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PM NETWORK
DECEMBER 2017 VOLUME 31, NUMBER 12
2017 PMO OF THE YEAR

2017 PMO OF THE YEAR
PAGE 38
AI IN FOCUS
PAGE 16
AGILE, WATERFALL,
HYBRID: A TAILORED
APPROACH
From left, Carrie PAGE 50
Fletcher, PMP,
COFFEE PROJECTS:
DECEMBER 2017, VOLUME 31, NUMBER 12
Damian Jankowicz and

Jacqueline Phan, PMP,
Centre for Addiction and VERY STIMULATING
Mental Health, Toronto, PAGE 28
Ontario, Canada
MAKING PROJECT MANAGEMENT INDISPENSABLE FOR BUSINESS RESULTS.®
PMN1217 Cover final.indd 1 11/2/17 3:31 PM

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Professional Awards 2018 ad | PMN (January) Full page/bleed · 8.375" x 11.125
28
50
56
62
Features Joan Kithika, African

Coffee Roasters, Athi
River, Kenya
DECEMBER 2017 | VOLUME 31, NUMBER 12
28 Coffee
Buzz Worthy
44 The Next Industrial
56 Battery
Taking Charge
COVER PHOTO BY JONATHAN BIELASKI
drinkers have a taste Revolution storage projects have

for change. That’s a tall order Digital manufacturing is changing the power to create a cleaner
for growers, roasters and the world, one factory at a time. grid, but only if teams can
retailers around the world. Now, project teams must resolve regulatory and
By Matt Alderton transform, too. requirements issues.
By Sarah Fister Gale By Novid Parsi
2017 PMO OF THE YEAR WINNER
38 The
Patients First
50 Across the Spectrum 2017 PMI PROJECT OF THE YEAR FINALIST
Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health’s PMO gives
The choice between agile and
waterfall has evolved into something
62

Frozen Assets
A diamond mine project team
staff the power to provide had to navigate subarctic
more pragmatic—and potentially
better care. territory to strike it rich.
more powerful.
By Tegan Jones By Tegan Jones
By Kate Rockwood
PMN1217-a-Front.indd 1 11/2/17 4:02 PM

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Also DECEMBER 2017 | VOLUME 31, NUMBER 12
THE EDGE
6 8 5 The Swiss Abyss The world’s longest pedestrian
suspension bridge is literally breathtaking.
6 The Future’s on Hold Before 5G can revolutionize

global data speeds, the groundwork needs to be laid.
7 Power Planters Tree-planting drones are taking off

in Myanmar.
8 Cyber Gender Gaps Women are underrepresented

in the cybersecurity sector—and paid less than their
male colleagues.
8 Pipe Dreams Money is pouring into sewer system

upgrade projects.
10 Hungry for Food Halls Multi-restaurant facilities

are taking off in the U.S.
10 12 Trillions for Tech IT spending keeps rising as
organizations stake their future on digital.
14 One and Done Could “flash organizations” become

a new normal for project professionals?
16 Metrics Get Smarter: Artificial intelligence R&D

projects deliver advantages.
VOICES
18 Inside Track: Strategic Playbook
Sandra Manigault, PMP, PMO director, National
Football League, New York, New York, USA
20 72 20 Career Q&A Take the Plunge

By Lindsay Scott
22 Project Toolkit Bonding Opportunity
GETTING IT DONE: Project Management in Action
24 Manufacture Change
By Don W. Schiff, PMP
26 Measure of Respect
By Zahid Khan, PMP
ETC.
26 68 PMI Store
Q&As for the PMBOK® Guide.
72 Closing Thoughts
Nerago Ndoroma, PMP
DOWNLOAD THE PM NETWORK APP and read the magazine on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch or Android device.

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theEdge
“People who have
problems with a
fear of heights,
they have to
close their eyes.”
—Edith Zweifel, spokesperson,
Zermatt Tourism
The Swiss Abyss

Look out below. Hanging precariously over the ing the two towns. With the region’s inclement PROJECT
Swiss Alps, the world’s longest pedestrian sus- weather looming on the horizon, the team had The Charles
PHOTO BY GFC COLLECTION/ALAMY STOCK
pension bridge opened in July—and it took only to stick exactly to schedule. Kuonen
10 weeks to build. The Charles Kuonen Suspen- “All material had to be delivered just on time,” Suspension Bridge
sion Bridge, named after the project’s biggest says Swissrope owner and engineer Theo Lauber, LOCATION
sponsor, spans the Zermatt Valley in southern Frutigen, Switzerland. Given the remote area’s Randa,
Switzerland
Switzerland, running 494 meters (1,621 feet) lack of road access, all materials were shipped in
long and 85 meters (279 feet) high. The path cuts via helicopter. COMPLETED
July 2017
travel time between two alpine towns from four To ease any users’ safety concerns, Mr. Lau-
hours to just 10 minutes. ber says he added extra tension on the cables DON’T LOOK
DOWN
Bridge and railway construction company to create less movement for pedestrians. Still,
The bridge deck is
Swissrope/Lauber Seilbahnen AG built the adventure seekers take note: The bridge’s deck transparent
replacement bridge higher to avoid falling boul- is see-through—and just 64 centimeters (25.2
ders, which wiped out the previous bridge link- inches) wide.
DECEMBER 2017 PM NETWORK 5

theEdge
PHOTO BY JOSEP LAGO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

2017 Mobile World
Congress attendees in
Barcelona, Spain
The Future’s on Hold

The future of connectivity isn’t going to be built in a make the tiny nation of San Marino the first Euro-
day—or the next couple of years, for that matter. pean country to have a 5G mobile network by the
The fifth generation of wireless network technol- end of 2018.
ogy, or 5G, could deliver data as much as 100 times “The services and applications that will result
faster than current rates and provide more cover- from the introduction of 5G can only bring ben-
age, greater bandwidth and cheaper internet prices. efit, in the immediate future, to the manufacturing
Overall, better connectivity will help enable the world and the community,” said Andrea Zafferani,
future of next-gen tech, from autonomous vehicles San Marino secretary of state at the Department of
“There are going to machine-to-machine communication. Industry, in a July news release.
to be a lot of But widespread adoption is still years away. In
pilot projects on the U.S. alone, a hodgepodge of service providers, Calls Waiting
the roadmap to financial investors and public-private partnerships Widespread interest doesn’t make building out
will have to invest as much as US$150 billion in 5G infrastructure any easier, though. “It is a lot
5G that will be fiber infrastructure projects over the next five to more complex than previous generations—given
key in defining seven years to make 5G possible, according to a the emphasis on connecting internet of things
repeatable 2017 Deloitte report. And universal 5G standards ecosystems and products—and it will require a
activities that still have to be finalized. very different project deployment process,” says
can scale In the meantime, trial runs are launching across Umair Hussain, associate principal of Red Chalk
quickly.” the world. China, Japan and the U.K. all announced Group, a management consulting firm in Chi-
plans in 2017 to launch pilot projects testing 5G cago, Illinois, USA.
—Dan Littmann,
Deloitte Consulting,
technology in the coming year. Telecom Italia took Teams will first need to secure resources to lay
Chicago, Illinois, USA it one step further: The organization has plans to the fiber and to mount cells—small transmission
6 PM NETWORK DECEMBER 2017 PMI.ORG

nodes that operate on shorter wavelengths than
previous technology. While this creates greater data
Power Planters
Next-gen drones aren’t just about delivering pack-
capacity, it also requires teams to deploy more cell ages. One project team is using them to save man-
sites because of the shorter wavelengths. “From a grove forests in Myanmar. The startup BioCarbon
project management standpoint, this creates some Engineering and nonprofit Worldview International
big hurdles,” says Dan Littmann, principal, technol- Foundation (WIF) are using drones in a test project
that started in September. The approach could
ogy, media and telecommunications, Deloitte Con-
save time and money.
sulting, Chicago, Illinois, USA. In the project’s initial mapping phase, drones
Teams will not only need to secure permits and analyze the topography and soil quality of land,
right-of-way agreements to lay fiber, but they’ll which helps the team settle on the right species to
also have to secure per- plant. Once the right mix of trees has been chosen, “Every
mission from municipali- the drones fly 3 to 6 feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) above country
PHOTO BY JOSEP LAGO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
ground and plant seed pods. Local communities are

ties and private owners
part of the plan: The project team is paying villagers that has
to mount the cells on to prepare pods for planting. “Drones can’t plant mangroves
buildings, bus stops and
other urban infrastruc-
trees without people on the ground trained to col-
lect seeds and convert them into seed pods,” WIF
will be
“[5G] is a ture. With much to sort board member Bremley Lyngdoh told Fast Company. able to
lot more out, “there are going to
But drones can plant faster than humans—up to replicate the
100,000 trees in a single day, according to BioCar-
complex be a lot of pilot projects bon. The project team aims to plant 1 million trees
example.”
than previous on the roadmap to 5G across 250 hectares (618 acres). —Irina Fedorenko,
BioCarbon Engineering,
that will be key in defin- If the area of Myanmar sees success with these
generations ing repeatable activities tree-planting drones, then both organizations to Fast Company
… and it will that can scale quickly,” plan to execute similar projects elsewhere. “Every
require a very Mr. Littmann says.
country that has mangroves will be able to replicate
the example, all around the equator,” BioCarbon
different Despite its check- Engineering co-founder Irina Fedorenko told Fast
project ered history of rapidly Company. —Jessica Boden
deployment implementing the latest
connectivity standards
process.” nationwide, the U.S. has
In this still of BioCarbon’s video, a
drone inspects the highlighted area
—Umair Hussain, after the forest has been restored.
the greatest potential to
Red Chalk Group,
Chicago, Illinois, USA lead the charge because
it has the most funding
from private carriers.
“This will help it overcome some of the biggest
challenges,” he says. These include getting the fiber
and cells in place, along with winning municipali-
IMAGE COURTESY OF BIOCARBON ENGINEERING
ties’ support to secure permits so that these proj-

ects can move forward.
But 5G implementation is likely to gain momen-
tum quickly, says Mr. Littmann. “Although orga-
nizations still have to prove they can consistently
provide 5G speeds via pilot projects, once they roll
out 5G in a large municipality, they will be able to
replicate that project plan across the region.”
—Sarah Fister Gale

theEdge
Cyber Gender Gaps Pipe Dreams

Women are underrepresented in the cybersecurity sector—and Call in the infrastructure plumber. In Mexico
paid less than their male colleagues. City, Mexico, the failures of the Grand Canal
sewer system have caused permanent flooding,
creating a stench that stretches for miles on a
hot day. And hundreds of cities in China face
flood risks with every rainfall due to outdated
drainage systems that haven’t kept pace with
urban growth.
9:1
Some cities have embarked on major upgrade
projects. For instance, Singapore is in phase two of
a US$7.3 billion sewage system project spanning
more than two decades, while in London, England
Approximate
ratio of men the seven-year, £4.2 billion Thames Tideway Tun-
to women nel project is underway. Meanwhile, Dubai, United
in the global Arab Emirates is set to break ground on a US$8
cybersecurity billion, six-year sewage upgrade project.
workforce But wastewater upgrade and replacement proj-
ects are among the biggest and most complex
infrastructure developments cities undertake. Sys-
tems are often deep underground, buried beneath
Just 4% of senior executive cybersecurity layers of other infrastructure—roads, pipes, tele-
roles are occupied by women.
com lines, subways and more. These upgrades
are also disruptive for public stakeholders, too—
28 percent of women feel that their ideas requiring project teams to collect permits for ensu-
are not valued at work.
ing construction and traffic delays.
“Repairing or replacing systems is unbelievably
61 percent of women who feel valued say
their organizations provided thorough training challenging from a project management stand-
and leadership development resources. point,” says George Hawkins, general manager of
the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Author-
The gender pay gap has narrowed at the top and middle ity, Washington, D.C., USA. “In most cities, these
organizational levels—and widened at the bottom*: systems are big, deep and difficult to fix. But it has
*All figures represent the average annual salary disparity to be done.”
between men and women among each employee type.
2015 2016 Digging Deep

US$6,020
US$5,000 There are three main challenges facing big sewage
US$4,540 US$4,650 US$4,630 system projects: securing funding, finding talent
US$4,310
and getting access to land, says William Yong,
managing director, Southeast Asia water business,
Black & Veatch, Singapore. The land issue is espe-
cially difficult in overcrowded urban environments.
“Major cities like Jakarta, [Indonesia,] Manila [Phil-
Executive Manager Nonmanagerial ippines] and Singapore have huge populations, so
management securing land and permits for projects is a major
issue,” Mr. Yong says. Black & Veatch is managing
Source: “The 2017 Global Information Security Workforce Study: Women in Cyber- phase two of Singapore’s sewage system project as
security,” The Center for Cyber Safety and Education and Executive Women’s Forum
on Information Security, Risk Management & Privacy, 2017 a joint venture with AECOM. One of the country’s

