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Monthly Archives: April 2022

It’s a wrap! Over $15,000 donated to UNICEF

Posted on April 28, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Project Managers 4 The World, Charity Event on April 27 & 28, 2022: 24 hours talk around the clock in support of children and families from Ukraine is over.  The event was a great success thanks to Patric Eid, Oliver F. Lehmann, and a panel of 24 speakers from around the world:  https://charity-conference.com/speaker-list-april-27-2022/

I am proud to have been a part of this unique, 100% volunteer event.

My presentation was: Governing and Leading Projects using Earned Value Management (EVM). Good management and good governance require good information. When implemented effectively EVM is a robust, practical system focused on assessing and supporting the managers of a project. Based on the framework in ISO 21508, this presentation will provide an overview of the 11 steps needed to implement EVM effectively.

The presentation (PDF) can be downloaded from: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-SCH-040.php#Overview

There’s no fee or registration to download the paper, but please take a minute and donate to UNICEF’s work with children in Ukraine:  https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/war-ukraine-pose-immediate-threat-children

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Posted in EVM & ES, Governance, Project Management Conferences

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The PMI Talent Triangle™ Updated

Posted on April 27, 2022 by | Leave a comment

The categories used by PMI’s certification renewal system to record PDUs have been updated. The new terminology is:

Ways of Working (Previously Technical Project Management) Whether it’s predictive, agile, design thinking, or new practices still to be developed, it’s clear that there is more than one way that work gets done today. That’s why we encourage professionals to master as many ways of working as they can – so they can apply the right technique at the right time, delivering winning results.

Power Skills (Previously Leadership) These interpersonal skills include collaborative leadership, communication, an innovative mindset, for-purpose orientation, and empathy. Ensuring teams have these skills allows them to maintain influence with a variety of stakeholders – a critical component for making change.

Business Acumen (Previously Strategic and Business Management) Professionals with business acumen understand the macro and micro influences in their organization and industry and have the function- or domain-specific knowledge – to make good decisions. Professionals at all levels need to be able to cultivate effective decision-making and understand how their projects align with the big picture of broader organizational strategy and global trends.

The Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) handbook has also been updated. For more information, links and downloads, see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-TPI-023.php

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Posted in Training

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Saint Expeditus the Patron Saint of Projects?

Posted on April 19, 2022 by | 1 comment

Saint Expeditus also known as Expedite, is considered the patron saint of urgent causes, he is commemorated by the Catholic Church on 19th April.

According to tradition, Saint Expeditus was a Roman centurion in Armenia who became a Christian and was beheaded during the Diocletian Persecution in 303 A.D. The day he decided to become a Christian, the Devil took the form of a crow and told him to defer his conversion until the next day. Expeditus stamped on the bird and killed it, declaring, “I’ll be a Christian today!”

Achieving an expeditious completion of difficult challenges (and avoiding procrastination) has been a problem throughout history.  In the past, some have sought the help of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, gates, transitions, and time (the month of January is named after him), others have prayed to St. Expedius, the patron saint of the patron saint of urgent causes, to bring a conclusion to long running issues (particularly law cases). Maybe this could continue today.

While the foregoing outline is accurate, not much else is known about the Saint. His real name is unknown, possibly Elpidius, and there are several legends dealing with the reason his name was changed to be a pun of rapidity, but the most likely explanation is a copyist’s error. But, notwithstanding the doubtful origins of the Saint name, pictures of him were in existence in Germany in the eighteenth century which plainly depicted him as a saint to be invoked against procrastination and we can all do with some help in this regard. Viable alternatives may be St Anthony (Miracles), or St Jude (Lost Causes).

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Posted in Thoughts & Musings

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Project Management in the time of COVID

Posted on April 16, 2022 by | Leave a comment

The first in a series of five papers by Dr. Lynda Bourne, commissioned by PM World Journal, has been uploaded to the Mosaic website.

