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PMNetwork
SEPTEMBER 2015 VOLUME 29, NUMBER 9
2015 PMI
PROJECT OF THE
YEAR FINALISTS
PAGE 62
PMOs IN
UNEXPECTED
INDUSTRIES
PAGE 48
TIPS FOR
MAKING THE
RIGHT HIRE
PAGE 20
POWER
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Kanchanaburi
Province, Thailand
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ENERGY PROJECTS
WILL DRIVE EMERGING
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Features
PHOTO BY JAKE LYELL
SEPTEMBER 2015 | VOLUME 29, NUMBER 9
30
Powering Up
Emerging markets require massive energy

infrastructure projectsand the right local
talent to get them to the finish line.
By Sarah Fister Gale
42
Double Vision
Regulations create riskand the only way to

manage that risk is for project management
and compliance teams to combine forces.
By Matt Alderton
48
The Brave New PMO Frontier
Project management offices are gaining

traction in industries you wouldnt expect.
By Novid Parsi
56
Give and Take
First-of-their-kind converter stations help

France and Spain make a powerful connectionand point the way to Europes future.
By Meredith Landry
62
2015 PMI PROJECT OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Lasting Impact
Three top-notch project teams exceeded

expectations while delivering long-term
benefits to the public.
By Alma Bahman
42
Brian Mushimba,
PMP, Eskom,
Kampala, Uganda
48
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SEPTEMBER 2015 | VOLUME 29, NUMBER 9
PMNetwork
MAKING PROJECT MANAGEMENT

INDISPENSABLE FOR BUSINESS RESULTS.
THE EDGE
6
10
Sand Storm
Land reclamation projects in
Asia face unpredictable
stakeholder and
regulatory challenges.
After the End
Project cancellations are tough.
But for project managers with
the right mindset, theyre also
learning opportunities.
10 Subterranean Surprises
Managing archaeological risks
takes forethought.
10 Suite Growth
The worlds biggest hotel to rise
in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
13 Watch Out
Apples latest device presents
cutting-edge opportunities for
project teams.
20
VOICES
20 Project Toolkit
That Special Something
22 Inside Track
Accelerating Quality Control
Monica Sacco, PMP, program
manager, Project Management
Skills Acceleration program,
IBM, Buenos Aires, Argentina
68 Marketplace
Optimizing projects for
time and cost.
28 In the Trenches
Predicting the Unpredictable
By Lev Virine and
Michael Trumper
71 Directory of Services
Project management
resources
70 In the Trenches
Breaking Into Video Games
By Matthew Birken, PMI-ACP
72 Closing Credit
The worlds longest rail
tunnel nears completion.
COLUMNISTS
14 Looking Upstream
Hydropower projects look
for reliable climate change
projections to prepare for
the future.
24 Managing Relationships
Sailing to Distant Shores
By Sheilina Somani, RPP, FAPM,
PMP, Contributing Editor
16 Metrics
Using agile to deliver software
projects faster and smarter.
25 The Business of Projects

Soft Benefits Are Real
By Gary R. Heerkens, MBA,
CBM, PMP, Contributing Editor
26 The Agile
Project Manager
Agile Everything
By Jesse Fewell, CST,
PMI-ACP, PMP, Contributing
Editor
27 Take the Lead
Leading (and Learning)
in the Field
By Ricardo Viana Vargas, PMIRMP, PMI-SP, PMP
72
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theEd
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEME GROUP
The Jurong Island and Tuas View

reclamation projects in Singapore
HKD150 billion
Cost of new Hong Kong
runway project
PM NETWORK SEPTEMBER 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG
20%
The amount of Singapore built

on reclaimed land
2045
Scheduled completion date of

four new Malaysian islands
ge
Sand Storm
Land reclamation projects dont usually make international headlines.
But Chinas construction of islands in the South China Sea sparked a geopolitical dispute earlier this year after the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations criticized the project for threatening other nations sovereignty.
Tense as the moment was, land reclamation projects have a long history in Asia. The entire Hong Kong airport is built on reclaimed land, as
is 20 percent of Singapore and some Malaysian islands. Border dispute
risks are rare. The more common obstacles practitioners face during these
costly and lengthy projects are resource limitations, environmental concerns, local resistance and legislative obstacles.
Pay Dirt
A land reclamation project requires one thing
above all: sand. Reclaiming 1 square kilometer
(0.39 square miles) of land takes up to 37.5 million cubic meters (1.3 billion cubic feet) of sand
from rivers, lakes or seasdesert sand is ineffective. As a result, some areas experience shortages.
Singapores government is the worlds largest
sand importer, having expanded its land area
22 percent over the past 50 years and exhausted
domestic sand sources decades ago. Worried
about environmental damage, running out of
the resource or protecting sea access rights,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam
have banned or severely restricted sand exports,
which has led to higher prices and alleged black
markets.
Even when project managers do secure
enough sand, stakeholder protests can threaten
a reclamation project. A HKD150 billion project
Jack HC Kerklaan, Akuna
to add a third runway at Hong Kongs airport
Dredging Solutions,
received official confirmation in March and is
Brisbane, Australia
slated to be completed by 2023. But environmentalists oppose the project, saying it will disrupt the habitat of the
endangered Chinese white dolphin.
Some local resistance can often be anticipated, though the magnitude
of opposition is hard to predict, says Jeroen Overbeek, ports and marine
leader in Asia for engineering company Aurecon, Singapore. These issues
will crop up even if youre operating fully within the law, Mr. Overbeek
says. Anticipating specific project challenges is extremely difficult.
The mutual
understanding
and allocation of
the operational,
environmental,
financial and
political risks
will result
in a smooth
execution with
fewer surprises.
SEPTEMBER 2015 PM NETWORK
theEdge
Reclaim
to Fame
Asia is the worlds largest continentand its getting bigger.
Here are a few of the largest
land reclamation projects
underway to push shorelines
farther out to sea.
SINGAPORE: In recent
decades, the tiny nation-state
has spent more than US$10
billion on two major reclamation efforts to expand its
size. Expansion of the Tuas
Peninsula began in 1984, with
the most recent phase of the
project set to finish in October. Jurong Island was formed through a program that linked
multiple islands, an effort that began with a US$5.6 billion
project in 1991. In 2013, another expansion of the island began.
The US$800 million project is slated to be completed in 2018.
CHINA: The country is reclaiming tidal areas along the southern Yellow Sea in the countrys mostly densely populated province, Jiangsu. The project to reclaim 1,800 square kilometers
(181,700 hectares) of new land began in 2010 and is scheduled
to be completed in 2020.
The Chinese government has also embarked on one of the
largest land reclamations in the history of Macau. It plans to
add 350 hectares (3.5 square kilometers), or nearly 12 percent, to the entertainment peninsulas land area for residential
and commercial use. Public consultations began in 2009, and
a master plan is now being finalized. Construction should
begin by 2017.
Avoid Assumptions
Stakeholder opposition led to a scaled-back
reclamation project in Forest City, Malaysia this year. The project to reclaim land for
mixed-development use in Johor Strait began
in June 2014 but was halted over environmental
concerns expressed by area fishermen. A public review resulted in a revised project plan, in
which four islands will be built by 2045 at a cost
of RM450 billion.
Regulatory obstacles can also complicate projects. In countries like Indonesia and India, its not
uncommon for project managers to encounter
The artificial island of

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau
Bridge
situations where the central government grants

environmental permits or permission to use land
but local authorities dont recognize those decisions, Mr. Overbeek says. The best way for project
managers to prepare is to work with local technical
and legal consultants to develop an inventory of
current rules and regulations as well as a scenarioplanning document that anticipates legislation
under consideration.
You can only mitigate a risk if you know the
risk is there, Mr. Overbeek says.
Once a reclamation project does get the official
go-ahead, its crucial to involve the contractor early
on, says Jack HC Kerklaan, director, Akuna Dredging Solutions, Brisbane, Australia. Mr. Kerklaan,
who in the late 1990s executed a large reclamation
project in Singapore with JTC Corp., says geotechnical and geophysical investigations during the
planning phase of a dredging project are instrumental for avoiding surprises during the execution.
The mutual understanding and allocation of the
operational, environmental, financial and political
risks will result in a smooth execution with fewer
surprises and the best opportunity to complete the
project in time and within the budget, he says.
Mr. Overbeek sums up the risks and challenges
project managers face in land reclamation projects with simple advice: Resist the urge to make
assumptions, check the facts and keep updating.
Past experience can only take you so far, he says.
Ambreen Ali
AFTER THE END

Project managers expect uncertainty in their work. Still, the recent drop in
oil prices, political elections and other shifts are leaving some to face the most
dramatic change of all: project cancellation.
The Australian state of Victoria had planned an AU$8 billion tollway project called
the East West Linkuntil the November 2014 state election, when a new government
came to power and killed the project. Economic shifts can scrap projects, too. In response
to falling oil prices, Qatar Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell PLC spiked plans in January
for a US$6.5 billion petrochemical plant.
Although project managers lack control over the economic and strategic conditions
that force cancellations, they can make smart career choices in the aftermath. That
includes finding effective ways to share the difficult news with the project team.
This is familiar terrain for Mattias Hallberg, PMP, section manager in the project
management section at e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc., Tokyo,
Japan. He oversees more than 30 project managers and has
observed what worksand what doesntwhen breaking the
cancellation news. After inviting the team to an urgent allhands project meeting and sharing the bad news, schedule a
lessons-learned session, says Mr. Hallberg, and do it quickly.
The team should get a chance within two business days to
get things off their chest and refocus, he says.
During that session, dont drag team members through a
painful postmortem. When Mr. Hallbergs project managers
summarize lessons-learned documentation, they avoid attaching employees names to comments because that can lead to
finger-pointing. They should avoid asking, Who said what?
and Who did what? Its better to focus on what and how,
says Mr. Hallberg. Dont make it personal.
With todays
fast-moving
market cycles,
the ability to
learn from
mistakes
and quickly
adjust is an
extremely
valuable
and critical
capability.
No Shame in a Canceled Project
Beyond the lessons-learned session, project managers attitudes

about cancellation can helpor hurttheir careers. Unless the
project manager was negligent, he or she should avoid looking at
Raul Castro, CDI Corp., the cancellation as a personal failure.
Irvine, California, USA
There is no shame in participating in a canceled project, says
Raul Castro, a recruiter for the Irvine, California, USA location of
CDI Corp., which provides IT and engineering recruiting services. It is important for
the project manager to understand that project cancellation is not necessarily a reflection of project execution performance, but rather an indication of project goal alignment with corporate and market objectives.
Whether the reasons for the project cancellation stem from market and competitive forces, changes in corporate strategy or execution challenges, there are
valuable lessons the project managerand team memberscan learn to drive
improvement. Employers prize that mindset. With todays fast-moving
market cycles, the ability to learn from mistakes and quickly
adjust is an extremely valuable and critical capability, Mr.
Castro says.
theEdge
When the Abraj Kudai project in Mecca, Saudi

Arabia is completed in 2017, it will be the
worlds largest hotel. Its 10,000 rooms will be
twice the number in the now-largest hotel, the
MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The
US$3.5-billion project comprises 12 44-story
towers, 70 restaurants, four helipads, a full-size
convention center with a ballroom, a shopping
mall and one of the largest domes in the world.
Andrew Linwood, head of design at Areen
Hospitality, the London, England firm tasked
with designing the hotels interiors, told Arabian
Business that the project presents a challenge.
Designing hotel interiors on such a massive
scale, with no operators yet in place, requires
complex programming and design resourcing,
he said.
Located little more than a mile (2.2 kilometers) from the Grand Mosque, which surrounds
Islams holiest site, the hotel will cater to an
elite crowd. Ten of the buildings towers will
offer four-star accommodations, with the other
two providing five-star lodging. Five floors will
be reserved for the Saudi royal family.
The megaproject is just one of many initiatives to accommodate Meccas 20 million
annual visitors. As many as 3 million make the
yearly pilgrimage for the hajj. Other projects
underway or completed in recent years include
the Makkah Clock Royal Tower, which has 1,542
hotel rooms; the Jabal Omar development,
which will accommodate 100,000 people in 26
luxury hotels; and a US$60 billion expansion of
the Grand Mosque itself. Matt Schur
10
Subterranean
Surprises
Ancient artifacts are coming back to haunt project managers trying to deliver
construction projects. Work on a supermarket expansion project in Paris, France
this year had to be halted while a team spent two months excavating more than 300
medieval-era skeletons. And developers discovered 15,000 pre-Columbian artifacts
along the route of the planned Nicaragua Canalbefore theyd even broken ground.
Now, further discoveries underground could threaten the US$50 billion projects
2019 completion date.
Archeological findings can wreak havoc on a projects budget and schedule, as
work has to stop while the discoveries are investigated, documented and excavated.
Careful planning and communication, however, can prevent discoveries from
throwing the project completely off track.
Assess Before Distress