Rendering of
Thames Tideway
Tunnel cross-section
largest single infrastructure proj-

ects, it’s slated to be completed
in 2024.
Geoffrey Piggott, project direc-
tor, deep tunnel sewage system
phase two, Black & Veatch, Sin-
IMAGE COURTESY OF BAZALGETTE TUNNEL LIMITED
gapore, has worked with more

than 16 public agencies to get
permits, gain rights of way, secure
road closures and conduct envi-
ronmental studies. “The approval
process is well-established and
efficient in Singapore,” Mr. Pig-
gott says. “But it is onerous and
needs to be taken into account in
the project schedule.”
Adding to the team’s challenges: The phase two vate investment, increased utility fees and taxpayer
stretch is just one of many major public infrastruc- money will fund the project.
ture projects currently underway on the island, Its original assessor said that the decision to
forcing the sewage project team to compete for pursue the project was based on faulty informa-
resources. As such, the project contractors will tion. “In broad terms, I think it is a waste of about
have to draw on labor from India, China and £4 billion,” Chris Binnie, the original assessor and
elsewhere, which creates productivity and safety 2005 steering group chairman that recommended
concerns, Mr. Yong notes. “Foreign laborers don’t the project, told The Guardian. “And it is largely
always understand our high safety standards.” the [utility’s] customers that will pick up the bill.
To reduce risks, his team provides education … [In the future] we need to be a lot more care-
in multiple languages as part of every project plan ful about the information on which these types of
and requires all contractors to do the same for projects are assessed and make sure you really do “In most
their teams. “It’s important to convey a culture of have to construct it.” cities, these
safety,” he says. systems
Clean Sweep are big,
Royal Costs Remote monitoring technologies can help ensure deep and
Funding presents yet another obstacle. China’s
central government, for instance, has pledged to
organizations tackle the right projects at the right
time. Mr. Hawkins’ team uses sonar, drones and
difficult to
lay 126,000 kilometers (78,293 miles) of new sew- tiny sewer “boats” to remotely survey the sewer
fix. But it
age pipes by 2020. But many Chinese cities are system of Washington, D.C. It uses that data to has to be
unable to fully fund projects, so they’re turning to assess risk and prioritize annual maintenance proj- done.”
public-private partnerships and nongovernmental ects. “Using technology is easier, cheaper and less —George Hawkins,
organizations to fill the gaps. disruptive than doing visual inspections,” he says. District of Columbia
Water and Sewer
Even when these projects are fully funded, they While there is no avoiding the disruption of
Authority, Washington,
can generate stakeholder challenges. For example, building these systems in the first place, using D.C., USA
the Thames Tideway team has to deal with public technology to remotely monitor developments
second-guessing of the need for the project, which can ensure greater benefits realization. “With
involves digging a 25-kilometer (15.5-mile) tunnel good project planning, you can minimize disrup-
under the Thames River to eliminate overflows tion above ground, while keeping a strong system
from the city’s 150-year-old system. A mix of pri- below.” —Sarah Fister Gale

theEdge
Hungry for
Food Halls
People in the U.S. have a healthy appetite—and they
spend more money at restaurants than they do on
food at home. As foodie culture goes mainstream,
consumers want more, more, more—more choice,
more access and more speed. That’s driving the
nationwide boom in food halls. The spaces feature
multiple tenants, usually offering a mix of unprepared
and prepared foods, the latter offered by both fast-
casual vendors and full-service restaurants. Accord-
ing to a report released this year from Cushman &
Wakefield, U.S. food hall projects
could increase to 200 by 2019—
double the number in 2016.
There’s no cookie-cutter style
to these projects, either—cre-
ative design approaches can
help attract diners with a grow- “We had
ing array of other options. to lay the
“The best projects I’ve seen
project out
have been really creative with
their common area spaces.
in a way
They don’t just put out a bunch so no one
of tables; they leave room for felt like
cooking classes, demonstra- they were
tions, book signings and enter- getting the
Revival Food Hall in
Chicago, Illinois, USA.
tainment type-spaces,” Garrick raw end of
Below, one of Revival’s
leisure spaces
Brown, Cushman & Wakefield’s
vice president of retail research
the deal.”
—Craig Golden, Blue
in the Americas, told Bisnow.
Star Properties, Chicago,
With so many requirements Illinois, USA
and stakeholders in play, bring-
ing multifaceted facilities to life can be challenging
for project teams.
Many Cooks in the Kitchen

Consider Revival Food Hall, home to 15 vendors,
PHOTOS COURTESY OF REVIVAL FOOD HALL
in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Blue Star Properties

completed a three-year project to develop the
24,000-square-foot (2,230-square-meter) space in
the city’s central business district last year. Before
settling on the site and design, the team “toured
quite a bit of the country and asked a lot of ques-
tions about other food halls, learning the good and
the bad parts,” says Craig Golden, president of Blue
Star Properties.

Appetite Required
Food halls have to stand out to attract the hungry masses.
Scouring lessons learned from past food hall proj-
LA CENTRALE
ects helped the team understand that the physical
Location: Miami, Florida, USA
requirements were no small feat: “Trying to make
Daily special: Three stories of Italian food
14 vendors play together in the sandbox meant
Standout scope: It’s part of a US$1.1 billion mixed-
we had to lay the project out in a way so no one
use development including residential, hotel and
felt like they were getting the raw end of the deal,” office components.
he says. That meant considering each and every
Opening: December
vendor’s proximity to things like loading docks and
storage. As for the mix of vendors Blue Star picked STEELCRAFT GARDEN GROVE
before designing the hall, “we didn’t do focus groups Location: Garden Grove, California, USA
or anything like that,” Mr. Golden says. Instead, the Daily special: 20 “artisanal retailers” and restaurants
team sized up nearby offerings (mainly fast food Standout scope: The hall will be made entirely of
or sit-down restaurants) and targeted fast-casual 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) shipping containers.
options serving hungry office workers. Opening: 2018
To create a sense of ownership among vendors,
Mr. Golden and his team sought stakeholder feed-
FORUM 55
back early and often—meeting with each vendor Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
individually to talk through specific functional Daily special: 10 stalls, including one of the city’s
biggest salad bars
needs. The building’s design also needed to be flex-
ible enough to ensure that future vendors could Standout scope: The sponsor’s plans include an incu-
bator for female and minority aspiring restaurateurs.
take over if a tenant chose to leave. “We built the
Opened: October
spaces ourselves and did it sort of as a plug-and-
play, giving each vendor the opportunity to adjust THE GARAGE
it somewhat in terms of their look and design,” says Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Mr. Golden. Fortunately for his team, giving each Daily special: At least 20 vendors, including a micro-
vendor a certain amount of freedom to customize brewery, butcher and restaurants
didn’t throw the project’s timeline into chaos. The Standout scope: The hall will be housed in a former
end result strikes the right balance between staid Coca-Cola bottling plant and delivery truck garage.
and cohesive, he says. “It doesn’t look extraordi- Opening: 2019
narily uniform, but it does look well-planned.”
A Space Unto Itself

The project team behind Flagship Commons— Flagship team also had to keep the hall’s surround-
Omaha, Nebraska, USA’s first food hall—took a ings in mind. “We did a lot of research in Califor-
very different approach. Housed in a shopping nia and New York but realized we had to cater to
mall, the facility is home to six new vendors, all the mall demographic,” Mr. Gentile says. “People
of which were created specifically for this project. needed to feel comfortable. We couldn’t model this
“We’re different because we have the master lease, off of something that saw success in Manhattan.”
and we did the entire project from top to bottom. The team focused on building a cohesive space—
Every one of the vendors is us,” says Tony Gentile, as opposed to the offerings in a traditional mall food
Omaha. He’s the owner and corporate executive court, “where there’s no rhyme or reason to the
chef at Flagship Restaurant Group, which devel- vendors or the look,” Mr. Gentile says. “We wanted
oped Flagship Commons. to make six different restaurants feel like one, rather
While its stakeholder landscape was much sim- than a chaotic space where you’re sitting among
pler than that of the Revival Food Hall project, the overflowing trash receptacles.” —Kate Rockwood

theEdge
Trillions for Tech

Global IT spending keeps rising. The fastest areas of
growth? Enterprise software and IT services—and
artificial intelligence (AI).
ONWARD AND UPWARD

IT spending is projected to rise steadily through 2021.*
*All figures in trillions.
US$3.9
US$3.8
US$3.7
US$3.6
US$3.5
US$3.4
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
ASIA’S ASCENT
The continent is seeing the world’s largest IT spend-
ing rate increases (compared to 2016) this year.
8.1%
Emerging Asia
6.3%
The growth rate of
Pacific’s IT spending the second-fastest
growth rate in 2017 region: Greater China
STANDOUT SECTORS
Areas of global IT spending growth above the overall
rate of 3 percent through 2021:
7.2%
Enterprise software
4.9%
IT services
(US$522 billion —business IT services
in 2021) and IT product support
(US$1.3 trillion in 2021)
Spending on cognitive and AI solutions, however,

is skyrocketing:
US$12.5 billion
Worldwide cognitive/AI spending this year
—a 59.3 percent increase over 2016
Compound annual
growth rate of cog-
54.4% nitive/AI spending
through 2020
Sources: Forecast Alert: IT Spending, Worldwide, 1Q17 Update, Gartner,

2017; Worldwide Semiannual Cognitive Artificial Intelligence Systems
Spending Guide, IDC, 2017
PHOTO BY WANG HE/GETTY IMAGES

The Long Haul
Talk about putting in the legwork. To update
the power grid in Tibet’s Hengduan Mountains,
workers and mules are lugging transmission tow-
er components across miles of rugged terrain, at
an average altitude of 3,750 meters (12,303 feet).
Given the conditions and climate, the CNY16.2
billion government-sponsored effort—the
world’s highest power transmission project—can
be worked on only six months of the year. When
the transmission towers are completed in 2018,
they will help provide enough electricity to reli-
ably supply power to half of Tibet’s population.

theEdge
One and Done

A new era may be dawning for project profession-
als in the on-demand economy.New services are
emerging that rapidly assemble one-off teams for
client organizations as needed.
Earlier this year, a team of researchers at Stan-
ford University introduced the concept of “flash
organizations,” which are assembled on demand
from globally distributed
workforces. To create and
manage these organizations,
the researchers developed a
web-based platform called
Foundry, which brings
“In a matter together teams of project pro-
of seconds, fessionals in a matter of min-
you have utes and manages their work
access to and task coordination. Exam-
all kinds ples of projects completed
of project through Foundry include the

creation of a card game and
expertise.” a mobile and web application
—Daniela Retelny, for emergency medical service
Stanford University,
Stanford, California, USA
(EMS) technicians.
“We were trying to take
crowdsourcing to the next level,” says Daniela
Retelny, former project researcher, Stanford Uni-
versity, Stanford, California, USA. “Traditionally
it’s been focused on microtasks completed by any
worker regardless of expertise. This research paves
the way for new types of teams and organizations
that can achieve much more complex goals. In a
matter of seconds, you have access to all kinds of
project expertise.”
For the EMS application flash organization,
which aimed to help technicians report and track
trauma cases in real time on the way to the hospi-
tal, Foundry hired a team of 31 people. The plat-
form filled these positions in less than 14 minutes
THINKSTOCK
on average and then split the project team up into

nine teams. Responsibilities ranged from design

and development to marketing and video produc- to help drive initiatives in tandem with the client’s
tion. The team executed the project virtually (with- internal team,” Ms. Tyagi says. “And at the end of
out an office) in 46 days. three years, we helped them save $5 million in con-
sulting fees and deliver over $200 million in value.”
A Human Touch But the benefit BTG provides is about more than
While the Stanford platform automatically creates just finding fast solutions and saving money, she says.
remote teams nearly instantly, other organizations “People are increasingly coming to us for the exper-
use a more personal approach to build teams over tise our network of workers has.”
a couple of days. Amelia Tyagi co- As more high-skilled workers
founded the Business Talent Group “We first need choose to work independently, more
(BTG) in 2007 and has since built a to understand organizations are choosing to tap
global network of thousands of pre- how the top-notch project talent for one-time
screened independent consultants and
project is engagements through outside provid-
executives who want to do project- ers. But no matter how quickly gig
based work. They are matched with
structured talent can be summoned, upfront
appropriate work through the com- and what communications that align a team
bination of a proprietary algorithm success looks to the sponsor’s goals and vision are
and “human-based vetting,” says Ms. like for the irreplaceable. Ms. Tyagi says her orga-
Tyagi, Los Angeles, California, USA. client.” nization sets BTG teams up to deliver
She and her co-founder, Jody through “a proprietary onboarding,
—Amelia Tyagi, Business
Greenstone Miller, have worked with Talent Group, Los Angeles, knowledge and oversight structure.”
organizations including Pfizer, Kraft California, USA “We first need to understand how
and Verizon, helping them staff and the project is structured and what
complete projects ranging from six to 12 months success looks like for the client. Then we can
long without expanding their employee head count. make sure those systems are baked in before the
“We worked with one of our clients over the course project manager ever shows up to do the work.”
of several years, matching specific project managers —Kate Rockwood
Forecast GDP
growth for
emerging and
developing
economies in
2018.
(The forecast for advanced economies is 1.9 percent.)
Source: International Monetary Fund

METRICS
GET SMARTER
Artificial intelligence (AI) R&D projects have begun to deliver competitive advantages for
early adopters. Laggards, take note: The business case is coming into focus.
By Novid Parsi
BUILDING A LEAD
Investments in major AI technologies—robotics and
autonomous vehicles, computer vision, language, virtual
66% 17%
of AI investments last of investments
agents and machine learning—are taking off. year were in the U.S.— were in China.
the leading country.
300% increase US$26 billion
in AI investments in Minimum global amount
2016, compared to 2013 invested in AI in 2016
Nearly all of that money was spent on

R&D projects by tech giants:
US$20 billion
Minimum invested by
companies such as Google,
Amazon and Baidu
US$6 billion
Minimum invested by startup US$70 billion
companies
Global AI market by 2020
NOT YET ON BOARD
But only 20 percent of AI-aware C-suite executives outside the tech sector have adopted AI-related technologies at scale or
in a core part of the business.
10% 20% 31% 40%
Experimenters Adopters Partial adopters Contemplators
41% of organizations are uncertain of AI’s benefits.

