PM Discipline Integration in the Federal Government
PM Point of View
Dive into the future of project management within the U.S. government in this engaging and insightful interview with key players from the USDA and NOAA. Hear from Jason Traquair, Kellie Cenzano, Daryl Frazier, and Joe Giraldi as they unveil their pioneering efforts and collaborations aimed at enhancing program and project management disciplines across their respective organizations. Discover the innovative strategies, such as building vibrant communities of practice and leveraging integrated value networks, that are set to redefine how government agencies achieve mission success and tackle...
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Risk and Resilience at the UMD PM Symposium (Revised)
PM Point of View
Risk-- again! This episode with guests from the upcoming UMD Project Management Center for Excellence symposium is a thought-provoking discussion that takes a closer look at a crucial aspect of project management – risk management. We've gathered a dynamic trio of experts from diverse backgrounds to share their insights, experiences, and groundbreaking strategies on tackling risks head-on, making your projects more resilient and successful. Joining us from the realms of technology, clinical research, and literary scholarship, our speakers, Lakshmi Sowjanya Uppala from Amazon, clinical...
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People in Projects at the UMD PM Symposium 2024
PM Point of View
Heralding the annual arrival of the flagship UMD Project Management Center for Excellence symposium, this episode has 3 of the presenters in the People and Projects track: Kevin Coleman, a visionary leader and the founder and CEO of KMC Empowerment, John Eskandar, a seasoned professional in project controls at Exelon and graduate of the UMD PM program, who brings a wealth of experience managing large-scale construction projects and Abbigail Meah-Ali, a manager of construction services at the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago. From Trinidad to Maryland to Virginia, our guests span a...
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Program Value Management
PM Point of View
Challenged by the hosts, Kendall Lott and Mike Hannan, returning guest Steven Devaux takes his value break down structure (the "Golden Triangle") to a new level, looking at quantifying value of project within programs. That’s the obvious, the less obvious is looking at the need for this view point in critical areas such as public health, emergency response and national security. He emphasizes the need to prioritize or sequence projects within a program to optimize the schedule for maximum impact, where the focus is on delivering outcomes rather than just producing products. What might...
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Asteroids
PM Point of View
In this podcast episode, co-hosts Kendall and Mike are joined by guest Roy Mazel, a retired NASA project leader and guest lecturer. They discuss the Project Management complexities of asteroid missions, specifically, the OSIRIS-REx Psyche missions. As you might guess, the successful implementation of risk management strategies and the importance of technical integrity in the face of schedule pressure is the litmus test of getting these missions completed on time, on budget, and without failure. And what you might not expect, Roy highlights the importance of a strong organizational...
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Let it Flow, Success without Force
PM Point of View
In this episode, Kendall, Mike, and Wolfram Mueller discuss strategies to improve business workflows using the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and Critical Chain Project Management, focused on two things: underloading system constraints and buffer management (having a signal that our flow is or isn't working). One thing that pops out is the importance of calculating business cases and recognizing growth potential--that becomes the compelling case to get middle management on board with the change needed. Getting a team to underload (reduce the non-critical work) of key resources, while having other...
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Getting Out of Our Own Way
PM Point of View
The crux of any success? It isn't the plan, it isn't the desire, not even the WIIFM, its EXECUTION. And organizational change is no different. Today's episode discusses the difficulties that organizations face when it comes to executing change. Once again guest and change management author and guru April Mills comes to us on the topic of change…but this time it isn't how to do it, but how she has seen managers institutionally throw up their own barriers to change even as they try to change…starting with outsourcing on the thinking to…professionals. It may be that we are so good at PM...
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PM Faceoff: Process vs Principles
PM Point of View
So there we were at the 10th annual UMD PM Symposium, having the Great Debate of Process vs principles. Facing off were Crystal Richards, CEO of MindsparQ and Laura Barnard, CEO of PMO Strategies. One hour of back and forth and audience questions. In sum: From the debate between Laura and Crystal,It's clear that project managers should grab the handle.Be a business leader and ask good questions,Embrace risk and change with no exceptions.
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Listener Questions Revealed!
PM Point of View
Elevating the Conversation about Project Management, with a twist. In this episode cohosts Mike Hannan and Kendall Lott take on some Listener Feedback. A running theme in the show is the actual and delineation of project manager, product manager, and program manager--so we jump on that! Of course, our main theme of its all about value, adding value and understanding projects as investments is once again threaded through the answers. But new things lurk--how do you agile on a fixed-price contract? What's the danger and opportunity in cross-functional teams and accountability when managing...
