Projectified

Companies across regions and sectors face myriad cyber threats from ransomware and phishing scams to attacks from professional cybercriminals—a growing number of them now using AI. In response, organizations are launching cybersecurity projects to keep their companies’ and customers’ data secure. We discuss this with:Gordon Yan, PMP, vice president, IT project manager, OCBC Bank, Singapore: Yan discusses how Singapore’s banking industry is reacting to more phishing and impersonation scams, artificial intelligence’s growing role—as a potential threat and opportunity—in cybersecurity, how he’s adopting agile practices in his projects and how greater cybersecurity investments and awareness can help build customer trust and confidence.Mateusz Jasny, PMP, cybersecurity director, Comarch, Krakow, Poland: Jasny discusses the biggest cyber threats companies face today and how they’re leading to increased cybersecurity efforts across organizations, along with how his teams use threat modeling to identify potential risks to projects. Plus, he shares why cybersecurity project managers need collaboration and facilitation skills along with cybersecurity literacy.Key themes[00:52] Teams are meeting cyber threats with increased cybersecurity efforts[05:16] Delivering a continuous surveillance cybersecurity project at a financial institution[07:52] Adopting agile practices to improve project delivery[08:52] Investing in cybersecurity efforts and awareness to boost customer confidence and trust[10:30] Responding with agility and flexibility in the face of professional threat actors and advances in AI[13:32] Utilizing threat modeling to determine risks on cybersecurity projects[14:44] Must-haves for cybersecurity project managers: Collaboration and facilitation skills, plus cybersecurity literacy

Project professionals are in high demand, but how does someone break into the profession? In a joint discussion, guests share how they started their project management careers—one pursuing it from the start, the other taking the role unexpectedly—the top skills new project managers should develop and how organizations can help project leaders upskill. Plus, they share how certifications from PMI have given their career development a boost.Our guests include Johanna Kolerski-Bezerra, PMP, project manager for forecasting, Euromonitor International, London; and Alisa Vovk, CAPM, consultant in HR global strategic initiatives, CGI, Toronto. Key themes[02:06] Two project leaders share their career journeys[07:51] Four skills new project managers should focus on developing[09:28] Ways organizations can help project professionals upskill[11:53] Never had a project management role? Look for workshops, certifications and volunteer opportunities[14:41] How the PMI community and certifications from PMI have helped two project leaders’ careers[18:05] Looking to break into project management? Learn fast, stay inquisitive and be patient

More and more businesses are realizing that sustainability projects are not just good for the environment—they also can boost an organization’s bottom line. But project managers need the right skills to get organizational support to deliver successful initiatives. We discuss this with: Brittany Brama, principal sustainability program manager, C.H. Robinson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA: Brama discusses how she prioritizes sustainability-focused projects, how a passion project became a tool that helped customers reduce carbon emissions by 350,000 metric tons in its pilot phase, and ways project managers can build support and a collaborative environment for sustainability projects—plus the different ways her teams measure the impact of these projects.Oladele Iyiola, PMP, program manager for strategic programs, sustainability and ESG, Tawal, Riyadh: Iyiola discusses how his passion drove him to lead sustainability projects, how a recycling and waste management project helped his company re-use assets and better recycle operational waste, and his top advice to other project professionals leading sustainability projects.Key themes[02:01] Prioritizing sustainability projects that share value across an enterprise[02:41] Delivering value to customers through a carbon emissions monitoring tool[05:20] Building collaboration and buy-in for sustainability projects with the C-suite and customers[06:58] Ways to measure a project’s impact: sustainability pledges met, CO2 reduced and stakeholder feedback[08:54] A passion for sustainability: balancing telecom’s energy needs and environmental impact[11:43] Launching a recycling and waste management project to boost the recycling of operational waste[14:28] Must-have skills for sustainability projects: technical skills, collaboration and stakeholder management [15:18] Looking to lead sustainability projects? Be a change agent and increase awareness

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, collaboration tools—project managers are using a bevy of new technologies to boost efficiency and improve project outcomes. We discuss this with: Niral Rajani, project manager, Aristocrat, Sydney: Rajani discusses how tech tools can increase efficiency and reduce cost and time on projects, and how he uses machine learning to predict risk, complexity and resources on future projects—plus the steps he takes to ensure a smooth implementation for new technologies or tech tools on his teams. Dunola Oladapo, founder of Luton Lights and Generation Connect program lead at the U.N.’s International Telecommunication Union, U.K.: Oladapo discusses how she’s seen an increase in project management and collaboration tools as more people embrace remote work, how she uses collaboration tools to connect with young leaders around the world, and why empathy, equity and creating a safe, collaborative environment are must-haves when leading virtual teams.Key themes[02:07] How tech tools are changing how project managers deliver initiatives[04:14] Training machine learning models to predict risk, resourcing and more[06:10] Steps to ensure a smooth implementation of new technologies[07:22] Ways to build buy-in for next-gen tech tools[11:10] Project managers seeing more tech tools as remote work increases[13:12] Finding collaboration tools that work for your team[16:03] Empathy and compassion: Two must-haves for project managers in a tech-fueled world