THE BIG PAYOFFS
3-15% Profit margin percentage point advantage AI adopters enjoy

compared to the industry average in most sectors
20
US$15.7
15 trillion
AI’s boost to the global
10
economy by 2030— US$9.1 trillion from
driven by two areas: increased consumer demand
5 US$6.6 trillion from

increased productivity
0
AI implementation could strengthen the value chain in four areas.
1. 2. 3. 4
Smarter R&D Optimized production Targeted sales and Enhanced user
and forecasting could and maintenance marketing could experience
deliver … could deliver … deliver … could deliver …
US$2
trillion-
US$10
trillion
global impact from AI
65% reduction in sales lost 20% productivity increase 30% online sales growth healthcare technologies that
due to product unavailability when robots collaborate from dynamic pricing and create tailored and more
with people personalization effective patient treatments
THE TALENT RACE

U.S. organizations are scrambling to staff AI project teams with scarce experts.
10,000 US$650 million

Amount organizations have allocated for
Number of open AI-related
positions annual salaries of these AI-related positions
Sources: Artificial Intelligence: The Next Digital Frontier?, McKinsey & Company, 2017; Paysa, 2017; Bot.Me: A Revolutionary Partnership, PwC, 2017; Sizing the Prize, PwC, 2017

Voices
ILLUSTRATION BY JOEL KIMMEL

INSIDE TRACK
Strategic Playbook
L
egions of fans watch National Foot- upper management did not have visibility into all
SANDRA ball League (NFL) games for the of the work. So the department wanted to create a
MANIGAULT, riveting on-field action. The orga-

nization’s success, however, relies
PMO to make certain we’re successfully partnering
with our clients.
PMP in no small measure on what the
audience doesn’t see: behind-the-scenes technology. What processes have you implemented since then?
TITLE: PMO director
Since 2012, Sandra Manigault has been the direc- I put together a standard process so that our teams
ORGANIZATION: National tor of the project management office (PMO) for don’t just start working on a project. Now proj-
Football League the NFL’s IT department. Ms. Manigault, who has ects first go through a steering committee, which
LOCATION: New York, two decades of IT project management experience, consists of vice presidents, senior technical staff,
New York, USA leads a team of 15 project managers who run about relationship managers and myself. At the steering
120 projects at a time. committee, we give the reasons we need to do the
project and explain what might happen if we don’t.
What led the NFL’s IT department to create Once the steering committee approves the proj-
the PMO in 2012? ects, we track them in our project management
When I joined the NFL, the IT department’s team tool so the CIO and other executives can track the
members were all doing their own projects, but work we’re doing.
PMN1217-b-VOICES-ok.indd 18 11/2/17 3:59 PM

For the Super Bowl, we ensure
technology readiness. But the
weather is a big risk.
How does the rest of the IT department the right timing for each of them to test the new
participate in that? service. We had to be highly collaborative.
We open the steering committee meetings to
everyone in the IT department so that we’re as How does the PMO approach project delivery?
transparent as possible, even if everyone there Based on the unique characteristics of a project,
doesn’t vote on the projects. Communication and
collaboration are important to us: We always want
we will use waterfall, agile or a hybrid of both.
There are four criteria we look at to determine the
Small Talk
What’s the one skill
to make certain that everyone in IT is aware of best delivery approach: type, priority, complexity
every project manager
all our projects, even if they’re not a resource on and risk level. Roughly speaking, we use waterfall
should have?
every project. 40 percent of the time, hybrid approaches 40 per-
Adaptability. Project
cent and agile approaches for the other 20 percent. managers need to
What benefits have you seen from this process? adapt their style to
Our CIO now has visibility into our projects, bud- What’s the biggest risk you encounter on one of work with many dif-
gets, resources and risks, as well as the prioritiza- your most high-profile projects, the Super Bowl? ferent personalities
tion of our projects as high, medium or low. This For the Super Bowl, we ensure technology readi- and communication
visibility helps us make better decisions about the ness. But the weather is a big risk on the Super preferences.
projects we do each year. On a monthly basis we Bowl. So we are involved in a lot of planning ses-
distribute our project health-check report, which sions conducted by our events department, and we What is the best
covers each project’s scope, budget, schedule and conduct a lot of on-site tests to make certain the professional advice
you’ve ever received?
milestones, as well as its status. This way, our CIO, technology, like Wi-Fi, will work correctly under
“The five P’s of suc-
vice presidents and project teams can immediately different weather conditions.
cess: Proper planning
see a project’s status and we can decide how to
prevents poor perfor-
turn around any troubled project. Also, we no lon- What are the primary challenges you face? mance.” I end all of
ger have to ask for resources while we’re executing I group the challenges I face into three buckets: my staff meetings by
a project because everyone knows which projects people, process and technology. With people, for saying that.
were approved by the steering committee—they instance, there might be a team member who’s
can see the pipeline. on vacation or we might lose a resource. With What is a book that
process, we might have a team member who’s not has special meaning
What types of projects does the PMO run? providing status updates or participating in meet- for you?
They range from data center build-outs to data ings. With technology, a solution might take two Alice’s Adventures in
cloud platforms to technology solutions. Last year weeks longer than planned. Wonderland. I love the
quote that’s para-
we implemented a nine-month project to build
phrased, “If you don’t
a security service that can monitor and respond What’s one way you handle people challenges?
know where you’re go-
to any risks to our data and assets. The project I decided that with all of our projects we should
ing, any road will take
took place during the football season, so one of assign both a project manager, who’s responsible you there.” I’m a big
the main challenges we faced was the logistics of for delivering it on time, and a technical lead, planner; I always like to
rolling it out. After a kickoff meeting where we who’s responsible for the end-to-end solution. So if know where I’m going.
explained the project and its schedule with all of we lose a project manager, we still have the techni-
the NFL’s 32 clubs, we had individual meetings cal lead who can provide project updates while I
with each club to give them more insight and find onboard someone else. PM

Voices CAREER Q&A
Take the
Plunge
How freelancers find work. Also: Do you
need a degree to be a project manager?
By Lindsay Scott
I
’ve decided to leave my job of the last
10 years to become a freelance proj-
ect manager. Where should I look for
opportunities?
The place where many people start is online
job boards. While this approach is quick and easy,
it’s often not the most fruitful way to secure new
freelance contracts. Rather than just posting your CV
or résumé on a major job board and sitting back to
wait for offers to flood in, try this: Hunt through the
job ads to find the right staffing and recruitment firm
for your industry and project experience level. Get in
touch, register with them directly and sign up for job
alerts. Be proactive in developing a relationship with
them so they think of you first when a new contract
opportunity comes in.
All that said, the more successful way to find
freelance opportunities is to leverage your network.
Most freelancers get their first gig because someone
they know recommends them to someone else or
brings them in to help support what they’re work-
ing on. Reputation is everything in the freelancing
world; people like working with people they know
and trust.
Another angle: Get to know the major play-
ers in need of freelancers in your immediate area.
Consider attending meetups with groups of pro-
fessional workers with whom you could imagine
yourself working.
Smart freelancers always keep their ears to the

ground when working in an organization. If word you might target in your career, and take a look at
gets around about a need for a project manager whether organizations in it typically stipulate that a
from another department within the same organiza- university degree is required to be hired as a proj-
tion, seize the opportunity! The more a freelancer ect manager. Learning these details might prove
works and builds a strong reputation, the easier it is most useful if you’re charting a project manage-
to find the next gig. ment training path.
Do you need to go to university to have a career I’ve been working in a project officer role for a
in project management? few months, and I’m out of my depth. I dread
The short answer is no. There are plenty of people having to take minutes at project meetings
working in project management today who haven’t because I don’t know what people are talking
been to university. Yet many employers do prefer about. Please help!
that their staff have a degree for certain roles, and Believe it or not, this is a common problem for Reputation
management positions are one of them. most people starting out in a project support role. is everything
An interesting shift in recent years has been how Minute-taking gets easier over time—with prac-
project management has become “a career of first tice. But right now, you need to do two things.
in the
choice” for many. This means that a lot of people First, ask for some training. Minute taking is a
freelancing
entering the workforce for the first time opt for skill that can be learned and developed. Problems world; people
project management positions, whereas tradition- occur when people just assume that anyone can like working
ally people worked in operational roles before do it. Talk to your project manager or line man- with people
moving into project management. They often made ager about getting the right training so you can they know
the transition because they had gained some spe- do a better job.
and trust.
cialist industry knowledge and were good manag- The second thing you should do is talk to your
ers—or there was nobody else to do the job. project manager about how you want to tackle
Times have certainly changed. Project manage- the minute-taking as a team. There are two main
ment knowledge has evolved, and with it good roles in any meeting: the chairperson (who leads
practices, certifications, books, training courses— the meeting) and the minute taker. Together, they
and of course, specific criteria for landing a project work out the best approach to the meeting, deciding
management position. There definitely has been what should get captured, how to deal with complex
a growth in project management degree courses. discussions and how to clearly signal when actions
But in the U.K. at least, there’s also been growth are being taken. It’s about working together. Yes, the
in apprenticeship schemes, which are about on- project officer is there to support the project man-
the-job training bolstered with classroom training ager. But really, you’re a team. So don’t be afraid to
rather than the more academic route of a univer- ask for help or raise concerns: It’s all about finding
sity education. The professional project manage- ways to do a better job together. PM
ment realm can accommodate both those routes
and welcomes talented individuals regardless of
THINKSTOCK
Lindsay Scott is the director of program and

formal education background. project management recruitment at Arras People
in London, England.
One final thought: Think about which sector

Voices PROJECT TOOLKIT
Bonding
Opportunity
We asked the project management community: How do you
build a strong relationship with sponsors from the start?
MEETING EXPECTATIONS
A sponsor’s priorities should be your
priorities. Set up a meeting to vali-
date their strategic priorities and get
aligned with them. Then go over your own
understanding of your role, responsibilities and
limitations. Present an action plan to achieve
objectives and work out strategic priorities.
Finally, let the sponsor know that you are act-
ing as strategic support for them, are consid-
erate of their time and want to maximize the
use of their resources. Sponsors are normally
involved with multiple projects and programs,
therefore the time and attention they can
devote to your project might be very limited.
Your attempts to make efficient use of both will
enhance their trust in your professionalism.”
—Natalia Garcia, program manager, Pineda Foundation/

World Enabled, San Francisco, California, USA
LEARN FROM OTHERS
To get to know my sponsors on a
MAKE IT PERSONAL personal level, I do brief research
Success for any relationship is based on on each of them by talking to other
three pillars: trust, communication and project managers or colleagues who’ve worked
commitment. Sponsors are humans, with them. I ask how the sponsors like to be
too—so we need to stop presenting slides and informed during the project, what is their level
start connecting. It’s the quality of time—not the of involvement—do they need to know the
amount of time—you spend with your sponsors small details or do they prefer to see only the
that gradually builds a strong relationship. Set big picture? And, at least at the start of the
communication needs early in the project and project, before you send any message, meet-
deliver to what you commit. A strong relation- ing summary or presentation to the project
ship is not dependent on how green your status sponsor, have your mentor or manager review
report looks but, rather, how effectively you have it first. This helps to ensure all information
understood your stakeholders’ specific needs, their is well-written and does not deviate from the
vision, their concerns and how you are working to accepted procedures—which will avoid any
deliver all of it.” false starts with the sponsor.”
—Aayush Sharma, CAPM, PMP, project manager, business —Etgar Fishel, professional services organization project
systems analyst, AARP, Washington, D.C., USA manager, Medi, VMware, Herzliya, Israel

Strategic Help
Organizations are getting
better at ensuring sponsors
have strong ties to projects.
Average proportion of proj-

ects with actively engaged
executive sponsors:
2016: 2017:
59% 62%
Champions* are much

more likely to have actively
engaged sponsors than un-
derperformers**:
77% 44%
FIRST STEPS ON THE SAME PAGE
Show sponsors you’ll take nothing for To make sure you and your sponsors have Champions Underperformers
granted by identifying the project’s a shared vision of success, take time to get
unstated objectives. If you have a repu- to know and understand each other. This *Champions: Organizations with 80 per-
cent or more of projects being completed
tation with a sponsor that precedes your first helps you define and understand your respective on time and on budget, and meeting origi-
encounter, you want to build upon that—or take roles and helps you educate your sponsors on your nal goals and business intent—and having
high benefits realization maturity.
steps to improve any misunderstandings. It’s also needs and expectations—and where the sponsors can
**Underperformers meet those objectives
important to determine how much time they’ll have the greatest impact. Never surprise your spon- with 60 percent or fewer projects.
have or when they will be available at different sors. You can prevent surprises through active dia-
Source: Pulse of the Profession® 2017: Suc-
times across the project’s lifespan. The answers logue and by communicating early and often. Make cess Rates Rise: Transforming the high cost of
low performance, PMI, 2017
to these initial questions determine how the next sure you and the sponsors are working from the
questions need to be asked and how you can best same information and data. And have a contingency
act upon them.” plan worked out to replace your sponsors if you lose
any of them unexpectedly.”
—Leyton Collins, PMP, program manager, Agfa HealthCare,
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
—Dave Snider, PMP, senior program manager, HP Inc.,
Corvallis, Oregon, USA
REACHING UP
What steps do you take to build effective engagement with the project sponsor from start to finish?
Share your story on the PMI Project, Program and Portfolio Management LinkedIn Group.

