Project Podcast

By Project magazine, brought to you by APMBusiness Careers

Project Podcast episodes

June 08, 2021The evolving definition of project ‘success’
In this episode, hosted by Project journal online editor Mike Hine, our topic is project success, and how the definition of success is evolving to fit the challenges of the 2020s and beyond. At a time when the country is looking to build back better post-pandemic, projects will play a major role in determining the UK’s economic future. They are truly vital to the UK’s success on many fronts. But with so much riding on these projects, we need to ensure they succeed.
Historically, projects have notoriously struggled to hit their targets. So perhaps it’s time to revisit the very notion of project success. What constitutes a successful project? What are some of the most fundamental factors that underpin success? And has the project profession moved beyond the age-old metrics of time, cost and quality?
Thanks to our panel of experts:
Katie McConochie, founder of training consultancy Learn Change

Mhairi Creanor, education and skills project manager at Zero Waste Scotland

Aga Gajownik, founder of Scrum Educational Experience and Innovation & Integration
All of the contributors to this podcast are presenting at APM’s Power of Projects Conference, which runs from 7-11 June, with a focus on redefining project ‘success’ for a post-pandemic world. Sign up or listen later on-demand at https://www.apm.org.uk/event/power-of-projects-2021/
Send us your feedback and suggestions at [email protected]
41 min
June 03, 2021 Announcement: Power of Projects 2021
APM’s Power of Projects conference is a virtual event, running 7–11 June, with a focus on redefining project ‘success’ for a post-pandemic world. Across the week, you’ll have access to practical tools and learning that will help you become a better project professional, whatever challenges you face. As well as 30 expert speakers across 28 sessions, there are also opportunities for on-camera networking and group discussions. You can check out the full Power of Projects programme at apm.org.uk – it’s totally free for APM members, and only £25 for non-members.
2 min
May 26, 2021 From the Frontline: Leading the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce
In our From the Frontline season, Project journal editor Emma De Vita is meeting professionals who are working on cutting-edge projects, and academics whose research is at the forefront of project management techniques.
In this first episode, we meet Nick Elliott, who was director general of the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce for the UK government from its inception in April 2020 until the end of last year. Before that he was an army bomb disposal expert, MD of Network Rail’s national supply chain and deputy CEO of Defence Equipment & Support at the Ministry of Defence. He is now a director at consultancy Turner & Townsend and a Fellow of APM.
Nick and Emma spoke in early May about the brief he was handed at the UK Vaccine Taskforce – ‘to make things happen’, which must surely be the understatement of the year.
41 min
May 13, 2021Why sustainability should be on every project professional’s agenda
As governments worldwide set targets on reaching net-zero carbon, project professionals are being tasked with rethinking working practices to cut emissions. Everything from planning to procurement to team structures is being re-evaluated to meet sustainability targets. But it’s worth remembering that sustainability encompasses more than climate change. It means balancing the environmental, social, economic and administrative aspects of projects to meet current stakeholder needs, without compromising the needs of future generations.
Far from being an additional burden on project professionals, sustainability presents an opportunity for them to demonstrate their value in aligning with corporate strategic objectives around net zero. By embedding sustainability within every aspect of their projects, project professionals can make a big difference and boost their visibility to the organisation’s leadership.
In this episode, Mike Hine, online editor for APM’s Project journal, speaks to three experts working in the field of sustainability to find out more:
Paul Mansell, independent major projects adviser

Giulia Jones, sustainability manager, Mace

Stuart Johnson, director, Stuart Johnson Consulting
Further reading:
Find out more on APM’s resources page

Prof Peter Morris, Climate Change and what the project profession should be doing about it: a UK perspective

