The Project Chatter Podcast

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/

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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 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 chart
• Old 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 occur
• Many 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 is proudly brought to you by PlanAcademy.com, JustDo.com, and InEight.com.

In this week’s pod, we were supposed to speak to Dr. Dan Patterson but unfortunately, he is unwell. In his place, we welcomed Kasper Dixon to talk about positive Project Management, Lean and Six Sigma

Kasper is a Programme Delivery Manager working for the Major Projects Directorate within Transport for London on the £5.6 billion Four Lines Modernisation Project. He is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt trainer and is passionate about leading through example with positivity and encouragement.

The main topics discussed:

· There are many high performing projects that do not get the same level of management focus or recognition as failing projects

· Positivity is something to focus on in personal lives not just in the workplace

· Empathy is critical for leaders. Always try to understand the frustrations of stakeholders who are not onside immediately

· Turn the saboteurs into advocates by being authentic and working tirelessly to reach the desired goals

· Leadership perception has fundamentally changed over the last 30-40 years. Less stick, more carrot!

· People simply do not respond to the stick. They want encouragement to achieve their goals

· Leaders need to stop, look back and celebrate success when critical milestones are achieved

· Tips for difficult conversations:

· Six Sigma provides a structure for people to see a task from start to finish. It provides a structure for people

· Unfortunately, there are no actual belts for achieving Six Sigma!

· Six Sigma is applicable to every project and every function.

· Construction industry is slow to embrace this, does not gain the right level of focus

· Six Sigma training is available online. It is not essential to undertake in-person training. It does help to talk and work through the concepts with other collaborators

· It will make you a more marketable employee

· VANVA – Value Add / Non-Value Add

· Always ask the 5 Why’s when reviewing a process. (it really is five why’s!)

· Post-it notes are the best process mapping tool!

· Always challenge words that begin with “re” – they are more likely to be processes that are wasteful

Some of the topics that were discussed:

5 Laws of Lean Six Sigma - https://www.shmula.com/understanding-the-5-laws-of-lean-six-sigma/26626/

Minitab – Statistical process tool - https://www.minitab.com/en-us/

Miro – Online whiteboard - https://miro.com/

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Join us next week where we’re joined by Tim Creasey for a deep dive into Change Management & Project 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.

Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it!

On this week’s pod, we welcomed Martin Murphy to talk about why schedule quality really matters. Martin Murphy has more than 31 years of experience working with multinational companies and participating in high profile international projects, such as the Petronas Towers in Malaysia and the Panama Canal extension. He is a Director with Hill International in Spain, dealing especially with industrial, manufacturing and technological projects. Since 1992, he has been working as Project Manager and in the planning and project control departments of Spanish construction and consulting companies dealing with Claims and controlling time, cost and risk elements of projects in Spain, Europe and Latin America. 

The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: · Projects should aim to focus as much planning work upfront as possible. This ensures you are not editing the schedule each week 

· Good schedules have a 3% chance of finishing on time

The main themes for effective schedule quality metrics are: number of predecessor/successor activities, activities with high float (always lack of logic), coding · The concept of contingencies understood within the industry, however, clients will rarely accept having contingencies in schedule submissions · Rolling wave planning is not always the best approach. Particularly on projects with an element of repetition e.g. construction of a multi-storey building · Top tips for avoiding failure in dispute resolutions:

The planner should never assume ownership of the schedule. It must be owned by the project manager 

Resource loaded schedules can help to identify missing logic. If the histogram goes from horizontal to vertical, there is probably something missing! Here are links to some of the topics that were discussed: XER Toolkit – schedule quality software https://xertoolkit.com/ Synchro - https://www.bentley.com/en/products/brands/synchro -----------------------------------------

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