Managers of the 14.8 billion Crossrail railway-line program in London, England
held archeological investigations at each site before construction.
That approach has paid off very well, says Jay Carver, lead archaeologist,
Crossrail, London, England. Weve had no serious delays, although weve had
some really, really excellent [archaeological] finds.
The preconstruction archeological assessments required extra time and
money on the front end, but they allowed the project team to avoid unexpected
delays and expenses later. It allowed us to put some real meat on the bones
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SMITHSONIAN TROPICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
SUITE GROWTH
When a project is canceled, project managers biggest concern might be

their jobs.
While many project managers are reassigned within the organization,
they shouldnt count on it, says Kevin Celia, a Milton Keynes, Englandbased director at Hays Information Technology, part of the global
recruiting firm Hays PLC. The state government agency behind Australias canceled East West Link project laid off up to 14 senior executives,
despite the governments earlier pledge that workers would be offered
redeployment. You should update your CV quickly and start making
contact with recruiters to discuss your next steps as soon as possible,
he says. For job candidates who have cancellations in their work history,
Mr. Celia has two words of advice: Be honest. Thats the most important
thing, he says. A future employer may already be aware of the details of
the project. Be honest about why the project was canceled and your role within the
project. Also, be prepared to talk positively about contributions to the project
key achievements and milestones achieved before the cancellation. Says Mr. Celia:
If you successfully managed a specific phase of the project which was completed,
then highlight that. Sandra Swanson
IMAGE COURTESY OF DAR AL-HANDASAH
Updating Your CV
and say, Look, were going to need at least three

months here, a month there and probably only
a couple of weeks at this more minor site, Mr.
Carver says.
Such planning was important. Equally critical,
however, was planning together. Each site team
and each project manager literally sat around a
table figuring out what the approach was going to
be at each site, what the critical archaeology activities were going to be and where we should place
archeology in the program to minimize impacts to
budget and schedule, says Mr. Carver.
Of course, surprises still emerge, despite all the
planning. Thats why the plan also included backup
mitigation measures, including program acceleration. On several sites, weve used shift work and
nighttime lighting to enable the archaeology work
to accelerate, he says.
These mitigation measures, which help to minimize construction delays, were a real-time collaboration between archaeologists and project managers.
When the project manager knows the archaeology
has to happen on his or her watchwhen he or she
takes a personal interest in it and makes sure team
members are not banging their heads together to
resolve possible program conflictsit makes a huge
difference, Mr. Carver says. We couldnt have

achieved anything as an archaeology
team without dedicated support from
the project managers.
Developers discovered
The Secret Ingredient
,
15
000
pre-Columbian
Since construction began in 2007,

archaeologists working on a US$5.3
billion expansion of the Panama
Canal in Panama have recovered
more than 2,000 artifacts belonging to all periods of human habitation. Panamanian law protects these
irreplaceable cultural artifacts, says
Zuleika Mojica, environmental specialist for the Panama Canal Expansion Program, Panama City, Panama.
Procedures established prior to earthmoving
are the secret ingredient leveraged by the project
team to protect both artifacts and project progress, Ms. Mojica says. At the start of the project,
the Panama Canal Authority [ACP] established a
procedure for the management, protection, coordination and rescue of cultural and paleontological
resources, she says. When a finding is reported
in project areas, the contractor, subcontractor or
artifacts along the

route of the planned
Nicaragua Canal
before theyd even
broken ground.
Archaeologists work at the site of

the Panama Canal expansion.
11
At the start of the project, the

Panama Canal Authority established
a procedure for the management,
protection, coordination and rescue of
cultural and paleontological resources.
Zuleika Mojica, Panama Canal Expansion Program, Panama City, Panama
staff member must report the finding to the ACP

and must deliver any archaeological, historical or
paleontological remains.
Although work must stop immediately at the
site of the finding, it can continue elsewhere,
according to Ms. Mojica, who says the protocol
has kept interruptions from becoming longer
delays by ensuring a swift and expert response.
Close Calls
A tunnel project that is part of the US$3.1 billion
Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program in
Seattle, Washington, USA had to be temporarily
halted in October 2014 when archaeologists monitoring the work encountered pieces of historical
seashells. The shells, it was thought, might indicate
Archaeologists sift through excavated

soil as part of the Alaskan Way
Viaduct Replacement Program in
Seattle, Washington, USA.
12
the presence of prehistoric artifacts significant to

Native American tribes.
To handle such scenarios, the project team has
an unanticipated discovery plan outlining what
should happen next, says Steve Archer, cultural
resources manager for megaprojects, Washington State Department of Transportation, Seattle,
Washington, USA. This plan is foremost a communications plan, instructing the project team to stop
work, create a buffer around the discovery and
contact the appropriate stakeholders so they can
advise on next steps.
For this project, were consulting with five federally recognized [Native American] tribes. Very
often when we run into something, were not quite
immediately sure whether its significant, Mr.
Archer says. We got the call [about the shells] at
3 or 4 oclock in the morning, and we were down
there the same morning putting the discovery plan
into motion.
Although the project has made national headlines
for its stalled tunnel-boring machine, Bertha, the shell
discovery was dealt with quickly. Work paused while
archaeologists and tribal stakeholders investigated,
and ultimately, it was determined that the shells were
not indicative of Native American artifacts. Eleven
days after the shell discovery, work resumed. Without
the unanticipated discovery plan, the delay could
have been much longer, Mr. Archer says.
Ongoing stakeholder communication is another
key to minimizing the impacts of archaeological
discoveries. Since the start of the Alaskan Way
tunnel project, Mr. Archer has met monthly with
staff from all of the consulting tribes, as well as
kept in regular contact with the states Department
of Archaeology & Historic Preservation.
Even if there isnt a whole lot going on, we reach
out with updates. It really helps when we get into
the crunch situation of an inadvertent discovery, he
says. Because those relationships are already there,
we can get those folks to come out and take a look
at something on a moments notice.
Whether youre digging up shells or skeletons, the
approach is the same, says Mr. Archer: The better
your communication and planning are, the more
your schedule risks are mitigated. Matt Alderton
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
theEdge
WATCH OUT
Its screen may be small, but the Apple Watch has big project potentialif the wearable
computer follows the breakout-hit path of other devices sold by the worlds largest technology
company. Accordingly, app developers are sizing up the new technology to determine whether,
and when, it makes sense for project teams to try to build a winning product for Apples smallest screen yet.
Sponsors who green-lighted app projects before the smartwatchs April 2015 release date
discovered that project managers and designers had to make early decisions without user data
and an established development framework. When we were designing and building, we had no
idea what it would be like to interact with Apple Watch. We had simulators and guidance from
Apple, but a lot of it was gut feel, says Sriram Chakravarthy, CTO, Avaamo, Los Altos, California, USA. Avaamos app, which offers a mobile-messaging service for businesses, debuted
alongside the Apple Watch itself. We had to take an approach that was driven more by use
cases than actual user experience, Mr. Chakravarthy says. That meant imagining how customers might benefit from a quick look at an Avaamo app, such as while driving or jogging, and
then devising notifications tailored to those interactions.
The testing phase revealed design problems that likely would have been avoided had the
product already been released. But because the watchs small interface requires a simple design,
its really quick to iterate. You can make changes and see them immediately, says Ryan
Alexiev, creative director, Avaamo, Los Altos, California, USA.
Other organizations have taken a more cautious approach to Apple Watch projects. AffinityLive CEO Geoff McQueen, whose company makes professional services automation software,
including customer relationship management software, used the device for a month after it
went on sale before green-lighting a project. We wanted to add meaningful value, not just
jump on the bandwagon, says Mr. McQueen, based in San Francisco, California, USA. Once
he understood how his organization could take advantage of two of the watchs sweet spots
notifications and time-based functionalitya team got to work on an app allowing workers to
track the hours spent on various projects.
For a watch app to be a hit, teams must understand how users interact with the product.
Youve got to figure out how not to be spammy by learning what things are useful and when.
Thats where to focus, says Drew Davidson, vice president of design at digital experience design
agency KTA, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Because the
watchs small
interface
requires a simple
design, its
really quick to
iterate. You can
make changes
and see them
immediately.
Ryan Alexiev, Avaamo, Los Altos,
California, USA
13
theEdge
Betting on Wearables
When we
were designing
and building,
we had no idea
what it would
be like to
interact with
Apple Watch.
Sriram Chakravarthy,
Avaamo, Los Altos,
California, USA
14
Other app project challenges have stemmed from

the devices changing capabilities and restrictions.
When the watch hit the market, third-party apps
were required to function as extensions of iPhone
apps rather than operating independently on the
watch. Apple also restricted how notifications and
interactions occurred. But as with the iPhone and
iPad, the company is easing restrictions over time.
In June, Apple released an updated developer kit
allowing project leaders to design apps that run
natively on the watch.
These changes give sponsors confidence
that watch projects can pay off. For Francisco
Inchauste, UX principal, Universal Mind, Grand
Rapids, Michigan, USA, the decision to develop
a watch version of the companys popular iPhone
alarm-clock app was made in part to show the
apps Apple-loyalist users, Were cutting-edge,
were invested in the platform and offering continued value with the apps purchase.
By launching projects for the watch, project
managers arent just betting on Apples pedigree.
Theyre also investing in the wearables industry,
which for years has been pegged for breakout
growth and may finally be ready to take off. In
time, the utility of wearable devices could extend
beyond notifications and health-related apps to,
for example, control devices that dim lights or set
a home alarm remotely. Mr. Inchauste believes it
makes sense for project teams to undertake Apple
Watch apps now so theyll be better positioned to
create second-generation apps as the device and
wearable space evolves.
Low costs are also driving app creation. Relative to an overall mobile strategy budget, building
a companion app for the Apple Watch is just not
very expensive, says Stephanie Trunzo, COO,
PointSource, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina,
USA. She commissioned a single developer to
create a test app for the watch, and the project
was complete in a month; a typical smartphone
app project at PointSource occupies multiple
developers for at least three months. That low
cost, combined with the relative dearth of watch
app competition in Apples App Store, means the
ROI is pretty high right now, Ms. Trunzo says.
Steve Hendershot
Looking
Upstream
Hydropower is being heralded as a way to combat
climate change by reducing the worlds reliance on
fossil fuels.
Large hydropower capacity is expected to grow
by 52 percent and provide 10 percent of new
global electricity energy capacity between 2013
and 2030, according to a 2015 report by the Pew
Charitable Trusts.
But in an odd twist of fate, climate change is also
altering the supply of water needed to run these
projects. Prolonged droughts and changing river
flows have project teams looking to research initiatives to help them maximize long-term benefits in
the face of unpredictable weather patterns.
Around the Bend

Hydropower is entirely dependent on fuel [in the
form of water] coming from the river, says Vincent Mercier, PMP, hydropower project manager,
Hatch, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His organization provides engineering, project and construction
management services to the Canadian hydropower
industry. Mother Nature decides how much fuel
we have at our disposal, and climate change adds
another layer of variability on top of that, he says.
Too little rainfall can mean a reduction in power
output and decreased revenues over time. In California, USA, for instance, record drought conditions
have decreased hydropower generation to about 50
Three Gorges Dam, China
In the case of Three Gorges Dam, over
360 million people
live
within the watershed. If unprecedented
amounts of rain inundate the dams
spillway, the results for the country
could be disastrous.
climate change models in their project plans. With

percent of average
climate change hydrology still in its infancy, tools
annual levels. And a
are currently being developed to adequately capkey reservoir in Brature the effects of global warming on hydropower
zil dropped below 10
projects. Its easier for designers and sponsors
percent of its capacof much larger projects to include refinement of
ity in January 2015,
climate change effects forecasting tools in their
leading to power outages in its most populous city, So Paulo.
design, which is why you usually see public owners
Too much water poses new risks, as well. Depending on the region, climate
with more resources taking the lead on this, says
change can, and probably will, affect the severity, duration and time of year of
Mr. Mercier.
extreme [rainfall] events, says Mr. Mercier.
With the support of large utility companies, orgaFrom a strategic perspective, that means sponsor organizations may want to
nizations like Ouranos, based in Montreal, Quebec,
assess the benefits of upgrading facilities or installing new turbines to capture
Canada, are trying to improve the quality of the
additional capacity. For example, Mr. Mercier manages the Mactaquac Hydroavailable data. Ouranos conducts climate monitorelectric Generating Station project, based in New Brunswick, Canada. Portions
ing projects and hydropower adaptation studies
of the station will reach the end of their life span in 2030, so Mactaquac has
for Canadas energy sector.
identified three options for the future of the station. Because each potenOne of its current research
tial project plan has its own implications for the community and the
projects studies recent hisenvironment, the company is including a broad range of stakeholders,
torical rainfall patterns for
from expert climatologists to First Nations communities, in the decisionuse in simulation models
making process.
for several watersheds in
Climate change is increasing risk on the technical side of things.
Canada where large dams
Maximum precipitation values determine the size and operating
are located. The project aims
parameters of a dams spillway, for example. So better forecasting tools
to determine maximum
are needed to make the right engineering decisions, says Mr. Mercier.
precipitation amounts and
Its important because it affects the risk profile of the investment as
flood levels under changwell as the safety of the public in some cases.
ing climate conditions,
Hydropower megaprojects like the Three Gorges Dam in China prove Zheng Guoguang, Chinas
which will make it easier for
just how serious that risk can be. Historically, dams were built in remote Meteorological Administration,
to Study Times
hydropower project planlocations away from large population centers. But in the case of Three
ners to take climate change into account during the
Gorges Dam, over 360 million people live within the watershed. If unprecdecision-making processes.
edented amounts of rain inundate the dams spillway, the results for the country
Still, normal annual variability may mask longcould be disastrous.
term trends. We may not see the effects of climate
Against the backdrop of the global warming, the risks faced by our large
change for 20-30 years, says Mr. Mercier. Since
engineering projects have increased, Zheng Guoguang, head of Chinas Metelarge hydropower projects typically expect to
orological Administration, told state newspaper Study Times, according to
recoup the bulk of their costs within the first 15
Reuters. Global warming affects the safety and stability of these big projects,
years of operation, some sponsors are reluctant to
as well as their operations and economic effectiveness, technological standards
invest money into projects without a clear ROI,
and engineering methods.
Mr. Mercier says. Owners who decide to trust the
science may not know if their investment paid off
The Water Cycle
for many years. Tegan Jones
Despite these warnings, some hydropower sponsors are reluctant to include
Against the
backdrop of the
global warming,
the risks faced
by our large
engineering
projects have
increased.
15
THE LATEST
STATISTICS, SURVEYS
AND STUDIES
THE STATE OF AGILE
To deliver software projects faster and smarter, organizations of all sizes are reaping the benefits
of agile approaches. By Matt Schur
Respondents
organizations adopted
agile approaches to:
RAPID ADOPTION
94%
59%
of surveyed organizations
from the software/IT, financial and professional
services industriesuse agile approaches.
Accelerate
product delivery
Nearly 80%
56%
Enhance
the ability to manage
changing priorities
of respondents had distributed teamsteams

working in different physical locationstaking
agile approaches in 2014.
35%
53%
Increase
productivity
had such distributed teams in 2012.
SEEING RESULTS
SCALING UP
Scaling agile practices up to the entire organization
is a project unto itself.
87%
42%
of respondents said having

consistent processes and practices is key
to scaling agile successfully.
of respondents said implementing agile improved

their ability to manage changing priorities.
Other important factors for successful scaling:
40% Executive sponsorship

39% Implementation of a common platform across teams
35% Agile consultants or trainers
31% Internal agile support team
53%
One framework has a clear lead when

it comes to scaling up:
said the majority of their agile projects

have been successful.
Other top benefits of agile include:
Increased
team morale/
motivation
16
Better
delivery
predictability
Enhanced
software
quality
Faster
time to
market
Reduced
project
risk
69%
25%
19%
18%
Scrum of Scrums
Internal methods
Scaled Agile Framework
Lean
DEFINITIONS OF SUCCESS
How do organizations measure agiles effectiveness? One way above all: timeliness.
58%
of respondents
measure success based
on the projects
on-time delivery.
48%
Product
quality
44%
Customer/user
satisfaction
44%
Business value
39%
Achievement of
project scope
REASONS FOR FAILURE
OBSTACLES TO CHANGE
Despite their myriad benefits, agile approaches arent infallibleespecially when theyre new to organizations. The top
reasons for project failure cited by respondents were:
Project teams run into a variety of difficulties trying to

adopt agile approaches.
44%
44%
Lack of experience with agile methods
42%
Company philosophy or culture at

odds with core agile values
38%
of respondents cited
organizational resistance to change
as the biggest barrier to adoption.
35%
Not enough
personnel with agile experience
32%
Lack of management support
Pre-existing
framework in place
29%
37%
Lack of
management support
36%
Management concern
about lack of up-front planning
External pressure to follow traditional

waterfall processes
24%
Lack of support for cultural transition
Source: VersionOne, 9th Annual State of Agile Survey. 3,925 completed responses from individuals at software/IT, financial and professional services
companies in North America and Europe, surveyed between July and October 2014.
17
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Voices
PROJECT TOOLKIT
That Special
Something
Turnover is always a risk when organizations hire a new team member.

