Projectified

The climate crisis is impacting coastlines across the globe, with communities facing threats from rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events. In response, teams are launching projects to mitigate risks and build resilience. We discuss this with: Swarna Kazi, senior disaster risk management specialist, World Bank, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Ignacio Urrutia, senior disaster risk management specialist, World Bank, Bangkok: Kazi and Urrutia discuss a project that aims to bolster sections of Bangladesh’s coastline, how considering risk at all stages of the project helps them create a cohesive strategy, and how the challenges they faced will influence their approaches to future coastal resilience projects.Catherine McCandless, climate change and environmental planning project manager, City of Boston Environment Department, Boston: McCandless talks about leading coastal resilience planning projects for two neighborhoods in Boston, how her team adapted community engagement during the pandemic, and how she and fellow project managers work together to manage not only multidisciplinary stakeholders but also team members.Key themes[01:19] Projects around the world aim to mitigate effects of climate change on coastlines[05:25] Stakeholder management: Using data and community input in project planning[09:26] Tackling a changing environment and futureproofing coastal resilience projects in Bangladesh[13:41] Planning coastal resilience efforts for Boston’s 47-mile shoreline[17:57] Adapting and digitizing community engagement during COVID-19[19:44] Managing multidisciplinary stakeholders and project team members

Over the last decade, governments across the globe have launched digital transformation projects, from digitizing services to revamping their online presence for better citizen engagement. We discuss this with:  Katrine Maria Krzeminski, program manager, Agency for Digital Government, Copenhagen: Krzeminski discusses her project to create personal pages for each citizen on the country’s public sector portal, how her team builds support from and collaborates with multiple government agencies on the multi-year effort, and how it’s empowering citizens with data and increasing government transparency. Yolanda Martínez, global project lead for the GovStack initiative, International Telecommunications Union, Geneva: Martínez discusses how e-government services are changing how citizens interact with their governments, the challenges governments face when digitizing services as well as how the GovStack initiative is helping countries worldwide accelerate their digital transformation efforts, thanks, in part to an open-source platform. Key themes[01:58] Empowering Denmark’s citizens with data [04:26] Collaborating with and building buy-in from government agencies [06:33] Tackling resourcing challenges, legacy systems when digitizing[11:05] How partners, potential users impact project decisions[14:18] Changing citizens’ experience through e-government services[16:49] Breaking down silos and creating replicable assets to accelerate digitization[19:31] How GovStack aids countries in developing digital government services[23:52] Advice to project leaders: Co-design a vision with partners and set clear priorities

The events of the past few years have wreaked havoc on the global supply chain. Organizations are responding with innovative projects to increase their resiliency. We discuss this with: Leefke Grosjean, senior researcher and project manager for 5G-Smart, Ericsson, Stockholm: Grosjean discusses how the 5G-Smart project is testing 5G’s potential in manufacturing, ways the team improved communication and collaboration, and how solutions from the three pilots can be adopted across factories. Peter Grimvall, supply chain design and planning manager, Ikea, Basel, Switzerland: Grimvall discusses the effects of supply chain disruption on organizations, the AI tool he helped create to improve Ikea’s demand forecasting for stores across the globe—and its impact so far—and why teams need to be ready to make mistakes and iterate on innovation projects.Key themes[01:54] Exploring the potential of 5G manufacturing in factories[05:10] Improving collaboration, communication across the 5G-Smart team[07:24] How 5G can boost factory flexibility, efficiency and safety[12:45] Creating an AI tool to improve Ikea’s demand forecasting[17:35] Using tech to predict disruptions—and how to bounce back from them[18:40] Lessons learned: Embrace mistakes and be ready to iterate

In the past few years, teams have had to rethink events of all types—conferences, award shows, concerts—to virtual or hybrid formats, innovating to keep attendees and audiences safe as well as engaged. We discuss this with:Nadja Burkhardt, supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, European Broadcasting Union, Geneva: She discusses how her team handles constant change to plan and execute the annual Eurovision Song Contest, how the event adapted during the pandemic, and how her team manages and collaborates with stakeholders across countries.Akseli Aho, CEO, Junction, Helsinki: He discusses his team’s experience hosting in-person, virtual and hybrid hackathons, how they decide which format works best for each event, and the challenge of encouraging people to return to in-person events.Key themes[02:24] New venues, new teams, new cultures: Managing constant change on the Eurovision Song Contest[03:38] Adapting the Eurovision Song Contest during COVID-19[06:19] Collaborating with partners and managing stakeholders across countries [11:04] Junction’s lessons learned from pivoting to virtual, hybrid hackathons[15:53] How Junction chooses between different event formats[19:34] The challenge ahead: Encouraging people to attend in-person events again

