The Project Chatter Podcast

In this week’s pod we welcomed Donnie MacNicol to talk about the art of complex change management. Donnie is the founder of Team Animation which works across multiple sectors energising leaders and teams delivering complex change to maximise value and certainty of success through a focus on the human dimension. Donnie acts as a catalyst to support organisations to improve their collaboration and productivity – aspects that will be critical to tackling the many challenges we face today including climate change and in particular in meeting the NetZero target. The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: Change management is treated differently from Project Management. It should be regarded on an equal footing Project and Programme Managers should have a change management responsibility as part of their job description IMA can be used to structure conversation based on personality preference. This is similar to the Insights When companies do offsite meetings, they often discuss business issues during the morning and focus on people in the afternoon as it is seen as lighter and easier. This should be reversed Not enough people use tools such as Insights / IMA to understand the stakeholders when trying to understand complex projects When starting on a complex project, try to ingest as much knowledge as possible and seek to diagnose the key problems and root cause of failures. Be cynical when reviewing change projects. Who really stands to win or lose from the success of a change being implemented? Managers could implement a stakeholder map with a RAG status on who would benefit from the change being implemented The main learning point from people in project management has been cultural, getting managers and organisations to truly care about people and personality types. Models such as Insights, DISC and IMA have supported this The main reasons for change project failure are nonsense! It does not seek to ask why the reason for failure happened. Root cause, not symptom Consultancies are often the main beneficiary from project failure! Here are links to some of the topics that were discussed: IMA Model – Personality Types: http://ima-pm.co.uk/ Opiner - Video Research Resource: https://opiner.app/ ----------------------------------------- Join us next week when we’re joined by Jo Lucas to talk about rewilding organisation and minimal interference approach to change management. For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.com If you'd like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website. You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there's something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast. Proudly sponsored by PlanAcademy.com Ineight.com JustDo.com Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it! Dale and Val

In this episode Dale and Val talk to Americo Pinto about all things PMO, from what makes a good PMO to where it will be going in the future. With more organisations adopting PMO's across the globe it is great to see pioneers like Americo building and supporting the PMO community with groups like the PMO value ring and the PMO Global Alliance. Americo Pinto is a PMO expert and researcher, with large experience in complex projects and PMOs in Latina America and Europe. He is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the PMO Global Alliance, the worldwide community of PMO professionals. In 2011, Americo received in Dallas, USA, at the PMI Global Congress, the "Distinguished Contribution Award" for his contribution to the development of project management practices. He has more than 20 years of experience in PMOs, Portfolio and Project Management. He worked as a Senior Executive and Project Manager in companies such as Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, Dinsmore Associates, Compass International and Noorden Group. Currently, he is Chairman at PMO Global Alliance. Americo Pinto works as a professor at the most prestigious universities in Latin America and Europe. He is also a Doctoral Candidate at ESC Rennes School of Business, in France. For six years he was Vice-President of Programs and Vice-President of Professional Development at PMI Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Chapter. In this volunteer position he was in charge of several initiatives on project management development. Currently, Americo is an active volunteer in several international initiatives with PMI. Americo Pinto has published five books about project management and PMOs. He is certified as PMP (Project Management Professional), and he has a Business Administration Degree and also a Masters in Business Administration. Areas of Interest: PMO (Project Management Office), Project Management, Program Management, Portfolio Management, Project Management Maturity. Links to join for free the PMO Global Alliance https://www.pmoga.world PMO Value Ring https://www.pmoga.world/pmovr This episode is proudly brought to you by our sponsors PlanAcademy.com InEight.com JustDo.com  Thanks for listening

In this week’s pod we welcomed Elizabeth Harrin to talk about effective stakeholder engagement. Elizabeth Harrin is an author, trainer and mentor who helps people juggle their projects and ditch the overwhelm. She does that through straight-talking, real-world advice, based on her 20 years in project management roles. Elizabeth is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management who has written 6 books about project management. She also writes the award-winning blog, A Girl’s Guide to Project Management. The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: ·  Project Managers do not and cannot manage people’s behaviour. It is arrogant to think you can ·  There is a need for people to feel valued within projects and organisations ·   How can you create a compelling story so people understand why the project needs to happen? ·   Try to condense your project story into two sentences so people can understand ·   Measuring engagement will always be subjective ·   Do you get the behaviour change you are expecting? ·   Do behaviours change actions or do actions change behaviours? ·   Try to understand the motivations of your teams even if you differ on some traits ·   Always try and find the easiest way to get your message across. This can be via phone calls, email, Kanban boards ·   The visibility of governments in holding daily press conferences to discuss the pandemic helped to manage the message around what was happening. People will make their mind up if there is a lack of communication ·   The power / influence matrix is outdated, we should be measuring the stakeholder life-cycle ·   Be curious when you receive blockers in the workplace. Try to understand what is driving certain behaviours Here are links to some of the topics that were discussed: Girl’s Guide to Project Management - https://www.girlsguidetopm.com/ This episode is sponsored by PlanAcademy.com, JustDo.com, and InEight.com. ----------------------------------------- Join us next week when we’re joined by Americo Pinto from the PMO Global Alliance. For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.com If you'd like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website. You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there's something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast. Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it! Dale and Val