Projecting the Future, challenge paper 2, Climate Change, Clean Growth and Sustainability
Get in touch at [email protected]
52 min
April 01, 2021 Your salary and future prospects revealed
In this episode, hosted by Project journal’s online editor Mike Hine, we discuss salaries and market trends within the project profession.
It’s been an enormously challenging 12 months for every sector of the economy. Project professionals felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from day one, with plans, teams and working practices suddenly thrown into disarray. Project and programme managers have risen to the challenge of the past 12 months by not only keeping existing work on track, but also spearheading crucial efforts to fight back against the pandemic and get the economy moving.
But despite the rising profile the project profession is enjoying, the last year has taken its toll. Indeed, COVID-19 permeates the findings of this year’s Salary and Market Trends Survey from APM, carried out in association with YouGov, which canvassed the views of over 2,500 project professionals in November 2020.
This episode delves into the findings and analysis in the survey in more detail, with a focus on salary, job satisfaction, diversity and inclusion, economic confidence and more. Thanks to the following interviewees for their contribution:
Dayner Proudfoot, APM head of brand and communications
Debbie Lewis, chair of the board of trustees for APM, and director of strategic architecture programmes at BT
David Thomson, head of external affairs at APM
The Salary and Market Trends Survey 2021 is available to download in full now at www.apm.org.uk/salary-survey-2021
Get in touch with the podcast at [email protected] – and don’t forget to rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts.
47 min
March 24, 2021 Project Innovators: Bent Flyvbjerg on how to make your project a success
In this final episode of the Project Innovators season, Project journal editor Emma De Vita speaks to Bent Flyvbjerg, the first BT professor and inaugural chair of major programme management at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.
Bent is one of the big names from the world of project management. He works for the better management of megaprojects and this is the subject which we delve into here, from optimism bias when it comes to cost and benefits estimation to strategic misrepresentation by project champions (otherwise known as bending the truth to secure the go-ahead on a megaproject). The solution? In part, a technique called reference class forecasting.
Bent spoke to The APM Podcast in mid-March, when he shared his knowledge, expertise and practical advice on how megaprojects, and projects more generally, can be better planned and managed.
Don’t forget to rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts.
42 min
March 10, 2021 Project Innovators: How to bring strategy and projects closer together
In this episode, Project journal editor Emma De Vita meets Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, who is on a mission to champion project management as a central issue for every CEO. He is the author of Lead Successful Projects, published by Penguin, and he is also a Harvard Business Review author and has been recognised by Thinkers50 as an influential global business thinker.
Antonio is the co-founder of the Strategy Implementation Institute, and his day job is as director of the Program Management Office at GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines. He is also a former chair of PMI. He has vast global experience leading complex projects, and previously worked as Head of Project Portfolio Management at BNP Paribas Fortis.
Antonio spoke to us about why and how project management and project managers need to become more strategic if they are to innovate. Projects are the future of organisations, but project managers need to sit at the top table, he argues. CEOs need to accept project management as part of the strategic conversation within their organisation, and project managers need to learn new skills and think about their role differently in order for this to happen. Antonio kindly shares his thoughts on how this can be done.
34 min
February 24, 2021 How to make better use of project data
As with many new digital technologies, the terminology surrounding project data analytics can be confusing or off-putting to busy project professionals. However, as we discover in this episode, the potential of project data analytics is huge – and there are several ways you, as a project professional, can begin to harness the practical benefits today.
So what are some of these benefits? And how can you begin to develop better project data discipline within your organisation? To find out more about the opportunities and pitfalls, Project journal’s online editor Mike Hine spoke to a series of experts from across industry, academia and beyond:
Naomi Brookes, professor of complex programme management at WMG University of Warwick
Oliver Cowey, project controls manager, and Samir Patel, head of data, Office of the Chief Information Officer, at BAE Systems
John McGlynn, project delivery director for Atkins
Martin Paver, chief executive of Projecting Success
Further reading: apm.org.uk; projectdataanalytics.uk
Don’t forget to rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts.
51 min
February 10, 2021 Project Innovators: Award-winning transformation with an honest culture
In this episode, host Emma De Vita meets Susan Ferry, a project manager for change at Allianz, who led what she calls a ‘big bang transformation’ project that revolutionised ways of working for the global insurance company, fostering innovation through a no-blame culture where trust and honesty were paramount.
We spoke to Susan at the start of February to find out more about the Motor Engineer Control System project that she led in 2019, and why it was an innovative transformation project that garnered praise from APM. The aim of the project was to streamline the motor engineering repair, inspection and salvage processes, which included delivering app-based mobile workflow management for engineers. The project was a first for Allianz, and resulted in a fully integrated process that enabled an immediate inspection booking at the point a claim is raised. The ability for engineers to manage their workflow digitally and therefore remotely is proving its worth during COVID-19 lockdowns. The project’s wider benefits have exceeded expectations, and the hybrid approach that was taken ensured the project was delivered on time, to budget and to standard.
You can read an in-depth account of the workings of this award-winning project in the forthcoming spring issue of APM’s Project journal, out in March.
33 min
January 25, 2021 Project Innovators: How to deliver under pressure (and win an award at the same time)
From Deepwater to drones – in this episode Project editor Emma De Vita meets Benjamin Hooper, programme and project manager at Heathrow Airport, whose project won APM’s 2020 Overall Project of the Year. The project, to create a counter-unmanned aerial system (or anti-drone system) embraced innovative ways of thinking and managing for the project team, who were tasked with finding an immediate solution to the drone threat in the airport’s airspace. They only had days to fix the problem, so the pressure was immense and the usual project life cycle was jettisoned for more responsive, collaborative and agile processes.
Ben was able to draw on his experience of working as a subsea operations engineer in the Gulf of Mexico when the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill happened, when he suddenly became part of the crisis management team there. It’s not something he’d ever wish to happen again, he says, but being thrust into the emergency response team was a pivotal moment in his career.
Read Ben’s in-depth account of the workings of the anti-drone project in the forthcoming spring issue of APM’s Project journal, out in March.
42 min