PM Network

One of the most enjoyable and interesting benefits of reading PM Network is learning about industries that weren’t even imaginable just a short time ago. One such project sector is grid-scale electric battery storage plants.

As part of efforts to make renewable energy sources more reliable, companies are building battery capacity to store electricity to use when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. The market for power storage is predicted to grow at a 60 percent compound annual growth rate through 2020. In the U.S., this market is estimated to increase tenfold between 2016 and 2022, reaching US$3.2 billion.

Because this type of project is so new, project managers face risks connected with lack of regulation and codes. Teams must have expert knowledge of battery storage systems so plans can be approved through existing power-sector regulations. A related challenge is transitioning the building project to operations staff, who may have never before managed such facilities.

Teams are overcoming these challenges and getting the battery plants online quickly, providing benefits to sponsoring companies and dependable renewable power. One of the more dramatic moves was made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who promised the government of South Australia, home to the world’s largest lithium-ion battery facility, an operational plant in 100 days after an agreement was signed—or else it was free.

Read all about this and other new and exciting project sectors each month in PM Network—this month more than usual, “the power of project management. Exclusively for PMI members. Every month.”

PMO naysayers think that PMOs are bureaucratic entities requiring documentation tasks that take away from project teams’ previous time. We’d like to think that PMOs actually empower staff to do more for their stakeholders—in other words, bring value to their organizations. The best of these PMOs are finalists for PMO of the Year.

At PMI’s annual PMO Symposium®, the PMO of the Year winner was announced: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Read all about this PMO in December PM Network.

The goal of CAMH’s PMO when it was formed in 2012 was to develop more efficient and effective ways to serve patients. The PMO’s first project was to streamline 30 different patient referral forms into one access point—in other words, less documentation.

The PMO quickly became a place to get things done across the organization. Its role in centralizing communication has streamlined the adoption of new tools and processes.

The PMO further creates value by making sure new initiatives align with CAMH’s strategic plan. New projects must have descriptions of expected benefits.

While the PMO isn’t directly touching the patients and their families at Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, the work of the PMO is definitely improving the care they receive.

Please share in the comments ways your organization’s PMO delivers value and supports stakeholders.

There’s an unfortunate misconception out there that project managers’ thought processes run on a line as straight as the critical path of a project. That’s wrong, right? Right! Organizations need to be creative in today’s fast-changing, hyper-speed world. And who better to hold the creativity torch than project managers, the folks who Get Things Done?

In the current PM Network, read all about the high demand for creativity in the work world. Project managers who come up with fresh ways to navigate complexity and create value with their projects are going to stand out. If you are open and flexible, you can be creative. Smart hiring managers know that creativity is not an innate skill but can be cultivated.

So while project managers may not be artists or songwriters or any other field traditionally associated with creativity, they can be creative simply by navigating challenges that to ordinary mortals might appear impossible. And research shows the C-suite is looking for you, Mr. or Ms. Creative Project Manager.

How did you show creativity in your projects? Please let us know in the comments.

Some projects just scream out “RISK”, in capital letters and blinking neon. Such was the case with the AY-102 Recovery Project. This was an effort to prevent radioactive waste in a leaking tank from escaping and contaminating the nearby Columbia River, the source of drinking water for many residents of Washington and Oregon, USA.

The team succeeded in meeting its goals and it did so 17 days ahead of schedule and US$8.7 million under budget. These were some of the factors behind the selection of AY-102 Recovery Project as the 2017 PMI Project of the Year. Learn all about this amazing project in November PM Network.

Our coverage of the winner includes details on how the team handled the many risks. A Monte Carlo analysis predicted a 12 percent chance of success. Schedule planning was extremely important—two full-time schedulers ultimately oversaw 9,000 activities. Critical-path analysis was the team’s most important scheduling tool.

After the project ended, the team shared lessons learned with other nuclear storage sites. They continue to look at why the tank leaked.

As always with PM Network case studies, we add a personal touch with a mini-profile of a project manager and his or her career and career lessons learned.

Watch for future issues of PM Network for detailed case studies of PMI Project of the Year finalists, as well as the PMO of the Year winner and finalists.

The final stop on this month’s tour of your profession’s magazine is the “feature well,” to use publishing terminology. It is here that you can read the long-form articles that PM Network is most known for—and also enjoy some of our award-winning graphic treatments.

Generally, PM Network’s feature well will contain one or two case studies, going into detail of how challenging projects succeeded beyond expectations. At this time of year, PM Network starts running extensive profiles our Project of the Year and PMO of the Year finalists. Watch for that beginning in November.

Features also usually include an article focusing on the people skills so essential to the profession. Whether it is handling conflict, knowing what to do when there is turnover on your team, or the elements of smart decision making, we have you covered.

Trends in project management get plenty of detailed ink here as well. For example, as agile approaches (and agile organizations) continue to take off, you will see more and more on that subject.

Periodically, the magazine will spotlight one country and detail the project environment in that place. Singapore is covered this month.

In October PM Network, you can also read feature articles on telecommunications transforming in reaction to huge increases in data consumption; how to handle disagreements; and quick summaries of all the PMO of the Year finalists (longer case studies will begin in December). And there is a case study on a 14-year project to build a Baha’i temple in an earthquake-prone location in Chile.

It’s time to start looking forward to our most popular feature of the year, in terms of online visits: The 2018 Jobs Report. If your new year’s resolution is to find a new job, mark early January on your calendar. That’s the month the report will come out in PM Network.

Thanks for coming on our tour! We hope to see you again soon.