Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Dubai's Megasuccessful Megaprojects Set the Standard
Categories:
PMI Global Congress 2014 - EMEA
Categories: PMI Global Congress 2014 - EMEA
| PMI® Global Congress 2014 -- EMEA kicked off in Dubai, where nearly 1,000 attendees got an insider's look at how project management helped turn a pearl-diving village into a world-class city. "Dubai has a reputation for megaprojects, not only large, but iconic -- incredible feats of engineering," said Mark A. Langley, president and CEO of PMI, at the opening session of congress. "Not only the best and biggest projects, but the best project and program management to ensure success." When it comes to project performance, he said, PMI Pulse of the Profession® data reveals the Middle East does much better than the rest of the world. And Dubai stands front and center. The transformation of what was once a vast desert into a world-class city has been "staggering," said His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer from Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority. He outlined five economic building blocks:
While oil fueled early growth, Dubai has a grand vision -- and from grand visions come grand projects. Take Dubai World Central, a next-generation aerotropolis ultimately capable of handling 200 million passengers by 2016, said His Excellency Khalifa Al Zaffin of Dubai Aviation City Corp. And while the project is designed primarily to house commercial and residential districts, its competitive advantage lies in Dubai's strategic location. "One-third of the world's population is within a four-hour flight -- mainly from the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia regions that together have US$3.6 trillion GDP," Mr. Al Zaffin said. Dubai is leveraging that strategic location to carve out its place as a major global player. A new Silk Road is emerging, with 55 percent of the Middle East trade now with India and China, said Dr. Nasser Saidi of Nasser Saidi & Associates and former chief economist at the Dubai International Financial Centre. Part of the Dubai's success lies squarely with securing project and program buy-in at the highest levels. In the case of snaring hosting duties for World Expo 2020, local, municipal and federal government were all involved. "In other expos, it was always the mayor of the city particularly who was responsible," Dr. Saidi said. "Here, responsibility is right at the top, which leads to better coordination, strategic planning and getting things done." Along with World Expo 2020, two other platforms are driving Dubai's future growth, said keynote speaker Mr. Hassan Al Hashemi of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry:
Dubai's evolution is nothing short of amazing. And it will only continue with World Expo 2020, an engine for change powered by innovation and supported by expertise in project and program management. Where do you look for inspiration? |
Getting Documentation Right
Categories:
Project Planning
Categories: Project Planning
| Documentation is an important aspect of a project manager's job. We document to keep us aware of status on projects. We use it to stabilize spending and keep a paper trail of events and circumstances. So, what should you capture and how should it be maintained? Here are a few tips to make sure you're capturing usable documentation.
Now that you know how to maintain documentation, we'll review which documents should be retained in my next post. What are your must-have tips for documentation on projects? |
Why Realistic Goals Matter — and How to Set Them
Categories:
Project Planning
Categories: Project Planning
| One of the regular challenges I hear coming from the project management community is the idea that our organizations are setting unrealistic goals. This is a tremendous challenge because setting unobtainable goals can lead to project failure, low morale and a culture of insecurity. It's vitally important to spend time working with our project management offices (PMOs) and sponsors to develop realistic timelines and goals that are achievable in the short- and long-term. Why? Because this is going to help maintain motivation throughout the project as each milestone is obtained. Additionally, it will help you communicate progress more effectively to your sponsors and gives you the capability to set clear, reasonable expectations at the start of the project. Here are three ways you can set better goals that motivate your teams, sponsors and stakeholders:
While it isn't possible to control every variable on every project, a project manager can make great strides in team performance by using goals to set proper expectations. What helped you set proper goals in a recent project? Read more about PMOs and their impact on strategy implementation in PMI's Strategic Initiative Management: The PMO Imperative. |
Turn Chaos Into Success
Categories:
Complexity
Categories: Complexity
| Project managers usually advance in their careers by managing small, then medium and ultimately large projects. What project managers may not be prepared for is the complexity that comes with taking on bigger projects. Left unmanaged, this complexity leads to chaos and ultimately project failure. Why does this happen? A business system is characterized by processes and activities that work in tandem to deliver a specific result that benefits customers. Throughout a project's life cycle, it can encounter a number of business systems -- such as leadership systems (how leaders set values and organizational performance and governance) and customer systems (engagement strategy to meet customer needs and support that relationship) -- that independently and jointly put pressure on the project. As you segment the business systems further, you will find underlying, interrelated business processes and activities that create even more complexity. And as the project traverses along the value chain, more strategic tensions apply, such as competing research and development priorities or sales quotas. Projects that disrupt these systems and value chains promise new and improved approaches. But project managers must mediate the chaos this disruption generates to achieve project success. Organizations with less mature processes and fewer performance measures tend to put more pressure on project teams. In these organizations, the project team is responsible for navigating the chaos caused by increased complexity. Projects often devolve into uphill battles and ultimately fail. This demonstrates an inherent "inverse tension" between process maturity and project complexity. Reduce complexity by relaxing tensions. By understanding tensions, project managers can develop a management discipline that shapes the project plan and enables success. To create that discipline, follow these foundational steps:
