Every year the PMI Phoenix Chapter holds an election for offices on the Board of Directors. The PMI Phoenix Chapter Board of Directors is responsible for:

• Adhering to the Chapter’s mission and vision
• Growing project management talent through professional development and volunteer opportunities
• Delivering quality educational and networking opportunities and maintaining high quality technology through the website, newsletter, virtual access, and audio/visual presentations
• Marketing the Chapter to earn new members

• Creating strong external business and academic partnerships
• Achieving the Chapter’s financial goals as a non-profit
• Ensuring Chapter administration and governance aligns with PMI Global 

Serving on the Board takes time and dedication but is very rewarding. As a Board member, you have the opportunity of expanding your skills and professional network while impacting the strategic direction of the Chapter, all while earning PDUs!

Board positions up for election are listed below; each position requires a two year term:

• Treasurer/ Director of Finance 
• Board Director (duties determined by the board)
• Board Director (duties determined by the board)
• Board Director (duties determined by the board)
• Board Director (duties determined by the board)
• Board Director (duties determined by the board)

Details of each position’s responsibilities can be found here in the Board of Directors Roles and Responsibilities document.

How do I know if I qualify?

To run in the election, a nominee must:

• Be a Chapter member in good standing at the time of the election
• Receive at least three nominations
• Agree to serve in the position for which I am nominated

How do I get nominated?

• Any Chapter member in good standing may nominate another member 
• A Chapter member may nominate him or herself as one of the three nominations
• Nominations are submitted by an e-form at Chapter Elections Nominations under Current Opportunities (scroll down to Call for Nominations at bottom of page).  

What is the elections process for 2024?

• The call for nominations begins May 1
• PMI Phoenix Chapter Nominations Committee evaluates nominees May 1 - June 30

• Nominee’s agreement to be on ballot
• Resume submission
• Panel interview from Nominations Committee

• Nominations Committee confirm nominees and requests presentations in July 
• Ballot finalized by July 30
• Nominee's presentation to PMI Phoenix Chapter members in July
• Elections open August 1
• Elections close September 30

• Results presentation to PMI Phoenix Chapter members in October
• Transition of outgoing board to incoming board (includes shadowing of outgoing board by incoming board) October - December

If you have questions, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Grand Canyon University is hosting the annual International Christian School STEM Competition on Saturday, April 22^nd at GCU.  The competition provides STEM competitions for students in grades 7-12 at Christian schools across the United States and internationally.  Judges from industry are needed to evaluate team deliverables based on established judging criteria.

2022-23 STEM Challenges include:

• Aerospace Glider
• Rehabilitation Challenge: Biomedical Engineering
• Capture the Flag (Honeypot)
• Deep Racer Challenge
• Innovation in Service
• Onsite Design Challenge
• Robotics Thunder Lunch
• Software Development: Side Scrolling Game

Judges should expect to be at GCU on Saturday, April 22^nd from 7:30 AM – Noon.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

• Judges should sign up by completing the form: https://canyonpd.org/icsc23judges 
• Please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let him know that you are participating in this endeavor.
• Track the hours that you spend performing your feedback responsibilities.

If you have any questions, please contact the competition coordinator:

Cece Bosma M.Ed.

K12 Professional Development Manager | K12 Educational Development

Grand Canyon Education

602-639-8073 Office | 480-415-5843 Cell | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Be a Donor, Be a Hero.

My family and I will always celebrate August 24th as the day I was given a second chance at life. With the help of Blood and Plasma Donors like you, along with the EMTs, Emergency Response Team, ER Nurses, Doctors and Surgeons, and my loving family, I am here writing this message and heartfelt request to you.

You never know whose life you could be saving. There are total strangers, many heroes out there who provided me with the 9 units of blood and doses of human plasma derived albumin that I needed to stay alive after a traumatic cycling accident.

While competing in the Bicycle Leg of the Chicago Triathlon in 2014, I was struck, head-on, by another cyclist who had lost control of his bike. The impact of his bike and helmet were taken mostly on my left side, throwing me off my bike and into nearby concrete barriers and curbing.

I don’t remember much except the initial impact, going airborne, hitting the concrete, taking a deep breath, and passed out. It was lights out for a long while.

Two weeks later, I woke up in the intensive care unit of Northwestern Hospital. My sister from the east coast was sitting vigil with me while my wife, two adult children and other friends were taking a rest from their constant oversight of my care. I had endured a 10-hour emergency surgery to reinflate both lungs, reconstruction of my left ribcage, stoppage of much internal bleeding, and during that time, receiving the life-saving whole blood donations and plasma to replace what I had lost. I had survived because of generous donors like you.

Our daughter, who was working in California, organized a special blood drive, with many of her friends donating blood on my behalf, to backfill the lifesaving donations I had received. These generous donors, along with many others provide life-saving whole blood and human blood derived therapies that save and improve lives. Will you be the one to save a life? Will you be someone’s hero?

Click HERE to pledge

This year's Best Project Manager award recipient was Natalie Robert from Highland Lakes.  Though the competition was fierce, Natalie appeared calm and confident. She indicated that the team wanted to learn how to work together "professionally" in going through the steps necessary to build a city. Natalie also candidly referred to challenges the team had with motivation and "burnout " toward the project's end. She further indicated that when this occurred, she took it upon herself to help the team regain their focus and remind them of what they wanted to achieve together.

Dennis Kinton, PMI Phoenix Future City Director, (right) award Natalie Robert (center) with the Best Project Plan Award.

When asked how the team kept organized, on time, and within budget, Natalie said using online tools like "office and zoom" were instrumental from a technical perspective to stay on track; however, finding motivation was a key factor for the completion of all phases. She felt making sure her teammates were still "happy with the work they were doing" was essential to get past setbacks. The example used was their challenge in cutting Styrofoam for the model. They found that many shapes cut were uneven and not to scale. So they had to cut them repeatedly. During these times, they needed to re-focus as a team and remember their original goals.

PMI Phoenix proudly presented Natalie Robert from Highland Lakes with the Best Project Manager award through professionalism, using project management methodologies and tools, and knowing how to keep her team focused and motivated. Good job, Natalie!

More articles about this year's competition:

PMI Phoenix Gives Back During Future City Competition 2023 Regional Finals – Arizona

PMI Phoenix Awards Future City Best Project Plan Award

PMI Phoenix is requesting judges to assist with the Elementary and Junior High Paradise Valley Science and Engineering Fair.   The Paradise Valley Elementary and Middle School Science and Engineering Fair (Jr. PVSEF) is quickly coming up. From a judging standpoint, you will be judging the process and you do not have to be an expert in a particular scientific or engineering area.  The students greatly benefit from interacting with professionals and adults which will better prepare them to continue to complete research projects and compete at the next level. PMI Phoenix and the Fair Committee is very appreciative of your efforts.