Uncertainty – Is it time to rethink? considers what uncertainty might mean post-pandemic. Through a discussion of the concept of a Zone of Uncertainty, the paper considers how the current heightened awareness of uncertainty and unknown unknowns can contribute to more effective risk management practice, and how the introduction of the concepts of resilience, persistence, and adaptability may assist individuals, groups, and organizations to recover, review and reform their practices.

Download the paper from:  https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-ORG-060.php#COVID  

PM World Journal is a free monthly project management journal, see more at: https://pmworldjournal.com/  

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Posted in Risk, Stakeholder Management

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Myths and Legends – The Origins of Standard Gauge Railways

Posted on April 9, 2022 by | Leave a comment

This article debunks a story I’ve used on a number of occasions to highlight the power of standardization. It seems the legend surrounding the creation of the standard gauge for railways is an artistic creation rather than an effective way of explaining the known facts.

Our latest article, Myths and Legends – The Origins of Standard Gauge Railways grew out of the research undertaken for The Origins and History of Cost Engineering and the soon to be published The First Railway & Canal Projects. 

The article shows that unlike the elaborate myth, standard gauge appears to be the consequence of random chance. These findings raise a number of important issues:

  1. While a good story is an invaluable communication tool, the connections within the story need to be as robust as the facts they connect.
  2. Don’t look for complex solutions when there’s a simple explanation (Ockham’s razor), function follows form regardless of the century.
  3. Don’t underestimate the power of random chance.

Download the Myths and Legends – The Origins of Standard Gauge Railways

See more on the history of project management: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-ZSY.php

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Posted in Communication

Project Managers 4 The World – 24-hours talk around the clock

Posted on April 6, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Project Managers 4 The World are running a 24-hours talk around the clock in support for children and families from Ukraine on April 27 & 28, 2022: https://charity-conference.com/

The full line up of speakers is now locked-in, all we need is for the project management community to support our efforts. All you have to do is donate to participate $10 to $999 (or more), it’s your choice – all proceeds go to UNICEF to help support for children and families from Ukraine. After donating, a Zoom link will be forwarded to allow access to the event.  

See more on the event home page: https://charity-conference.com/

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Posted in General Project Management

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Practical EVM

Posted on April 4, 2022 by | 6 comments

Introducing Earned Value Management (EVM) into an organization needs a staged approach. There is a need for new tools, new processes, and a management culture change to make use of the new information.  Implemented properly, EVM is far more than a simple ‘add-on’ to either the scheduling tool or the cost management tools. Both of these systems are still needed, to support the added value created by a practical Earned Value Management System (EVMS). An effective EVMS is a performance management system designed to assess and assist the performance of the project’s management team.

Our latest article Practical EVM, looks at using the Easy EVM Workbook as a low cost, practical stepping stone on the journey towards creating the management culture and systems needed to take advantage of a fully-featured EVM software tool.

Download the Practical EVM article:  https://mosaicprojects.com.au/Mag_Articles/AA015_Practical_EVM.pdf

See more on Earned Value Management: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-SCH-040.php

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Posted in EVM & ES, Project Controls

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Support for Ukraine

Posted on April 1, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Project Managers 4 The World are running a 24-hours talk around the clock in support for children and families from Ukraine on April 27 & 28, 2022: https://charity-conference.com/

By joining Project Managers 4 The World and contributing to a good cause, you will get the opportunity to witness a series of amazing talks by project management experts from around the world. Starting at 5:15pm on the 27th (Sydney time – 9:15am in Germany) speakers from Germany to Zambia, and Australia to North America will cover a range of subjects. My session ‘Governing and Leading Projects using Earned Value Management (EVM)’ is scheduled for the 1:00am time slot in Munich (9:00am on the 28th Melbourne time – this is the first time in 20 years being in the Australian time zone has been an advantage…..). Visit the event home page to see the full list of speakers.

Donate to participate $10 to $999 (or more), it’s your choice – all proceeds go to UNICEF to help support for children and families from Ukraine. After donating, a Zoom link will be forwarded to allow access to the event.

I will post more updates as this exciting event evolves. 

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Posted in General Project Management

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