In this week’s pod we welcomed Lindsay Scott and Eileen Roden from the House of PMO to talk about how to get the best out of your PMO teams. Lindsay has a published author, having edited the Handbook of People in Project Management and published the PMO Competency Framework. She has experience as a PMO Manager and careers advisor. Eileen is a Consulting Director Trainer and Coach at the House of PMO. She has written the PMO Competency Framework and the P3O Best Management Practice documents. The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: ·  A PMO exists to enable decision making, assist on project delivery and create an ecosystem for projects to thrive ·  There are different definitions of what a PMO is. Ultimately it depends on the organisation structure. Sometimes you will need to explain how projects differ from Business as Usual (BAU) ·  Some organisations are just focusing on Project Controls rather than PMO which is broader ·  PMO’s are effectively facilitators. They can support with having the wider view of all projects within an organisation ·  PMO’s need to match the needs of the business. Sometimes the quality of outputs will deteriorate over time if the organisation structure changes frequently ·  It is difficult to promote best practice across the industry because of the different organisation set-ups ·  Many organisations are seeking to demonstrate PMO performance through KPIs. ·   Project Managers will deliver projects, PMO’s will enable better controls to review the project status ·   People are the key driver for getting the best out of PMO’s ·  Data analytics will have a huge impact on the industry, however people skills are the most important skillset for effective PMO’s ·  PMO will act as a translator between data analytics and Project Managements ·  The main evolution in PMO skillsets over the past 30 years has been in technology. In the last five years the key theme is managing agile projects ·  There are no consistent metrics across the industry to measure project success ·  There is no such thing as best practice. It should be re-branded as good local practice! ·  There is a debate between whether a PMO team should be permanent in order to transfer good practice and learning within an organisation vs whether they should be temporary to align with the finite nature of projects Here are links to some of the topics that were discussed: House of PMO: https://houseofpmo.com/ PMO Competency Framework: https://houseofpmo.com/competency-framework/ ----------------------------------------- Join us next week where we’re joined by Elizabeth Harrin to talk about effective stakeholder engagement and managing multiple projects. For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.com If you'd like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website. You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there's something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast. Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it! Dale and Val This episode is sponsored by PlanAcademy.com, JustDo.com, and InEight.com.

In this week’s pod we welcomed Lorraine Humphrey to talk about Project Assurance and Risk Management. Lorraine is the interim Director of Risk and Assurance at Transport for London (TFL), a post she has held since April 2021. Lorraine moved to Project Assurance in 2018 after 12 years of project delivery as a Senior Project Manager. Lorraine recently completed her MBA and has also been shortlisted for Inspirational Women of the Year in the Women in Rail awards for her mentoring work and support of autism initiatives at TfL. The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: Assurance is ultimately about keeping honest Assurance teams will point out where things are not right and provide recommendations to senior management based on evidence PMO should be a critical friend to Project Teams Assurance team often sits under General Counsel / Company Secretary in an organisation structure. This promotes the independence of the team It is important to understand the political environment of the area you are working and not get dragged into it There is no ideal experience required to be successful in Project Assurance. The majority will have experience in project delivery, however, leadership is the most important skillset Transport for London reduced the number of assurance reviews in order to allow more time to analyse the findings and provide continuous improvements 10% contingency at the start of a project is often a red flag from an assurance perspective Avoid watermelon reporting! Where Level 1 milestones are reporting as being on time without supporting Level 2 / 3 milestones Transparency and being evidence based is the key to effective project assurance. Leaders may not agree with the findings but it should be as open as possible The best way to avoid biases and groupthink is via evidence Seeing Project Teams who actively avoid scrutiny on Quantitative Schedule Risk Analysis is often a symptom that the underlying assumptions may not be strong EFC/EAC should be a dynamic figure. Static numbers may be due to hiding issues. Use assurance, don’t fight it -----------------------------------------