Details:

• The fair is in-person.
• It will be held on March 4, 2023, from 8:30 - 11:00 am.
• Judge orientation is from 8:00 - 8:30 am
• Each judge will be assigned 6-8 projects to judge.
• Project judging will be 10 minutes per project with 5 minutes between projects to finish digital judge forms (15 minutes/project).
• The awards ceremony will be virtual on Monday, March 5, 2023, at 5pm.
• Student awards will be sent to each school so teams can have their own school celebration.
• Winners of Jr. PVSEF move on to the state science and engineering fair (AZSEF) on March 30, 2023 (Projects must be registered by March 15, 2023)

Logistics

• Judges should sign up via the following link for PV Schools District Science Fair Judges Registration by filling out this Judge's registration form.  (The school is also asking that you please share this email or judge registration link with anyone else you think might be interested in being a judge.)
• List PMI Phoenix as the organization that you are representing (sixth field down on the form).
• Please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let him know that you are participating in this endeavor.
• Track the hours that you spend performing your feedback responsibilities.
• If you do have questions regarding this, please contact Steve Poessnecker (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Pamela Fulk, STEM/CREST Coordinator for Paradise Valley Schools (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

This Valentine’s Day give a gift from the heart - donate blood and help someone in need today! 

Join the PMI Phoenix Social Good team and the American Red Cross’ (ARC) virtual SleevesUp Campaign.  PMI members, family, and friends can register for an appointment anywhere in the US under our campaign to donate blood on behalf of the PMI Phoenix Chapter.  

Let’s provide a lifesaving gift for patients in need! Our goal is to donate 100 pints of blood in the next 45 days. The campaign will be open starting February 14th to March 31st, 2023. 

The Future City Arizona competition needs volunteers to assist with the model display and competition day.  The competition is a completely volunteer organization and this is your chance to see students present their ideas for the future as well as give back to the community.

We need volunteers in the following areas.  If you would like to volunteer, please first register through https://futurecity.org/volunteer-registration/ and then contact one of the following people:

• Jeff Van Skike, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 480-947-4646
• Robert Cruthis, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 480-341-8473
• David Ellingson, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 602-763-0381

Model Movers

What:  Volunteers will work to move the models out of the Burton Barr library and into a transport semi-truck.  Additionally, volunteers will need to meet the truck as ASU Prep to unload the models and put them on the tables in the designated setup area within the school.

Number of volunteers needed: 8 - 10

Special considerations: There will be physical effort to carry and move models between locations. 

When: Friday, January 20, 3 PM

Where: Phoenix Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 N. Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Registration Area

What: The role of the registration volunteer is to check in all participating teams and hand out the registration packets. There will be alphabetical check in for Schools A-L and Schools M-Z as well as media, judges, VIP, and volunteer check in.

Number of volunteers needed: 3

When: Saturday, January 21, 6:30 AM

Where: ASU Prep Academy, 735 E. Fillmore St, Phoenix, 85006, atrium in front of auditorium

Solutions Area

What: Role of the volunteer stationed at the Information Booth is to both assist in the check in process of the teams and be an information liaison for the competition. The volunteer will need to be familiar with the competition and the regional management team. One role at the information booth is to provide directions to the various competition venues. This includes school registration, Semi-Final competition presentation rooms, media check in, volunteer check in, and general itinerary direction.

Number of volunteers needed: 2

When: Saturday, January 21, 7 AM (Cafeteria meet for volunteer orientation), 8 AM in Media Center Room

Where: ASU Prep Academy, 735 E. Fillmore St, Phoenix, 85006, Media Center Room

Outside Room Monitors

What: The role of the outside room volunteer is to ensure that people do not enter the competition room while the current presentations are in progress.  This ensures that the students doing the presentations can concentrate on giving their best.

Number of volunteers needed: 6

When: Saturday, January 21, 7 AM

Where: ASU Prep Academy, 735 E. Fillmore St, Phoenix, 85006, Cafeteria for initial meeting

In-Room Monitors

What: The role of the in- room volunteer to 1) introduce the student team and instructions on the presentation, and 2) provide time-keeping reminders to the presentation team.

Number of volunteers needed: 12

When: Saturday, January 21, 7 AM

Where: ASU Prep Academy, 735 E. Fillmore St, Phoenix, 85006, Cafeteria for initial meeting

Results “Runner”

What: At the conclusion of the judges’ results, take the results to the competition tabulation room.  Runners will be responsible for multiple rooms.

Number of volunteers needed: 3

When: Saturday, January 21, 7 AM

Where: ASU Prep Academy, 735 E. Fillmore St, Phoenix, 85006, Cafeteria for initial meeting

Award/Plaque Organizers

What: Volunteers will work with the Competition Judging Committee and the Society Judging Committee to identify the winners for the different awards.  Volunteers will need to refer to the script and arrange the awards/plaques such that the awards can easily accessed during the afternoon awards presentation.

Number of volunteers needed: 2

When: Saturday, January 21, 11:30 AM

Where: ASU Prep Academy, 735 E. Fillmore St, Phoenix, 85006, Media Center for check-in

Elevator Monitors

What: Each volunteer will serve as a sort of “traffic cop” for the models as they move from the display area to the individual competition rooms.  One elevator will be designated for models going up; one elevator will be designated to go down.  Elevators are limited in size and therefore the volunteer will need to ensure that only presentation teams are using the elevators.

Number of volunteers needed: 2

When: Saturday, January 21, 7 AM

Where: ASU Prep Academy, 735 E. Fillmore St, Phoenix, 85006, Cafeteria for initial meeting

ummary:

HISEF is the traditional science fair and is one part of the overall Chandler Innovation Fair. Judging will be conducted remotely. The Chandler Innovation Fair will be held on February 25th 2023 from 10 am- 3pm. The students who were selected as winners at HISEF will be given their award on this day.

When: February, 11, 2023 6:00AM - 11:45PM

Where: Virtual, https://www.cusd80.com/Page/97890, Chandler, AZ, 85224

Details: Hamilton Invitational Science and Engineering Fair (HISEF) is looking for volunteers to judge the elementary, junior, and senior divisions. The fair will be held virtually using the zFairs platform. The judging window is from February 11-19 and will be completed virtually as well.

Signup logistics: PMI Phoenix is requesting judges to assist with the science fair.  Judging is done virtually and all judges are provided with the appropriate judging information. 

• Volunteers will be able to choose which division and categories they feel most comfortable with. If you are interested in helping please fill out this google form. https://forms.gle/6T4TYSk28ENxqUWKA
• List PMI Phoenix as the organization that you are representing.
• Send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let him know that you are participating in this endeavor.
• Please track the hours that you spend performing your feedback responsibilities.
• If you do have questions regarding this, please contact Shannon Prince, CIF Coordinator/7-12 Academic Coach, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 480-224-3710

PMI Phoenix Academic Outreach is continually looking for ways to give back to our community.  This is an opportunity where we can provide educational mentoring and assistance to students so that they can get feedback from project management professionals.