The time to act on climate change is running out, putting pressure on nations and organizations alike to help heal the plant. Project teams around the world are helping care for our planet. We discuss this with: Karl Campbell, director, Latin American Pacific Islands, Re:wild, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Campbell discusses the program he’s leading to rewild 25 islands over the next decade, projects that are underway in the Galápagos, and how teams are collaborating with partners and local communities to build buy-in and ensure long-term success.Margaret Sprug, principal, Miller Hull Partnership, Seattle: Sprug discusses building sustainability practices into her architecture projects, how her team collaborates with partners and stakeholders on sustainable design, and the lessons she and her team learned in making the Bullitt Center in Seattle a net-zero “living building.”Key themes[01:07] Increasing pressures to act on climate change[02:40] Creating a program to rewild Latin American islands[08:28] Building relationships—and buy-in—with local communities[10:57] How rewilding creates resilient ecosystems for people and the environment[13:56] Collaborating with partners, stakeholders on sustainable design in the built environment[16:23] Lessons learned from creating a net-zero “living building” in Seattle[19:04] Measuring—and mitigating—environmental impacts in architecture projects

Project leaders make decisions on a nearly non-stop basis. But they also have access to a wealth of information that can help them make the right call. We discuss this with:Reuben Oshomah, PMP, regional director, West Africa, Avanti Communications, Lagos: He talks through what kinds of information project leaders should consult, and the role team members and stakeholders play in making smart decisions.Ramyajit Dasgupta, PMP, global analytics manager, Concentrix, Kolkata: He discusses the role of big data and analytics in decision-making and how to take the first steps in building a data-driven culture. Key themes[01:42] Why understanding the project objective can fuel better decisions  [02:51] Gathering data: Lessons learned, risk registers and team members[08:17] Using big data, analytics, AI to take the guesswork out of decisions

Women have faced an uphill battle in the workplace, especially during the pandemic. But they continue to make strides with game-changing projects across sectors and around the globe. We discuss the state of the state for women project leaders with:Nontobeko Mathenjwa, project manager at South African National Roads Agency, Johannesburg: Mathenjwa discusses the challenges she faced early in her career as a project leader in construction, what changes she’d like to see and her advice to women in the early stages of their project careers.Lorraine Ong, PMP, assistant director, advanced cybersecurity capabilities at Government Technology Agency of Singapore: Ong discusses how she’s seen the gender gap improve in IT, how COVID-19 has affected women leaders in her sector, and how professional organizations can help support women—and help them further their careers.Key themes[00:54] Organizations with women leaders perform better, research shows[01:52] Leadership lessons: Know yourself and build relationships[04:28] Women gaining traction in construction[10:16] The pandemic’s impact on women project leaders in IT[11:20] How mentors, professional organizations can support women—and boost their careers

Even with disruption and economic uncertainty, the job market for project talent is booming—and it doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. We discuss the changing world of work and career opportunities for project professionals with: Elton Soares, PMP, electrical engineer and project manager at General Electric, Florianópolis, Brazil: Soares discusses the rise of people-centric leaders, the increase in digital transformation and the growth in the energy sector.Malong Dong, PMP, director of the program management office at Westpac Group, Sydney: Dong discusses how the skills shortage is leading to opportunities for project professionals and the must-have skills they’ll need in 2022. Key themes[00:56] The increasing demand for project talent in 2022—and beyond[02:08] The rise of people-centric project leaders[03:43] Developing skills to lead digital transformation projects[07:21] New project possibilities in the energy sector [09:09] What the skills shortage could mean for project leaders[13:33] Leadership skills for the hybrid work environment

As digital transformation accelerates, companies may be leaving behind some users: the 1 billion people who experience some form of disability. Whether their project is in gaming or financial services, companies must ensure the digital world is an inclusive one. We discuss this with:Brannon Zahand, senior program manager, gaming accessibility at Microsoft, Seattle: He discusses creating the company’s Game Accessibility Testing Service—one of PMI’s 2021 Most Influential Projects—and increasing representation of the disability community in the gaming industry.Christina Papadimitriou, accessibility specialist and senior digital expert at Atos, Athens: She talks about the ways project leaders can embed accessibility into their projects right from the start and what’s next for digital accessibility.Key themes[02:28] Increasing accessibility awareness [03:48] Building accessibility guidelines for Xbox[07:46] Creating a scalable program to test video games for inclusive design[13:47] Integrating accessibility in processes and products [17:23] How project teams can learn about accessibility [19:36] What’s next in digital accessibility

The pandemic has healthcare providers pursuing innovation like never before—but they must also ensure those cutting-edge ideas and technologies deliver value to patients. We discuss this with:Antoinette de Bont, dean of the Tilburg School of Social & Behavioral Sciences at Tilburg University, the Netherlands: She discusses the BigMedilytics project—an initiative that aims to bring data science and healthcare together—and how project leaders can help team members collaborate.Christine DeVol, PMP, director of the enterprise project management team at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, USA: She shares how her team—the 2021 PMO of the Year Award winner—pivoted and reprioritized its project portfolio as COVID-19 spread. DeVol also discusses a project to help connect new cancer patients to experts quickly and safely. Key themes[01:34] Exploring new ways to use big data in healthcare[04:41] Improving collaboration [07:22] How data science could transform patient care[09:36] How Moffitt Cancer Center adapted during COVID-19[15:28] Ensuring innovation delivers value to patients