PMI Global Insights

I am back to Bollywood after spending a week in Hollywood and what a week it has been :

1. Travelling half the way across the world : a 19-hour flight from Bollywood to Hollywood
2. Participating as a “Expert” for “Ask The Expert” sessions
3. Presenting at my third PMI Congress - "Who Wants to Be a More Successful
4. Project Manager? Here's Your New Lifeline: Ask the Crowd! #askthecrowd
5. Recording live podcast for PMI on my experience as a speaker and as an attendee
6. A great support from the #crowd at the conference
7. Looking at Life as a magic along with  John Dorenbos
8. Collecting "GEMS" from 5 generations at the workplace from Cam Martson
9. Cracking Creativity with Abigail Posner
10. Finally a enjoying a cool sunset by the Pacific Ocean at the Santa Monica Pier

My takeaways ? I have noted them down as quotes that I gathered from the sessions that I attended

1. “I blamed a lot of people when I wasn’t having success, the more I blamed people around me, the more I lost myself, bit by bit, piece by piece.” – John Dorenbos – “Life is a magic” Key note day 1

2. “You will become infinitely more powerful if you can understand your preferences and set them aside and let your colleagues’ preferences shine through,” – Cam Marston

3. “The big part of the equation was to work with the community to understand what veterans wanted in their brand-new veteran’s medical center – Fernando Rivera, Director of Medical center – south Louisiana Veterans health care system, 2018, PMI Project of the year winner Do I hear “crowdsourcing ““Ask the crowd “here as well ?

4. “Creativity changes the world!” – Abigail Posner

My experience at the conference are captured in these blogs

Day 1: #PMICON18 – Day 1 The magic starts!

https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog-post/47192/-PMICON18---Day-1-The-magic-starts--

#PMICON18 – Day 2 Collecting the GEMS of the Generations

https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog-post/47273/-PMICON18---Day-2-Collecting-the-GEMS-of-the-Generations

Day 3: #PMICON18 – Day 3 Invest in the wisdom of the crowd and crack creativity

https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog-post/47341/-PMICON18---Day-3-Invest-in-the-wisdom-of-the-crowd-and-crack-creativity

A yearlong celebration of PMI’s 50^th birthday #PMI50 has already begun. Watch this to know more. We even created a live mosaic billboard with the moments of the #PMICON18

And yes, there is more… The experts from “Ask the Expert” group have created some exclusive content just for you.  My exclusive expert content  Projects in the Real World: Agile and Beyond is here.

With this I sign off from Bollywood. I would love to know your thoughts on the coverage. Do post your comments here, also don’t forget to follow me on  twitter , LinkedIn and  Facebook  for other exciting news from the world of agile and project management.

Day 2 started with collecting the gems of generational insights of the 5 generations at the workplace.

Cam Marston walked us through the generational themes, workplace preferences and tips how to solve this puzzle of different workplace preferences of the 5 generations at the workplace.

He ends his presentation with this final note: “He gets me, She gets me.. and that is the beginning of a high-performance team “.

With all these gems of wisdom in my kitty now I head to the “Ask The Expert” booth. On my way back to the “Ask The Expert” booth I get the opportunity to collect a few more gems:

A rendezvous with the living legend – James Snyder, the founder member of PMI. James narrated his story of attaining his PMP certification. He is PMP ID # 2. The 6 months journey to be a PMP, starting with filling a hard copy form, the 2 days of pen-paper exam and 6 months wait for the result. Fast forward today, the form is digital, the exam is online, and we get the results plus the analysis within minutes of you hitting the “Finish” button. A classic case of Digital transformation

A meetup with Stephen Maye, EMCEE for this year’s Global Congress and the host of “Projectified” – the PMIs podcast channel - forward-looking series of conversations about hot topics and emerging trends impacting the world of project managers, from digital transformation to artificial intelligence to career development. Again, taking us beyond the books, putting technology to work!

Finally, a visit to the PMI book store with my another respected “Expert” fellow member PMI ID – 7055 Dave Maynard. He never fails to amaze me with his experience at NASA and beyond. Glad to know him.

Talking about Digital transformation, I engaged with some of the attendees on the hall-way at the breakfast table, at lunch and at the “Ask the expert” booth, Some salient points from my discussions:

 “We have so many disparate systems, how do we implement enterprise agility here”

Standardization is the key here, tackle one system at a time, go slow and steady. We cannot achieve enterprise agility in one leap. We can explore the opportunity of implementing the Gartner’s Bi-Modal IT strategy to innovate the newer applications and renovate the older applications

“With all this digital disruption on our way, what should we do as project managers to keep up with these emerging trends”

Project managers needs to understand the emerging trends both on technology and business front, but their primary job focus would be what PMs do best: Setting the essential criteria, integrating projects and project components, and winning over and engaging stakeholders!