In this week’s pod we welcomed Sarah Schutte to discuss how to make law work for the construction and engineering industry. Sarah is an independent UK-qualified solicitor-advocate and runs her own legal and training consultancy. She has 19 years' experience as a specialist infrastructure lawyer, including 12 years working directly for industry. She has developed a niche practice in project management, project controls and the law (PPM and P3M and PMO). She collaborates closely with global Chapters of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the UK Association of Project Managers (APM). The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: • The contract is the framework, means and vehicle for delivering and managing projects • Freedom of contract allows companies to agree anything within their contracts provided it is legal. They are then bound by these agreements • No project manager is taught contract law in PMBOK or APM frameworks. This should change given the importance to project delivery • The role of project managers has evolved to include leadership and motivation. The next evolution should be commercial know-how • NEC Contracts are written in the “simple, present, active voice”! • There is a difference between Commercial teams and Legal teams. Legal are generally consulted whereas commercial generally manage contracts. Legal can often be overly academic • Standard contract templates can be a useful starting point for projects in countries where contracts are not overly prescriptive e.g. Spain • Learning about the technical aspect of the project allows commercial teams to be value adding to the delivery teams • There isn’t a best time to speak to the in house legal counsel though most people leave it too late! • As a legal counsel, it is your duty to give advice and inform clients of potential consequences to their commercial position. • The transparency element of NEC Option C/D is overly weighted towards cost rather than time and quality • It is important to provide accurate reporting even if the contractor or internal team do not like the answers Here are links to some of the topics that were discussed: Schutte Consulting Peridot Consulting International LLP Project Business Foundation: not-for-profit education and accreditation for PMs dealing with outsourced projects. Basic knowledge of contract law for Project Managers: https://www.apm.org.uk/blog/basic-knowledge-of-contract-law-is-essential-for-an-effective-project-manager/ Basic Contract Law for Project Managers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKhhSNxgqVs ----------------------------------------- Join us next week where we’re joined by Lorraine Humphrey to talk about Project Assurance and Risk Management. Val and Dale are discussing the future of Project Controls at the Virtual Project Controls Expo next week. Be sure to tune in! For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.com If you'd like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website. You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there's something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast. Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it! Dale and Val

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Eddie Obeng to talk about how to deliver perfect, all engaging projects and why we actively and intentionally make a mess of them! Originally from Ghana, Eddie has a background in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering as well as Economics and Business Management. He started his career as an engineer at Royal Dutch Shell before becoming the youngest Executive Director of a European Business School when he moved to Ashridge Business School. He is the First author to popularise Project management through the Financial Times Best-seller All Change. Also author of 9 other books including Perfect Projects and New Rules for the New World as well as hundreds of articles and papers. He is also a world-class educator and has delivered TED talks. The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: Some people forget what the job is about when they are paid. People need to ask why we are changing things People should not confuse transformation and projects Covid has shown the world that we need to transform If you know the definition, then it should not be classed as transformation It is rare for traditional project managers to be able to successfully deliver transformation projects as they typically know their scope whereas the answer is not always clear on transformation projects Sometimes Project Managers who deliberately let their complex projects fail often get more airtime and credit from the leadership teams because they know it is difficult to manage Most project reviews are backwards-looking, however, change constantly therefore management should be forward-looking rather than backwards There is no such thing as a hybrid project! Complexity without the fun is just hard work Leadership is about following. There is no need to overcomplicate this Incidence is not a useful guide to activity e.g. number of people using a PM methodology in a survey Bubble diagrams allow people to map out project complexity Here are links to some of the topics that were discussed: Eddie Obeng – TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/eddie_obeng_smart_failure_for_a_fast_changing_world Five Monkeys Experiment: https://workingoutloud.com/blog/the-five-monkeys-experiment-with-a-new-lesson Qube – Virtual Meeting Space: https://qube.cc/what-is-qube/ This episode is proudly brought to you by JustDo.com, PlanAcademy.com & InEight.com ----------------------------------------- Join us next week where we’re joined by Sarah Schutte to discuss how to make law work for the construction and engineering industry. For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.com If you'd like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website. You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there's something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast. Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it! Dale and Val

In this episode, Dale and Val get into project management technology with a man who needs no introduction to the world of project systems, Dr Dan Patterson. Critical Path Methodology (CPM) - getting really long in the tooth - there has to be a better way! Perhaps a better approach is to plan in a hierarchical manner - recursively break down into chunks instead of such a highly linear approach. Dan touches on his vertical scope based approach. We talked about knowledge-based planning and utilising non-linear methods or time-chainage type arrangements but not reliant on CPM. We talk about the arrival of AI and what that could mean for jobs, workload and the way in which we plan projects. Dan goes into his experiences in risk workshops and various companies to help paint a picture of the future of project management. Dan talks with the lads about many topics including; Risk Analysis Critical Path Methodology and alternatives AI and its impact on Projects Linear Project Management Scope Management and New Software Ideas Future of Project Management More about Dan - Globally recognized project analytics thought leader and software entrepreneur. With 20 years of experience & three highly successful Project Portfolio Management software companies under his belt, Dan has a unique combination of solution innovation combined with extensive project management experience including advanced scheduling, risk management, project analytics & artificial intelligence. This experience has been used to lead multiple successful software company start-ups with Dan being a true visionary & renowned marketeer. In 2016, Dan founded BASIS, a groundbreaking AI planning solution designed to help projects more accurately forecast timelines and budgets. BASIS was acquired by InEight Inc. in 2018. Prior, Dan founded Acumen - a highly acclaimed project analytics solution. Acumen was acquired by Deltek in 2013. Today, Dan's product inventions (BASIS, Acumen Fuse, 360 and Acumen Risk) are used by thousands of Fortune 500 project controls specialists around the world. Dan drives a reputation for making complex business challenges simple and this is reflected in his passion for software usability and innovation. In 2012, Dan was awarded Innovator of Year for the invention of the widely accepted Fuse Schedule Index™. Publications ----------------- Numerous white papers and published articles on project analytics, risk management & scheduling innovation. Keynote public speaker. Qualifications -------------------- - PhD Doctorate in Project Management, Nottingham University, UK - PMP certified This episode is proudly brought to you by JustDo.com, PlanAcademy.com & InEight.com For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.com If you’d like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website. You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there’s something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast. Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it! Thanks for listening