Reviewing qualifications alone isnt always enough to make sure the hire will
be a good fit for the project team. Sometimes you have to rely on a sixth
sense that identifies the right person for the job. We asked practitioners:
How do you go beyond the rsum to make sure you

make the right hire?
Trust Your Instincts
If I like the candidate, then I
she had no exposure to IBM policies and procedures
typically go with my gut even if
relating to people management.
there is a specific skill or experience

level shortfall.
When I was at IBM India, my team of around
What struck me was her emotional intelligence:

her ability to look at complex people problems and
propose actions to address individual situations while
300 employees and contractors was responsible
not negatively impacting the whole population. I
for IT application services delivery for all telecom
was very impressed and decided to hire her. By the
billing applications for a major client. The work
time I left IBM, she had become the IBM diversity
was very hard, requiring long hours, and team
and inclusion leader in an important IBM unit, and a
morale was low. I was looking for a person to
full-fledged subject matter expert in the diversity and
take up the role of an HR coordinator for this
inclusion space.
entire team.
Bottom line: Trust your instincts about people. Be
I had already interviewed and turned down
willing to go out on a limb. In most cases, you will
several candidates (both internal and external to
get great results. In the remaining cases, you get an
IBM) when I met one who had put her IT career on
opportunity to learn.
hold for seven or more years while she took care

of her growing family. In her own words, this long
break was dissuading all potential employers. Plus
20
Sujith Kattathara Bhaskaran, PMP, founder and CEO,

PM Excellence Services, Cochin, India
Trust Recommendations
Focus on Attitude
A few years ago, we needed a good project
What I look for in a candidate, in addition
managerfast. But after utilizing many
to solid project management knowledge
resources (job ads, searching the candidates

in Project Management Professional (PMP)-related
forums, etc.), we were unable to find the right person.
One day the phone rang, and it was one of our senior
and demonstrated experience, is the right

attitude for project success.
A few months ago during a recruitment process,
I found that even though all candidates had good
project managers. He recommended a really good
experience managing projects, during interviews
project manager with whom he had worked in the past.
everyone focused on the triple constraint. I didnt
We met with the guy and were impressed by his
hear anything from them about how they addressed
project-related experience and knowledge. We
problems or identified risks.
decided to hire him, but were nervous: What if he

failed to perform well?
So I asked about their personal techniques for

overcoming problems and anticipating situations that
But he proved us wrong: He used his skills and
could put the project in jeopardy. Then I followed up by
knowledge, had a positive attitude and energy, and
asking, How would you deliver the project to achieve or
made the stakeholders happy. Trusting our colleagues
exceed customer expectations?
recommendation paid off!
The candidates answers to these questions revealed

their true colors. The responses varied from person to
Maimona Ijaz Qadri, director of administration, Catco

Kids, Karachi, Pakistan
Bounce Back Up
Understanding project failures and lessons
person, but I could see who had the right attitude to

deliver success.
Best Laid Plans
Sometimes no matter
how right it feels, you
hire the wrong person
for the job. PM Network
columnist Sheilina Somani
discusses her tactics for
salvaging the situation in
Managing Relationships:
Sailing to Distant Shores
on page 24.
Find Your Place
Share your tips for finding

the right hire on the PMI
Project, Program and
Portfolio Management
LinkedIn Group.
Jesus Vazquez, PMP, project manager, GNC Mexico,

Monterrey, Mexico
learned from past experiences is a good

quality in any project manager.
One project manager who worked for me spent a
substantial sum of funding in an attempt to develop a
software upgrade in a past job. But it was a recurring
failure that continued to be funded for several years.
Eventually, the project was terminated. But he
learned to deliver bad news to management and keep
stakeholders informed throughout the project, giving
plenty of warning when things were not progressing
Concrete Tactics
PMIs Pulse of the Profession: Capturing the Value of Project Management
found that high-performing organizations are significantly more likely to
focus on talent management.
According to the 2015 Talent Shortage Survey, conducted by
ManpowerGroup, global organizations are investing in talent to help fight
turnover. Heres how:
as planned. He also learned to accept the failure and

bring an alternate plan with him when delivering the
termination recommendation.
On another occasion, I selected a candidate for a
position in the project team based on attitude and
potential. Other candidates had more experience and
knowledge but simply did not come across as someone
who would grow and be passionate about the job.
Passion for projects matters.
Manuel Perez, PMP, project manager, Tetra Tech, Las
Vegas, Nevada, USA
20%
of
employers aim
to provide more
training and
development for
existing staff.
18% use
nontraditional
recruiting practices,
both internally and
externally to the
organization.
5%
offer
enhanced
benefits or
higher starting
salaries.
21
VOICES Inside Track
ILLUSTRATION BY JOEL KIMMEL
Accelerating
Quality Control
Monica Sacco, PMP, program
manager, Project Management
Skills Acceleration program, IBM,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
As one of the worlds oldest technology organizations, IBM knows it has to keep up with the
fast-changing software and hardware industries. With change accelerating, the U.S.-based
company and PMI Global Executive Council
member has strengthened its project management capabilities to keep pace. IBM created its
global Project Management Center of Excellence
in 1997 to ensure project delivery excellence
around the globe.
Since then, the centers Project Management
Skills Acceleration program has helped advance
practitioners abilities and careers, becoming a
driver of project success at IBM in an era of growing complexity. Last year, it was recognized with
the PMI Continuing Professional Education Provider of the Year Award. Monica Sacco took the
helm of the worldwide program in early 2014, after
working in a series of increasingly senior roles at
IBM during the previous nine years.
22
What does your role as manager of the Skills

Acceleration program entail?
I help IBM practitioners increase their skills and
move forward in their project management career.
Im responsible for planning, executing, monitoring
and controlling the program, as well as promoting the development of project management skills
across all of IBMs business lines and geographies. I
help facilitate the communication and relationships
among our stakeholdersthe participants, mentors and more than 60 study-group facilitatorsto
ensure that participants are making progress.
What are the challenges of overseeing this

worldwide program?
Because of the different time zones, my day might
start at 6 a.m. and end at midnight. But the biggest
challenge I face is ensuring the program fulfills all
the different development and experience requirements and professional goals. Different cultures
Because of the different time zones, my day might start at 6

a.m. and end at midnight. But the biggest challenge I face is
ensuring the program fulfills all the different development
and experience requirements and professional goals.
have different priorities, and maybe even different
certification requirements.
How do you address those challenges?

By deploying what I believe are the three most
important management practices: teamwork,
networking and empowerment. Teamwork ensures
that our mentors and facilitators provide constructive feedback to our participants. Networking
ensures that all our stakeholders remain active
through regular communication. And empowerment allows mentors and participants to decide the
best way to move forward in their project management careerso that they become accountable for
their own success.
We provide guidance for mentors, managers or
facilitators on how to do that. Although we have
recommendations, they decide what is best for
themselves and the best way to help others
move forward.
How does your program accelerate the

development of project management skills
at IBM?
We have three initiatives: the PM Vitality Initiative, the Project Management Boot Camp and the
PMI Project Management Professional (PMP)
Exam Study Groups. The vitality initiative focuses
on new IBM employees who need to gain project
experience. The boot camp gives participants the
education and skills needed for an IBM project
management certification. We have five levels of
certification at IBM: from entry level to thought
leaders. To get the higher-level certification, practitioners also have to have a PMI certification.
In the PMP Exam Study Groups, we promote
peer collaboration to help prepare practitioners for
the PMP exam. Twice a year, we offer study groups
over 14 weeks in six different languages. Were also
working to extend this program to other PMI certi-
fications, such as the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) and the Program Management
Professional (PgMP). Were always looking for
ways to improve our training program.
Are all IBM practitioners required to go

through your programs?
Its not mandatory, but all programs are available
for employees who need to strengthen their project
management capabilities in a short amount of time.
Maybe theyre assigned to a complex project, or
maybe they have a project thats first of its kind and
so they need to speed up their skills.
Our program is only one part of IBMs Project
Management Center of Excellence. This project
management office (PMO) provides the curriculum, project management methodologies and tools.
In addition, it guides the PM Knowledge Network,
a community of practice where members of the
project management profession hold Lunch and
Learns and IBM PM Community news updates.
Who teaches the practitioners? How do you

identify the mentors?
All our programs are mentor-based. Those relationships help participants develop their skills and
complete their education. The participants attend
workshops, but they also do a lot of shadow work
with their mentors and managers to achieve the
project management experience they need. Every
year, we have more than 2,500 project practitioners in our program from around the world, and
each practitioner has his or her own volunteer
mentor. Mentors are experienced project managers at IBM, and all of them are volunteers who
have gone through the same training theyre
teaching their mentees. We measure the programs
success by the growing number of people who
achieve a project management certification year
after year. PM
Small Talk
Whats the one skill
that every project
manager should
have?
The ability to be
proactive and make
the right decisions at
the right timerather
than waiting for
things to happen.
Whats the best professional advice you
ever received?
A manager once told
me that, just as I was
doing with my small
child at the time, I
should teach others
to walk alongside
me to create trust
and respect, and to
drive them to achieve
shared goals.
Whats one of your
cherished leisuretime activities?
I love to cook food
from all over the
world. Every weekend,
I try new recipes for
my family and friends.
23
MANAGING Relationships
SAILING TO
DISTANT SHORES
When project managers are recruiting for new
journeys, what do they do when the team
members arent who they seemed to be?
BY SHEILINA SOMANI, RPP, FAPM, PMP, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
The people aboard a ship all need to actively participate in the tasks and maintenance of the vessel
in order to make progress toward the destination.
When preparing to leave safe harbors, its all hands
on deck. Can we really afford non-paying passengers who dont actively participate?
In project management, we see an analogous
situation when we have opportunities to recruit.
We find prospective team members who appear to
have the skills and competencies we need, only to
discover that once aboard, their attitude is quite different from what they presented in the interview. So
what can you do after realizing you have a passenger, rather than a crew member, on your boat?
As a project manager, we rarely have the privilege of choosing our own team members. When
we do have the opportunity to choose, there is so
much to consider. We apply tested processes to
select the best candidate. But after training the
new team member, the unthinkable happens: The
individual you personally recruited proves unwilling (and perhaps unable) to do the job.
A combination of soul-searching and pragmatism takes much of your brain and psychological
processing power as you review all your processes
and considerations. Critically, you have to consider
the cost to the organization of facilitating passengers on a tight ship with demands across all
resources and accept this just isnt going to work.
There are ramifications: Perhaps your abilities
to recruit will come under scrutiny, or perhaps
your organization frowns upon quick exits. The
retention costs (financial, work and motivation)
to both the project team and the organization
could be significant.
24
Keeping a sense of rationality in these circumstances is invaluable. Appreciating other perspectives

and being willing to seek counsel from peers and
superiors before making the crucial decision of letting this team member go is really important. Having
been in this situation a few times now, I have used
the following strategies to help define my next steps:
Review my processes and expectations
Discuss perceptions with the new person
Ask for a senior stakeholder to review with me
Discuss the ramifications of letting the individual go
Set achievable short-term targets to test performance objectively
Seek feedback from others who interacted with
the new person
Shorten the timing and parameters of their work
to curtail a contract term
Conduct an exit interview
In four situations, I had to terminate contracts.
The strategies above helped me determine that it
was unhealthy for everyone involved to retain these
individuals. Not only would morale be affected, but
the entire project could have been sunk.
Having the responsibility to captain your ship is
part of the joy of project management. However, you
are always held accountable for your actions. Focusing on your crew and its capacity will help ensure
the continued health and motivation of the team,
wider stakeholders and the ultimate outcomes.
As Jean-Paul Sartre once said, Only the guy who
isnt rowing has time to rock the boat. PM
Sheilina Somani, RPP, FAPM, PMP, is the owner
of the U.K.-based consultancy Positively Project
Management, a senior project manager, a speaker
and a mentor.
THE BUSINESS of Projects
SOFT BENEFITS ARE REAL