 “Ours is a regulated industry, we have a lot checks and validations, how can we be agile ?”

Yes we can leverage Agile even for projects in regulated industries. Add the regulatory requirements to the DoD ( Definition of Done). This will ensure that we are complying to the regulatory requirements, and finally we can add a final sprint just for validation to ensure that the integrated product is validated and signed off.

I finished off my day with the networking dine around at the “Conga room” indulging in traditional Spanish flavours, contemporary American cooking ,networking and looking forward to day 3 of #PMICON18.

So as we cruise into Day 3, I all charged up for more learning, networking, wellness and fun, are you ready ? More on twitter , linkedIn or Facebook . See you there !

Several of the experts have created graphics that illustrate areas they can help with.  I didn't want to be left out, so here's mine!   Think about making a reservation (online here) to talk to one of us or just stop by and see if there's a slot open.  

We'd love to talk to you. 

-- Dave

#ChampionOfChange, project managers, my fellow projectmanagement.com friends and online followers, I am back again signing in from Mumbai – Bollywood of India. In less than 4 weeks, I would be in the Hollywood – Los Angeles for the PMI Global Congress 2018.

Needless to say, the preparation is in full swing for this great conglomerate of #ChampionOfChange. As I build my schedule I retrospect on my learnings from #PMIEMEA18.

#PMIEMEA18 I focussed on the “projects of the future” and sessions which provided insights on artificial intelligence, machine learning and digital transformation.  What I learned from these sessions that we need to become more “human” in this era of digital disruption.

As a refresher Please check out the #PMIEMEA18 conference summary here. Keeping along the same theme this time, I will focus on area of robotics, artificial intelligence, along with the human aspects of problem solving, virtual teams, knowledge management, change management and diversity.  Here is my schedule:

Oct 6, 2018 : Day 1

#302 Opening General Session and Keynote Speaker: Jon Dorenbos - "Life Is Magic"

#313 Knowledge Management: An Emerging Competitive Advantage—Trends, Urgency, and Techniques

#328 Rogue One : A powerpoint story

#349 There's a Robot in My Meeting!

I plan to wind up my day by attending the Gala dinner, the Oscars of project management, an event which recognizes the best of the best #ChampionOfChange in the field of project management.

Oct 7, 2018 : Day 2

401 General Session and Keynote Speaker: Cam Marston - "Five Generations in the Workplace"

#407 The Future Lies in Diversity and Inclusion: Are You an Inclusive Leader?

#425: The Change lab :Part 1

#439 The Change Lab: Part 2 of 2

#444 Artificial Intelligence and Project Management: Beyond Human Imagination!

Oct 8, 2018 : Day 3

#506 Breakthrough Brainstorming: Fun, Fast Strategies to Unleash Your Brilliance!

Mid-morning, I would be leading a session

#517a Who Wants to Be a More Successful Project Manager? Here's Your New Lifeline: Ask the Crowd!

I will speak on crowdsourcing and how it can improve agility and innovation in this era of disruption. In this regard I would like to know your opinion on crowdsourcing.  Please take the polls to help me to get the voice of the “crowd”.

https://www.projectmanagement.com/polls/462418/Challenges-with-crowdsourcing-project-tasks

https://www.projectmanagement.com/polls/462408/Crowdsourcing-project-tasks---internal-and-external-can-add-equal-value-to-projects

https://www.projectmanagement.com/polls/462405/Do-you-think-crowdsourcing-of-project-tasks-like-design--coding--testing-improves-agility-and-innovation------

 #526-EXH Hands-On Lab: From the Golden Rule to the Platinum Rule the Character-Strengths Way

#532 Closing General Session and Keynote Speaker: Abigail Posner - "Cracking Creativity: Re-Engaging Our Innate Creativity for Greater Productivity and Growth"

Apart from the above, I would be in the exhibit hall at the “Ask an Expert” booth as an expert on Agile, Project management, digital transformation. If you are at the Congress in person, do not forget to sign up for the exclusive 1:1 sessions with me to gain insights from my experience of managing digital transformation programs. Keep checking this space for the schedule.

If you not able to make it to the Congress, fret not, I would keep sharing my experiences at the Congress on twitter , linkedIn or Facebook.  Keep following me as I join thousands of other #ChampionOfChange for three days of learning and fun !