 
CIF is a joint venture between the Chandler Unified School District and the City of Chandler. There were an estimated 5,500 attendees last year more are expected this year.

To apply for retired status, please review the policies and submit a confirmation to us by email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

1. PMP Retired Status. PMP Retired status allows PMPs, who are retired, to remain within, and participate with, the PMI Certification Program. The PMP Retired is a retired status, and is not a credential for practice.

2. Eligibility. A PMP in good standing, who wishes to voluntarily relinquish his/her certification due to retirement,
and who has abided by the PMP Code of Professional Conduct, is eligible to receive PMP Retired status. PMP
Retired status is limited to qualified PMPs who no longer receive primary remuneration from practicing in the
project management field and have been a PMP in good standing for the last ten (10) consecutive years.

3. Recognition and Participation. PMPs who receive PMP Retired status are entitled to receive recognition in the
registry of PMPs, and eligible to participate in PMI Certification Program activities.

4. Use of PMP Retired Credential and Mark. PMPs with Retired status are granted permission to use the “PMP
Retired” status designation, as directed by the PMI Certification Program. PMPs Retired are not permitted to use
the “PMP” credential or related marks, unless they have returned to active PMP status, consistent with the terms of
this policy.

5. Reinstatement to Active PMP Status. PMPs who have received PMP Retired status, and who return to active
practice and wish to use the PMP credential in conjunction with their practice, are required to seek reinstatement
of active PMP status. PMPs Retired who are within the PMP certification expiration date that was in effect at the
time of status change to PMP Retired may have their active PMP status reinstated by paying all applicable fees at
the time of reinstatement. PMPs Retired who wish to reactivate their PMP status and are within one year beyond
their PMP certification expiration date, must satisfy the applicable Continuing Certification Renewal requirements,
and provide required documentation. PMPs Retired, who are a year beyond the expiration date of their PMP
certification, must satisfy requirements of the initial PMP certification process.

The Future City Competition “is a project-based learning program where students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades imagine, research, design, and build cities of the future.” This incredible opportunity gives middle school students exposure to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) community and techniques used in the project management knowledge base. Teams of students compete regionally by submitting various deliverables, models, and presentations to STEM-based society judges. One team is selected to represent the state at the national competition in Washington, D.C.

PMI Phoenix Chapter is proud to provide volunteers to support, judge, and mentor teams in the Arizona state regionals. The Future City regional coordination team and our volunteers kicked off this year’s 2022-23 competition with an in-person launch event. This is the first in-person event since the 2019-20 competition finals due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic. The event was hosted by regional coordinators Michael Andrews and David Ellingson at the Southwest Gas facility in Phoenix on August 27, 2022.

The Saturday event was a great mix of about 30-40 educators and volunteers, both new and seasoned members of the regional competition. During the event's first half, the coordination team recognized the societies that supported the competition in previous years, followed by an overview of this year’s competition dates and deliverables. The second half of the event was led by PMI Phoenix Chapter volunteers. One of our newest volunteers, Christopher Downey, provided an overview on the “Importance of Project Planning,” and our Director of Academic Outreach, Steve Poessnecker, moderated a panel of experts to introduce this year’s challenge question. Each year, students must address a particular challenge question within their designed city of the future. Last year, students had to imagine a future city located on the moon. This year, students must choose “a climate change impact, design one innovative and futuristic climate change adaptation and one mitigation strategy to keep [their] residents healthy and safe.”

Feel free to follow this year’s regional competition at https://futurecity.org/arizona. If you are interested in how to get involved as a mentor or judge, contact the PMI Phoenix Future City Director at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or PMI Phoenix Future City Project Manager at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Today we open our Chapter Board of Director’s Election. Each member will receive an email with a link to cast their vote.   The election will run all month and end on September 30^th.  We will send out a reminder each week to those members that have not voted.

Every member has a right to determine who will sit on the Board of Directors.  The board determines the strategy and operation of the chapter, and through the election, you can provide your input on those topics.

If you can’t find this email and want to vote in the election, you can do so at this address https://pmiphx.electionrunner.com.  Each member can log in and cast a ballot. To log in, you must use your primary email address from your PMI profile as your voter id. I have provided a screenshot below of my profile with the location of the email address under the Personal Information tab in the PMI dashboard.

The Voter Key will be your PMI Membership ID number.  I have provided a screenshot below of my profile showing the location of the number.

I hope you will exercise this important membership right and participate in the chapter's governance.

Project Management Institute (PMI) has released its Global Megatrends 2022 report, an analysis of the global forces significantly impacting society and the project management profession today. Global Megatrends 2022 helps project professionals understand the world’s rapid transformation and the global context in which they work so they can use projects to solve complex problems.

“The world continues to see ongoing change and uncertainty, impacting our daily lives at home and work,” said Michael DePrisco, Interim President & CEO and Chief Operating Officer of PMI. “Our Global Megatrends report helps our community of project professionals understand the trend lines reshaping the future – from the climate crisis to the ripple effects of shifting demographics. To take on these challenges, project professionals must be dedicated to not only developing strong technical skills, but also cultivating an understanding of the broader strategic environment impacting their projects.”

The report, which draws on trend data, primary and secondary research, and interviews with project managers in the field, elaborates on six critical demographic, economic, and social trends: 

• The impact of COVID-19 significantly amplified digital disruption, with organizations quickly adopting technologies to enhance customer service, improve project outcomes, and facilitate remote working. Purpose, innovation, and an eye on the future will continue to guide companies in a post-pandemic world. 

• Awareness of the climate crisis is prevalent in society, but action has been slow. In fact, just one-fifth of the world’s largest businesses have set net-zero targets. Sustainability practices will need to be built into every project and process if we are to counteract the most damaging effects of global warming.

• Demographic shifts like declining fertility rates and an increasing percentage of workers aging out of the workforce will push organizations to find new ways to alleviate worker shortages and close the talent gap, such as implementing equitable and inclusive policies to support age-diverse staff and attracting younger employees. 

• Economic shifts have exposed disastrous supply chain vulnerabilities and globalization setbacks. Rebuilding domestic supply chains proves difficult and time consuming, but globalization remains at historically high levels. With the right strategies in place, businesses can mitigate global supply chain risks and facilitate cross-border collaboration.

• Global labor shortages, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and The Great Resignation, are shaking up the workplace in new ways that have organizational leaders questioning how they can retain and attract talent. Organizations will need to create a successful retention culture, align on social impact initiatives, understand the importance of work-life balance, and provide greater recognition for employee contributions.