Getting It Done PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN ACTION
Manufacture Change
How project managers can best use their skills in a factory.
By Don W. Schiff, PMP
B
eing a project manager in a manu- is being developed within an existing portfolio, and
facturing environment can be dif- they all start with three questions.
ficult. A manufacturing plant is the • How is this product used?
most “functional” type of organiza- • Why has this new product been requested?
tion on the functional-to-projec- • What does the client perceive as the critical
tized scale, so project managers have less authority aspect of this new product?
in this environment than in others. They might not After getting the answers, I use a checklist of
even realize what a profound impact they can make physical configuration components to confirm
in their company. However, two critical areas of the what artwork and drawings are needed, the pack-
manufacturing sector in particular call for expert aging options and the shipping requirements.
project management: new product development and When I look back at any product rollout that
As a project equipment changes. didn’t go well, I usually realize I didn’t have enough
information. So get in the habit of reaching out
manager in the Ask the Right Questions and asking questions. One obstacle to this in
manufacturing Product development projects arise frequently. nonprojectized enterprises is that you’ll probably
sector, you While new product lines and portfolios gain the have to go through an internal sales representative
have the most attention, organizations more commonly or customer liaison, who might respond to your
opportunity launch new products within an existing product “Why?” questions with something like, “Because
to make portfolio. Here’s where you can implement proj- that’s what they asked for.” It will take time,
ect management discipline and help ensure the practice and development of your own interper-
the whole new product delivers benefits to your company. sonal skills to find how to best get your questions
organization Your first objective is to develop a draft scope answered. But when everyone involved under-
more effective statement from any documentation available stands you’re trying to prevent problems before
and efficient. from the customer or internal client request- they occur, people will realize it is in their best
ing the new product. This will only be a draft, interest to provide all the information they can.
because unless your manufacturing organization
has a mature project management infrastructure, Keep the Gears Turning
the initial request will be missing important Good project management can also make a big dif-
information, and assumptions will be implicit ference when manufacturing plants require equip-
instead of stated. So the next step is for the proj- ment changes. This can mean the purchase of a
ect manager to obtain that key information and significant piece of manufacturing line equipment,
state the assumptions clearly. an upgrade or modification to major equipment,
I have found it beneficial to create checklists the removal of obsolete equipment or a periodic
specific to each product portfolio. They cover the overhaul of a large, critical machine. Some project
information I need when a new or refined product managers might overlook the latter as a signifi-

ISTOCKPHOTO
cant project because its regularity makes it seem evaluated based on prior performance. Is there
routine. However, failure to complete this mainte- a plan for executing claims against vendors
nance on time, on budget and within scope could for unacceptable parts or delays to schedule?
be devastating to a company. Project management What is the plan to follow up with accounts Share Your
processes and discipline can help ensure this exer- receivable and vendors to ensure claims have Thoughts
cise goes as smoothly as possible. been paid? No one
The functional manager responsible for this • Communication: Determine if there is a com- knows project
machine already will have maintenance objectives munication plan established to notify related management
laid out, along with a budget, a timeline, the parts departments, such as sales, human resources better than you, the
project professionals
needed and the skilled technicians on hand for and purchasing, about status updates and
“Getting It Done.”
the project. So, with the scope, schedule and costs unexpected events during the overhaul. So every month,
clearly specified, how can the project manager • Risk management: Ask yourself: What could PM Network shares
help? Here are a few areas where you can bring go wrong? What is the contingency plan? your expertise on
your skills to bear on equipment overhauls. • Procurement: Find out if the organization’s everything from
• Project scope statement: Explicitly state how procurement protocols are being followed. Is sustainability to
talent management,
success is defined. applicable compliance documentation com-
and all project
• Lessons learned: Review the lessons from plete, correct and appropriate? topics in between.
the last overhaul and prepare a briefing for As a project manager in the manufacturing sec- If you’re interested
the applicable personnel. Or, if nothing was tor, you have the opportunity to make the whole in contributing,
documented last time, ask team members organization more effective and efficient. Don’t email pmnetwork@
imaginepub.com.
who performed the previous overhaul what underestimate that opportunity. PM
would make this one go better. Document
their answers.
Don W. Schiff, PMP, is a project manager at
• Vetting quality: Find out if parts vendors Southern Index Inc., Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA.
and outsourced technical expertise have been

Getting It Done PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN ACTION
Measure of Respect
KPIs that focus on people let you track overlooked factors in successful projects.
By Zahid Khan, PMP
A
re we measuring the right key schedule and overspent to slightly ahead of sched-
performance indicators (KPIs)? ule and on budget. This was not a coincidence: The
Project success is usually mea- entire team had finally started working collabora-
sured by KPIs related to scope, tively to improve delivery.
schedule, budget and quality
requirements. But in my 20-plus years of project QUANTIFYING THE HUMAN FACTORS
management experience, I have observed that Organizations can begin creating people-focused
Successful successful projects are almost always linked to cus- KPIs by coming up with criteria to assess factors
projects tomer satisfaction, engaged employees and strong such as team morale, job satisfaction and customer
are almost team relationships. For that reason, organiza- appreciation. Tools and techniques for measure-
tions should look to create and use KPIs centered ment can include observation, meetings, inter-
always linked around these human factors. views, informal discussions, questionnaires and
to customer Three years ago, I started troubleshooting the surveys. Structured interviews can be conducted
satisfaction, team dysfunction of a large, complex and politically throughout the project life cycle to assess the over-
engaged high-profile waste management project. During team all quality of relationships among stakeholders and
employees and meetings, I noticed some unusual body language measure improvements. Informal observations can
strong team among the attendees. I realized that two team mem- also yield valuable information about team rela-
bers did not make eye contact with each other when tionships—even something like how often project
relationships. they spoke, and their facial expressions suggested a team members get a cup of coffee together could
lack of trust and respect. I discussed my observations be an indicator of the quality of relationships.
with the individuals and the project’s leaders. Since developing my ideas about the importance
To resolve this issue, our team held several part- of people-centered KPIs, I have been discuss-
nering meetings aimed at improving team dynamics ing them with project managers, cost engineers,
and the quality of relationships. During this period, construction managers and engineers. All seem to
I monitored team members’ facial expressions, eye agree: Client and team-member satisfaction is a
contact and body language on a weekly basis. The critical measure for project success, but few orga-
ongoing team-building effort and leadership inter- nizations even try to track this measure. PM
vention improved the relationship between these
two individuals, and I observed increased collabora- Zahid Khan, PMP, is project management
tion. As the relationship and overall team dynamics office manager of the King County Solid
Waste Division, Seattle, Washington, USA.
improved, the project status changed from behind

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© 2017
© 2017 Project
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Institute, Inc. Inc. All rights
All rights reserved.
reserved. PMI,PMI,
the the
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andand CAPM
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are registered marks
marks of Project
of Project Management
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Institute, Inc. Inc. PRA-209-2016
PRA-209-2016 (02/17)
(02/17)
© 2017
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Institute,
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Inc. Inc.
All rights
All rights
reserved.
reserved.
PMI,PMI,
the the
PMIPMI
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andand
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are registered
are registered
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Buzz
Worthy
Joan Kithika,
African Coffee
Roasters, Athi
River, Kenya
PMN1217-C-FIRST FEATURES.indd 28 11/2/17 3:45 PM

hy Coffee drinkers have a
taste for change. That’s
a tall order for growers,
roasters and retailers
around the world.
BY MATT ALDERTON
PORTRAITS BY MIA COLLIS

Customers at a Starbucks in
Tokyo, Japan
Coffee
is hotter 2 billion
More than
cups
than ever. Whether sipping espressos in a café or brewing
are consumed each day—a
nearly 30 percent increase over
the past 10 years.
a pot of plain black java at home, the world can’t
get enough. More than 2 billion cups are consumed
each day—a nearly 30 percent increase over the
past 10 years, according to the International Coffee
Organization (ICO).
But having so many caffeine cravers puts pres- sustainability projects designed to mitigate the risk
ISTOCKPHOTO (2)
sure on the entire supply chain to keep expanding. of reduced yields. Meanwhile, growers and roast-
Global production of coffee beans has increased ers are taking high-tech approaches and leveraging
17.3 percent to 8.9 billion kilograms (19.6 billion customer feedback to improve the quality of beans
pounds) in the past 10 years. And retail is percolat- at the center of specialty products that satisfy coffee
ing, too. For instance, revenue for the world’s largest drinkers around the world.
coffee shop chain, Starbucks, has increased nearly To push these projects to the finish line and
threefold in the past 10 years to US$21.3 billion. ensure there are no gaps in the supply chain, teams
Maintaining that growth isn’t easy. That’s why must handle changing requirements and build buy-
all segments of the coffee industry are launching in among farmers and other stakeholders.
projects to ensure a robust future. For instance, “Coffee is changing a lot,” says Olga Lucia Cuel-
climate change threatens yields in peak growing lar, sustainable sourcing manager at S&D Coffee &
areas, so coffee companies are working with farm- Tea in Bogotá, Colombia. “There is a shift taking
ers from South America to Southeast Asia to launch place. There’s more access to coffee and there’s

Global production of coffee beans Revenue for the world’s largest
has increased coffee shop chain, Starbucks,
17.3 has increased nearly threefold in

the past 10 years to
percent US$21.3
to 8.9 billion kilograms (19.6 billion
pounds) in the past 10 years. billion.
Source: International Coffee Organization
higher competition. It creates opportunities—and, achieve both a reliable supply of coffee beans and
at the same time, risk.” a new opportunity to market their products. For
“There’s
instance, switching to organic growing techniques more
WARMING TRENDS can decrease the threat of certain climate-resilient access
The coffee industry is getting burned by climate insects or diseases that can kill coffee plants. to coffee
change. By 2050, climate change could reduce the But getting growers to convert operations from and there’s higher
areas around the world that are suitable for coffee pro- conventional methods isn’t easy, particularly where
competition.
duction by 50 percent, according to a 2016 report by organic coffee-growing methods have never been
The Climate Institute of Australia. That puts pressure attempted on a large scale, says Joan Kithika, sus-
It creates
on the entire industry to brainstorm new ways—from tainability and compliance manager, African Cof- opportunities—
sustainability projects to relocating growing opera- fee Roasters, Athi River, Kenya. Whether it means and, at the same
tions—to mitigate the impact on production. adjusting operations or relocating coffee fields, such time, risk.”
Sustainability projects are becoming a high efforts could effectively mean starting from scratch, —Olga Lucia Cuellar, S&D Coffee
priority for roasters and wholesalers who can she says. & Tea, Bogotá, Colombia

A worker shovels coffee
beans near Bragança
Paulista, Brazil.
To build buy-in among growers, the roasters’ and do this, their coffee is going to be bought. As long
PHOTO BY PAULO FRIDMAN/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

retailers’ project teams first must zero in on showing as they see the commercial value in it, they will do
“A long- how organic approaches will deliver long-term ben- whatever it takes,” she says.
term efits to farmers, she says. For instance, this year, Ms. Her team also engaged local leaders and influenc-
goal and Kithika’s team began planning a five-year project to ers to sway undecided farmers in their community,
convert one supplier—a coffee cooperative consisting such as leaders of coffee farming cooperatives. “We
having a multiyear of several thousand farmers—to organic farming. The target farmers who are already organized,” Ms.
plan to achieve project eventually will help farmers pursue and obtain Kithika says. “Small coffee farms are already orga-
it has allowed organic certification. But farmers must dramatically nized into cooperative groups to enable them to
us to come up alter growing techniques, such as the type of fertilizer process and market their coffee. So we approach the
with a very good used, in ways that initially might reduce yields. farmers through their elected management board.”
product.” To earn the support of skeptical stakeholders,
she found a buyer who would commit to buying BREW FROM ABOVE
—Fred Cowell, Kauai Coffee Co.,
Kauai, Hawaii, USA
the future organic harvests. “The most important Growers are also turning to tech to meet consumer
thing for a farmer is having a guarantee that if they demand for higher-quality beans destined for spe-

Supply
and
Demand
The world’s top five
coffee-growing
countries*:
*Kilograms produced in 2016
1. Brazil
3.3 billion
2. Vietnam
1.5 billion
3. Colombia
870 million
4. Indonesia
689 million
5. Ethiopia
396 million
The world’s top five

countries for coffee
consumption**:
**Kilograms sold in 2016
1. United
cialty coffee brews. Incorporating high-tech tools Mr. Cowell can increase it by adjusting inputs like States
can help ensure taste and quality measure up to water and fertilizer. Such changes ultimately will 1.5 billion
heightened expectations, says Fred Cowell, general produce better-tasting coffee, he says.
2. Brazil
manager of grower and roaster Kauai Coffee Co., “Sensor technology is a way for us to gain infor-
1.2 billion
Kauai, Hawaii, USA. mation to make better decisions in a more timely
For instance, last year Mr. Cowell launched a fashion,” Mr. Cowell says. 3. Japan
nine-month project to acquire, test and implement But there’s a large learning curve for high-tech 467 million
a drone to improve coffee quality. The US$8,500 projects. They require extensive upfront planning
drone is equipped with sensors that capture infra- to ensure maximum ROI. For the drone project, 4. Indonesia
270 million
red images of Kauai Coffee Co.’s crops, creating Mr. Cowell’s team devoted two months to inter-
a map that the company can use to evaluate the viewing drone users and suppliers from across
5. Russia
health of its plants—and the expected quality of its the agricultural spectrum. Their feedback helped 258 million
coffee beans. For example, the imagery can reveal a educate his team on the benefits and limits of
plant’s chlorophyll level, which is a key indicator of the technology. “We worked hard on planning Source: International Coffee
so that when we actually sprung the funds to buy Organization
plant vigor. If chlorophyll is determined to be low,

CASE STUDY
Cultivating
Growth
our drone we knew exactly what we needed—and
how we would benefit.”
But some quality issues require a human touch.
Mr. Cowell launched a three-year product develop- Kenyan farmers are teaching themselves how to
D
ment project last year with a very specific goal in transition to sustainable production.
mind: win a Roasters Guild “Coffees of the Year” anish retailers wanted a guar-
award, given out at the Specialty Coffee Association anteed supply of coffee for
of America’s (SCAA) annual exposition and inter- their customers. Farmers in
national event. The award would provide a measure Kenya were seeking to ensure
of quality that he could market to customers. a long-term market for their
His team extensively studied previous winners product. So a three-year proj-
to determine which practices helped earn those ect that helped to facilitate direct trade and better
awards. He also contracted two licensed taste tes- growing practices turned into an ideal solution.
ters to sample and grade 15 coffee varieties, each The Coffee for a Better Future project, which
processed using a handful of different techniques. was completed in June, was a joint venture between
The variety chosen by the testers was germinated Danish coffee roaster Peter Larsen Kaffe, sustain-
and planted in a 12-acre (4.9 able IT solutions provider Just Fair ApS and Kenya
hectare) plot and will be further Cooperative Coffee Exporters. The project helped
tested next year to gauge the give birth to several long-term business agree-
impact of other practices, such as ments. For instance, Danish supermarket chain
soil improvement efforts. Coop Danmark in 2016 established African Coffee
The team is already seeing suc- Roasters to work with a cooperative of Kenyan cof-
“Consumer cess: The coffee’s score on the fee farmers.
preferences SCAA’s 100-point quality “cup- But there’s more to the project and resulting
are evolving, ping” scale jumped from 80 to 85 deals than just buying and selling: The Kenyan
and it’s after the first year of the project, farmers had to meet quality and quantity require-
important Mr. Cowell says. It will need to ments. To ensure the farmers would be able to
that we score at least 90 points to achieve

the excellence certification.
make the necessary changes, the project partners
funded a series of training sessions that lasted three
respond “The company had attempted years to teach sustainable growing practices that
quickly.” quality initiatives in the past, but would help maximize yield size and quality, says
—Cecilia Jalmasco, PMP, it didn’t have a specific goal or Joan Kithika, sustainability and compliance man-
Nestlé, Singapore test plan to get there. Laying out ager at African Coffee Roasters, Athi River, Kenya.
a long-term goal and having a multiyear plan to “For Peter Larsen Kaffe, it was about product dif-
achieve it has allowed us to come up with a very ferentiation: There was a good story behind the cof-
good product.” fee,” she says. “For the farmers, it was about making
money: They had guaranteed sales.”
RESPONSIVE ROASTERS Yet farmers had to be willing to devote the time
As the need to innovate increases, coffee roasters to training, so the project team created a peer
realize the not-so-secret ingredient to their success education structure. Farmers selected who among
is customer satisfaction. Getting prompt feedback them would be the peer educator and receive