Guten Tag (Good day in German)!

The third day of #PMIEMEA18 gave me and Berlin Congress attendee a truly Triple Treat! 

I learned about TMOs, the Half-Double technique, and the Copernican revolution in Project Management. A terrific bonus was the thought-provoking closing keynote by Inma Martinez.

For those who could not be there, here are short videos interviews that summarize the key takeaways from some of the sessions:

Michael Ehlers & Per Svejvig, “The Half Double System for Project Success”: http://bit.ly/MPEMEA18

Olivier Lazar, “Ethical Leadership & Decision Making: The Business Case & The Construction Tools”  bit.ly/OLEMEA18

Jack Duggal, “The Copernican Revolution in Project and Business Management”:

The TMO (Testing Management Office): Amruta Oak

We’ve all heard of PMOs. What are TMOs? In a fascinating session, Amruta Oak made the case for Testing Management Offices.  Here were some key points in her session:

• Test teams in projects are often put under extreme pressure in completing a lot of work in very little time. Many project managers do not entirely understand the unique challenges faced by test teams.
• Investing in a separate Test Management Office can go a long way in improving the probability of project success.
• Typical roles in a TMO include Test Leaders, Test PMs, Project Coordinators, Defect Managers, and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).
• Ten specific steps involved in implementing a TMO.
• Case Study of Success implementing a TMO in a large Pharmaceutical Benefits project

The Half Double Project: Michael Ehlers & Per Svejvig

Achieving DOUBLE productivity in HALF the time? That is indeed a bold proposition! Michael and Per presented concrete results from the bold “Half Double Project” initiative to significantly improve project success rates. Key pointers from their session:

• While 34.7% of German GDP came from projects, only around 30% of projects are successful.
• The “Half Double” project is all about placing extreme focus on three core elements: Project Impact, Project Flow, and Leadership.
• Halving the time to “Impact Creation” has the potential of “Doubling Impact.”
• Case Study of a successful implementation of the “Half Double” approach: Reducing baggage handling defects in a European airport by 33% from 12/1000 to 8/1000.
• Research results of nine pilot projects compared to a few using the “Half Double” method showed that the approach brought vastly improved results.

The Copernican Revolution in Project and Business Management: Jack Duggal

What does Copernicus have to do with a revolution in Project and Business Veteran PMI Conference speaker Jack Duggal started the session with this interesting question.

Jack made this important point. Copernicus controversially postulated that earth orbited around the sun. Today’s most successful projects and businesses put the customer at the center of their compared to others that have their projects or businesses at the center. Other key points in the engaging presentation:

• Mike Tyson’s famous quote, “Everybody has a PLAN until you get punched in the face!” is very relevant to project managers. Many well-crafted plans may fail when a PM came face-to-face with an angry stakeholder.
• Transparency to stakeholders is crucial. Jack gave the idea of the Reichstag building where tourists could go right to the top and watch elected representatives work. Similarly, many German government buildings had glass facades to signify transparency.
• A case study of a situation where a project crisis was creatively handled with a note of apology and candy bars to stakeholders.
• A practical 11-point “Application Checklist” on implementing the learnings from the session.

Developing Creative Approaches in the Workplace in the Times of Accelerated Digitalization – Closing Keynote Speaker Inma Martinez

Are robots set to take over our jobs, maybe even the world? What will then happen to humans? In a terrific keynote laced with excellent humor, Inma Martinez candidly answered these questions that are in the minds of many.

• Can a hearing-impaired person enjoy a musical concert? Can a car drive itself to the mechanic when it has a serious issue that needs fixing? Can machines outdo humans?
• Answering all these questions in the affirmative, Inma said Artificial intelligence and machine learning are set to revolutionize the world in ways we cannot even start to imagine.
• However, all human jobs are not at risk. Tacit knowledge cannot be put into words. That's why humans will remain relevant.
• With many repetitive manual jobs being better done by machines, humans will truly have time to spend on relaxing and important activities such as meditation, listening to music, reading great books, and so on!

I hope you enjoyed the continuous coverage of the EMEA Congress 2018 by the Community Engagement Team. In addition to tweets by @PMInstitute and @PMIEvents, regular updates were also posted on the Twitter handles of our team members, @PriyaPatra, @KarthikPMO, and @Em_the_PM

Meanwhile, have a wonderful day, or as they say in German, “Ich wünsche ihnen einen wunderbaren Tag!”

Please look for my summary of the Conference in the next blog post. Look for a special surprise on a thought-provoking conversation with a project management legend.