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UMD PM 4.0 AI & Future for Project Managers
PM Point of View
No Luddites here! Episode 3 of the UMD PM Symposium prequal and guests Al Zeiton, Marissa Brienza and Bill Brantley chat about the role of AI in Project Management and the potential risks and benefits of using it as PMs. We discover the logic and importance of maintaining human interaction—turns out its not fear that makes us think “it will never replace us” but rather AI’s limitations in the larger PM discipline. Ah! But what potential magic AI may bring if we use it as augmenting project management, driving improved risk assessment, and being our outsourced memory! All in service of...
info_outlineWhat does the PMBOK® Guide - 6th Edition say about Quality? It refers to the cost of Quality. And there is a cost to quality – in terms of both money and time. But lack of quality also has a cost. Being able to measure quality helps us to juggle and flex project requirements. How exactly does quality fit into the overall project scheme? Is optimum quality even a high priority of any given project? The Project Manager who is well informed and kept up to date on the full program perspective is better poised to make intelligent decisions about the give and take of project components in order to achieve the quality that maximizes value.
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An educational podcast with PM Guests discussing key technical project management techniques in new ways.
Stephen A. Devaux, MSPM, PMP
Steve Devaux, MSPM, PMP, is President of Analytic Project Management, Boston, MA, a PMI Global R.E.P. founded in 1992. Major corporate clients include Siemens, BAE Systems, Wells Fargo, Texas Instruments, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, MIT Lincoln Labs, iRobot, L-3 Communications, American Power Conversion, and Respironics.
Devaux’s newest book Managing Projects as Investments: Earned Value to Business Value came out from CRC Press in September 2014. He is also the author of Total Project Control, the second edition of which was published by CRC Press in March 2015. He contributed chapters on his new CPM metric, critical path drag, in two 2013 books: Project Management in the Oil and Gas Industries and Handbook of Emergency Response. He is the author of numerous articles and PMI webinars, and a frequent speaker at PMI Chapter meetings throughout the US. He also authors a blog on advanced practices in project management several times a week at www.TotalProjectControl.com.
Over the years, he has taught graduate project management courses at Suffolk University, Brandeis University and University of the West Indies/Barbados and in Executive Education programs at Bentley University and UMass/Lowell.
Michael Hannan, PMP, TOC Jonah
Mike Hannan is Founder and Principal Consultant for Fortezza Consulting, LLC, which helps CIOs, IT PMO Directors, and project teams improve the speed and reliability of their Project Portfolios. Mr. Hannan brings over 20 years’ experience as a Consulting Executive, IT Project Portfolio and Program Manager, Process Engineer, and Software Architect/Engineer/Designer/Tester. His background in Project Portfolio Management started at NASA in the early 1990s supporting large, complex programs such as the International Space Station and High-Performance Computing & Communications (HPCC). He has managed and consulted on $500M+ project portfolios, and trained CIOs and other senior executives in Federal Civilian, Military, and Commercial environments. Mike has been an active speaker at industry events, including local PMI chapter and community meetings, webinars, PM Symposia, and in the Agile community. He is a leading innovator of disciplined ways to integrate Agile, Lean, Critical Chain, and other techniques to drive dramatic breakthroughs in the performance of IT Project Portfolios. Mr. Hannan has been a PMP since 2005, and is a member of both the PMIWDC and Montgomery County chapters. He has been a Theory of Constraints Jonah since 2011, and has Masters degrees in Information Technology and International Affairs. He is also a devoted father of 3 teenage boys, a competitive masters-level track athlete, and an amateur oenophile.
Randall C. Iliff
Mr. Iliff has over 35 years’ experience leading developmental effort, and has participated in all phases of project execution from proposal to close out. He is a seasoned large-project PM as well as a recognized expert in Systems Engineering. Mr. Iliff holds a BS in Engineering / Industrial Design from Michigan State University, and an MS in Systems Management, Research and Development from the University of Southern California. Mr. Iliff is a charter member of the International Council On Systems Engineering (INCOSE), and currently serves as the INCOSE representative on an alliance between INCOSE, PMI, and the MIT Center for Program Excellence. Until early 2016 Mr. Iliff was VP at the award-winning design firm bb7, where he was also Director of Strategy, Methods and Learning. Prior to that he worked for Motorola, Martin Marietta, and McDonnell-Douglas. In 2016, he left bb7 and founded Eclectic Intellect.