“We knew the producer
would be happy because
they would increase their
production and get better
prices for their coffee. ”
—Joan Kithika, African Coffee Roasters, Athi River, Kenya
monthly agricultural training—knowledge that the bean production increased about 160 percent, Ms.
chosen farmers would later share with others. All Kithika says. And some of the 11,000 active co-op
told, 50 chosen trainers educated about 5,000 cof- members doubled their income, she says. That extra
fee farmers. The peer-facilitated approach helped income was the ultimate measure of project success
foster trust among farmers and built long-term among farmers, Ms. Kithika says.
interest in the training program. For instance, the “The best way to make change sustainable is
farming cooperative has continued the training on to have a commercial angle to it and to commu-
its own after the project ended, because the farmers nicate that effectively to both the producer and
see the value, Ms. Kithika says. the consumer,” she says. “In this case, we knew
“The community has to own the project them- the producer would be happy because they would
selves,” she says. “If they don’t, the benefits will die increase their production and get better prices for
as soon as implementation is over.” their coffee. And we knew Peter Larsen Kaffe would
The ROI for devoting time to training was imme- be happy because they would get consistent and
diate. During the first two years of the project, coffee quality coffee.”

from coffee drinkers helps teams determine the allows project teams to create a prototype, test it
ultimate measure of project success. with focus groups and then improve it based on
“Without the consumer, you have no business,” their feedback.
says Cecilia Jalmasco, PMP, project manager, Nestlé, “You must recruit the right target consumer
Singapore. “Consumer preferences are evolving, group for studies,” she says. “For example, you can-
and it’s important that we respond quickly.” not be recruiting very young people if you want to
Without a comprehensive plan to capture con- cater to Generation X. Or if you want to create a
sumer feedback, coffee companies risk wasting premium offering, you have to target people who
capital expenditures on products that respond are earning a certain amount of money as opposed
poorly to what consumers want, Ms. Jalmasco to the mainstream.”
says. At Nestlé, she manages R&D projects for the Ms. Jalmasco’s teams also have learned how
company’s Nescafé instant coffee brand. For those to filter feedback to fine-tune the quality of new
projects, an iterative product development cycle products. Nestlé creates and supports teams of sub-
Common Ground
Growers and roasters aren’t the only links in the supply chain embracing change. Coffee retailers around the
world are launching projects to stir new business and meet the evolving tastes of consumers.
STARBUCKS
RESERVE
ROASTERY
Location: Chicago,
Illinois, USA
Budget: Not
disclosed
Scheduled to be
completed: 2019
Starbucks will build
its largest-ever
store—a four-story,
43,000-square-foot
(3,995-square-meter)
facility that’s designed
to attract younger
coffee drinkers. The
massive coffeehouse
will serve ultra-
premium small-batch
coffees and conduct
tours showcasing a
variety of brewing
methods.

ject matter experts around the world, and project skills were needed, what risks and opportunities did
managers or team members can consult freely with we face, what resources were required—helps us
those internal experts via the company’s intranet, budget more accurately.”
she says. These expert networks are a form of Having the right information at every “Taking lessons learned
knowledge management that help the company phase—and a bird’s-eye perspective of from past projects …
innovate more quickly—and keep budgets in check
by not reinventing the wheel, says Ms. Jalmasco.
the entire supply chain—is the best way
to brew change, Mr. Cowell says.
helps us budget more
“Project managers and their team members in “Coffee is a spectrum—it’s every-
accurately.”
R&D are asked to estimate their budget as accu- thing from the seed you plant in the —Cecilia Jalmasco, PMP
rately as possible, but that’s not always easy because ground to the cup of coffee that you
there are a lot of unknowns, as opposed to the serve. Everywhere along that continuum, project
standardized technologies and practices,” she says. teams have the opportunity to affect quality both
“Taking lessons learned from past projects—what positively and negatively.” PM
PEET’S COFFEE
& TEA PLANT
Location: Suffolk, Virginia, USA
Budget: US$58 million
Scheduled to be
completed: 2018
The 175,000-square-foot
(16,258-square-meter) roasting
facility will ensure its coffee is
fresher when customers buy
it at grocery stores located far
from the company’s existing
roasting plant in Alameda,
California, USA.
CHINESE COFFEE
FACTORY
Location: Chongqing, China
Budget: CNY1 billion
Scheduled to be
completed: 2018
In response to skyrocketing
consumer demand for coffee,
COSTA COFFEE ROASTERY
China’s Chongqing municipality
is building the country’s largest Location: Basildon, Essex, England
instant coffee factory. The Budget: £38 million
factory will produce 10,000 Completed: March 2017
tons of freeze-dried coffee,
The 16-month project to build Europe’s largest coffee roaster more than quadrupled the company’s
2,000 tons of liquid coffee
roasting capacity from 11,000 tons per year to 45,000 tons. The 85,690-square-foot (7,961-square-
concentrate and 3,000 tons of
meter) facility can process 24 tons of beans per hour and also includes a new coffee academy
roasted coffee beans per year.
where Costa will train 3,000 baristas per year.

PMO
of the
Year
Award
From left, Carrie Fletcher,

PMP, Damian Jankowicz
and Jacqueline Phan, PMP

Patients
First
The Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health’s PMO gives staff
the power to provide better care.
BY TEGAN JONES
PORTRAITS BY JONATHAN BIELASKI

PMO PROFILE
Established: 2012
Size: 47 full-time employees, 13 students
Annual budget: CA$12.2 million
Average project value: CA$421,896
J
ust as with physical problems, mental as a front door to CAMH’s
health issues can’t be left to heal on services. It reduced referral
their own. Yet many people are hesi- delays in general—and cut
tant to seek professional help. Only 1 patient wait times in the child,
in 3 Canadians who experience mental youth and family service by
health challenges in any given year seek treatment, three full months. The PMO
according to the Mental Health Commission of has used that early success
Canada. This is due, in part, to long wait times in to build buy-in and cultivate
the country’s publicly funded healthcare system. relationships with clinicians,
In the province of Ontario, wait times of at least researchers and administra-
six months are common for mental health patients. tors who would support future
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health projects.
(CAMH) wants to change this. As Canada’s larg- “In a relatively short
est mental health and addiction teaching hospital, amount of time we grew to a
CAMH has 550 inpatient beds in Toronto, Ontario centralized model,” says Ms.
and sees 476,000 outpatient visits each year. It’s Fletcher. “[The PMO was]
also one of the world’s leading research centers, quickly known as the place to
educating the next generation of mental health go to get things done across
“[The PMO professionals. the organization.”
was] quickly CAMH also has a mandate “to drive social change
known as and help to advance systemic change at the national A CLEAR TRAJECTORY
the place level,” says Damian Jankowicz, vice president, infor- Effective project delivery is
to go to get mation management, CIO and chief privacy officer, particularly important for a
CAMH. hospital like CAMH, where
things done That’s why CAMH launched a project man- more than CA$313 million of its CA$408 million in
across the agement office (PMO) in 2012. The organization funding in 2017 came from national and local gov-
organization.” wanted to develop more efficient and effective ways ernment. The hospital measures success through
—Carrie Fletcher, PMP, to serve patients—and it wasted no time doing so. outcomes in clinical care, patient experience, and
CAMH One of the PMO’s first projects was Access CAMH, patient and staff safety, as well as the efficient use of
which aimed to improve CAMH’s process for government funds.
managing the more than 20,000 external referrals it “We have very strict guidelines in terms of spend-
receives each year. ing, because they’re tax dollars primarily that we are
“It allows a patient or care provider in the com- using,” Ms. Fletcher says.
munity to pick up a phone and speak to a live person But with 3,000 staff, 395 physicians and close
to ensure that the patient can get the care they need to 900 medical residents and students work-
in the program they need in a very timely manner,” ing with CAMH each year, project needs and
says Carrie Fletcher, PMP, senior director, health requests vary wildly. So the PMO helps make sure
information management and enterprise project that each new initiative aligns with the organiza-
management office (EPMO), CAMH. tion’s strategic plan.
The new process streamlined a system of more When a leader suggests a project, the PMO’s first
than 30 different referral forms into a single access step is to identify which of CAMH’s six strategic
point that more than 80 outpatient clinics can use goals the project supports. A description of the

PMO
of the
Year
Award
benefits it expects to deliver is then reiterated in the and where we need to

project charter and clarified in the scope document reallocate resources
“There’s a real
so that no information is lost along the way. or realign initiatives,” connection with
“You can’t achieve your strategic goals without he says. clinical teams to
having that infrastructure to build the organization Becoming the sin- ensure … true
on,” says Ms. Fletcher. gle source of project adoption, not just
The PMO also compiles and analyzes data to help information also has implementation.”
CAMH’s executive team stay on top of the 40 to 55 allowed the PMO
—Jacqueline Phan, PMP, CAMH
projects going on at any given time across the orga- to consolidate proj-
nization. Organizational dashboards, heat maps and ect communications
project dashboards are just a few of the tools that that go out to clinical
drive decision making and showcase the value the teams. This reduces the amount of time it takes
portfolio is working to provide. This allows leaders for the teams to understand what the project will
to create integrated project delivery plans—and change and how it will impact their jobs.
prioritize deliverables when there’s too much on the The PMO’s role in centralizing communication
table, Mr. Jankowicz says. also streamlines the adoption of new tools and
“When the organization feels stretched, we can processes. For instance, in recent years CAMH has
use these tools to see what’s actually happening embraced electronic medical records to become an

The Centre for
Addiction and Mental
Health is Canada’s
largest mental
health and addiction
teaching hospital.
almost entirely paperless organization. By access- “The PMO listens and provides that objective safe
ing patient information online, clinicians can now space to bring forward new ideas and also identify
take a more comprehensive approach to care—and pain points in adoption,” she says.
are less likely to make mistakes. But to effectively PMO team members, including project manag-
implement new technologies at the hospital, the ers, project analysts and portfolio managers, are
project team had to create tight integration among actively engaged in working groups and steering
portfolios in different clinical areas. That meant committees made up of key stakeholders across
putting people first—and spending the time to the organization. (Project analysts support project
understand how technology changes would impact managers by gathering requirements, coordinating
how teams provide patient care. meetings and following up on action items, among
“There’s a real connection with clinical teams to other things.) During these smaller conversations,
“It’s not enough ensure adoption—true adoption, not just imple- ideas and concerns come up that would likely not
to deliver the mentation,” says Jacqueline Phan, PMP, senior be raised in a larger group meeting. And building
technology. The manager, EPMO operations and proposal manage- relationships with individuals across teams means
ment, CAMH. project team members are better equipped to tell
PMO has been Learning about the inner workings of different when an unspoken issue may be bubbling up.
instrumental clinical areas has helped the PMO reduce the stress “They are looking at body language and tone,”
in delivering that comes with tech rollouts. That, in turn, has Ms. Fletcher says. “They’re identifying those that are
the value that improved the quality of care and increased organi- not speaking up in group meetings and following
the technology zational efficiency. In June, CAMH became the first up with them to ensure that they’re on board with
brings.” mental health and addiction hospital to earn Stage what is being proposed for the project.”
7 certification from the Health Information and The PMO has also earned the respect of its
—Damian Jankowicz, CAMH
Management Systems Society—the highest rating clinical colleagues by limiting the documentation
the North American agency gives for electronic it requires from its project partners. In the heav-
medical records adoption. ily regulated healthcare sector, these clinicians are
“It’s not enough to deliver the technology,” Mr. responsible for completing reams of paperwork,
Jankowicz says. “The PMO has been instrumental which already takes time away from patient care.
in delivering the value that the technology brings.” “Our PMO is focused on delivery rather than
policing,” Mr. Jankowicz says. “It’s focused on value
PLUGGING IN rather than templates and focused on removing
Cross-functional partnerships have been at the core barriers rather than delegating.”
of the PMO’s appraisals of how tech and process Yet the team still relies on some formal checks and
changes impact end users, including clinicians, balances that help keep projects on target. The PMO
researchers and students, Ms. Phan says. draws on PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management