• Social protests continue and are expected to endure as drivers for social unrest spike. This is causing a growing desire among companies to set real change and collaboration in response to civil, civic, and equality movements, including true diversity, equity and inclusion programs that give everyone the same opportunity to contribute and grow. 

As the future of work becomes more projectized, project-based skills are essential to helping professionals turn ideas into reality and overcome complex challenges. In fact, the recent PMI^® 2021 Talent Gap Report states that the global economy will need 25 million new project professionals by 2030. Professionals with project management skills and a broad, global perspective of macro trends will grow in The Project Economy, where organizations deliver value through the successful completion of projects, delivery of products, and alignment to value streams.

“The need for transformation is imminent, and individuals and organizations must fine-tune skills that drive change,” said DePrisco. “In today’s fast-moving environment, they must draw on a robust toolkit of capabilities to cultivate new ways of working and lead their teams forward.” 

The complete Global Megatrends 2022 report is available on PMI.org here. Global Megatrends 2022 (pmi.org)

Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Specifics

This year ISEF will be hybrid - and we are recruiting hundreds of volunteers and judges both in-person in Atlanta, GA (May 10) and virtually (May 4 and 5). Please see below the three types of volunteers needed.  Please sign up by April 29.

Judges (in-person and virtual)
Finalists overwhelmingly say that the most significant interactions that they have at the fair are with the judges. Requires either an advanced degree, or a minimum of six years related professional experience beyond receiving a B.A., B.S., or Master’s degree.
Click here to learn more and apply
Interpreters (in-person and virtual)
ISEF is an international competition! All langauges are needed but in particular Arabic, Thai, Turkish, Spanish and Portuguese. The minimum time commitment is 4 hours.
Click here to learn more

Judging Proctor (virtual only)
Learn more about the projects, prepare the student competitor(s) for judging and provide adult supervision to ensure appropriate behavior during judging. Volunteers just need reliable internet access. The minimum time commitment is 4.5 hours.
Learn More and sign up
Join us to help these top young scientific minds come together to showcase their talent and compete for nearly $5 million in prizes and scholarships.

PMI Phoenix Specific Information

• Judges should sign up via the links above.
• List PMI Phoenix as the organization that you are representing.
• Send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let him know that you are participating in this endeavor.
• Track the hours that you spend performing your feedback responsibilities.
• If you do have questions regarding this, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Here is why:

• Their mission, “The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors”, aligns with the goals of the chapter.
• Their inclusive vision: “The American Red Cross, through its strong network of volunteers, donors, and partners, is always there in times of need. We aspire to turn compassion into action so that:           
  • All people affected by disasters across the country and around the world receive care, shelter, and hope
  • Our communities are ready and prepared for disasters
  • Everyone in our country has access to safe, lifesaving blood and blood products
  • All members of our armed services and their families find support and comfort whenever needed
• In an emergency, there are always trained individuals nearby, ready to use their Red Cross skills to save lives. The American Red Cross works to deliver vital services- from providing relief and support to those in crisis, to helping communities be prepared to respond in emergencies.
• An average of 90 cents of every dollar spent is invested in delivering care and comfort to those in need. “Everything we do depends on the needs of the people that we serve”.
• Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org) scores The American Red Cross as 88.99/100, with a program expense ratio (percent of total expenses spent on programs and services it exists to deliver) of 90.2% and an impact score (actual impact on the lives of those it serves) of 100/100.

As you can expect, The American Red Cross is actively involved in relief efforts in Ukraine.  Many of us have seen stark images of the toll the war has taken on those who live there.  Close to 3 million people have been forced to leave their homes to date.  The Red Cross is providing lifesaving aid to those in need- both in the country and in neighboring areas.  Refugees urgently need food, water, shelter, emergency medical care, and psychological support.  Red Cross volunteers are also planning to work to reunite separated families, provide food and other household items, and increase awareness about areas contaminated by unexploded ordnance.  More detail about how the Red Cross is helping amidst the devastation in Ukraine can be found here:  https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2022/ukraine-red-cross-delivers-aid-to-families.html

The Red Cross urgently needs funds to continue to support its mission in Ukraine for whatever is needed most (blood, food, shelter, clothing, and refugee support).  To this end, PMI Phoenix is conducting a national virtual donation effort so other PMI members or concerned citizens can join us.  The chapter plans to match each dollar donated by members up to $500 so we can reach a goal of $ 5,000 together. 

Donate Now

We also know that today’s project professionals and changemakers face an increasing number of complex problems that require new skills, capabilities and experiences to solve. And we are committed to continually refreshing our portfolio of offerings to serve these needs.

As work is increasingly delivered through projects, more individuals will need to upskill and dive deeper into effective implementation. There’s a clear need that has gone unmet for too long—a single one-stop place for individuals to access resources that enable them to make change happen. Whether we call our vehicle for change a project, product or value stream, it nonetheless requires people skilled at not simply having great ideas, but delivering great results.

Evolving Our Portfolio to Enable Deeper Impact

In order to serve the diverse needs of project professionals and changemakers, we have expanded the offerings in our portfolio to meet stakeholders where they are, regardless of experience or industry, and help them gain the skills they need to create positive impact.

These newer offerings act as doorways to improvement—essentially ways that individuals can turn ideas into reality:

• Kickoff: A free 45-minute online course and toolkit that covers basic project techniques and tools professionals can use to drive change forward using either agile or traditional approaches.
• Navigator: A free tool to help professionals determine the next step in their career development, including opportunities for a comprehensive self-assessment of skills, interests and goals, while offering action plans to achieve objectives.
• Disciplined Agile Certification Suite: A range of agile certifications designed to help professionals learn when and how to use different agile practices, with an emphasis on tailoring to the unique needs of a team or entire organization.
• PMI Citizen Developer™: The first of its kind, platform-agnostic suite of learning tools and resources for professionals and organizations seeking to implement and scale citizen development initiatives, which utilize no-code/low-code platforms as an agile but secure way of developing apps.
• Wicked Problem Solving: An online, interactive design-thinking toolkit, created in partnership with a leading industry expert that helps changemakers collaborate and define both problems and solutions as a group.
• Organizational Transformation Series: A series of online courses and micro-credentials dedicated to helping professionals learn how to drive and lead successful business transformations of various sizes.
• PMIstandards+™: A digital solution for instant access to PMI standards and practice guides, as well as how-to content and more—all tailored to industry, approach and goals.
• PMI Project Management Ready™: An early-entry project management certification available to those who do not yet have a high school diploma and/or may not have the experience and education required for our entry-level professional certification, the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® exam.

Benefits of Broadened Portfolio

Let’s break down some of the unique benefits of our offerings that can help supercharge a career.