In this episode, the lads talk to Dave Snowden about his experience and depth of understanding in the fields of knowledge management and complexity theory. Dave is a riveting guest with stories, studies and methods that appeal to the sensible project manager. Moreover, Dave helped connect deeper studies with project management and delivery. This approach of 'sensemaking' just makes sense. David John Snowden (born 1954) is a Welsh management consultant and researcher in the field of knowledge management and the application of complexity science. Known for the development of the Cynefin framework,[1] Snowden is the founder and chief scientific officer of Cognitive Edge, a Singapore-based management consulting firm specialising in complexity and sensemaking.[2] Dave is the Director of the Cynefin Centre, Chief Scientific Officer Cognitive Edge. Creator of the Cynefin Framework. Lead author EU Field Guide to managing in Complexity (and crisis). His focus is on naturalising sense-making as an emerging trans-disciplinary field of study. The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: The world of Project Management is likely to be more uncertain than it is at present We always know more than we can tell and we can tell more than we can write down Most lessons learnt focus on failure rather than success Storytelling is a profession, many people can recount anecdotes, and this is better to document Narrative is a quantitative approach rather than qualitative, it is simply numbered- backed up by explanatory stories It is interesting to compare how decisions are actually made versus how the business believes they are made. This can be done as a process chartOld men are philosophers, old wives tell tales!Many large transportation infrastructure projects go wrong because once a certain level of complexity is reached, you’re beyond the ability to predict therefore design changes need to occurMany organisations employ consultants to manage transformation projects who will use pre-defined solutions rather than adapting to the context       Covid has shown there is a large amount of resilience on major projects Dave is currently working on the application of natural sciences to social systems through the development of a range of methods and the SenseMaker® software suite. He started work in an NGO post-University and then moved onto HR & Training in the late 70s where he started work with computers. That together with a diploma from The Certified Accountants got a job as Development Accountant in the same firm where he headed up the Treasury function and was responsible for computerisation. An MBA in financial management saw Dave move into consultancy and software designing decision support systems in what became D

This episode it proudly brought to you by JustDo.com, PlanAcademy.com & InEight.com. In this week’s pod, we welcomed Sunchana Johnston. We discussed why good planners are like gold dust.  Originally from Croatia, Sunchana is a Chartered Program Professional, with over 25 years of experience consulting on complex transformational initiatives such as Brexit Programs in the financial industry, Fintech, EMEA telecoms, water utilities and UK civil service.  The main topics discussed on the podcast were:  The best planners need to demonstrate a level of secrecy given the volume of information they see  Effective planners are effective storytellers  Focus on whether you believe a candidate has a high level of intuition when trying to fill planning vacancies  A senior planner should be able to demonstrate management of a 40,000+ line schedule and how they were able to shape it It is important for planners do not own their schedules. They need to be able to quietly influence the actual owners  The most effective storytellers when discussing Brexit showed the day in the life of a prawn from capture in Scotland to a restaurant in Spain  Effective planners will look for the business case to understand why their project exists  The ability to transition between industries often depends on the speed of change. IT/Finance industries are evolving constantly whereas construction and defence industries are shower to change  Always be learning! People need to constantly improve their skillsets to make themselves more employable  The best planners will know their worth in the market. Companies will pay well for the best employees therefore it is important not to undersell yourself  AI is coming, this will change how planning works. The industry should embrace this  Links discussed:  Good Planners are like Gold Dust - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/good-project-planners-like-gold-dust-sunchana-johnston/  -----------------------------------------  Join us next week where we’re joined by Dave Snowden to discuss Project Management under conditions of inherent uncertainty. For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.com If you'd like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website. You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there's something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast. Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it! Dale and Val