I use APQC's Process Framework as one source to identify common organization business systems and processes, and their potential pitfalls. A team should identify the system's performance gaps to manage mediations and avoid negative impacts proactively. To assess the performance of business systems, I generally rely on the CMMI model (Capability Maturity Model Integration). I define the performance criteria according to the following maturity levels:
I also use simple checklists to assess the project capability of an organization and team to determine any preventative actions I can take in the planning phase. For example, asking a series of assessment questions that identify process maturity levels allows me to consider any gaps I need to mitigate to improve project performance. To analyze team-related project complexity, I leverage the characteristics outlined by U.S. authors Kathleen B. Hass and Amit Kumar:
I used these frameworks to reduce complexity and increase predictability when I managed a big project team that was working with a large number of suppliers. The project was highly complex, behind schedule and expected to go over budget. The team managed supplier payments by sending invoices to accounts payable once the related work was complete. Using assessment questions, I discovered the main problem was related to a large global transformation initiative, in which the purchasing team worked within limited regional relationships. I classified this as a high complex engagement because the team:
In my management improvement plan, I was able to clearly demonstrate what business system was failing, where in the system it was located and why it was underperforming. I created a clear path forward to restore performance, which resulted in reduced complexity, better alignment and lower costs. How do you create a framework to get a handle on complexity? Learn more about complexity on PMI.org. |
7 Steps to Project Planning Acceleration
Categories:
Project Planning
Categories: Project Planning
| What's a reasonable amount of time to devote to planning a project? I use this rule of thumb: If it is a low-uncertainty project (i.e., we've completed another with similar conditions in the past, with known technology and firm assumptions), devote at least 10 percent of the expected duration of the project to planning it. If it's perceived as a high-uncertainty project (i.e., one with new technology, new approach, uncertain conditions), devote at least 20 percent. But let's face it. Often, organizational pressure will not allow us to devote that much time to planning. So is there an approach that lets us reduce planning time but still do good work and come up with a complete, useful plan? Many organizations I've worked with use a project planning acceleration workshop (PPAW). This is an organized, closed-door, multiday session with the whole project team to focus exclusively on producing the project plan -- something that usually takes several weeks, completed in a few days' time. There are different ways of organizing such an event, but I usually follow these seven steps: 1. Plan the plan. Share with team members all of the project's background information. Send invitations with enough lead time and clearly state the session's sole objective, which is to produce a solid project plan. I often kick off the session stating that once we are finished, we will have a project plan that is roughly 75 to 85 percent complete -- and that we are going to accomplish this in a very short period of time. Therefore, total commitment is required from all participants. 2. Set the stage. What you want is an environment conducive to teamwork without distractions. Secure a room to host the workshop, preferably outside of the office. And don't forget to include a lot of food and beverages for the duration of the workshop. When people are tired, food helps! 3. Define the agenda. Depending on the complexity of the project, different workshop durations will be required, but three days is adequate for most projects. I often use an agenda that looks like this:
4. Use collaborative working techniques. Don't just project steps on a screen; make team members work together. When producing the WBS or the project schedule, use the participatory cards on the wall (COW) technique. For the risk management plan, brainstorm together to identify risks and ask participants to pin different risks on color-coded charts according to their assessment of probability and impact. 5. Document everything. Assign someone in the team to document everything produced. You may use Post-its to draft the WBS or the schedule, but these elements need to be recorded formally for when the project starts. 6. Assign tasks for completion. After the workshop is finished, the project plan won't be completely finalized. Usually certain parts need more research or analysis. Assign specific team members to complete outstanding pieces and establish a deadline for completing these elements that were initiated at the PPAW. 7. Kick off the project. Once the project plan is deemed completed, host one more session to make a final review of all the elements, especially those that needed further research. Combine this activity with a formal project kick-off meeting -- the end of PPAW and the beginning of your project. In my experience, when a team is co-located and completely focused for a specific period of time to create a plan, it yields better results. Have you ever run a PPAW? How has it improved your project? |