• Deliver Greater Value – Today’s professionals need a variety of tools in their tool belts depending on their unique context and environment. Our offerings enable professionals to tackle and overcome challenges with a multitude of approaches. Whether someone needs to increase their fluency in agile or step up their business acumen, they can find an offering tailored to their needs, allowing for opportunities to deliver greater value to their business.
• Customized and Personalized – We believe that project skills are essential throughout life. We serve individuals at every stage of their careers, from students and newly minted professionals learning the ropes of effectively managing projects, all the way to seasoned veterans seeking to better understand emerging technologies and ways of solving problems. Our offerings are customized and personalized to the individual and what they need at the moment they need it.
• Ready for Anything – COVID-19 proved that professionals need to be prepared to expect the unexpected and tackle unprecedented challenges. Ultimately our expanding portfolio is focused on ensuring that PMI is the place where anyone can find guidance, tools, knowledge and perspective on how to address their next big challenge, whether it’s building a hospital in record time, converting a large-scale event to a virtual experience or launching a new product.

Stay tuned on new ways that PMI will empower both project professionals and changemakers to turn all their biggest and boldest ideas into reality.

This article was originally published on the Official PMI Blog.

Each year PMI Phoenix Judges support the Future City competition to Arizona Schools by providing guidance and feedback to the teams. During the competition, each team is given four requirements to complete in advance of the project deadline to be eligible for the best project plan award. These requirements include creating Project Goals, Project Schedules, conducting Project Status Check-ins, and completing a Project Reflection.

This year, our volunteer judges at PMI Phoenix have determined that the award for the Best Project Plan is given to Team Antalya from Esmond Station. Team Antalya excelled at completing the foundational elements of defining their goals for the project, showing excellent skills in forecasting their objectives, assigning team roles, acquiring resources, and providing fantastic project assumptions and risks.

Schedules are a core component of any project. Team Antalya excelled in creating its project schedule by capturing tasks and critical milestones. The team also met weekly to conduct project status meetings, where they reviewed completed work and addressed the upcoming tasks. Keeping a rigid task list of their remaining work and working as a team, Team Antalya was able to meet their Milestones and complete their project on time. One essential item that set Team Antalya apart was its ability to adapt to changes in its project. After discovering their model dimensions were out of scale, the team had to redesign some aspects of their project plan to keep them on schedule and meet their milestones. Changes to the plan were discussed as a team and documented in the project plan. The team did a fantastic job coming together to complete their original goals.

A project is producing a lot of the information wanted by the hackers: Concepts, architecture, technologies used, processes, organization, security levels and directives are gold for those people. Some of them are very sensitive and can compromise the solution. Imagine the following scenario: the White House opening a project for an Air Force One new generation, and there’s no security in the project. This means you’ll find the plans of the plane on the Internet black market, and so, Air Force One turned to vulnerable and become and easy and favorite target.

The goal of the security is to classify and protect at the right security level on information against leaking and destruction. Information can be a document, a mail, a recording (audio or video), minutes, directory of the project, photos, etc. So as projects produce a lot of information, security start at that point.

It belongs to each company to identify the accurate number of levels of security needed, and implement the security policies in the project. Security in the Project impacts the recruitment, the organization, the processes, the communication channels, the Project Information System, the right management, i.e. the culture of the company. All of this should be described in the Project Security Management Plan (PSMP). The PSMP is not connected to a project in particular but to a class of project. It proves that the company integrate the security in its culture and so, the PSMP becomes and input during an audit.

It becomes also interesting for a provider company to add to bid answers the PSMP as an annex, to show their clients that now security is a reality in their company.

Each level of security should be defined regarding a risk. The cost of a security policy must be less than the cost of the risk if it occurs. So the level of security can go from “unclassified” to “Top Secret” 1.

Regarding the PMP, security is transversal and affect some of the knowledge area. So each level of security should be decline in the following PMP knowledge areas. Here’s some questions that should be asked when designing the project.

Project Human Resource Management

n Does the position needs a clearance? Which one?

n Is there some exclusion criteria? For example, is American citizenship needed?

Project Communication Management

n Regarding the information and who should exchange it, should it be encrypted?

n If so with which tools? Only the attachment or the whole mail?

n Which category of people can see which information? And Why? Does this category of people can change the information (access to write) or only to read it? Can they forward it? To whom?

Project Risk management

n Do I have some threats, vulnerabilities on my project? Which ones?

Project Procurement Management

n Which level of project security does it have?

n Is the level enough regarding our rules?

n How to exchange information between us in a secure way? With which Interface? Theirs, ours?

n Who is the Security Project Officer? Does he have one?

Project Stakeholder Management

n Does the identified stakeholder have the right clearance to receive communication, information about the project?

n Which information, communication about the project can receive a stakeholder?

n Is a stakeholder a security threat on the project?

Project Scope Management

Another point should be onboard on this subject: The Project Information System (PIS). The PIS centralized, concentrate almost all the information about the project. It’s a target for hackers to get information on the deliverables. Here too some question should be asked:

n Should I use the IS of the company or one specific for the project?

n Should I encrypt files, if so which ones?

n Who can access to the PIS? to a specific directory or file

n Are my backup encrypted? Where are they store?

n Do I have a right management plan? Adequate processes to manage them?

On another side, the PIS should be structured to easily apply the right management, and profiles should be defined to apply the Role based Access Control. Process should also be defined and implement to turn on or off this rights.

Backups of the PIS must be integrated in the security perimeter under the view of stealing them. They can be the weak link. Their encryption is their only protection against stealing and so this option should be decided.

All of this should be managed by a new position: the Project Security Officer (PSO). The PSO is a member of the project. It can be a role of a member regarding the size of the project, but it can not be the project manager. Security and project driving should be confronted.

The missions of the Project Security are the following :

n Check that the security policies are applied,

n Aware each member of the project team to the security policies and the cyberthreats,

n Produce the security dashboard and security indicators,

n Identify security risk and manage them,

n Identify security incident and manage them,

n Support the team about security matters,

n He reports to the CISO of the company

Security is not anymore a dream or an option in a project. It’s now a reality. It must be taken in consideration in every project to be sure to not to have bad surprise (especially on the dark web) and have our efforts ruined… in a second.

1 Security Clearances - United States Department of State

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We presented our 2022 objectives, discussed what was accomplished in 2021, introduced the new board of directors and how we align to PMI Global 4.0.

Objective 1:

Improve Membership and Volunteer Recruitment Programs and Retention Strategy

Objective 2:

Increase Awareness of PMI Phoenix Chapter and PMI Global Product Offerings

Objective 3:

Broaden the Social Impact of the Chapter

2022 Board of Directors

Hello PMI Phoenix!

My name is Matthew Gallagher, and I am a PhD Candidate at Arizona State University. I am also a professional program evaluator, which means my job is to collect and use quantitative and qualitative data to aid program leaders and their teams in developing knowledge about, making data-informed decision on, and managing their programs.