of overly conservative
stance seems like a low-risk
approach, but it actually
produces significant business risk. By using a hard
benefits only approach, its
BY GARY R. HEERKENS, MBA, CBM, PMP, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
likely that many potentially
lucrative projects will not be
approved because a portion of their financial benefit is simply not incorporated into the analysis.
I am a huge proponent of conducting a financial
analysis on all proposed projects as a method for
prioritizing and pursuing those that generate a
THE SOLUTION
positive return. It just makes good business sense.
Any time a project is expected to generate a soft
An increasing number of companies are
benefit, its financial impact must be quantified
recognizing the value in routinely conducting
and included in the ROI analysis. This requires
such financial analyses, but some use a flawed
sound, unbiased judgment and a deep knowledge
process due to their inability or unwillingness to
of your core business.
properly handle the so-called soft benefits. Failure
It also requires the use of a benefits rationale
to account for soft benefits increases the risk
a chain of logic for converting a soft benefit into
that an organization will reject many potentially
money. I became aware of this technique in the
lucrative projects.
late 1990s through the work of Marty Schmidt of
Solution Matrix Ltd.
As an example, consider a project that claims
TANGIBLE VS. INTANGIBLE
to improve customer satisfaction of Product ABC
Most projects produce some combination of hard
(a soft, nonfinancial benefit). A logical question
benefits and soft benefits. It is easier to agree
would be, How would that customer satisfaction
on the existence and value of hard benefits. This
manifest itself? Someone (typically, a proponent
type of benefit is real, tangible and measurable.
of the project) might respond, Customers who
Examples of hard benefits include:
Increase in product sales, service revenues and/
buy Product A will begin buying more Product A.
If that statement is reasonably verifiable (thats
or market share
Reduction in rework and/or head count
where judgment and business knowledge come
in), were almost done; we would simply multiply
Calculating the financial worth of hard benefits
the quantity of new sales by the net profit per sale,
tends to be straightforward. Its not quite that easy
yielding a monetary value for the soft benefit.
for soft benefits, or intangible benefits, which can
Mr. Schmidt offers a much more extensive
be challenging to quantify financially. Examples of
tutorial on developing a benefits rationale, and
soft benefits include:
Increased customer or user satisfaction
further explains many of the points made earlier
Improved product quality
in this column.
Service excellence
If the proper incorporation of soft benefits is an
Increased employee productivity
issue or concern in your organization, I urge you to
read Mr. Schmidts explanation at www.businesscase-analysis.com/business-benefit.html. PM
THE DILEMMA
In many cases, organizational managers are uncomfortable with the process of converting and/
Gary R. Heerkens, MBA, CBM, PMP, president of
or verifiably measuring soft benefits in financial
Management Solutions Group Inc., is a consultant, trainer, speaker and author with 25 years of
terms. They instead choose to view soft benefits
project management experience. His latest book
is The Business-Savvy Project Manager.
as a kind of bonus, if they are realized. This kind
Failure to recognize the impact of the

intangibles can distort the picture of a
projects true business impact.
25
THE AGILE Project Manager
AGILE
EVERYTHING
An iterative approach can deliver
solutions to nearly any problem
whether at work or in life.
BY JESSE FEWELL, CST, PMI-ACP, PMP, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Yes, the agile movement was formalized at the

start of the century by computer programmers. It
was their way of saving failing software projects.
However, those programmers didnt anticipate their
movement would turn into a project management
revolution across industries. Today, agile methods
can be applied to solve almost any problem, as the
following examples illustrate.
WEIGHT LOSS WITH SCRUM
More online
For more details

on these and other
stories, check out
the on-demand
webinar Get It
Done! Applying
Agile Methods to
Life or Business
on PMI.org.
26
Agile expert Steve Colasinski, PMP, knew he

needed a structured plan to control his weight; he
chose Scrum. Every day, he kept a log of meals and
pedometer steps to achieve. Every two weeks, he
weighed himself and conducted a personal retrospective to examine the goals he reached and the
challenges he faced. It worked.
One retrospective revealed he ate better when he
cooked his own food, so while traveling, he booked
hotel rooms that had kitchens. Mr. Colasinski used
the process to reveal the causes of his slow momentum toward his health goals, and lost 30 pounds (13
kilograms) in 16 weeks.
REDUCED RISK IN FLORIDA, USA

State of Florida project manager Al Cacace knew that
a phase-based approach would not work for upgrading some 500 water pumps and water-level sensors in
lakes, rivers and the Everglades. A traditional demolition of all the sensors would leave the metro areas
exposed to potential flooding. Instead, he formed a
small team of experts with the skills needed to demolish, install, upgrade and inspect one pump or sensor
at a time. Rather than reporting, The demolition
phase is 47 percent complete, Mr. Cacace could tell
executives, Weve modernized 232 units out of 500.
This iterative-incremental approach reduced risk and

improved visibility on progress.
TAMING CHAOS AT SPOTIFY

When the infrastructure and operations group at
Spotify found themselves drowning in support tickets, they turned to an agile approach called Kanban,
a scheduling system that manages workload. But
the textbook techniques were not enough. To triage
incoming requests, they modified the process. They
added an expedite lane to their process board for
emergencies, as well as a wiki page to detail larger
projects. Breaking the process improved results.
SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK
When planning my talk at the 2013 PMI Global
CongressNorth America in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, I knew I wanted to give away a book. I let
the deadline drive my strategy: Since I didnt have
the time to learn self-publishing, I pulled together a
cross-functional team with a cover layout person, an
artist and a book layout service. When I realized I was
missing an editor, I asked my family to step in. The
first edition featured a typo on the spine, but I distributed the book to my Congress audience anyway.
What do these examples tell us? First, understanding the problem at hand will drive the process you
choose. Second, the concept of continuous improvement tells us that progress trumps perfection. Whatever product you have or process you implement
is likely not ideal. Instead, adapting and tailoring is
critical to maintaining momentum in any pursuit. PM
Jesse Fewell, CST, PMI-ACP, PMP, participated
on the core team of the Software Extension to the
PMBOK Guide. He can be reached at email@
jessefewell.com.
TAKE the Lead
LEADING (AND LEARNING)

IN THE FIELD
to build the trust you need to bring it home.
So dont waste time: Be committed!
A couple of years ago, I was working in
sub-Saharan Africa. The project was very
complex and challenging, and our team
there was very small. Plus, we had no
office space to work in. I couldnt sleep out
of fear of failure.
One night, I decided I would create an office
for the team inside my bedroom. I called my colleagues to bring in their chairs and desks. I wrote
some inspirational quotes on a flip chart for all to
see. Everybody was so motivated by the new office
and the quotes that during the next eight days we
worked around-the-clock, sleeping two to three
hours a day to get the job done. We delivered the
project one day before the deadline. On the last
day, the office became a party room as we celebrated the success of the mission.
These types of challenging project environments
have given me the opportunity to grow as a leader.
Ultimately, leadership
skills of lasting value are
learned not in books or
classes but in the ultimate
classroom: the real world.
Three years ago, I packed
my suitcases and moved
from Brazil to Denmark to
lead the Sustainable Project
Management Group at the
UNOPS. Why? Commitment. I believed my experience in capital projects
could benefit humanitarian
projects by making sure
business knowledge from
for-profit environments helps a different group of
clients: people in need. This remains my reason for
waking up every morning with the energy to lead
a team. PM
The best place to strengthen

leadership skills is in the real world.
BY RICARDO VIANA VARGAS, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMP
Every day at the United Nations Office for Project

Services (UNOPS), I need to get things done while
working with diverse partners, suppliers, governmental agencies, local communities and NGOs. In
this environment, a project manager has to be politically savvy and able to influence and negotiate with
all stakeholders. All this requires leadership skills.
Some say leadership is an innate characteristic
while others argue its an acquirable skill. Wherever you stand on that point, its inarguable that
leadership skills can be improved. But how can
project managers do this?
Google leadership or How to become a leader
in 5 minutes and youll find all types of resources
that could provide guidance, from Harvard seminars to online courses and blogs. The question
is, can leadership skills really be attained through
books or two-day seminars?
I love reading leadership books because they
inspire me. Im also a big fan of developing myself
through training courses. But lets face it, when
working in fast-paced and challenging environments, knowledge gleaned from how-to books or
seminars might not be easy to apply.
In my experience delivering projects in some
of the most remote areas of the planet, the best
way to ensure team performance and create future
leaders is to lead by example, to inspire and motivate team members to deliver.
Before engaging your team and stakeholders in
project particulars, you need to form a vision of
the project and get buy-in. Once you find inspiration, communicate the vision effectively. Your team
will likely follow suit, and you wont need to search
through your toolbox of management tips and
tricks to get them on board.
If you dont believe in the project and fake your
enthusiasm and commitment, you will not be able
Ricardo Viana Vargas, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMP, a past

PMI chair, is the director of the Sustainable Project
Management Group at the United Nations Office
for Project Services in Copenhagen, Denmark.
27
VOICES In the Trenches
Predicting the
Unpredictable
How to analyze project risks using event chain methodology.
By Lev Virine and Michael Trumper
By accurately
estimating the
probability and
impact of risk
drivers, we can
create a riskadjusted project
schedule.
28
FEDERATION TOWER IS ONE OF THE LARGEST

construction projects in Moscow, Russia, but it has
had a troubled history. The project team initially
planned a 62-story west tower and a 93-story east
tower, with a 506-meter spire in between. In 2008,
the west tower was completed, but work on the
partially built east tower was suspended due to
lack of funding. Construction resumed in 2011,
but the halt had caused technical issues that had
to be fixed. The next year, a fire delayed the project
again. Then a main contractor was replaced. In
2014, stakeholders decided to demolish the partially erected spire, change the design and increase
the number of floors to 95. The plan is now to
complete the tower this year.
Project managers viewing this troubled project
might wonder: Could improved risk management
have prevented any of this delay and rework? Fortunately, modern risk analysis techniques allow us to
create an accurate project forecast with ranges that
account for risks and uncertainties. By accurately
estimating the probability and impact of risk drivers, we can create a risk-adjusted project schedule.
Analyzing this schedule provides us with answers
to very important questions: What happens to
the schedule if certain risks occur, and what is the
chance that the project or a certain milestone will
be completed on time and on budget?
In the case of Federation Towers east tower,
the delays and extra costs were caused not only
by separate events, but by chains of events: The
global financial crisis led to the suspension of con-
struction, which eventually caused design changes

and the decision to demolish the spire. Such event
chains may lead to a dramatic escalation of project
costs and major delays.
So the next step toward a better modeling of
project uncertainties is event chain methodology. This focuses on analyzing the relationship
between events: Events can trigger other events,
which may require mitigation and response activities that create their own events. Event chain
methodology also helps us perform a risk analysis
of portfolios, since the same risk can affect different projects.
It might sound complex, but it doesnt have to
be. Here is a brief outline of how to perform event
chain methodology:
Event chain diagram
1. Design schedules for projects within a portfolio.

2. Identify risks and enter them into the risk register. Risks may have different properties, including costs.
3. Assign risks to activities and resources. During
this stage, the risk probabilities and impacts
can be defined. The same risk, assigned to different activities and resources, may have different probabilities and impacts. The same risks
also may belong to different categories: For
example, the risk of fire may impact safety,
cost and schedule.
4. Identify risk mitigation and response plans and
associate them with activities on project schedules. These response plans may have risks themselves. For example, during the Alaskan Way
Viaduct Replacement project in the U.S. state
of Washington, a tunnel-boring machine broke.
To repair it, a 120-foot vertical shaft had to be
drilled down to the machines cutting head. This
risk response project delayed construction for
more than a year.
5. Identify relationships between risks and determine event chains. Risks can trigger each other
or be correlated with each other.
6. Create an event chain diagram (like the one on
the previous page), an easy way to visualize event
chains. Threats and opportunities assigned to the
activities are shown as arrows on the Gantt chart.
The size of the arrow depicts risk probability. The
color depicts impact.
7. Identify uncertainties in project activities that
are not part of the discrete risk events, and

define their cost and duration using three-point
estimates (best case, most likely and worst
case). For example, the quality of concrete has
delayed many construction activities. This delay
can be modeled using three-point estimates of
the duration of affected activities.
8. Perform Monte Carlo simulations of project
schedules. This means project schedules will be
calculated multiple times with different combinations of events.
After the calculation is performed, the analysis
allows us to:
1. Create a risk-adjusted project schedule. The
schedule can be associated with a certain probability that a project will be completed on time
and on budget. We can also determine a probability that certain milestones in terms of cost
and schedule will be met.
2. Rank risks based on their cumulative probability
and impact on multiple activities and resources.
Higher-ranked risks can be mitigated or avoided
first. Event chain methodology allows the ranking
of risks belonging to different categories separately or the calculation of a combined ranking
based on the relative importance of different categories. We can also identify critical event chains,
which can be broken if necessary.
3. Rank projects in a portfolio based on their
risk exposure.
4. Identify the probability that certain mitigation
and response plans will need to be executed, so
these plans can be determined in advance.
Modern software significantly simplifies risk
analysis of portfolios. Risks can be constantly
tracked during the course of projects. A risks
probability and impact may change over the
course of a project; therefore, project and portfolio risk analysis should be performed on a
regular basis. The main advantage of project
risk analysis is that, if done properly, it provides
realistic project schedules, and improves both
the quality of project decisions and project outcomes. PM
Lev Virine, far left, is a consultant at Intaver Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Michael Trumper is business development manager at Intaver Institute.
29
w
o
P
A Shougang Group steel plant

in Beijing, China
30
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i
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e
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31
37 percent
during the next 20

years. More than
half of that growth
will be in India and
China alone.
32
Global energy consumption is expected to jump 37 percent during the next

20 years, according to BPs Energy Outlook 2035. And 96 percent of that growth
will occur outside the 34 mostly affluent countries in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. More than half of that growth will be in
India and China alone.
To meet that demand, public and private organizations are backing major
energy infrastructure projects in emerging markets around the globe. (Check
out case studies on pages 36-41.)
But if the need for energy infrastructure projects is clear, so are the challenges. Everything from immature project management practices, security
threats, unreliable vendor networks and local politics can stymie project progressor even stop it dead in its tracks.
But the biggest challenge facing project leaders is the shortage of experienced
workers and technical skills, says Brian Mushimba, PMP, Kampala, Ugandabased technical director at South African public utility Eskom.
In the U.S., for every project I worked on I could get the specific skills I
needed on my team, says Mr. Mushimba, who spent 14 years working at global
engineering organizations in the U.S. before moving to Eskom in 2013. The lack
of relevant skills in the local talent pool makes meeting quality, cost and schedule goals a daily obstacle, he says. We constantly have to manage that risk.
PHOTO BY JAKE LYELL
Global energy
consumption is
expected to jump
No emerging
economyno
matter how
promising
can become
a true power
player without
a reliable
energy
infrastructure.
The lack of
relevant skills
in the local
talent pool
makes meeting
quality, cost and
schedule goals
a daily obstacle.
We constantly
have to manage
that risk.
Brian Mushimba, PMP, Eskom,
Kampala, Uganda
33
The Kusile Power Station, at left, in South Africas