Resilience is a must-have for teams delivering projects in today’s disruptive and volatile world. So how do you build resiliency on teams? We discuss this with:Ray Jones, PMI-ACP, PMP, program manager, SMX Technology, San Antonio, Texas, USA: Jones discusses the new context for resilience in a more complex and ambiguous world, how project leaders can build team resiliency by leaning into a learning mindset, how he helped make a team more resilient by changing their work processes and environment, plus how a diversity of skills and perspectives makes for a more resilient team.Carlos Augusto Fernandes Filho, senior director for commercial aviation programs, Embraer, São José dos Campos, Brazil: Filho shares how resilience can help drive results in an organization and motivate teams, the skills he’s looking for to create—and develop—a resilient team, and how multidisciplinary, collaborative teams help build resilience. Key Themes [01:44] Resiliency’s role in a volatile, uncertain environment[03:33] Building resilience through experiential learning and empathy[08:55] How a diversity of skills boosts team resilience[12:21] The benefits of resiliency—and the pitfalls of lacking it[13:17] Creating teams with resilient members, plus how to help them further develop their resilience[17:37] How division within teams—and organizations—can hinder resilience[21:11] Looking to encourage team resilience? Create a culture of moving forward

For International Women’s Day, Projectified® hosts a roundtable with three women project leaders to discuss what it’s currently like for women in project management, how teams benefit from diversity and how organizations can better support women leaders, plus questions they had for one another as fellow project leaders.Our guests include Janete Faustino, PMP, PfMP, portfolio management leader of operations strategy and performance, TAP Air Portugal, Lisbon; Bharti Ochani, PMP, IT project manager, Halian, Dubai; and Maeve O’Brien, project manager, DDB, Chicago.Key themes[02:00] Three women project leaders on the state of women in project management[05:00] The benefits of diverse teams[06:16] Top skills for project managers: stakeholder management, accountability and conviction[09:43] Ways organizations can support women leaders[13:22] How do you keep moving forward in the face of obstacles on projects?[18:54] Advice to women project leaders: Network, be the driver of your own career, be genuine

Financial services companies—from established giants to new startups—face disruption from all sides. And as organizations explore new innovations to meet evolving customer needs, they must do so while considering risk management. We discuss this with: Ashley Butao, PMI-ACP, PMP, project manager, Capital One, Toronto: Butao discusses the biggest disruptions she’s seeing in the financial services sector, how agile approaches allow her teams to experiment and adapt fast, and how knowing your organization’s risk appetite can help teams balance innovation and risk management.Stanley Jacob, PMP, chief executive at Stanbic IBTC Financial Services Limited, and VP of the Fintech Association of Nigeria, Lagos: Jacob talks about why teams must be constantly encouraged to innovate—and exposed to new innovations—plus the must-have skills for project leaders in financial services: knowledge of regulations and design thinking.

As we kick off 2023, project leaders are looking ahead to new challenges and opportunities as well as looking back at what they accomplished in 2022. Projectified® reconnected with previous guests to discuss the biggest changes they have seen in the world of projects over the last year, their top lessons learned, plus what they’re excited about—and the skills project managers need to succeed—in the year ahead. Guests include Elton Soares, PMP, project manager, General Electric, Florianópolis, Brazil; Nontobeko Mathenjwa, project manager, South African National Roads Agency Limited, Johannesburg; Kierstin Gray, PMI-ACP, PMP, program director, Argodesign, Brooklyn, New York, USA; Manuel Segura Pérez, PMP, head of project and construction management, Repsol, Madrid; Malong Dong, PMP, enterprise portfolio manager, Reserve Bank of Australia, Sydney. Key Themes [02:05] Changes in 2022: an increasing focus on delivering value[04:59] How project leaders can adapt to changing stakeholder involvement and expectations[12:32] Tips for 2023: improving communication skills and team agility[17:07] How teams can build resiliency and embrace new tech and ways of working

To deliver an organization’s strategic objectives, project leaders must be able to look across the portfolio and decide which projects provide value and should be pursued, which go on the back burner and which are abandoned entirely. We discuss this with:Sunando Chaudhuri, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, director of IT, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company Group, Abu Dhabi: Chaudhuri discusses why project leaders must understand their organizations’ goals to best prioritize projects, the different types of business value projects can deliver—and how that factors into project portfolio decisions—along with ways project managers can keep executive leaders aligned, even in the face of personal agendas and pet projects.B. Firat Dengiz, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, program leader, Turkish Aerospace Industries, Ankara, Turkey: Dengiz discusses the metrics and data he considers when making project portfolio decisions, how he factors stakeholders into his decision-making process and ways to build buy-in from the C-suite. Key themes[02:57] The different ways to calculate business value [04:14] Ways to manage pet projects and personal agendas[07:10] Ensuring project portfolio decisions align with organizational strategy[10:28] Metrics to consider when prioritizing project portfolios[12:01] Engaging stakeholders to build support for decision-making[14:38] Tackling challenges project managers face when prioritizing portfolios[16:36] Determining how to build buy-in with different C-suite leaders

From feats of engineering and art to exploring the unknown, the 2022 Most Influential Projects showcase innovative and creative efforts from teams across sectors and regions. We discuss two of these projects with:Alicia Tkacz, partner and architect, Stufish, London: Tkacz discusses how producers, animators, architects and pop superstars ABBA collaborated to create the immersive ABBA Voyage show and the bespoke ABBA Arena, how clear decision-making processes kept team members aligned, and how the show and venue could impact the future of entertainment.Steve Hebda, VP of farm development, Crop One Holdings, Newport, Rhode Island, USA: Hebda discusses developing Dubai’s Emirates Crop One, the world’s largest vertical farm, how team members collaborated and built trust with one another from across the globe and how this project will inform future vertical farm efforts.Key themes[01:24] PMI’s 2022 Most Influential Projects[02:16] Creating the ABBA Voyage concert experience and ABBA Arena[06:21] Problem solving to design and build a fully demountable venue[08:40] How ABBA Voyage and its bespoke arena could change entertainment[10:10] Building the world’s largest vertical farm in Dubai[11:46] Creating cohesive teams with clear communication and trust[15:06] Lessons learned for future vertical farms: Scalability and automation