Matthew Gallagher (right) collaborating with program leaders on program evaluation activities in Dili, Timor Leste.

Program leadership’s decision to include an evaluator during the planning and design phase of their programs is the critical first step necessary for evaluators to provide the benefits associated with the discipline of evaluation. Within the evaluation field, federal legislation, including the recently passed Evidence Act of 2019, promotes the inclusion of evaluators in the planning and design phase of federal programs. Additionally, evaluation academics and practitioners advocate for this level of inclusion within all types of programs.

However, despite legislation and advocacy efforts, the evaluation literature depicts a situation where evaluators are not consistently included in the planning and design phase of programs due to numerous barriers, including: 1) program funding announcements which request the inclusion of evaluation activities in proposed programs, but do not require evidence of any collaboration with a program evaluator; 2) training programs that offer little or no training on the benefits of hiring an evaluator during the program planning and design phase. Overall, the literature portrays programs as plagued by rushed and/or symbolic evaluations that are of limited use for program management, thereby frustrating program leaders and demoralizing evaluation practitioners.

To date, academic studies have examined approaches on how to incorporate an evaluator into a program’s planning and design phase (Fitzpatrick, 1988) and multiple researchers have advocated on behalf of the inclusion of the evaluator throughout all the phases of the project cycle (see: Patton, 1978; Stufflebeam, 2001; Preskill & Torres 2001; Mark, 2012; Scheirer, 2012). However, no studies have examined the extent to which evaluator inclusion occurs, or explored the reasons why a program leader decides whether to include an evaluator in a program’s planning and design phase. My PhD research aims to study this topic from the perspectives of both program evaluators and program leaders (who include program directors and program managers).

From the program evaluation side, I am currently collaborating with the American Evaluation Association to procure perspectives on this topic from 1,000 of their members, who were selected at random. To capture the perspectives of program leaders on this topic, I am collaborating with local chapters of the Project Management Institute. I have developed a questionnaire to collect your perspectives, and I hope I can count on your participation.

The new knowledge generated from this study has the potential to affect how program leaders and program evaluators are trained. When we have a mutual understanding of the extent to which evaluators are not included in the program planning and design phase, as well as what influences program leaders’ decisions to include or exclude evaluators during this phase, then we can develop a roadmap for how training content should be augmented to meet the federal mandate, fulfill advocacy efforts, and be proactive on exploring the topic more broadly.

If you are interested in providing your viewpoint on the topic of evaluator inclusion in the program planning and design phase, please click on the survey link below. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete, and will be open until November 15th. Information about the study, your voluntary participation, and data privacy are on the first page of the link before you enter the survey. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful and honest responses!

Take the Survey Here:

https://asu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1S8gMVSCOJOSBKe

Kyle joined the chapter in 2014 and has been a volunteer since 2017. He is part of the team that has integrated and developed our technology tools so that we can focus more of our volunteer time on getting things done rather than on the mundane administrative operational tasks.

A little bit about Kyle, did you know that he was a police officer and deputy. His proudest moment was when his mom pinned on his badge. The people who know him describe him as a person with good intentions which makes sense since he has served his community.

Kyle identifies himself as an engineer and a gear head on his Mustang convertible so basically, he likes to fix things and make it work.  He thrives and is driven due to his family, his motivator. Kyle's greatest joy is taking his wife and grandkids on a car ride enjoying nature and letting time stand still. His advice to others, "keep things simple, or at least make complex things simple for others. It makes more of an impact than most people think it will." Continue to try new adventure, Kyle embraces being a grandfather and playing with the kids while teaching new things, like caring for the environment so the planet remains beautiful. "Educating youth makes me feel good - it is a connection to the new generation to get kids interested in cars and while making memories and it’s a cool thing to share." Kyle worries about the younger education quality. Everyone needs to focus on being educated and about their impact your personal world to make things better.

As an engineer he identifies with is analytical side and grew up with the arts. Kyle's heroes is his parents who taught him to mix technology and creativity, he was given the technical edge and found a way to merge technology and art. His other hero, Kyle's wife who is a teacher forming young minds so youth have a strong foundation to grow.

Kyle's personal motto is a quote borrowed from Teddy Roosevelt, “do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” It is a message he would like to pass on to prospective volunteers, there are plenty of opportunities with work to be done and feels it is important to help the chapter since it is volunteer led. It is important and fate led me to be a member of the technology team.

Kyle feels fortunate and likes his journey. "I am happy with my journey and am right where i want to be. I feel blessed."

Jun 28th 2021 PMI Insights

Navigating the dynamics of change can be a challenge for accounting firms. Employees may become anxious or resistant or even actively oppose new processes and technologies. Yet change is not optional. In CPA firms today, remaining stagnant is a recipe for extinction.

So how can you help your team embrace change?

Understand That Change Is a Process, Not an Event
Firmwide change doesn't happen simply because you made an announcement, invited people to a training session or scheduled a go-live date.

According to the Project Management Institute, when people experience change, they move through a three-step process:
Current state. What they currently know and do, including processes, tools, behaviors, technologies, organizational structures and roles. All of these elements might not be working great, but they're familiar and comfortable.

Transition state. This can be an emotionally charged time, and people may feel fear, anxiety and even anger. Productivity declines as people learn new processes, technologies and behaviors.

Future state. At this point, people achieve a new way of performing their work.Think about this the next time you undergo a process improvement and technology initiative in your firm and address how you will bridge the gap between the current state (where you are) and the future state (where you want to be).

Listen to People and Get Their Input
People feel more excited about change if they have a say in it.

According to Gallup, only three in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree that their opinions count at work, and organizational change is one area in particular where people feel left out.

Your people are a goldmine of information. Ask for feedback frequently, listen to what they have to say, and take action based on their input. People tend to be more open to change when they've participated in the decision-making process.
Connect Change to Individual Goals
Getting buy-in for change requires an answer to the question "Why?" When you answer this question, people are better prepared to fight their natural instinct to resist change.

What individual goals do the changes you're making help people work toward? Will new processes improve efficiency, reduce overtime during busy season and provide better work/life balance? Will new technologies and automation create people's capacity to work on higher-level work and help them level up in their careers?

In a TED talk, organizational change expert Jim Hemerling explains that people usually think positively about personal transformation and are more driven to accomplish personal goals. Instead of focusing on the firm's bottom line, show them how meeting the firm's goals will help them achieve their personal and professional goals. This will put more energy behind the initiative.

Firm leaders have a responsibility to lead others through change. Employ these three steps, and you'll enjoy more emotional buy-in and cooperation for the changes you want and need to make in your firm.

Tackling societal issues on a large scale also requires a radical reimagining of customer and stakeholder relationships, including exactly who it is that organizations are trying to reach. Only then can businesses ensure they’re solving the right problems for the right people with the right projects.