Mpumalanga province and the Medupi Power
Station in the countrys Limpopo province
A lack of project talent played a significant role in Eskom missing critical

milestones in two current coal-fired power station projects in South Africa, for
example. The plants were supposed to be fully commissioned in 2017, but the
company announced in April that the combined 9,000-megawatt plants wont
be fully operational until 2021.
We didnt do enough risk assessment or stress-test the tasks on the critical
path to know that a lack of specialized talent would inevitably lead to cost overruns and poor stakeholder management. We got burned because we werent
honest with ourselves from the start, he adds.
HOME-GROWN SOLUTIONS
One common solution is to bring in industry veterans from other countries to
manage the local teams. But that can spark its own set of language and cultural
Access Above All
Clean energy is nice, but meeting rising demand remains the paramount goal for most emerging markets.
From climate change to technological breakthroughs, the
global energy industry is contending with a potent combination of disruptive trends.
But in emerging markets,
project leaders are focused
squarely on the basics.
In light of urbanization and
industrialization, the overriding priority in emerging
markets is to provide reliable
power to a large population,
says Philipp Gerbert, senior
partner and managing director, Boston Consulting Group,
Munich, Germany.
Heres a look at the power
project landscape in emerging
markets:
34
Africa
With more than 80 percent of homes electrified, South Africa

is one of the continents most developed countries in terms of
power accessibility, Mr. Gerbert says. The big issue now is the
increasing demand for generation, with the economy taking
strain with periodic load shedding.
President Jacob Zuma has set ambitious goals to increase
capacity, but some project sponsors complain about a lack of
infrastructure connecting private power generation plants to the
national grid. The country will need to ramp up investment in its
power distribution network while also encouraging more private
power plant projects. Some of that growth should be coming
from renewables. IHS Global Insights ranked South Africa the
most attractive emerging country for solar energy in a 2014
report, pointing to plenty of project potential.
Most other African countries struggle with a lack of investment in reliable energy service, Mr. Gerbert says. For power
generation project sponsors, the biggest obstacle is whether
governments will establish fair pricing and build out the necessary distribution networks.
Indonesia
Comprising more than 18,000

islands, the country faces geographic obstacles to building
extensive power networks. Indonesia has a low accessibility
rate, and generation capacity
growth isnt keeping up with
demand, according to the U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA).
They own a lot of gas, but
they dont have the networks in
place to take full advantage of
it, Mr. Gerbert says.
As the government tries to
stimulate foreign investment
in the sector, look for it to
sponsor a growing number of
generation projects.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ESKOM HOLDINGS SOC
issues, says John Gustke, managing director of energy business in Asia, Black &
Veatch, Bangkok, Thailand. Black & Veatch is a global engineering, consulting
and construction company.
To avoid these challenges, the company focuses on grooming local talent to
eventually take charge.
When we bring in senior experts from the U.S., we hire local people to work
with them, rotating into different roles on-site and in the office so they can learn
the skills they need to manage projects themselves, Mr. Gustke says. Visiting
experts focus specifically on training local talent about scheduling, cost controls
and risk management.
Recognizing its talent gap, Eskom is using the delayed coal power plant
projects as an opportunity to catalyze change. The company recruited Mr.
Mushimba to help standardize its project management practices. And one of
the first steps hes taking is developing more realistic project schedules that
account for training time and leave some wiggle room for team errors. You
have to incorporate that into the schedule up front and make sure stakeholders
understand why you need that extra time, he says.
Mr. Mushimba is also building a formal project management process and
documentation to be used by project practitioners across the organization,
and implementing training programs for workers focused on skills essential to
power plant projects. Overcoming the learning curve, he says, can reduce the
risk of errors and eventually shorten project schedules.
When we bring in senior

experts from the U.S., we
hire local people to work
with them, rotating into
different roles on-site
and in the office so they
can learn the skills they
need to manage projects
themselves.
John Gustke, Black & Veatch, Bangkok, Thailand
SCOUTING FOR LOCAL TALENT

Black & Veatch has been putting its local talent incubator strategy to work in
China for more than a decade. With its explosive economic growth, the country
has huge demand for energy projects. Yet it remains a particularly difficult place
China
With a very high electrification rate, China is now

focusing on diversifying its
energy portfolio away from
fossil fuels. Its biggest issue
continues to be a heavy
reliance on coal, Mr. Gerbert
says, which has led to urban
air pollution problems.
The country is making
large-scale infrastructure
project investments in hydroelectric sources and other
renewables. According to a
report by GlobalData, renewable energy sources in China
are expected to provide 20
percent of the countrys
total electricity generated
by 2020.
India
Renovating and extending energy infrastructure is the countrys top priority.

Even if people have access to a power
network, it often doesnt work, says
Mr. Gerbert.
Also on the agenda: installing cleaner
technologies to reduce the countrys
notorious pollution levels. But that will
require power plant owners to launch
major upgrades or new-build projects
to replace the mostly coal-based current infrastructure.
The government plans to increase the
countrys solar power generating capacity fivefoldif it can obtain the necessary land and transmission lines. Prime
Minister Narendra Modis administration has struggled with land acquisition
issues while working with five state
governments to build 25 solar parks.
Mexico
The countrys energy infrastructure is predominantly

coal-based and saddled with
outdated systems unable to
meet rising demand. Recent energy reforms opening opportunities for investment by private
firms, however, are expected to
spur growth of generation and
network capacity.
Theres a lot of momentum
around energy infrastructure
investment in Mexico right
now, says Bjarne Steffen, project leader, Boston Consulting
Group, Munich, Germany. The
question is whether they can
keep investment in these projects coming in to encourage the
renewal of aging infrastructure.
Brazil
Unlike most emerging markets,

Brazils energy sector is largely
based on hydropower, accounting for roughly 80 percent of the
countrys generating capacity,
according to the EIA. The challenge now is how to shift from
heavy reliance on hydro to more
consistently reliable sources of
power, Mr. Gerbert says.
But as the country copes
with a recession, energy portfolio diversification seems far off.
Indeed, a giant hydro project
is moving toward completion:
The BRL30 billion Belo Monte
hydroelectric dam will be the
third-largest hydroelectric
power plant in the world when
it starts operating in 2019.
35
for an expatriate to manage projects due to language and cultural challenges,

Mr. Gustke says.
In response, Black & Veatch is focusing on grooming young local project
managers into leadership roles. If we can blend the Black & Veatch way with
the China way, we can manage these projects more effectively, Mr. Gustke
says. Shan Zhiqiang is one of those up-and-coming Chinese project managers.
A trained engineer, he joined the companys Beijing office in 2004 as a project
discipline engineer and worked his way up to project manager in 2013. Along
the way, Black & Veatch provided him with mentors from the home office
and enrolled him in project management training programs, both an online
program offered by the company and a program in Beijing. These experiences
were crucial in giving me foundational knowledge in project management and
international best practices,
he says.
Today Mr. Shan is managing the engineering and
procurement services for a
1,000-megawatt coal-fired
Given the sectors talent crunch, many
power plant project located in
organizations rely heavily on local subconthe city of Ipoh, Malaysia.
tractors to keep energy projects moving.
One piece of the project
That means building a support system of
management
puzzle is making
training and oversightand sometimes
financial resources.
sure Chinese equipment venThese big projects rely on a lot of small
dors meet Black & Veatchs
local contractors and subcontractors, that
global quality goals. This often
cant always mobilize the people, resources
requires his teams engineers
or equipment to keep up with the schedule,
to review vendor designs and
says Sanjay Kumar, former assistant vice
personally inspect equipment
president of engineering, procurement and
manufactured at the construcconstruction, and power projects at Reliance
tion site.
Infrastructure, Mumbai, India.
We play an important role
To mitigate this risk, his teams project
in
supporting the suppliers
plans often include accelerated payments
as
they
source through their
and shorter payment cycles to help smooth
own
supply
chain, he says.
cash flow issues that local subcontractors
may face. In India, if you have a strong supply
This isnt often easy, but
chain of financially stable contractors, you can
when we get it right, its very
deliver a project faster, Mr. Kumar says.
rewarding.
It can also pave the way for the next
It can take years for orgageneration of power projects: If you invest
nizations in the energy secin training and supporting local contractors
tor to develop skilled project
today, your future projects will go better.
managers like Mr. Shan, but
ultimately the effort pays off in
reduced budget overruns and
improved project outcomes. Its not enough to have good project management
skills, Mr. Gustke says. Your team has to be familiar with the local business
practices, language and culture.
Bring in
the Vendors
36
CASE STUDY
On Guard
A gas pipeline project in Tunisia requires

extraordinary security measures.
roject managers routinely manage and

mitigate risk. But those risks are a
matter of life and death for Ahmed
Abdessalem, PMI-RMP, PMP, a project
services team leader for global oil and gas company
OMV. As he and his team work on a pipeline project in southern Tunisia, they must also contend
with terrorist organizations targeting energy infrastructure facilities in North Africa.
Earlier this year, Islamist militants attacked oil fields
and a pipeline in the eastern part of Libya, setting one
pipeline ablaze and halting production at Sarir, the
countrys largest oil field. In 2013, Islamist militants
attacked a gas plant in the Algerian Sahara, leading to
a four-day confrontation that left 29 attackers and at
least 37 of the plants foreign workers dead.
The terrorists goal is to undermine the stability
of the local economy and leadership. But the need
for power remains. So Mr. Abdessalem carries
Crews work on the

pipeline project in
Waha, Tunisia.
The area is restricted, as

it sits near the borders of
Libya and Algeria, where
terrorist activities are a
very real risk.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF OMV
Ahmed Abdessalem, PMI-RMP, PMP,

OMV, Tunisia
on overseeing the two-year pipeline project thats

part of a 500 million natural gas field program in
southern Tunisia.
But he and the team are keenly aware of the threat.
The area is restricted, as it sits near the borders
of Libya and Algeria, where terrorist activities are a
very real risk, says Mr. Abdessalem.
To keep workers safe, his team worked directly
with Tunisias military during project planning
to align their schedule and site design plans with
military security protocols. To monitor activities
around the site, the project team installed earthfilled barriers and a helipad for evacuations. Midand long-range cameras and bullet-proof concrete
shelters to protect workers in case of an attack are
also in the works. If terrorists come, workers have
no other means of protecting themselves, he says.
Since construction on the pipelines began in 2014,
military personnel have constantly supervised the
project site, and any vehicles going into or out of the
area travel in convoys for added protection. All vehicles are equipped with a real-time monitoring system.
The company also sticks to locals on the site
whenever possible. Expats are much bigger targets
than local workers, Mr. Abdessalem says, so it is
better to keep them away.
37
CASE STUDY
Power Adapters
Under mounting pressure to tighten schedules and budgets, Black & Veatch
revamps its project processes while bringing more power to market.
sias fast-changing energy needs are

pushing practitioners into new project territoryand practices. Sponsors want more energy brought to
market in a more cost-effective mannerand they
want it now.
Asias high economic growth rate necessitates
the delivery of much infrastructure in the coming
years, says John Gustke, managing director of
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ELECTRICITY GENERATING AUTHORITY OF THAILAND
The Chana 2 combined cycle units are shown

at the center of the photo. Above right is the
Wang Noi power plant complex. Both were
built in Thailand by the same project team.
38
energy business in Asia, Black & Veatch, Bangkok, Thailand.

That has caused an evolution in the way we
manage projects and respond to clients, says Mr.
Gustke, who has worked on energy projects in
Southeast Asia since the late 1980s.
Take the example of the companys work on two
gas-fired power plant projects in Thailand completed in April and June of 2014. The two plants
Asias high economic growth

rate necessitates the delivery
of much infrastructure in the
coming years. That has caused an
evolution in the way we manage
projects and respond to clients.
John Gustke
with a combined budget

of roughly US$1 billion
are located approximately
800 kilometers (497 miles)
apart and have different
designs and site conditions.
Despite the variations,
Black & Veatch assigned both projects to the same
project management and core design teams, and
used almost identical schedules in an effort to
increase efficiencies. The team used local suppliers
for materials and equipment, in some cases breaking procurement requests into multiple pieces if
an order was too big for any one supplier to fulfill.
Taking such steps enables smaller contractors to
get a foothold with the big projects, and reduces
Black & Veatchs risk of relying too heavily on a
single source.
Its all about understanding the local market and
working with them to find the right balance, Mr.
Gustke says.
The organization also hired mostly Thai workers
to deliver the project, while using expat project
management leaders to ensure teams met key
milestones and adhered to the global companys
quality standards.
The projects came in on time and within budget,
he says. Being able to integrate the most appropriate team at the right time helped us deliver the most
cost-effective solution.
39
Workers from Mexicos Comisin Federal de

Electricidad, below, and Pemex, right.
CASE STUDY
Keeping the
Poachers at Bay
With experienced energy practitioners scarce in Mexico,
CH2M rebooted its training practices and culture to
recruit and retain sector stars.
nergy infrastructure doesnt come

cheap. So after a decades-long monopoly of the energy sector by the two stateowned energy companies, Mexicos
government liberalized regulations to lure in private
investment. Launched in December 2013, the move
aims to attract billions of pesos in investment to the
countrys ailing oil, gas and electricity sectors. Its workingbut it also
exposed a major talent gap.
Mexicos energy reform will
trigger a lot of growth in the sector, which is very exciting, says
Carlo Orsenigo, Latin America oil
and gas lead at global engineering
and construction company CH2M,
Mexico City, Mexico. But it will put
a high burden on the local industrys
resources.
After decades of low investment,
Carlo Orsenigo, CH2M, Mexico City, Mexico
the energy sector has a serious
dearth of talented and experienced
practitioners. Engineering expertise is particularly scarce.
It hasnt been a sexy industry to enter into, Mr.
Orsenigo says. We need to make the profession
Mexicos energy reform

will trigger a lot of growth
in the sector, which is very
exciting. But it will put a
high burden on the local
industrys resources.
40
more appealing to young people by showing them

the opportunities to work on challenging projects
using state-of-the-art technology.
Organizations that do finally find the right project then face the constant threat of poaching.
CH2M is responding with a holistic approach to
ensure its best and brightest stay engaged. The
company recruits engineers in Mexico directly
from university and immediately puts them on a
development fast track that includes chances to
work with senior-level mentors, training in project
management practices, and regular promotions and
salary increases.
Retention is not just an issue of salary, though
thats part of it, Mr. Orsenigo says. Its also about
providing opportunities for young, hungry engineers to learn and grow in the field.
FREEDOM TO DISAGREE
Along with rigorous retention efforts, Mr. Orsenigo
has also been working to shift the organizations culture in Mexico to be more reflective of CH2Ms global
practices. The Mexican management style is very
authoritarian, but we believe a corporate culture must
be collaborative to be effective, he explains. Differing
points of view add value to the project process.
PHOTOS BY SUSANA GONZALEZ/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
When Mr. Orsenigo came to the companys

Mexico office five years ago, he was surprised by
how quickly teams built consensus on major decisions and the total lack of disagreement in meetings.
Initially he thought agreement was manufactured
to please him, but later he realized it is common
practice in Mexico to defer to leaders.
So he began a campaign to change that attitude.
It began with simple things, like monthly movie
nights after which the team would discuss whether
they liked the film or not. It created an opportunity
to disagree in a safe way, Mr. Orsenigo says. Then
he started holding more specific discussions, asking
team members to offer their opinions about project
strategies. He made sure everyone had an opportunity to speak and was acknowledged for adding value
to the conversation. Over time the culture shifted,
and now project teams often clash about planning
or execution approaches before reaching consensus.
The benefits are clear, Mr. Orsenigo says. Hashing through an argument helps project teams identify the best solutions to problemsnot just the
one touted by the most senior person in the room.
On a recent project, for example, some aspects of
the pipeline system design didnt account for certain operational requirements, like easy access for
The Mexican management style

is very authoritarian, but we
believe a corporate culture must
be collaborative to be effective.
Carlo Orsenigo
maintenance tasks. That prompted discussions that

ultimately led to a revised design simplifying some
aspects while making others more user-friendly.
Through disagreements, we optimized the final
solution, he says.
This more collaborative corporate culture has
also benefited CH2Ms recruiting process. Hiring
managers tout employee opportunities to contribute to the project planning process, which is especially appealing to millennials, he says.
We tell them we expect everyone on our team
to express their point of view and be able to
negotiate with other team members, Mr. Orsenigo says. Turnover in the Mexico City office has
decreased enormously, and that tells us our efforts
are working. PM
41
REGULATIONS
CREATE RISKAND
THE ONLY WAY TO
MANAGE THAT RISK
IS FOR PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
AND COMPLIANCE
TEAMS TO
COMBINE FORCES.
DOUBLE
DOUBLE
VISION
VISION
BY MATT ALDERTON
ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL STOLLE
rganizations can run, but they cant

hide from compliance. New rules and regulations are being
imposed on almost every industry and across every bordermonitoring everything from data privacy to environmental reporting to worker safety. And a single misstep can
cost organizations time, money and credibility.
A project team might be in the midst of creating an
extraordinary new app. But that wont mean much if the
organization realizes in the middle of the build that the app
doesnt comply with governmental data security standards.
Suddenly, the project team is at risk of not meeting the
schedule or budgetor both.
44
YOU HAVE TO BE
AWARE FROM THE VERY
BEGINNING OF THE
POLICIES, GOVERNANCE
AND LAWS AROUND
YOUR PROJECT.
Einas Khairy, PMP, Qatar Ministry of Information and
Communications Technology, Doha, Qatar
As a project manager, you have to be aware

from the very beginning of the policies, governance and laws around your project, says Einas
Khairy, PMP, project management office (PMO)
compliance manager at the Qatar Ministry of
Information and Communications Technology in
Doha, Qatar.
Organizations are keenly aware of the threat: 74
percent of the 600 compliance professionals from
71 countries surveyed in a 2014 Thomson Reuters
Accelus survey said they expected to spend more
time managing regulatory risk. But more time might
not be enough time: 66 percent of compliance teams
spend three hours or less each week consulting with
their companys risk function. And one-third of
teams spend less than an hour a week.
Thats precisely where project and program practitioners can help by partnering up with their compliance peers.
Theres plenty of opportunity for project practitioners to fill the gap and improve the efficiency
of compliance teams, says Vivek Tilgule, PMP,
compliance business analyst in the Singapore office
of French financial services firm Crdit Agricole
Corporate & Investment Bank. Following a project-based approach for the planning and execution
of compliance teams work can do wonders [and]
enable compliance teams to enforce regulations in
organizations with the utmost ease.
TEAM EFFORT
Regulations can seem like a bunch of red tape to
just slash through. But its not that simple. Project
practitioners and compliance teams must make
their way through what is often an intricate web of
rules, guidelines, procedures and protocolsall of
which can change at seemingly a moments notice.
With changing business dynamics and regulations, it has become essential for [project practitioners] to work in tandem with the compliance
team in order to execute organizational strategy,
Mr. Tilgule says. For example, financial security
and capital market project teams traditionally are
considered two different parts of [the organization]
in investment banks. However, with the more strict
and interrelated regulations imposed by regulators,
[they need] to work hand in hand.
And that collaboration should be happening right
45
COMPLIANCE + PROJECT MANAGEMENT = WINNING CAREER MOVE

As organizations compliance risks
grow, so do career opportunities
for project practitioners.
Strong project management
and compliance risk management
skills are considered to be one of
the best combinations to have if
we consider the current trends,
says Vivek Tilgule, PMP, compliance
business analyst, Crdit Agricole

Corporate & Investment Bank,
Singapore. The sky is the limit.
Its a powerful one-two punch
that can put project and program
managers on the fast track to
career growth.
Youll have opportunities to
[scale up] to bigger and more
from the startwhen teams are creating compliance frameworks and risk registers.
Its important to get knowledgenot only about
the project, but about the culture and environment
surrounding the project, including knowledge about
the policies and laws that could impact the project
deliverables, Ms. Khairy says.
Some of that comes down to basic mixing and
mingling, says Alessandra Milan Souza, PMP,
compliance manager, PMO and system analytics, Walmart Brasil, So Paulo, Brazil. She regu-
complex projects, says Einas

Khairy, PMP, project management
office (PMO) compliance manager,
Qatar Ministry of Information
and Communications Technology,
Doha, Qatar. Or, you can join a
project management office and
manage [compliance] risks for the
entire organization.
larly schedules meetings for project

practitioners to engage with compliance experts so they can provide solutions.
For instance, if a project related to butcher shops
at stores requires the purchase of protective safety
equipment, she makes sure the project team has a
brainstorming meeting with a food safety or health
safety compliance expert.
Project practitioners are so focused in one area
that it helps to see problems or issues from another
view, she explains. For example, Im not an expert
SOMETIMES [STAKEHOLDERS] DONT SEE THE

COMPLIANCE RISK, BUT PROJECT MANAGERS WHO
HAVE A LOT OF RISK TRAINING DO.
Alessandra Milan Souza, PMP, Walmart Brasil, So Paulo, Brazil
46
WITH CHANGING BUSINESS DYNAMICS AND

REGULATIONS, IT HAS BECOME ESSENTIAL FOR
[PROJECT PRACTITIONERS] TO WORK IN TANDEM
WITH THE COMPLIANCE TEAM IN ORDER TO
EXECUTE ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY.
Vivek Tilgule, PMP, Crdit Agricole, Singapore
on food safety, but after almost one year

of working at Walmart, I know whats important to food safety.
SPOTTING THE RISK

Once they understand regulatory risks, project
practitioners can create and execute a comprehensive plan to mitigate and manage them.
Risk management and compliance go hand in
hand, because without a compliance framework your
project is high-risk, Ms. Khairy says. Risk management and compliance may also be strengthened
through the creation of a PMO that handles these
issues at a corporate level for the organization.
At the very least, project and program managers
should start with an outline of the applicable regulatory compliance standards along with relevant business processes and internal controls.
Ms. Souza says the compliance risk management framework at Walmart Brasil helps
project managers contribute to compliance efforts
in areas as diverse as anti-money laundering, consumer protection, food safety and data security.
We work with our global team to define risks and
risk causes, and we have a system that includes all the
necessary information to see how were doing and if
were managing risks in the right way, she says.
When it comes to compliance, project managers
must be risk managers, says Ms. Souza.
Every time I have a meeting with people, I try
to look for risks and understand how to mitigate
them, she says. Sometimes [stakeholders] dont
see the compliance risk, but project managers who
have a lot of risk training do.
And thats how the most effective teams work.
Project practitioners, compliance managers and
stakeholders each coming in with their own point
of viewbut working together to make sure they
play by the rules. PM
47
Project management
offices are gaining
traction in industries
you wouldnt expect.
BY NOVID PARSI
PORTRAIT BY EDWARD SHAW
The
Brave
New
PMO
Frontier
48
Emma Tomlinson,
Law Society,
Birmingham, England
49
Fashion retail.
Entertainment.
Law.
Those arent exactly the sectors that leap to mind
when talk turns to project management, let alone
project management offices (PMOs).
It wasnt so long ago that project management
was strictly the province of sectors that lived and
died by process: IT, construction, defense. But soon
enough, other industries started seeing the value
of project management in action and became converts. And now it seems PMOs are following the
same path to mainstream acceptance.
Theres a common theme among the new breed
of organizations that decide to take the PMO
plungeand its not all that different from ones in
more traditional sectors.
50
It comes down to a brutal need for efficiency.

Too many organizations have no way of knowing whether projects are aligned to strategyand,
indeed, whether they should have been given the
green light in the first place. And that simply doesnt
cut it anymore.
We wanted to bring in the next level of sophistication that comes with a PMO, says Tracy Karagianis, CIO, AMC Networks, New York, New York,
USA. His organization owns cable TV channels
and a film company. It was about better tool sets
and project and resource management, but we also
wanted to really manage the business portfolio and
align initiatives to overall business objectives.
PHOTO BY URSULA COYOTE, COURTESY OF AMC
Crew members work on the

set of the AMC television
show Breaking Bad.
Before AMC Networks launched a PMO in

its IT department in 2014, functional managers
would often respond to project requests with overly
optimistic delivery estimates. Now these managers
receive feedback from the PMO about available
resources to inform their decisions. We definitely
have more insight into resource management now,
Mr. Karagianis says.
Dutch fashion retailer C&A faced a similar challenge. The company found that its Americas office
serving Brazil and Mexico didnt have sufficient
project management skills. We had project managers here who didnt know how to control schedules
or risks, says Bruno Cabuto, PMP, head of the
We wanted to bring in the

next level of sophistication
that comes with a PMO. It
was about better tool sets
and project and resource
management, but we also wanted to
really manage the business portfolio
and align initiatives to overall
business objectives.
Tracy Karagianis, AMC Networks, New York, New York, USA
51
Measuring the PMO Difference
72%
76%
Projects at organizations
with enterprise-wide
PMOs that are highly
aligned to strategy are
completed successfully
72% of the time,
compared to 55% of
projects at organizations
without enterprise-wide
PMOs highly attuned to
strategy.
76% of high-performing
organizations have a
PMO, compared to 64%
of low performers.
The PMOs work means

C&A can control the
budgets, schedules,
scopes and changes of
our projects.
Bruno Cabuto, PMP, C&A, So Paulo, Brazil
companys So Paulo, Brazil-based IT PMO, which

he helped develop.
For the Law Society, Birmingham, England, the
impetus for launching a Programme and Portfolio
Management Office (PPMO) in mid-2013 sprouted
from the same need for efficiency, but with a slight
twist. The U.K. independent professional body for
solicitors has two divisions: one serving lawyers in
England and Wales; the other serving the public.
In the pre-PPMO days, projects happening across
the two divisions were operating in their own silos.
There was no single view across the organization,
says Emma Tomlinson, head of the PPMO.
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
90%
90% of organizations
effective at knowledge
transfer have a PMO that
supports knowledge transfer
as a means to improving the
management of projects
and programs (compared
to 16% in less effective
organizations).
Sources: PMIs 2015 Pulse of the Profession: Capturing the Value of Project Management and 2015 Pulse of the
Profession: Capturing the Value of Project Management Through Knowledge Transfer
52
Even in sectors where project management is

firmly entrenched, getting a new PMO up and running can be tough going. It can be even tougher in
an industry unfamiliar with PMOsor even with
project practitioners.
At C&A, Mr. Cabuto had to figure out how to
balance project management standards and structures with the notoriously fickle nature of the fashion industry. People in retail change their minds all
the time, he says.
So oversight committees were established
within the PMO to evaluate and approve potential
projects to ensure theyre aligned with strategic
objectives. That, in turn, helped C&A see the
PHOTO COURTESY OF C&A
A C&A store in Brazil
connections among the projects, Mr. Cabuto says.