PMO
of the
“Even though we’re not touching the patients and their Year
Award
families’ and friends’ lives in a direct way, the work that we
are doing is improving the care that they are receiving.”
—Carrie Fletcher, PMP
Immediate Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), making sure development opportunities. These include brain-
Benefits projects pass through all the major phases. But it also storms where team members troubleshoot each
scales its processes to fit the project’s complexity, other’s problems and monthly courses that cover
Supporting the
implementation of a size and budget. Focusing less on gatekeeping and topics like presentation skills, change management,
clinical information more on enabling change, the PMO’s standards have business case development and writing.
system and earning the helped deliver on project goals. Staff members are also allotted three education
highest certification “Having the mechanisms to raise early flags days per year to pursue development opportunities
from the Health around risk and being able to then mitigate them they’re interested in, including preparing to earn
Information and
early gives us confidence that we’ll get there in the their Project Management Professional (PMP)®
Management Systems
Society has helped the end,” Ms. Phan says. certification. The PMO covers a portion of the
Centre for Addiction Picking objective success measures that can be costs associated with these sessions. The invest-
and Mental Health’s tracked from the outset of every project keeps work ment ultimately pays off by boosting expertise, Ms.
project management focused on the intended outcome. And the team Fletcher says.
office (PMO) improve
will generally not close a project until that desired “When somebody has PMI certification, it auto-
patient outcomes
across the enterprise. result has been delivered—especially when that matically brings credibility to our team and cred-
Although data since work is related to clinical process improvements ibility to the work that we do,” Ms. Fletcher says.
earning the Stage 7 and patient safety, says Ms. Fletcher. “They know that things are going to get done
rating in June isn’t “We’re monitoring the data that we’re getting because we’ve got a professional working on this.”
available, the CA$65 from the project and the implementation of changes The momentum for
million, four-year
project to earn the
… to ensure that the goal has been met before a
project is closed off.”
PMO buy-in keeps build-
ing year over year. While
Lights,
Stage 6 rating—
achieved in June 2016— teams were once reluc- Camera,
produced the following
results:
EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE
Developing specialized project talent has also been a
tant to have the PMO run
their projects, they are
Action!
Check out behind-the-
n Lab results are major success factor for CAMH’s PMO. Prior to the now looking at ways to scenes videos of this
delivered 41 percent PMO, many project managers were subject matter turn all types of work into year’s PMO of the Year
faster.
experts in areas such as technology, psychology or projects so the PMO can winner and finalists on
n Reported patient PMI’s YouTube channel.
pharmacology—but they didn’t have a background help them produce better
visits increased 144
in delivering projects. results for their clients.
percent in just two
years. In its first year, the PMO looked at the number of Those results are what Calling
n Submitted claims are
milestones achieved by experienced project manag- keep the team looking All PMOs
up by 40 percent. ers compared to those reached by project managers for new opportunities for Honor PMO
not formally accountable to the PMO. The results growth, Ms. Fletcher says. excellence
n Realized revenue
jumped by 35 percent. were clear: The PMO’s project managers were hit- “Even though we’re not in 2018. Visit
ting their milestones over 70 percent of the time, touching the patients and PMI.org/Awards.
n Digital documents are
now available within while the subject matter experts were reaching their families’ and friends’
24 hours of a patient their goals between just 30 percent and 35 percent lives in a direct way, the work that we are
visit—down from 63 of the time. doing is improving the care that they
days for outpatient “Being able to invest in a PMO and properly are receiving,” she says. “And that
services and 39 days for trained project management professionals has been puts a smile on my face when I
inpatient care.
huge,” Ms. Fletcher says. leave the office at the end of
The PMO offers a variety of internal professional the day.” PM

Next
The
Industrial
Revolution
Digital manufacturing
is changing the world,
one factory at a time.
WU KAILIANG / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Now, project teams

must transform, too.
BY SARAH FISTER GALE

PHOTO BY ALEX KRAUS/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES

TODAY’S
ASSEMBLY To deliver next-
gen manufactur-
LINES
ing capabilities,
project managers must be adept at change manage-
ment. They’re often tasked with helping employ-
ees become comfortable with robot co-workers and
adapt to other newly deployed technologies. And then
are rolling with change. Whether they produce there’s the ROI question: Will smart manufacturing
vehicles, athletic shoes or smartphones, manu- investments deliver big enough payoffs? Leading orga-
More than
75
facturers are transforming their factories to keep nizations into new territory, project professionals need
pace with digital disruption. Incorporating robot- to help show the benefits of change—which aren’t
ics, 3-D printing and sensor-enabled machinery, always obvious to the entire workforce.
organizations are looking to new “smart” factories Only 14 percent of organizations are satisfied
or retrofitted facilities to forge novel ways of cutting with their level of smart factory success, accord-
PERCENT
production times, costs and waste. ing to the Capgemini report. The shift to digital of manufacturers
More than 75 percent of manufacturers either manufacturing operations requires a fundamental either have
have launched smart factory projects or plan to do reboot to assembly line culture and operations, Dr. launched smart
so, according to a 2017 survey by IT consultancy Rossmann says. “It’s easy to get excited, for example, factory projects
Capgemini. More than half (56 percent) have com- about augmented reality or wearable devices, but or plan to do so.
mitted at least US$100 million toward such projects. you’ve got to prove the value of applying these tech- Source: Capgemini
And the benefits could be significant: Smart facto- nologies for these projects to be embraced.”
ries could add up to US$1.5 trillion in value to the
global economy in the next five years. CRAWL, WALK, RUN
“Manufacturers see opportunities to significantly For many manufacturers, the digital divide is too
accelerate profitability through these projects,” says wide to leapfrog immediately into the future. That’s
Markus Rossmann, head of operations, digital man- why organizations are taking baby steps to slowly
ufacturing strategic services, Capgemini, Stuttgart, evolve their operations, relying on proof-of-concept
Germany. “It’s an outstanding order of magnitude.” projects to help win over sponsors and other key

“Manufacturers see opportunities to
significantly accelerate profitability
through these projects.”
—Markus Rossmann, Capgemini, Stuttgart, Germany
An employee of farm equipment

manufacturer AGCO uses Google Glass
in the assembly line of the company’s
Jackson, Minnesota, USA facility.
Tesla’s factory in
Fremont, California, USA
stakeholders. Starting small can help ease concerns. among workers. “We picked a small application
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TESLA AND AGCO
Workers may fear they will be replaced by robots with a specific challenge attached to it,” he says. The
and other new technology, says David Bergman, use of robots quickly eliminated ergonomic com-
PMP, engineering manager and collaborative robot plaints in those areas—a key performance metric
process developer at medical device maker Terumo for health and safety requirements.
BCT, Lakewood, Colorado, USA. “They are going “It was very successful and provided us with impor-
to work alongside this technology every day, so they tant lessons learned for round two,” he says. Those
need to be involved,” he says. lessons included making sure the facility had the
As part of his role to identify and implement new necessary peripheral machinery in place to present
manufacturing technology into Terumo BCT’s opera- the raw materials to the robots so they can function “If we had
tions, Mr. Bergman created an R&D lab focused on without additional manual steps. This year, the project
collaborative robots. These robots are designed to team implemented six more robots in a single opera-
started
safely work in the same area as humans, which saves tion area. Terumo BCT is planning to roll out more
with one big
space and allows for a more seamless manufacturing robots across its global operations in 2018. project for
environment, he says. The lab is used for feasibility “If we had started with one big project for the the whole
testing and to give factory workers the opportunity to whole facility, there would have been a much facility, there
watch and interact with the robots. steeper learning curve,” Mr. Bergman says. By would have
“It’s a visually different product than anything starting small, his team won the continued support
been a much
[the workers] are used to,” he says. “Once they real- of executives and front-line workers, which helped
ized what they can do, they got excited.” deliver measurable results.
steeper
In the first month of a yearlong testing phase, learning
Mr. Bergman received 30 requests for projects to LEARNING CURVE curve.”
use the technology across the company. At the end Many digital manufacturing innovations are so new —David Bergman, PMP,
of the 12 months, he evaluated each request and that organizations are starting from scratch when Terumo BCT, Lakewood,
Colorado, USA
identified three rounds of initial projects. The first, trying to understand scope or evaluate risks. That’s
in 2016, involved implementing robots in three particularly true in less mature markets with limited
areas of the Lakewood facility to address frequent experience implementing smart factory projects.
ergonomic injuries, like carpal tunnel syndrome, In China, for example, manufacturers are eager

PHOTO BY PAU BARRENA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
A Gestamp Automocion
factory in Abrera, Spain
to join the smart factory revolution, with the gov- Taking an agile approach allows for fast itera-
ernment providing certain financial aid as part of tions and lots of feedback, so project teams and
the “Made in China 2025” manufacturing innova- stakeholders can get a firm grasp on how the tech-
tion campaign. With wages on the rise, manufac- nology works—and how it will deliver benefits. For
turers see technology investments as a necessary example, once clients agree to agile approaches
step to curb costs while improving quality and with weekly feedback sessions, they begin to see the
meeting demand. Yet many organizations lack the possibilities of the technology and to identify incre-
experience to plan and implement these projects mental changes that can deliver business results,
successfully. Mr. Rohde-Chen says. The challenge then is reining
“Many companies don’t know what they need or in their enthusiasm.
how to scope [their projects]. That can be a prob- “We try to keep them focused on the most
“We … lem,” says Peter Rohde-Chen, PMP, general man- important goals for the current project and backlog
backlog ager at manufacturing software company iCubed4, the rest of [clients’] ideas for future sprints if there is
the rest of Shanghai, China. time and budget,” he says. “If that budget runs out,
[clients’] ideas One client hired iCubed4 this year to develop the
automation software for its industrial 3-D printing
we set those ideas aside for phase two.”
for future factory that would help build small houses. But REPLICATING SUCCESS
sprints if there the client insisted that Mr. Rohde-Chen’s team Getting everyone aligned on smart factory pilot
is time and scope the project based on specs, without allowing projects is crucial. But it’s also essential to define
budget.” them access to the facility. “It should have been a clear metrics that reveal ROI. The best measure
—Peter Rohde-Chen, PMP, straightforward project,” he says. When the manu- of success is how these tools impact customer
iCubed4, Shanghai, China facturer accepted the bid and Mr. Rohde-Chen’s results, says Rajeev Chopra, PMP, materials general
team began work, it found the plant also had a manager of the center of excellence for die body
logistics system that had to be automated in order engineering and development at Tractors and Farm
to move the elements of the printed houses between Equipment (TAFE), Chennai, India.
production steps. That led to major delays as his His organization recently deployed 3-D printing
team rescoped the plan and addressed the resulting technology so factory engineers can rapidly gener-
budget changes. iCubed4 ultimately agreed to split ate multiple prototypes of tractor pieces to deter-
the cost of the logistics equipment integration in mine the best design to meet the needs of specific
exchange for the copyright to the custom software models. This approach helps to speed innovations
developed for the project. and reduce waste.
“It was a frustrating experience,” he says. “From “Too often a design that works on paper fails
then on, we started doing agile only.” abysmally in real life,” he says. When that happens,

GETTING
SMARTER
Not every manufacturer is evolving slowly. Around the world, some
organizations are launching full smart factory projects to drive time and
cost savings and enable more rapid product innovation. “The technology
helps us de-risk
our customer
projects and
timelines and better
manage our resources.”
—Rajeev Chopra, PMP, Tractors and Farm
Equipment, Chennai, India
it can add months to a project timeline, causing the

team to miss critical deadlines and budget goals.
“The 3-D printing technology eliminates that risk
AUDI by producing a prototype that can be analyzed visu-
Location: San José Chiapa, Mexico ally for acceptance.”
Completed: 2016 For example, in a recent project to redevelop a
The US$1.3 billion facility’s assembly process involves internet-con- headlamp that didn’t fit a new tractor model, the
nected robots, drones, lasers and self-driving forklifts that carry cars TAFE team members produced multiple proto-
from station to station. The bonus: Facility operations began 30 percent
types until they found one that fixed the problem.
sooner than other Audi factories.
They were able to have the new design and pro-
totype ready in just three months—half the time
ADIDAS SPEEDFACTORY it would have taken without a 3-D printer. “The
Location: Ansbach, Germany technology helps us de-risk our customer projects
Scheduled completion: 2017 and timelines and better manage our resources,”
The company’s first smart he says.
factory will use robots and Such success stories for TAFE’s smart tech-
3-D printing to produce shoes nology projects have increased support from the
with shorter lead times and company’s chairman. To build C-suite support,
less waste. Adidas expects
Mr. Chopra always positions the goals of the
the facility to eventually produce 500,000 pairs of shoes per year and is
building a second smart factory near Atlanta, Georgia, USA to accelerate project in terms of business problems that it
the supply chain for the U.S. market. can solve. “The biggest problems project man-
agers have are undefined goals, frequent scope
INFINEON changes and stakeholder management,” he says.
TECHNOLOGIES Getting the support of senior stakeholders by
Location: Singapore presenting a strong business case for technology
Scheduled completion: 2021 investments can help project managers secure
The German semiconductor project champions who will help to move these
company’s US$77.8 million efforts forward.
plant will feature automated
“Speed to market is what all manufacturing sec-
guided vehicles that move
chips across the facility, tors are striving for—and it impresses customers
collaborative robots, internet of things sensors and advanced analytics. who are looking for innovative change in products.
The combined technologies are expected to quadruple the plant’s chip So today’s projects are critical for organizations to
output rate. gain momentum in digital manufacturing.” PM

ACROSS
THE
The choice
between agile and
waterfall has evolved
into something more
pragmatic—and
potentially more
powerful.
BY KATE ROCKWOOD
ISTOCKPHOTO
PMN1217-D-SECOND FEATURES.indd 50 11/2/17 3:38 PM


FOR
Michael Thompson, PMP, brushed off sugges-
tions from other project professionals that he try
agile approaches. “I was a hardcore waterfall guy
for a long time and just not interested,” says Mr.
Thompson, then a program manager at IBM, Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania, USA. But over the past few
years, his preference felt more like stubbornness.
60%
OF RESPONDENTS
So he began taking advantage of the free training
offered by his organization.
“You could almost see this little lightbulb go
on over my head,” says Mr. Thompson, now an
agile transformation leader at IBM, which is a
SAY THAT LESS
member of PMI’s Global Executive Council. But
THAN HALF OF THEIR his epiphany wasn’t to abandon waterfall (also
ORGANIZATION’S known as predictive) entirely. Instead,
PROJECT TEAMS it was about the value of teams tailoring
PRACTICE AGILE. their delivery approach to each project,
regardless of where they landed on the
Source: State of Agile,
VersionOne, 2017 waterfall-agile spectrum.
Such customization is at odds with
the world’s apparent love affair with “Organizations
being “agile” these days. TransUnion’s
CIO says a move from waterfall to agile
must
delivery practices helped his organization
constantly
power an enterprise-wide transformation evolve in order
effort. U.S. Citizenship and Immigra- to survive,
tion Services is exploring whether agile grow and
might help the government agency better develop.”
strengthen its data science. McKinsey is
—Sergio Conte, PMI-ACP,
pushing agile approaches as key to suc- PMI-PBA, PMP, PepsiCo,
ceeding in the big data era. Buenos Aires, Argentina
PMN1217-D-SECOND FEATURES.indd 52 11/15/17 9:40 AM