Consider Coca-Cola HBC’s Mission 2025 Team, which conducts an annual materiality survey of roughly 1,000 internal and external stakeholders to identify social and environmental topics that impact the company’s value drivers. “This is not just a one-off exercise,” Dickstein said. “It is the starting point for engagement activities that occur throughout the year.”

The survey results helped Coca-Cola HBC define its 2025 sustainability commitments, which, in turn, align to the UN SDGs. With that, the company is ready to take action on a wide range of issues, ranging from reducing water use by 20 percent in water-risk areas to increasing its management ranks to 50 percent female.

“We are engaging with our stakeholders to determine climate action in the new normal and what the whole global pandemic means for us as a business,” he said of the company’s 2020 stakeholder forum. “Listening to and learning from them is a fantastic best-practice platform and necessary to move the agenda forward.”

A customer-centric mindset, meanwhile, can yield more innovative ways of thinking that continue to deliver value to customers even in times of crisis. Take urban development: in London—as in other cities—there’s a “big conversation” about “equality in public infrastructure, and how access to healthcare, parks, and neighborhood centers disproportionately benefits some communities more than others,” Arup’s de Cani said. As leaders around the world contemplate a post-pandemic future, such discussions may spark more equitable project investments. And de Cani said more of Arup’s clients want to play an active role in developing those solutions. They want to understand the impact of projects in much broader terms and expect guidance on how to improve them to benefit more people through access to cities, data, and economic opportunities. “At a meta level, these measures now affect whether a project is approved or not,” he said.

It’s also important, as the UN SDG Fund stresses, for businesses not only to implement reactive measures but also to enable the right conditions for social inclusion to flourish. This includes engaging in a true dialogue with customers.

“We’ve seen in several projects that the cultural connection, the language, whatever it might be, is a real value,” said Gabrielle Bullock, principal and director of global diversity at architecture and design firm Perkins and Will, Los Angeles, California, United States. “Our clients’ values are not only focused on fee, schedule, and budget. It really is about the human connection, the cultural connection, and shared values.”²¹

In one instance, Bullock said Perkins and Will almost lost an opportunity because its commitment to the LGBTQ+ community wasn’t clearly demonstrated. “We hadn’t really promoted it like we should,” she said. Once the firm showed its team’s understanding and commitment to the community, it won the project.

Sources

21. Pulse of the Profession^®In-Depth Report: A Case for Diversity, PMI, June 2020.

So again, I say not only that we cannot go back, we shouldn’t go back.  That is not to say working in offices or having face-face meetings should be totally abandoned.  No, there are situations where they are necessary, but in most cases, they should be the exceptions not the de facto standard.  

So where do we go from here?  We all deservingly patted ourselves on the back for moving our people from the office to home when the lock downs occurred.  In reality, that was the easy part.  It was limited to the scope of physically moving folks but not changing the enterprises culture.  We are now seeing the limitations of an incomplete transition.  The hard part now is how do we make changes in our Enterprises’ culture and infrastructure to truly support distributed working.

If you noticed, I have not used the term “work at home” or “remote working.”  Those are terms that describe the partial transformation.  They imply they are the exception or that they are temporary.  When I use the term “distributed work” I am referring to the complete transformation of an Enterprise.  The concept that work will be conducted from anywhere that supports the workflow.

Let me provide an example.  I was having lunch with an Audio Principal for an Enterprise that has theme parks.  Most of his work can be done in distributed manner, if the infrastructure is in place.  In his situation the work location, wherever that “is”, would need good internet connections, large dual screens to handle the transfer of information from spreadsheets to schematics, secure access to proprietary files, etc.  

There are some workflows that would need a local centralized lab where they can work on the physical servers as they mock them up and collaboration rooms where they can periodically meet in person.

In this scenario:

• The demand for physical office space is significantly reduced
• Commute reduce significantly reduced
• Carbon footprint significantly reduced
• Commuting stress, reduced
• Speed to deployment increased
• Employee satisfaction increased

I think you get the picture.  So as industry thought leaders our mantra should be “We don’t want to go back.”  To accomplish this, we need to work with top leadership to:

• Agree on a distributed workforce enterprise strategy
• Develop an enterprise communication plan
• Identify individuals to be the Executive Sponsors for the project

Once the distributed workforce plan is accepted, we should work to build the Enterprise Infrastructure (IT and Facilities) to support it:

• Solidify, secure, and templatize distributed work configurations
• Redesign offices to support:
  • Hoteling
  • Drop in Collaboration rooms
  • Standardize our collaboration tools, implemented, and follow up with an adoption plan

2020 and Covid were painful but in a strange way a gift that forced us to move from an unsustainable office and in-person oriented “normal” to a more efficient and sustainable distributed work model.  It is now up to us to find effective ways to move to that model.   Build upon the temporary emergency configuration that exists today to a implement a well-designed and supportable permanent distributed “normal.”

You with me? Then let’s do it together.

Bob Kent ITIL, VSP

Director, Solution Architects

Converge One

The benefits of using an external risk consultant should include the following:

· They bring guaranteed expertise

· They can draw on proven solutions from other engagements

· Cross-fertilisation is possible, with the consultant bringing ideas from other industries

· They can offer creativity, innovation, and fresh thinking

· There’s no “start-up” time, the consultant is ready to work on day one, without training

· Consultants offer access to leading-edge thinking and practice

· Consultants should be familiar with all current tools and techniques

· They are able to perform specialist techniques, such as risk simulation

· Using a consultant allows hands-on training for own staff by shadowing or observing

· You can turn on and turn off the consultancy resource when required

· Using consultants allows cost-effective use of limited resources or funding

· You only need to use consultants for specific tasks with clear scope

· There are no overhead costs for your organisation

There are however a number of risks to consider when using an external risk consultant, including:

· The consultant may not understand your business or the specific risk challenge

· They may lack specific knowledge of your project or organisation or industry sector

· They may offer a “one-size-fits-all” solution, not tailored to your need

· Prerequisite information may not be in place to support the engagement

· You may need to share confidential information to get them started

· You need to manage knowledge transfer to own staff in order to avoid becoming dependent

· The initial engagement may reveal a need for further assistance from the consultant

· They may be more expensive than you expect, especially if follow-on work is needed

· They may not leave a solution that can be operated by your staff or organisation

· The consultant may use tools or techniques that you don’t have available after they leave

· Your underlying processes may be deficient, prejudicing results

· Consultants may poach your own staff or tempt them away

· Your proprietary information may be at risk

· The reality may not match the offer (many consultants over-promise and under-deliver)

· Senior risk consultant staff may sell the work but then junior staff may be used to deliver it

· The consultant may not be available when you need or want them

In addition to performing a benefit-risk analysis, the following criteria might be useful when selecting a risk consultant:

· Proven track record of successful delivery in similar situations

· Recognised and relevant risk qualifications

· Extensive client base in similar sector or industry or project types

· Good reputation

· Personal recommendation

· Demonstrable expertise

· Availability when required

· Affordable within budget

If you can find external risk consultants who meet all the selection criteria, and who offer all the benefits with none of the risks, you should engage them immediately!! 

To provide feedback on this Briefing Note, or for more details on how to develop effective risk management, contact the Risk Doctor (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), or visit the Risk Doctor website (www.risk-doctor.com).

Change-makers rely on key capabilities to succeed:

• New ways of working, including agile, waterfall, and hybrid methodologies, and digital project management approaches such as problem-solving tools, AI-driven tools, and microlearning apps
• Power skills, such as collaborative leadership, innovative mindset, empathy for the voice of the customer, empathy for the voice of the employee, and the ability to build trusting relationships
• Business acumen, encompassing a well-rounded set of capabilities that enables people to understand not only their own roles, but how their work relates to business strategy and to other parts of the business

First, however, change-makers must have the means to acquire these capabilities. Continuous learning is the only way to thrive in today’s disruption-driven environment. Some of that can come through virtual education, which, especially since the pandemic began, is seemingly everywhere. But organizations that raise the bar by using AI to facilitate continuous, agile, and innovative learning—collaborative human-machine learning—are the ones that excel at driving change. Or, as a 2020 MIT Sloan Management Review report put it: “They don’t just use AI; they learn with AI.”22

It doesn’t matter what sector an organization is in, where it’s located, or even what is driving its strategic mission. It must be ready to adapt to whatever megatrend comes its way. And this is where the ecosystem of employees, partners, customers, and stakeholders committed to change truly proves its value.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor was climate action or the diversity and inclusion agenda,” Coca-Cola HBC’s Dickstein said. “If you want change that is in itself sustainable, you need to do that together with the communities.”

Sources

22. “Expanding AI’s Impact with Organizational Learning,” MIT Sloan Management Review, October 19, 2020.

Agile is getting a lot of great press lately as we see companies like Amazon thriving by leveraging the concepts. But we also see push back from other business leaders on why Agile won’t work for them, or companies that have tried going Agile but are not seeing the expected improvements. Instead of realizing Agile as an all or nothing idea, we should analyze each of the Agile principles, taking a pragmatic approach to leveraging Agile within our own organizations.

This focused segmentation on each Agile principle is key since no individual practice will provide a competitive advantage. If something is easy to replicate, everyone will do it. Also, what organizations do is not simple – each one is completing a complex combination of different tasks to create customer value.

That leads me to this – The secret sauce of Agile is: It’s a framework built on strong principles you adjust to fit your organization. The goal is to make the right adjustments while not losing the underlying strengths that Agile brings.

To do that successfully, you need to understand each of the principles in depth. The four key Agile principles we have identified are:

BREAKING PROJECTS INTO SMALLER BITES

CONNECTING WITH CUSTOMERS

LEVERAGING THE POWER OF TEAMS

BUILDING IN CONTINUAL LEARNING

Join me over the next few posts, as we delve into each one of the principles throughout this Agile blog series. Today, we start with: Breaking Projects into Small Bites.

Smaller Bites

The first principle is breaking projects and initiatives into smaller bites, following the old adage that the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. As we think about how to break up projects, we need to also answer:

If you think about construction, where traditional project management comes from, these questions are fairly easy to answer. If you are looking at building a new bridge, for example, to see if there is value, it’s easy to see what those who would use the bridge are doing today, and if they are willing to pay for a replacement. This answers the first two questions, so then the real focus is on how we do it. Since this isn’t the first bridge that’s been built, we can get a reasonable idea and estimates from previous projects to help us answer the last question. If we found ourselves without previous information, we would need to experiment. That’s much harder on these types of projects since there may not be an easy way to break the project up into smaller bites. We could start with a rope bridge, but chances are it’s not going to add any value till we have a four-lane highway ready to use, thus failing the first question.

Construction projects are not the only ones that may provide this complication. IT infrastructure or software upgrade projects are often similar and are quite a bit different from software projects – which is where Agile came from. Software projects are far more unique and have their own conditions to be considered. You see similar issues in marketing, educational design, business process changes, or any project where we don’t have a good, previous solution to copy.

The problem with these types of projects is:

Even with this complexity, there is some good news. Unlike construction projects, these projects are easier to break up into experiments where we can test our assumptions and reduce the risk to the organization. The key is to focus on breaking the project up into the right pieces, that will help answer these questions as quickly as possible.

How to Break Projects Into Small Pieces

Let’s talk about how to break that elephant up with a real-life example. A company I worked with had a hypothesis that they were paying generous benefits but employees weren’t seeing that value since they didn’t know what those benefits cost. For the three questions, the hypothesis was:

How will this project deliver value to the customer?

If employees knew the cost of their benefits, they would be more satisfied

How will it deliver value to the organization?

Satisfied employees would provide more value to the organization (in this case reduced turnover)

How do we do it, including how long will it take, or how much will it cost?

We have access to the benefit information and can present it in the right format to make it easy for employees to understand.

Looking at how to break this project up, we would want to:

Present employees an example of a current benefit to see if this increases satisfaction. If possible, we probably want to start with the biggest benefit.

We don’t have time to wait for turnover, but we still need to measure satisfaction, perhaps with a questionnaire, targeting a group of employees that have the most turnover.

We need to test if we can get access to the data and test different ways to show the information to make sure it is easy to understand

As you lay out what you want to learn, it gets easier to understand how to break the project into the right pieces.

Value of Breaking Projects into Smaller Pieces

So whether you’re agile or not, let’s talk about the benefits of this approach:

As an organization – testing the value of ideas early lets you focus on the good ones. It also helps to uncover big technical risks quickly so you get a picture of the real effort projects will take. Finally, delivering the projects quickly, and in small increments lets you deliver value faster, speeding return on investment.

As a customer – teams are already testing on real customers today; all of them when they release. Smaller testing means you get to see what approach a team is considering early, provide meaningful input on finding the best approach, and only a small group of customers is impacted.

As a team – testing early means you waste less time on bad ideas. It’s demoralizing to put your heart into a project and then not find out till the end it didn’t deliver the value you expected.

By taking this approach, Agile is pushing an empirical tactic, pressing you to think like a scientist, understand what ideas are really theories, and find ways to test the theories early.

As you look at getting this same value with your own projects, think about the three questions around organizational value, customer value, and the approach. If you have good evidence to support your ideas, it may be more similar to the construction

project example, and focusing on how to efficiently put the project in place could be the best approach. But, if there are a lot of assumptions like we described above, it’s worth the time to set up a quick experiment and validate them.

On our next post, I’ll be reviewing the second principle, Connecting with Customers.