The PMO also started closing the talent gap by
training project practitioners through workshops
and mentoring.
To guide and help control project activities,
AMCs new PMO, which focuses on IT initiatives in
the U.S., has provided teams with governance tools
including project scorecards and charters. But Mr.
Karagianis knew that to be successful, the PMO had
to be seen as a partner rather than a policeman of
the department and the business.
In entertainment, its different. The industry is
very collaborative, so the PMO needs to collaborate
with the business, says Mr. Karagianis, who worked
in finance for more than a decade before moving

into the film and television industry. To some
extent you have to hide formal processes. Dont beat
people over the head with tools. Yes, theres a charter, but this isnt presented in formal, scary terms.
The key is to be inclusive, not exclusive.
The value of that approach is being seen in how
PMO processes are beginning to be informally
adopted outside of the IT department. Weve
almost embedded project managers inside of the
business. The standardization we now have in IT
is starting to bleed out across the organization,
he says. The business is starting to use the same
terminologies we use and work with the PMO to
53
I leveraged the
early adopters and
used them as change
agents for those who
had resistance.
Emma Tomlinson
present a project charter to senior management,

for example.
By helping business owners answer basic questions before a project is approved, the PMO is
boosting strategic alignment. What do you want
to do? Why? What is it going to take? Theyre very
simple questions. The PMO helps you have that
conversation and bring ownership and accountability into the business, Mr. Karagianis says.
But that conversation isnt likely to go well, or
What do you want to do? Why? What

is it going to take? Theyre very simple
questions. The PMO helps you have that
conversation and bring ownership and
accountability into the business.
Tracy Karagianis
54
even occur, if the PMO is seen as a documentation

engine rather than a collaborator. Especially in
media, if you dont build up relationships, it doesnt
work well. Youve got to put people before process.
WINNING THEM OVER

For a PMO to truly take hold, it needs leaders who
can build support for changeespecially when skeptical stakeholders want to hold on to the status quo.
You need to have good sponsorship, and you
need to influence people, Mr. Cabuto says. You
need a PMO leader who helps change the mindset,
who tells team members every day that this new
challenge will be good for everybody while establishing goals and targets that illustrate to them that
the PMO is making a difference.
And the message must be deliveredloud and
clearthroughout the entire enterprise, starting
with the executive suite.
Without that buy-in from the very top, youre
GET IT
DONE
PORTRAIT BY EDWARD SHAW
never going to get it to cascade through the organization, Ms. Tomlinson says.
Yet as she was building the PPMO at Law Society, she also knew she needed supporters at the
practitioner level. I leveraged the early adopters
and used them as change agents for those who had
resistance, she says.
Ms. Tomlinson understood that she, too, had to
be a change agent herselftaking on some very
challenging conversations with people who potentially were resistant to the change, she says.
REAPING THE BENEFITS
ORGANIZATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS!
Despite their newbie challenges, these three fledgling PMOs are already delivering results.
At C&A, the PMO has helped bring order in a
sector known for change. The PMOs work means
C&A can control the budgets, schedules, scopes
and changes of our projects, Mr. Cabuto says.
AMC is also seeing more efficient project delivery. Were accomplishing a huge amount of work
with a pretty lean staff, Mr. Karagianis says. Were
hitting our numbers much better than we ever have,
and its because were much more realistic during
the planning phase and were tracking progress
better. Were already feeling the benefit of having
[PMO-generated] data in our hands.
The helicopter view provided by the Law Societys PPMO has also delivered tangible results,
Ms. Tomlinson says. In 2013, the offices inaugural
year, 67 percent of the 33 active projects were
completed on time, within budget and on track to
meet intended benefits. In 2014, 77 percent of 42
active projects met those criteria. There was also a
cash payoff. The entire portfolio came in 4 million
under budget in 2014, versus 1.3 million under
budget the previous year.
No PMO can guarantee those kinds of numbers,
of course. But its not hard to see why more organizations in nontraditional sectors are starting to
wonder what they might be missing. PM
In todays complex business environment, strong project management

skills are required to see an initiative through each critical phasefrom
conception and planning to execution and performance monitoring
to completion and evaluation. The ability to focus on the big picture,
while remaining cognizant of the little details, is essential for success.
As more companies, nonprofits, and government agencies use
project-based methods to accomplish their goals and objectives,
experienced project managers will be in greater demand than ever
before. The 36-credit M.S. in Project Management, offered by the
NYU School of Professional Studies, provides a rigorous academic
experience that is grounded in the best practices, principles, and
methodologies. Management and leadership skills are fused with the
business and technological know-how needed to oversee projects
across industries, providing you with the tools to get the job done
now and throughout your career.
M.S. in Project Management

COURSES INCLUDE:
Principles of Project Management Leading Global Organizations
Transforming Organizations Project Management Operations
Project Risk Analysis and Quality Assurance
Agile Project Management Enterprise Project Management
vISIT: sps.nyu.edu/mspm1b
CAll: 212-998-7100
REqUEST INfO./ApplY TODAY: sps.nyu.edu/gradinfo22b

FIND YOUR
FUTURE SELF
New York University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. 2015 NYU School of Professional Studies.
NYUSPS Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications

Job Number: a1415-1368
Pub/Issue Date: PM Network - September 2015
Cables inside the tunnel

connect power-conversion
stations in France and Spain.
Give
and
First-of-their-kind
converter stations
help France and
Spain make a
powerful connection
and point the way
to Europes future.
Take
BY MEREDITH LANDRY
o create a more competitive continental economy, the European Union (EU)

needs to be interconnected. To build business across borders, freely flowing
electricity is a basic infrastructure requirement.
Thats why the EU launched a first-of-its-kind project to connect the power
grids of France and Spain. The 700 million power line, which burrows through
the Pyrenees Mountains, aims to double the energy exchange between the two
countries, increase energy security and ease one of the worst grid bottlenecks
in Europe.
At each end of the 65-kilometer (40-mile) power line, a converter substation
translates the lines direct current (DC) flow into the alternating current (AC)
used by each countrys grid. When the project closed in mid-2015, it doubled
the interconnection capacity between France and Spainand helped the European Union get one step closer to creating a continent-wide super grid.
CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS
To get the power lines operating on schedule, the project team built the two
converter substations at the same time. But designing these two stations, which
accounted for more than half of the projects budget, required thinking outside
the box.
58
The entry platform of the

tunnel in Montesquieu-desAlbres, France
FRANCE
Baixas
Santa Llogaia dlguema
S PA I N
PHOTOS COURTESY OF INELFE
Making the
Connection
Project managers from Germany-based Siemens AG, a PMI Global Executive
Council member, had never built such bulk power converter stations that connected to HVDC Plus technologya new type of high-voltage direct-current
power linethreaded entirely underground as a land-to-land connection.
We couldnt refer to another project and just hit copy and paste, says
Volker Lehmann, Siemens project director based in Erlangen, Germany.
This was the first time for a project size like this, so we really had to start
from scratch.
Although Siemens deployed the first HVDC Plus system in November 2010
in San Francisco, California, USA, that project ran the power cable underwater
rather than through the ground. Unlike the underwater installation, the underground installation in Europe required negotiations with landowners whose
property was on the lines route, Mr. Lehmann says. Plus, the converter stations
with HVDC Plus technology required special technical features that were new
to electrical engineers in Europe. In particular, the stations closed loop control systems required Siemens to use engineers who have a very high level of
understanding in order to manage the converter stations for testing and later
operation and maintenance, he says.
Geography and regulations also required double design work. The team had
June 2008: French and Spanish

governments sign agreement
outlining main features of the
power line and converter
station project.
December 2010: Inelfe hires
Siemens AG to build the
converter stations.
January 2012: Construction of the
converter stations begins.
August 2014: Construction of the
converter stations ends.
September 2014: All work on
power line project completed.
Mid-2015: The power line and
converter stations become commercially operational.
59
One converter substation is in Baixas,

France and the other is in Santa Llogaia
dlguema, Spain, below.
Talent
Spotlight
VOLKER LEHMANN,
PROJECT DIRECTOR,
SIEMENS AG
Location: Erlangen,
Germany
Experience: 23 years
Other notable projects:
1. Testing and Validation Center
in Wegberg-Wildenrath, Germany, a
railway test center owned by Siemens
Mobility, which opened in June 1997.
Mr. Lehmann was practical project
manager for power supply.
2. The Shanghai Maglev Train, in
Shanghai, China, the worlds first commercially operated high-speed line that
uses magnetic levitation rather than
conventional tracks, which launched in
January 2004. Mr. Lehmann was lead of
back office for power supply.
Career lessons learned: First, clarify
the responsibilities of all involved parties before getting contract signatures.
And second, in a multilingual project
environment, choose a language
that is of none of the parties mother
tongue as the primary mode of communication.
60
to create separate plans for each stationone in Santa Llogaia dlguema, Spain
and the other in Baixas, France.
The layout of each station is slightly different, Mr. Lehmann says. Each
location had different seismic requirements and the land itself was different.
Consequently, all civil and mechanical design had to be adapted to meet those
specific requirements.
LINES OF COMMUNICATION
The customer, Inelfe (Interconnexion Electrique France Espagne), a joint
venture between the grid operators Rseau de Transport dElectricit in Paris,
France and Red Elctrica de Espaa in Madrid, Spain, hired Siemens 32 months
after France and Spain agreed to launch the project in 2008. Construction on
the substations began in January 2012 and ended in August 2014. The biggest
project challenge was the language barrier, according to Mr. Lehmann. Communicating with stakeholders who spoke a mix of French, Spanish and German
proved to be even more difficult than configuring the highly technical components of the converter stations.
We had to translate all training and maintenance materials into each partys
native language, he says. This took longer than expected, but it was critical that
everyone knew exactly what had to be done so there was no confusion.
The majority of team members also spoke some English, so that language
Workers unroll cable in

Villeneuve-la-Riviere,
France. Below left, a cable
junction is connected in
Toulouges, France. Below
right, workers thread cable
through a tunnel entry.
became the primary language used when information was shared internally. For
instance, when Mr. Lehmanns team shared documents via a web application,
all such files typically were written in English.
The different standards in Spanish and French were quite challenging to the
design phase, Mr. Lehmann says. So we had to translate some of them into
English in order to make them 100 percent understandable for the German
engineers as well as the experts from Siemens subsidiaries in France and Spain.
We also found engineering companies who were able to deal with the three
languages without problems. After finding that solution, the design phase went
quite smoothly.
WIDER APPLICATIONS
The project is part of a broader EU initiative to achieve 10 percent grid interconnectivity across Europe by 2020. Such a pancontinental electrical super grid
would allow European countries to efficiently exchange energy.
Miguel Arias Caete of Spain, the EU commissioner for energy and climate action,
says the France-Spain power line is a truly landmark project. Maro efovi of
the Slovak Republic, vice president of the European Commissions Energy Union,
said in a February press release: By connecting our member states and energy
markets, we will be stronger together. We need many more examples like this all
over Europe. PM
By connecting our
member states and
energy markets,
we will be stronger
together. We
need many more
examples like this
all over Europe.
Maro efovi, European
Commissions Energy Union
61
2015 PMI
PROJECT OF
THE YEAR
FINALISTS
LASTING
Three top-notch project teams
exceeded expectations while
delivering long-term benefits
to the public. BY ALMA BAHMAN
ruly memorable projects do more than

come in on time, on budget and in scope.
They deliver lasting benefits by solving
a long-term business challenge, preventing a
future crisis or meeting an array of stakeholders needs.
The three 2015 Project of the Year finalists
all created lasting value for their respective
communities, benefiting the general public in
distinct ways.
One project inspected hundreds of bridges
across a U.S. state and then repaired or replaced
anything that fell short of the states standards.
The second unearthed and disposed of 16 million tons of toxic waste at a former plutonium
production site. And the third finalist quickly
and safely transported six massive oil refinery
drums through a major metropolis to minimize
street closures and ensure gasoline and jet fuel
production keeps up with demand for decades
to come.
A first look at each finalist follows. In the
coming months, PM Network feature stories
and videos on PMIs YouTube channel will detail
their achievements in-depth.
Willamette
River Bridge
project
FINALIST
Oregon Transportation
Investment Act III State
Bridge Delivery Program
oads and bridges keep economies connected and growing.

If they begin to crumble, so do job prospects.
When the state of Oregon, USA discovered that some of
its bridges had cracks that would soon affect major freight routes,
the government heard the warning as a wake-up call. Roughly
half of the states 6,700 bridges were built before 1960, and a study
projected that if left unattended the deficient infrastructure would
cost the state 88,000 jobs over the next 25 years. For Oregon to stay
competitive, the states entire bridge infrastructure
needed an overhaul.
And the Winner IsThe 2015 PMI Project of the Year will be presented
So in 2003, the Oregon legislature acted to fund
at PMI Global Congress 2015North America, scheduled for 11-13 October in
the
states largest infrastructure investment in
Orlando, Florida, USA. Register at congresses.pmi.org/NorthAmerica2015,
50 years with an unprecedented caveat: The
and be sure to reserve a seat at the PMI Professional Awards Gala on 10 October, the evening before Congress officially gets underway. To apply for the 2016
Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)
Project of the Year or other professional awards, head to PMI.org.
had to outsource the program. ODOT awarded
62
IMPACT
team assigned specific communication requirethe 10-year, US$1.3 billion contract to repair or
ments stemming from the location and complexreplace 365 bridges to the Oregon Bridge Delivery
ity of each bundle. All projects required monthly
Partners (OBDP), a joint venture of Fluor Corporation
progress reports with executive letters or stories
and HDR Engineering Inc. The historic public-private
to draw attention to specific design, construction,
partnership delivered the program as promised, comdiversity and environmental stewing in US$45 million under budget.
ardship milestones. Some shared
Not everyone at ODOT initially
PROJECT: Oregon
information on social media.
liked having the private sector comTransportation
For instance, the Willamette River
ing in. But at the end of the program,
Investment Act III State
Bridge Delivery Program
Bridge project team published a
OBDP had an outstanding relationblog for three years to keep the pubship with the agency, says John
BUDGET: US$1.3 billion
lic informed of progress. It featured
Craig, program manager, HDR EngiLOCATION:
Oregon,
updates on relevant project events,
neering Inc., Salem, Oregon, USA.
USA (statewide)
schedule changes and public safety.
Rather than just replacing the
Another team working on the Sandy
worst bridges first, the project team
KEY PLAYERS:
Oregon Department
River Bridge project site had to educate
bundled adjacent bridges into subof
Transportation
the community about an increased risk
programs of varying sizes. This
(ODOT) and Oregon
of flooding. It held public meetings to
approach allowed the overall scope of
Bridge Delivery Partners
get the word out, offered to purchase
the program to be compartmental(OBDP), a joint venture
supplementary flood insurance for
ized and managed bundle by bundle.
of Fluor Corporation and
impacted properties and followed up
It also allowed smaller, more local
HDR Engineering Inc.
with mail, email and in-person visits. It
companies to compete for the bunHIGHLIGHT: Targeted
set up a hotline for residents to call for
dles with larger firms, which led to
communication
help applying for insurance.
taxpayer savings through lower bids.
between
OBDP
and
an
Since the 365th bridge project was
But the cornerstone of the proarray of public-sector
completed on schedule, Oregons
grams success was communication
stakeholders led to
transportation infrastructure has been
to assure stakeholders that tax dolthe successful delivery
safer and public stakeholders have
lars were being well spent. Repairof the states largest
viewed the program as a blueprint for
ing or replacing hundreds of bridges
infrastructure overhaul
future public-private partnerships.
required working with legislators,
in the last 50 years.
It took a partnership between
regulators, contractors, landowners
OBDP and ODOT to do it, and
and the general public. Everything
together we have demonstrated that we can be
falls flat if those relationships arent healthy, says
counted on to deliver what we promised, with conByron Perry, deputy program manager, HDR Engifidence and accountability, says Matthew Garrett,
neering Inc., Salem, Oregon, USA.
director, ODOT, Salem, Oregon, USA.
To keep the lines of communication open, the
Not everyone
at ODOT
initially liked
having the
private sector
coming in. But
at the end of
the program,
OBDP had an
outstanding
relationship
with the
agency.
John Craig, HDR Engineering
Inc., Salem, Oregon, USA
63
2015 PMI
PROJECT OF
THE YEAR
FINALISTS
Waste site next to the Columbia River
FINALIST
River Corridor Base Scope Project
vast expanse of land near Richland, Washington, USA known as the Hanford Site
once played a central role in the Cold Wars
nuclear arms race: It produced two-thirds of the
nations plutonium in nine nuclear production reactors. The 586-square-mile (1,518-square-kilometer)
site closed in 1987, and the scenic land remained off
limits to the public.
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
made the Hanford site one of its largest environmental cleanup projects, with the ultimate goal of making
the land available for recreational use. The work to
be done was considerable: Hundreds of buildings and