Yet traditional waterfall approaches are far from Although he had long used waterfall to run projects
ISTOCKPHOTO
extinct. Sixty percent of respondents to the latest that develop new service offerings, in the last year
State of Agile survey by VersionOne said that less than he switched to an agile approach. The upshot? “The
half of their teams practice agile. The old agile versus quality of work is vastly improved, with less time
waterfall debate is receding as many organizations spent going through the motions and more time
learn to be flexible with delivery approaches and try to spent creating what really matters,” Mr. Thompson
more nimbly react to a fast-changing world. says. But on a recent project that had a very hard,
“Organizations must constantly evolve in order aggressive deadline and required several legal and
to survive, grow and develop,” says Sergio Conte, financial reviews, with lots of contingencies, he
PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, PMP, senior program man- decided straight agile didn’t make sense.
agement supervisor in the enterprise project man- “So I used the bare minimum waterfall to lay out
agement office, PepsiCo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. milestones of what would have to happen when and
The same could be said of project talent. As more how we would achieve each milestone and then
project and program managers are expected to incorporated agile into that,” he says. That hybrid
tailor their approach to the project at hand, they’ll approach allowed the team to pivot more quickly
need a flexible delivery skill set that spans the entire when it encountered a setback, without fear of
delivery spectrum. blowing its hard-and-fast reviews. “We were flexible
enough to roll with the punches and firm enough to
CASE BY CASE deliver,” he says.
Even within the tech sector, Mr. Thompson has When deciding which approach to deploy, team
found that flexibility can deliver huge benefits. composition matters just as much as project dead-

Find the Right Fit
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for which projects lines and deliverables, points out Marcus Glowasz,
ISTOCKPHOTO
would be best served with a waterfall, agile or hybrid PMI-ACP, PMP, PgMP, senior project manager,
approach. But studying the team, project environ- Credit Suisse, Zurich, Switzerland. “If the project
ment and constraints can point project team isn’t capable of actually delivering with a
professionals in the right direction. certain [approach], there’s no sense in choosing it,”
he says.
WATERFALL AGILE At Credit Suisse, Mr. Glowasz has found that
n Hard, immovable n Requirements in hybrid approaches are becoming more common—
deadlines flux or evolving particularly in complex projects. “With any new
n High number of n User or customer project, I have to start by evaluating what works for
interdependencies, feedback needed this project,” he says.
reviews or regulatory throughout the Last year, he managed a compliance project
approvals project within the bank’s IT department, in which several “
n Stable, predict- nA new product critical enhancements to a software application
able outcome and with a high degree
requirements of unknowns
had to be introduced. When considering which ag
approach made the most sense, he first looked at
the schedule: The regulatory nature of the require-
ments and the urgency of the project meant the
lik
delivery dates were immovable. Yet the require- aro
ments weren’t stable and would likely change, “a
classic indicator that the waterfall method is not
suitable,” Mr. Glowasz says. And, at the same time, sh
development work was to be outsourced to a third-
—
party company under a fixed-price contract, “which PM
usually does not work within a pure agile approach.”

“If the project team isn’t capable of actually
delivering with a certain [approach], there’s
no sense in choosing it.”
—Marcus Glowasz, PMI-ACP, PMP, PgMP, Credit Suisse, Zurich, Switzerland
The best way forward, he decided, would be an project work. Learning the intended benefits of agile
“iterative waterfall” hybrid approach. It split the principles helped him bring more rigor to—and
requirements into meaningful chunks in order derive more value from—their application.
to have delivery in iterations without releasing “Trying to figure out agile on my own was like walk-
each to production until the final product was ing around with concrete on my shoulders,” he says.
built. “Within each iteration, the disciplines of To sharpen his skill set, he also worked with an
design, development and testing informal mentor—and played the same role when
were followed in a sequential way. team members later took the course. “There’s a
But the iterations were timed to real value in having someone say, ‘Here’s what a
address the volatility of the busi- scrum master is in theory, and here’s how it works
ness requirements and provided at IBM,’” says Mr. Thompson. “Especially as more
room for change,” Mr. Glowasz companies embrace hybrid methods, we need to be
“Trying to says. “The hybrid approach bene- clear about how the theory and the organization’s
figure out fited the project massively in terms application might differ.”
agile on my of delivering value.” When the approach is up for grabs, combing
own was through the company’s knowledge center and les-

KNOWLEDGE UPGRADE sons learned can provide crucial guidance. When
like walking During the in-house training that Credit Suisse offered internal training classes on
around with kick-started his agile journey, it agile and hybrid approaches, the instructor turned
concrete dawned on Mr. Thompson that his past projects into case studies for learning oppor-
on my teams had already incorporated tunities and discussion. Mr. Glowasz found them to
shoulders.” some agile techniques without be the highlight of the course he completed.
realizing it. He then decided to “Role-playing [an approach] using a real-life proj-
—Michael Thompson,
PMP, IBM, Pittsburgh, take an immersive scrum course ect shows how the approach works within our
Pennsylvania, USA while stepping away from daily company.” PM


Taking
Charge
BATTERY STORAGE
PROJECTS HAVE THE POWER
TO CREATE A CLEANER GRID,
BUT ONLY IF TEAMS CAN
RESOLVE REGULATORY AND
REQUIREMENTS ISSUES.
BY NOVID PARSI
ILLUSTRATION BY CHIARA VERCESI

The sun doesn’t
always shine. The
wind doesn’t always
blow. So project
teams are advancing
technology to
cushion against
unreliability.
With battery costs dropping, grid-scale storage
facility construction projects are multiplying—and
realizing the promise of a cleaner grid. And electric
utilities are moving fast to implement new systems
and reap their benefits.
“Renewable energy sources fluctuate, so we will
need storage to cover times when they are not
available,” says Thomas Walter, PMP, project man-
Globally, ager for battery storage systems, Bosch, Stuttgart,
Germany. “Nobody wants to turn off their lights
storage capacity because there’s no sun or wind.”
will grow at a
Globally, storage capacity will grow at a 60 per-
cent compound annual growth rate through 2020,
60 percent
according to Navigant Research. The U.S. storage
market alone will increase tenfold between 2016
and 2022, reaching US$3.2 billion, according to the
compound annual U.S. Energy Storage Monitor.
Along with bolstering the viability of renewable
growth rate energy sources, battery energy storage systems also can
through 2020.
provide supplemental power during peak demand peri-
ods. That’s an attractive combination of benefits. “The
systems provide the utility industry with improved
Source: Navigant Research
energy reliability and stability and zero greenhouse
emissions,” says David Heard, PMP, project manager,
AES Energy Storage, Arlington, Virginia, USA.

The world’s largest lithium-ion battery
facility is taking shape near
Jamestown, Australia.
In Europe and the U.S. state of California, which scale energy storage solutions into operation by 31
PHOTO COURTESY OF TESLA
have mandated reductions in greenhouse gas emis- December 2016. SCE managed to hit that deadline,
sions, battery storage projects are helping orga- bringing in Tesla to complete an 80-megawatt-hour
nizations meet urgent deadlines. But both the (MWh) project in just four months. At the time it
utility organizations that sponsor projects and the was the largest such storage facility in the world.
contractors that construct them are tasked with That’s helped to create an industry-wide expec-
introducing a new technology into grid systems tation of very fast project delivery, project profes-
that, broadly speaking, haven’t changed much in sionals say.
decades. Other thorny obstacles can include secur- Early this year, the state of South Australia
ing regulatory approval for not-yet-regulated tech- decided to build the world’s largest lithium-ion “From a project
nology and sponsors’ expectations that projects be battery facility in a blackout-plagued area—and, management
completed in a matter of months. befitting the industry, on a tight schedule. The 129- perspective,
“From a project management perspective, every- MWh facility would connect a wind farm with the
everything with
thing with energy storage systems is evolving,” grid to provide greater energy stability for residents.
says R. Kent Thomson, senior manager, integrated And it would be operational by 1 December, the
energy storage
innovation and modernization project management start of Australia’s summer season. To hit the dead- systems is
office, Southern California Edison (SCE), Westmin- line, the procurement team would have to secure evolving.”
ster, California, USA. contractors no later than July—giving it just enough —R. Kent Thomson, Southern
time to construct the facility, says Jason Schell, California Edison, Westminster,
California, USA
100 DAYS OR BUST COO and chief procurement officer, Department
California encountered an energy shortage when of the Premier and Cabinet, Government of South
a natural gas plant there ruptured and spewed Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
huge amounts of gas into the atmosphere in Octo- The high-tech project relied on a low-tech com-
ber 2015. So, in 2016, the state’s government munications solution, Mr. Schell says. He placed
ordered SCE and other utilities to put more grid- all stakeholders on the same floor of a government

Packed With Power
Battery storage facilities
are powering a shift to
more renewable-friendly
and stable power grids.
The benefits of these
projects go beyond
banking solar and wind
power: They also can
provide supplemental
power during more
costly peak energy use.
Southern California
Edison’s Mira Loma
facility
Location: Ontario,
PHOTO COURTESY OF EDISON INTERNATIONAL

California, USA
Timeline: September-
December 2016
Megawatt hours
(MWh): 80
Surge: The site’s 400 bat-
teries can store enough
energy to power 2,500
homes per day.
building so his team could define the project’s scope hired AES to construct an 8-MWh energy storage
on schedule. They arranged in-person meetings system by the first quarter of 2018. Mr. Heard had
every day, rather than emailing back and forth. “It to get the design approved and permitted and have
made a massive difference,” Mr. Schell says. “That’s the equipment in place by December. To manage
what allowed us to meet the time frame.” this tight schedule, Mr. Heard fast-tracked the
With a clearly defined scope, the team quickly project: He had his internal team work concur-
“The biggest identified the contractors that could deliver. It selected rently with external engineers. At the project’s start,
project a joint venture of Tesla and the French renewables he determined his internal team’s future workload,
management organization Neoen because of each company’s track then calculated the external support needed and
challenge for record. Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s bold promise didn’t factored that into the contract.
battery storage hurt either, Mr. Schell says. “Delivering the facility “In project management, gathering requirements
systems in 100 days after the agreement was signed or else it was and planning are half the battle,” he says.
free—that was obviously a standout.”
Europe is The pressure for project teams to keep their MEET THE REGULATORS
the lack of schedules short and their budgets low is especially In the European Union, a big part of the battle is on
regulations and high in California, where, since 2016, “an unrealistic the regulatory front.
codes.” perception of on-schedule execution” exists, Mr. “The biggest project management challenge for
—Thomas Walter, PMP, Bosch, Heard says. battery storage systems in Europe is the lack of reg-
Stuttgart, Germany To establish more realistic expectations of on- ulations and codes,” Mr. Walter says. The systems
time delivery, Mr. Heard clearly lays out expec- are “unknown in the regulatory arena.” That means
tations in AES Energy Storage’s contracts with project teams require expert knowledge on battery
utilities. “It’s about communication, contract nego- storage systems so project plans can get approved
tiation and managing expectations by educating the through existing power-sector regulations.
client on a proper schedule,” he says. In January 2017, Bosch launched a six-month
In July, Arizona Public Service Electric Company pilot project to demonstrate a prototype system’s

“We are demonstrating
that renewable
energy can provide
dependable,
distributable power.”
—Jason Schell, Government of South
Australia, Adelaide, Australia
South Australia Government’s Tesla-Neoen facility Mitsubishi Corp. and Eneco’s EnspireME facility
Location: Jamestown, Australia Location: Jardelund, Germany
Timeline: July-December 2017 Timeline: April-December 2017
MWh: 129 MWh: 50
Surge: The facility is 60 percent larger than any other battery Surge: The facility will be Europe’s largest battery storage system.
storage unit in the world.
ability to load and discharge energy for public utili- SCE hired Tesla to execute in the final quarter
ties. Mr. Walter’s team faced two key risks: not get- of 2016, “a big focus was this transition,” he says.
ting the permit on time and, even worse, not getting From day one, he engaged members of SCE’s power
it at all. So he engaged the regulatory authorities generation team, which would take over the facility
as early as possible—well before his organization after project completion. By mid-project, his team
officially submitted project plans—to address their had resolved all of their questions.
“In project
concerns. Mr. Walter had Bosch engineers meet Mr. Thomson enabled this efficient resolution
with regulatory officials and share their knowledge process by creating two websites that housed all
management,
about batteries. Education wasn’t enough, however: of the project’s documentation, as well as discus- gathering
His team also helped put measures in place to allay sion boards. These boards included an internal requirements
any safety concerns. For instance, it provided the site for the SCE team and an external site for the and planning
local firefighting brigade with special foam to extin- Tesla team. Mr. Thomson also ensured regular are half the
guish battery fires. communication by assembling team members for battle.”
In the end Mr. Walter’s team secured the permit weekly meetings that ramped up to daily meetings
—David Heard, PMP, AES
in just six weeks—half the time scheduled for the in the project’s final month. “I had to get my arms Energy Storage, Arlington,
permitting process. As a result, the entire project around the many stakeholders and their roles, Virginia, USA
came in six weeks under schedule. both internally and externally,” he says. “It was a
big job, requiring a high degree of communication
PREPARE FOR CHANGE and collaboration.”
Another common challenge facing battery storage With new storage capabilities quickly in place,
project teams is how to effectively transition new benefits can start flowing through the grid faster,
installations to operations teams—which often have positioning utilities to provide customers with more
never managed such facilities before. Mr. Thom- reliable and cleaner power. “We are demonstrating
son’s approach is to plan for this handoff from the that renewable energy can provide dependable, dis-
start. While working on the 80-MWh project that tributable power,” Mr. Schell says. PM

Frozen
2017 PMI ®
Project
of the
Year
FINALIST
The Gahcho Kué diamond

mine in Canada’s
Northwest Territories
PHOTO COURTESY OF DIAMOND PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION

62 PM NETWORK NOVEMBER 2017 PMI.ORG

en Assets A diamond mine project
team had to navigate
subarctic territory to
strike it rich.
BY TEGAN JONES
D
iamonds are forever. Diamond
mines are not.
Each mine has a set carat count
it’s projected to produce in its
limited lifespan. And how quickly
a mine can ramp up production plays a large part in
defining its long-term profitability.
The Gahcho Kué diamond mine, located just
below the Arctic Circle, is projected to produce 54
million carats over its 12-year lifetime and contrib-
ute CA$6.7 billion to the Canadian economy.
But to maximize ROI for its owners, De Beers
Canada and Mountain Province Diamonds, the mine
had to start production on schedule. And the project
team had to overcome a blizzard of challenges to keep
the project on schedule. It had to navigate hundreds of
miles of deadly ice roads, extreme weather conditions
and surprise schedule setbacks—all while meeting
strict environmental and safety standards.
“We want people who buy our diamonds to know
that we’ve been responsible, both in terms of safety
toward people and also in terms of our stewardship
of the land, so they can wear that diamond with
pride,” says Kim Truter, CEO, De Beers Canada,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
ON THIN ICE
Located deep in Canada’s Northwest Territories,
280 kilometers (174 miles) northeast of the region’s
capital of Yellowknife, Gahcho Kué was built in one
of the world’s harshest environments. With winter

2017 PMI ®
Project
of the
Year
FINALIST
temperatures averaging minus 29 degrees Celsius

(minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit), project plans had to
Hidden
revolve around the region’s weather.
Gems
For instance, any outside tasks had to be com- December 2013:
Land use permit
pleted before temperatures dropped so low that
issued and work
equipment could no longer function properly. If begins
work had been delayed and was stretched into the
November 2014:
coldest months, shifts would have needed to be Airstrip operational
shortened to keep team members from spending and permanent camp
too much time outside, says Allan Rodel, PMP, installation complete
head of project and now the general manager of March 2015:
Gahcho Kué for De Beers Canada in Yellowknife. Concrete foundation
“Imagine working in minus 40 degrees Celsius construction begins
for processing plant
[minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit]—you cannot work for
extended periods in that environ- May 2015: Structural
“Missing ment,” Mr. Rodel says. “So it ends
steel construction
begins
the ice up meaning that you have extended
January 2016:
road would person hours on-site. That then
Emulsion plant
have meant drives costs. So the quicker you can completed
get the project safely completed in
adding 10 the right amount of time, or better
May 2016: Truck
months to yet, even early, you then drive your
shop and processing
plant completed
a year to budget down.” June 2016: First
the project On the flip side, most supplies diamonds mined
schedule.” can be transported only in the dead August 2016: Ramp From left, Kim Truter, Allan
—Guy LeClair, Hatch,
of winter, after the ice on northern up to full production Rodel, PMP, Guy LeClair
begins and John Bryant
Montreal, Quebec, lakes becomes thick enough to hold
Canada heavy trucks. Specialized engineers March 2017:
measure the ice in different areas, Commercial
and when it’s 3 feet (0.91 meters) thick, the first light production begins not accommodate large shipments of air freight,
PHOTO BY GERARD YUNKER
loads can be sent up the road. As the ice grows, even says Guy LeClair, managing director of minerals
heavier loads—up to 45 tons—can be shipped. To stay for Hatch, the company that managed planning and
on schedule, the Gahcho Kué team had to plan logis- execution for the project.
tics carefully, making sure materials were shipped as “Missing the ice road would have meant adding 10
soon as the roads were ready, says Mr. Rodel. months to a year to the project schedule,” says Mr.
“The winter road is open between six and eight LeClair, who is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
weeks of the year,” he says. “That means your main “It would have destroyed a lot of value for the owners
logistics campaign has to take place within that by pushing revenue back by that period of time.”
time frame. There’s really limited space for error.”
Supplies that weren’t delivered on the 420-kilo- UNDER PRESSURE
meter (261-mile) ice road likely wouldn’t make it To identify and mitigate any logistics issues before
on-site until the following year, as the site could they pushed the project off track, the team relied

“There are very
few projects
around the world
in the mining space
these days that get
delivered on time
and on budget.”
—Kim Truter, De Beers Canada,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
on well-defined risk management processes. It was scheduled to begin, the main contractor pulled
maintained an active risk log that outlined the top out of the project.
20 to 30 upcoming issues and developed mitigation “After the initial panic was over, we realized that we
measures to address potential consequences. The had to change strategies completely,” says John Bryant,
team reviewed the highest priority items in weekly senior project manager, Hatch, Scottsdale, Arizona,
trend meetings, Mr. LeClair says. USA. “It was too late to go back to a single contractor,
“That’s a living process,” he says. “You don’t do so we elected to go to discipline-based, commodity
that once and put it in a drawer. You update it as contractors and break out the project accordingly.”
information becomes available throughout the life The project team was able to react quickly
cycle of the project.” because it had created a very detailed construction
Thorough risk management also helped the team plan. It outlined where specific work packages inte-
manage a major surprise that threatened to sink the grated with engineering and procurement, so that
project schedule: Six months before construction the team understood what dependencies would be

2017 PMI ®
Project
of the
Year
FINALIST
TALENT SPOTLIGHT
Allan Rodel, PMP,
head of project; general
manager, Gahcho Kué
mine, De Beers Canada impacted by the change. Paired with a construction execution plan has a full array of the functional
Location: Yellowknife, simulation tool, this plan made it possible for the requirements to execute the project.”
Northwest Territories, team to assign work to a variety of vendors without Clear processes that streamlined logistics and
Canada throwing the project into chaos. kept the project on track also helped workers
Experience: 18 years Using lean boards also helped the project team on-site focus on safety. Because the construction
Other notable projects: think fast and stay on track in spite of this setback. team received plans, work products and supplies
n The Angolan Mulepe For instance, the team conducted daily meetings in on schedule, it didn’t feel the need to skip steps to
project, completed in front of a whiteboard that listed upcoming tasks. make up lost time.
2012, included resource This approach helped the team quickly identify key “If materials are late, if engineering is incomplete,
evaluation, resettle-
action items that needed to be completed every if the equipment that gets to site is not the right
ment and compensation,
the construction of a day. Doing this also reduced the amount of time equipment, construction crews will be thinking
sampling facility, and the the team had to spend rehashing project details and about workaround solutions rather than focusing
feasibility and engineering helped everyone stay focused on next steps. on safe planning of the work,” Mr. LeClair says.
of a 7-metric-ton per year “The lean board allowed each of the disciplines to The team’s disciplined project management
mining complex. Mr.
be able to talk to each other straightaway and hand approach helped it deliver a predictable outcome—
Rodel was the senior
project manager. off needs and decisions immediately,” Mr. Bryant and a strong ROI—in an unpredictable environ-
says. “That process really does allow you to mitigate ment, says Mr. Truter.
n The AK06 mine fea-
sibility and early works risks in a timely fashion and ensure good outcomes.” “There are very few projects around the world in
program, a project in Having a common project management language the mining space these days that get delivered on
Botswana completed in also helped the team respond quickly and efficiently. time and on budget,” he says. “So if you can have
2008. Mr. Rodel was the Drawing on good practices from PMI’s A Guide a track record of doing that consistently, you have
senior project manager. to the Project Management Body of Knowledge created a competitive advantage and therefore a
Career lesson learned: (PMBOK® Guide) saved time up front by giving strategic advantage.”
“Fully understanding the everyone a structured approach to start from.
local conditions for both
the project phase and the
“You’re not spending time trying to develop a SHARE THE WEALTH
operational phase will new system,” Mr. Rodel says. “A system does exist, How the team collaborated with the local commu-
ensure you build it right.” and you’ve just got to make sure that your project nity was another key factor that fueled the project’s

“After the initial panic was over,
we realized that we had to change
strategies completely.”
—John Bryant, Hatch, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
The Gahcho Kué ice

road. At left, the facility’s
processing plant
success. To make sure the project was meeting the people, particularly from indigenous communities,
requirements of indigenous stakeholders in the North- gain marketable skills that they will be able to carry
west Territories, the project team created impact ben- with them after the mine closes in 12 years.
efit agreements with six communities. “We’ve got several professional development pro-
As a result of these agreements, the project team grams for training metallurgists, engineers, geologists,”
established an environmental monitoring agency that Mr. Rodel says. “We are sourcing those scholars where
included community members. The agency met quar- we can out of Yellowknife and the surrounding areas.”
terly to discuss how the mine project was progressing On an ongoing basis, the mine aims to spend at
and address any stakeholder pain points, such as con- least 60 percent of its operating budget with local
cerns about how the mine would affect the local envi- businesses ranging from fabricators to caterers. And
ronment and the use of the land. But the on-site team in its first year of operation, that amount reached 71
didn’t stop there. It also added one of the community percent. This level of investment is help-
members to observe operations on-site on a daily basis. ing northern companies grow so that they Lights,
“So when the environmental department goes out can compete against more established Camera,
and does water samples or goes in and inspects land- businesses in the south. Action!
use permit requirements or water license requirements, “That is a lasting legacy we can leave Check out behind-the-
they’re there with us,” Mr. Rodel says. “They would, on a behind,” Mr. Truter says. scenes videos of this
year’s PMI Project of the
firsthand basis, be able to see in the field how we’re treat- Ultimately, the team was able to ramp
Year finalists on PMI’s
ing the land, how we’re abiding the requirements of the up production two months early—and YouTube channel.
land-use permit and the water license.” exceeded the mine’s 2016 carat projec-
The project also provided economic benefits tion by 60 percent. Call for
to communities across the Northwest Territories. “This project was delivered safely, on Awards
Whenever possible, the project team spent money time and under budget, in one of the
Nominations
in the region, helping to build capacity that will harshest operating environments in the Honor project
last into the future within the workforce as well as world,” Mr. Truter says. “It’s a testa- excellence in 2018. Visit
among northern businesses. Through training and ment to very good project management PMI.org/Awards
progressive development, the project aimed to help and very good project leadership.” PM

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CLOSING THOUGHTS
Nerago Ndoroma, PMP
Location: Windhoek, Namibia
Title: Project manager, strategic projects
Organization: Namibia Financial Institutions
Supervisory Authority
Industry: Government
What attracted you to What’s most reward-
project management? ing about your job?
I’m easily bored, and no two Implementing projects
projects are ever the same. that address issues bigger
I also love that it doesn’t tie than oneself. Legacy is
you down to one field. very important to me.
What’s the best project How would you

management advice describe your project
you’ve received? management style?
Always leverage the expertise AA: agile and adaptive.
and strengths of your team.
How do you relieve
stress?
Who else [but I create little pockets
project managers] is of “me time” and fill
going to make sure them with things I truly
enjoy, like gastronomy,
things get done? getaways and time with
loved ones.
What’s the best project
you’ve worked on? Why does the world
My current one, rolling out need project manag-
four new pieces of legislation ers?
that govern Namibia’s finan- Who else is going to make
cial sector. It is preparing the sure things get done?
industry for a new regime.
Which historic person
What’s a typical day in would you add to a
your current role? project team?
PHOTO BY JOHAN JOOSTE
No two days are ever the Joan of Arc. She was able
same! But I constantly focus to inspire troops and lead
on engagement—engaging them to success at the
experts, project teams, spon- age of 17—and she’s a
sors and others. woman!
nKnow anyone who should be featured on this page?

Email pmnetwork@imaginepub.com
PMN1217-E-BACK.indd 72 11/27/17 6:01 PM

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PMNetwork

DECEMBER 2017 VOLUME 31, NUMBER 12

2017 PMO OF THE YEAR

Damian Jankowicz and

MAKING PROJECT MANAGEMENT INDISPENSABLE FOR BUSINESS RESULTS.®

PMN1217 Cover final.indd 1 11/2/17 3:31 PM

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS | Nominations open 1 November 2017

Learn more at www.PMI.org/Awards

PMN1217 Cover final.indd 2 11/2/17 3:31 PM

Features Joan Kithika, African

DECEMBER 2017 | VOLUME 31, NUMBER 12

drinkers have a taste Revolution storage projects have

PMN1217-a-Front.indd 1 11/2/17 4:02 PM

Class at your location at your convenience

Discounts for group enrollment

PMTI assigns dedicated instructor

PMTI assigns dedicated administrative staff

Dedicated PMP® exam application assistance

High quality proven guaranteed prep course

Your Corporate Trainer for PMP ®

PMN1217-a-Front.indd 2 11/2/17 4:02 PM

6 The Future’s on Hold Before 5G can revolutionize

7 Power Planters Tree-planting drones are taking off

8 Cyber Gender Gaps Women are underrepresented

8 Pipe Dreams Money is pouring into sewer system

10 Hungry for Food Halls Multi-restaurant facilities

14 One and Done Could “flash organizations” become

16 Metrics Get Smarter: Artificial intelligence R&D

20 72 20 Career Q&A Take the Plunge

22 Project Toolkit Bonding Opportunity

GETTING IT DONE: Project Management in Action

PMN1217-a-Front.indd 3 11/2/17 4:02 PM

PMI STAFF CONTRIBUTING EDITOR PUBLICATION & MEMBERSHIP

Reader Feedback: editorial@pmi.org Vice Chair

ADVERTISING SALES Secretary-Treasurer and Chair, Audit  ROJ­ECT MAN­AGE­MENT IN­STI­TUTE

PMN1217-a-Front.indd 4 11/2/17 4:02 PM

The Swiss Abyss

DECEMBER 2017 PM NETWORK 5

PMN1217-a-Front.indd 5 11/2/17 4:02 PM

PHOTO BY JOSEP LAGO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The Future’s on Hold

6 PM NETWORK DECEMBER 2017 PMI.ORG

PMN1217-a-Front.indd 6 11/2/17 4:03 PM

ground and plant seed pods. Local communities are

ties’ support to secure permits so that these proj-

DECEMBER 2017 PM NETWORK 7

PMN1217-a-Front.indd 7 11/2/17 4:03 PM

Cyber Gender Gaps Pipe Dreams

2015 2016 Digging Deep

8 PM NETWORK DECEMBER 2017 PMI.ORG

PMN1217-a-Front.indd 8 11/2/17 4:03 PM

largest single infrastructure proj-

gapore, has worked with more

DECEMBER 2017 PM NETWORK 9

PMN1217-a-Front.indd 9 11/2/17 4:03 PM

Many Cooks in the Kitchen

in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Blue Star Properties

10 PM NETWORK DECEMBER 2017 PMI.ORG

ADVERTISING SALES Secretary-Treasurer and Chair, Audit ROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE