgMP, head of digital, portfolio transformation, Department for Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom, Newcastle, England, discusses how he and his teams have added daily standups and opened more lines of communication during COVID-19. He also shares how keeping a calm, positive attitude can help when leading teams in uncertain times. Key Themes[02:08] Leading virtual teams with facilitative leadership[04:02] Creating a culture for virtual teams [05:28] Building relationships with your team members[08:43] Communication more important than ever in COVID-19[11:39] Being open to reinvention and keeping a calm, positive attitude [13:25] Characteristics of a great leader: compassionate, concerned for team members and confident

Diverse project teams deliver value. A team that offers a wide variety of mindsets and skill sets will outperform the competition, as members challenge one another and approach problems from new angles. That often leads to innovation.Blair Taylor, partner, Workforce of the Future, PwC, Seattle, Washington, USA, says diversity unlocks potential. It yields better business results, and diverse teams create personal connections between people. He also discusses how he believes empathy—associative and acquired—is the missing ingredient to see more progress in diversity, equity and inclusion. Annice Joseph, co-lead, Inclusive Career Journeys, SAP, Bengaluru, India, shares how cross-generational teams bring innovation, creativity and group wisdom to projects. She also talks about how SAP’s cross-generation mentoring initiative has helped managers learn and change their behavior on their own teams.Key Themes [02:27] Diversity yields better business results, sends a message about an organization’s values and stimulates personal connections [06:16] Empathy—associative and acquired—is often a missing ingredient [11:05] Fostering a diverse environment and recruiting diverse talent [13:36] Multigenerational teams bring innovation, creativity and group wisdom [15:04] Changing behavior through SAP’s cross-generation mentoring initiative[17:02] Creating teams with skills and talent from across an organization

In the coronavirus pandemic, following the wrong information could be a fatal error. That’s why fact-checking organizations are delivering projects to separate truth from rumors. Silvia Cavasola, project manager, Pagella Politica, Milan, Italy, shares how teams from multiple organizations are working together to create a chatbot to answer COVID-19 questions. She also talks about the chatbot’s potential to create a closer relationship between readers and fact-checking platforms.Itziar Bernaola, director, Newtral Educación, Madrid, Spain, says her organization is facing an increasing number of fact verification requests due to COVID-19. Bernaola shares how she’s leading her team through a stressful time and discusses an automation project to help fact-checkers verify coronavirus information faster.Key Themes[02:05] Expanding fact-checking beyond the political world to include nonpolitical, coronavirus misinformation[03:50] Project of necessity: A chatbot for COVID-19 queries[07:27] Creating a relationship between readers and fact-checking platforms[09:27] Leading a team with an increased workload in a stressful time[12:46] Using automation to verify information

The world of business will look different after COVID-19, setting the stage for project professionals to lead the way into the next normal.Lindsay Scott, PM Network career columnist and co-founder of Arras People, London, England, shares how skills development—including certifications and specialized training—and maintaining your professional network can help project professionals prepare for the competitive job market to come. She also talks about how young project leaders can find their voices and bring their perspectives to help create change.Mike DePrisco, vice president, global experience & solutions, PMI, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA, talks about the online version of the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification exam. Also: three free courses from PMI to help project leaders continue their professional development from home.Key themes [01:58] Prepare for competitive job market by developing skills, maintaining professional network[08:34] Using certifications, specialized training to stand out from other applicants[11:58] The value of servant leadership[15:40] Young project professionals finding their voice, bringing their perspectives to create change[17:56] PMP certification exam now available online [23:22] Free courses, digital resources from PMI to upskill while working from home [25:26] Project professionals can help world recover after COVID-19 

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of risk management. David Hillson, PhD, PMI Fellow, founder of The Risk Doctor Partnership, Petersfield, England, discusses identifying and analyzing risk in innovative and novel situations. Dr. Hillson says COVID-19 isn’t currently a risk—it’s a problem—and the risk management task is to look at the uncertainties that could come next.Mohamad ElHelaly, PMI-PBA, PMI-RMP, PMP, assistant project manager at Orascom Construction, Cairo, Egypt, shares his top lesson learned from previous projects: Change is inevitable. He also talks about how risk management shouldn’t work in a silo and should be integrated into project processes and decisions.Key themes [02:11] Identifying, analyzing risk in innovative scenarios[03:39] Risk’s effect on objectives, managing threats and opportunities [06:00] Look for uncertainties to come from COVID-19[11:35] Flexibility, resilience in society, organizations, projects and people[13:36] Lesson learned: Change is inevitable; you must adapt[16:23] Integrating risk management into all project processes