soil sitesand billions of gallons of groundwater
were contaminated with hazardous and radioactive
materials. Removing that waste was necessary to
protect the millions of people who live in cities and
towns downstream from the Columbia River, which
flows through the site.
The DOE awarded the nine-year, US$2 billion
River Corridor Base Scope Project to Washington Closure Hanford (WCH), a joint venture of AECOM, Bechtel and CH2M. The team
was tasked with executing the DOEs largest
PROJECT: River Corridor

Base Scope Project
BUDGET: US$2 billion
to do, Mr. Sax says. Because
remediation project to date: the
LOCATION: Richland,
of all that, theyre the ones who
elimination of 16 million tons of
Washington, USA
are telling the public that were
contaminated soil and debris, all
KEY PLAYERS:
doing the right thing. And the
while keeping the public on board
Washington
Closure
public believes them.
throughout the process.
Hanford (WCH),
WCH also faced stakeholder
Although the cleanup effort
a joint venture of
skepticism relative to its cost plus
would create jobs for local resiAECOM, Bechtel
incentive fee contract, which stipdents, clean up the environment
and CH2M Hill; U.S.
ulated that for every dollar that
and enable long-restricted areas to
Department of Energy;
WCH saved, it would earn 20
become a national park, the local
the Environmental
cents. This was a first-of-its-kind
community had serious concerns
Protection Agency;
contract at the Hanford site and
with the River Corridor Closure
the Washington State
a tactic to keep the project within
Project contract. Both citizens and
Department of Ecology
budget. But regulators within the
environmental organizations were
HIGHLIGHT: The
DOE, the Environmental Protecconcerned that Hanford waste sites
Hanford site land
tion Agency and the Washington
and contaminated buildings would
originally belonged to
State Department of Ecology
continue to be a risk to the enviseveral Native American
collectively known as the Tri-Party
ronment. We were encountering
tribes, so WCH regularly
Agreement (TPA)were conpeople who were just scared, says
met with tribal nation
cerned the incentive fees would
Scott Sax, PMP, project manager
representatives to
ensure the project would
drive WCH to sacrifice safety and
and president of Washington Cloprotect the cultural
regulatory compliance in order to
sure Hanford LLC.
legacy of the land and
maximize profits. With the goal
To convince the community the
preserve any artifacts
of combating that perception and
site could be cleaned up safely,
found
during
excavation.
building stronger relationships,
the project team conducted pubWCH held weeklong sessions with
lic demonstrations. For instance,
regulators to address their safety
one of the chemicals in question
and environmental standards and goals.
was known to catch fire when exposed to air. So
By early 2014, The River Corridor Base Scope
the team invited federal regulators, the media
Project had transported 9 million tons of waste
and local community leaders to watch a trial run
from the Hanford site while maintaining the best
showing the chemical could be safely excavated.
safety record of any DOE contract. The project
The demonstration was a success: Stakeholders
delivered two big public benefits: It came in under
left feeling safe and willing to educate wary combudget, saving taxpayers US$227 million, while
munity members about the project.
helping to transform a toxic legacy of war into sceWe show [the regulators] everything were
nic beauty accessible to all.
doing and talk to them about what were going
We show
[the regulators]
everything
were doing and
talk to them
about what
were going to
do. Because of
all that, theyre
the ones who
are telling the
public that
were doing
the right thing.
And the public
believes them.
Scott Sax, PMP, Washington
Closure Hanford LLC
65
2015 PMI
PROJECT OF
THE YEAR
FINALISTS
The new drums traveled 4.5

miles on the streets of El
Segundo, California, USA.
FINALIST
El Segundo Refinery Coke

Drum Reliability Project
he city of Los Angeles, California, USA relies

on fuel from Chevrons El Segundo refinery.
The facility supplies 20 percent of the gasoline in the Los Angeles area market and more than
40 percent of the jet fuel for Los Angeles International Airport, which is next door.
Thats why, when an essential piece of machinery
started to deteriorate, Chevron knew it had to act
fast. The refinery needed six new coke drumsenormous containers that heat crude oil up to 920 degrees
Fahrenheit (493 Celsius)to ensure it could continue to meet Southern Californias fuel demands.
But replacing the equipment required more than
just making a call. The coke drums had to travel
from a manufacturing facility in Spain to the refinery
in El Segundopart of Los Angeles County and sur-
PROJECT: El Segundo
Refinery Coke Drum
Reliability Project
rounded by one of the most densely

education facility in the marina.
populated urban areas in the United
So the project team flexed its
BUDGET: US$150
States. The team originally planned
negotiation skills: In exchange
million
for the drums to be delivered by
for allowing a barge to dock and
LOCATION: El Segundo,
ship to the Port of Los Angeles
unload the coke drums in the
California, USA
(7,331 miles), and then transported
marina, Chevron offered to fund
over land the remaining 21 miles to
the park redevelopment.
KEY PLAYER: Chevron
the refinery. But taking this route
With this new plan in place, the
HIGHLIGHT: The team
would have created major disrupland transportation leg dropped
worked with external
tions for the communities along the
from 21 miles to 4 miles. Transstakeholders to create
way, says Rick Miller, project manported two at a time, it took just
a simpler and safer plan
ager, Chevron Corp., El Segundo,
six nights for all the drums to
for transporting six
California, USA.
reach their destinationwhich
massive oil refinery coke
Plus, towing six 96-foot-tall
meant less inconvenience for Los
drums through California
drums down the original route
Angelenos.
streets. The final route
would have required removing
Once the drums arrived at
was one-fifth the length
of the original route, and
350 obstacles such as traffic lights,
the refinery, one mammoth task
members of the public
power lines, signs and billboards,
remained: installation. By coincheered as drums passed
creating major headaches for the
ciding that with the refinerys
by late at night.
public. If the team stuck to a nightscheduled downtime for maintetime schedule to avoid adding to
nance, the team was able to minithe citys well-known gridlock, it
mize disruptions to the refinerys
would have taken an estimated six weeks to transoutput and compress the original schedule. The
port all the drums to the refinery. Each drum would
team ended up completing the project four months
have taken four nights of travel requiring off-street
ahead of the original end date of October 2014 and
parking during the daytime. The project team knew
US$7 million under the US$157 million budget. The
there had to be a better way.
new drums should last up to 30-40 years.
Team members ultimately found an alternate
The refinery now enjoys reliable operation that
route through a small boat marina located in
supports delivery of products the L.A. Basin continRedondo Beach, just 4 miles from the refinues to rely on, says Frank Semancik, general manery. That community was looking for funding to
ager, Chevron El Segundo Refinery, El Segundo,
redevelop a recreational public park and boating
California, USA. PM
The refinery
now enjoys
reliable
operation
that
supports
delivery of
products
the LA Basin
continues to
rely on.
Frank Semancik,
Chevron El Segundo
Refinery, El Segundo,
California, USA
67
PMIMarketplace
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Mario Trentim, PfMP, CBAP
Managing Stakeholders as Clients: Sponsorship, Partnership,

Leadership, and CitizenshipSecond Edition
Managing stakeholders as clients is a new approach, moving away from traditional stakeholder management where the focus is managing expectations, to proactive engagement and involvement of stakeholders. In this revised edition, Mr. Trentim goes beyond theory to offer real tools and valuable resources
focused on presenting what works when it comes to stakeholder management. Using the four ships
(sponsorship, partnership, leadership and citizenship), he charts a successful path for identifying and
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they influence projects. The authors light, conversational style provides insights for any reader.
Project Management Institute, 2015, ISBN: 9781628250817, paperback, 227 pages, $27.95 Member, $34.95 Nonmember
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Sustaining and Developing

Disciplinary Expertise in ProjectBased Organizations: Balanced
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Designing a Successful KM
Strategy: A Guide for the
Knowledge Management
Professional
The Essentials of Project

ManagementFourth Edition
This research report

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draw on multiple works by experts in
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they offer recommendations on the most
effective corporate approaches to developing and maintaining expertise among
specialists in both cross-functional and
single-discipline teams.
Here is a practical,
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here prepares knowledge management professionals to identify strategic knowledge
areas, define program scope and vision,
obtain stakeholder input and buy-in, select
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This fourth edition is the junior

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Project Management Institute, 2015,

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69
VOICES In the Trenches
Breaking Into Video Games

Competition is stiff when your projects are video gamesso plan your entrance into the industry carefully.
By Matthew Birken, PMI-ACP
AS A PROJECT MANAGER at a video game company, Im often asked how to break into the industry
or how one becomes a project manager in this field.
Theres a good reason for these questions. The
game industry offers the chance to work in an area
that many people are passionate about. And project
management is booming, with 15.7 million new project management jobs projected to be created around
the world between 2010 and
2020, according to PMI.
Students interested in combining these interests should
first research game design
schools and programs. When
choosing a school, make sure
its program is suited to your
goals. Do you want to become
a technical project manager or
an art manager? Do you want
to handle client expectations or
lead teams? Focus is very important, and being able to demonstrate expertise in a specific area
vastly improves your chance of
finding a job. In addition to the
information you learn in school,
massive amounts of free and
premium training are available
on the Internet.
Because people skills are so crucial in project management, students should also work on
leadership, emotional intelligence and the ability
to trust a team. Effective project managers need
to be skilled in bringing out the best in people,
teamwork and intuitive problem-solving.
Obtaining a professional certification in project
70
management will likely improve your chances of

finding a job. Agile approaches like Scrum are especially popular in software development. If youre
considering becoming certified, I recommend
the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
certification. The certification exam covers multiple
agile approaches, including Scrum, and their fundamentals. The knowledge youll gain from preparing
for the test is invaluable.
While youre applying for jobs, you can volunteer
with game hobbyists or create your own titles. Some
great tools for nontechnical people and beginners
are Game Maker and Game Salad. These programs
feature a drag and drop interface and do the bulk of
the engineering work for you. Your first game should
be simple and straightforward. It doesnt have to be
digital. Design a simple game on paper, then iterate
the rules and play again.
Another option is to talk with your local PMI chaptermany of the chapters accept mentees.
Internships are a terrific way to get your foot in the
door. Most of the large game studios in the U.S. offer
paid internships, but they are extremely competitive.
If youre fortunate enough to be offered one, grab it.
Its the way I got my start.
An internship will expose you to the building
blocks of the game industry, including managing
product milestones and deadlines, interacting with
team members, creating documents and possibly
even leading a small project. It should also be great
preparation for your first full-time job in gaming
project management. PM
Matthew Birken, PMI-ACP, is a project
manager at High 5 Games, New York, New
York, USA.
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The nightmare scenario during excavation

was a rockfall or water coming in.
CLOSING
Credit
PROJECT: Gotthard Base Tunnel
COST: US$10 billion
DUG OUT: Workers cut through 13 million
cubic meters (459 million cubic feet) of hard
mountain rock, the volume of nearly nine
100-story skyscrapers.
72
The Swiss Alps are one of Europes most scenic natural treasures, but the mountains will become even more remarkable late next year when the worlds longest
rail tunnel provides the first low-level route through the range.
The 57-kilometer (35-mile) Gotthard Base Tunnel required 2,600 people to
build and involved construction challenges that weighed on the project team.
Eight workers died from being hit by trains or falling. During the 11-year tunnel
excavation phase, which began in 1999, the threat of safety hazards, such as
rockfalls, was constant.
The project team installed steel arches to keep the walls of each single-track
tunnel stable. It developed custom sealing foils to prevent water seepage in the
tunnel. Swiss government officials call the tunnel a symbol of Swiss innovation
and reliability, pointing to the projects efforts to reuse excavated materials and
utilization of high-precision boring machines.
Yesterday we sought to move mountains, Swiss Transport Minister Moritz
Leuenberger said at the tunnel breakthrough ceremony in 2010. Today we have
bored right through and created the worlds longest tunnel.
Project leaders will begin testing the tunnel in October.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALPTRANSIT GOTTHARD AG
Renzo Simoni, CEO, AlpTransit Gotthard AG, Lucerne, Switzerland, to Time
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25 The Business of Projects

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AFTER THE END

No Shame in a Canceled Project

Beyond the lessons-learned session, project managers attitudes

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