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This summary provides an overview of the March 2015 issue of PM Network magazine: 1) The issue features articles on topics such as nuclear reactor projects making a comeback after Fukushima, using virtual reality for journalism projects, and using project management approaches for startups and non-profits. 2) It also includes columns on cementing concrete connections in your career, facing fears as a project manager, and dealing with imposed deadline syndrome. 3) The issue provides information for project managers on earning a doctorate in project management, preparing for the PMP exam, and the evolution of project management as a mature discipline.

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MAKING PROJECT MANAGEMENT INDISPENSABLE FOR BUSINESS RESULTS.® PMNetwork® MARCH 2015 VOLUME 29, NUMBER 3 NUCLEAR PROJECTS MAKE A COMEBACK PAGE 6 AVOID IMPOSED DEADLINE SYNDROME PAGE 29 HOW YOUNG PROJECT MANAGERS BREAK INTO THE FIELD PAGE 52 PAGE 30 THE PROJECTS BEHIND THE PAGE 30 CITIES OF THE FUTURE
It’s time to reach your next goal. Get a doctorate in project management. The numbers don’t lie: Project managers in the U.S. who hold a doctoral degree earn a median of $13,000 more annually than those with just a master’s degree. SOURCE: PMI’S THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SALARY SURVEY, EIGHTH EDITION (2013). Online doctoral offerings to take you to the next phase of your career: • DBA with a specialization in Project Management • PhD in Business Management with a specialization in Project Management • PhD in Information Technology with a specialization in Project Management Why Capella? • The only university to offer project management programs in business and information technology at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, as well as an IT PM certificate offering. • Programs are recognized by industry associations and accrediting bodies. • Learn from faculty with top academic credentials and real-world experience. • Earn your doctorate in a way that fits your life—without relocating or putting your career on hold. See graduation rates, median student debt, and other information at www.capellaresults.com/outcomes.asp. ACCREDITATION: Capella University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Capella University, Capella Tower, 225 South Sixth Street, Ninth Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55402, 1.888.CAPELLA (227.3552), www.capella.edu. © 2015. Capella University 15-8018 SAVE UP TO $10,000 WITH A CAPELLA SCHOLARSHIP Don’t miss out. Start today. TEACH, CONSULT, OR LEAD with a doctorate in project management in business or IT from Capella University. YOUR NEXT STEP STARTS HERE: CAPELLA.EDU/PMNETWORK | 866.516.9183
30 42 6046 30 42 46 52 60 Features Rethinking Cities With the global challenge of a booming urban population comes the opportunity to create more advanced cities. By Emma Haak Technical Know-How A smart robot builds an innovative structure— with the help of the project team behind it. By Meredith Landry Passion Projects Whether startups or not-for-profits, resource- strapped organizations can benefit from familiar—and not-so-familiar—project management approaches. By Steve Hendershot Starting Out Right Early-career project practitioners share their stories of breaking into the field, and succeeding in it. By Rachel Bertsche An Island Unto Itself A French project team manages competing currents—of water and stakeholder concerns— to restore Mont-Saint-Michel’s maritime character. By MattAlderton MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 29, NUMBER 3
4-Day Classroom Boot Camp Prep Online/e-Learning Prep Virtual Instructor-Led Classroom Prep Corporate/Group Training & Discounts PMI, the PMI Logo, the PMI Registered Education Provider Logo, PMP and PMBOK are marks of Project Management Institute, Inc Try FREE 200 question exam prep test at: http://www.4PMTI.com/Free_200_PMP_Questions 4PMTI.com/SocialMedia FREE PMP exam eligibility advice, exam application preparation tool & application review FREE 60 PDUs after you pass the exam! Renew your PMP certification for free! 45,000+ successful PMP certificants agree our courses & expert instructors are the best! FREE 35 contact hours course included! America’s most proven bootcamp for 10 years! This course is designed as a 4-day class where students can take the exam on the 5th day. Visit www.4PMTI.com for further details. Subject to meeting other requirements set by PMI. * We guarantee that you will pass the PMP exam within your first three attempts or we will return your money per following terms: if you fail, we will pay your re-exam fees and provide additional coaching up to two times. If you fail a 3rd time, we will refund your course fees less re-exam fees. Based on results reported by 100% of our customers since 2003, 95% of our students pass the on 1st attempt and 98% pass on the 2nd attempt. Visit www.4PMTI.com/MoneyBack.exam Global Head Quarters: 29777 Telegraph Road, Suite 2120, Southfield, MI - 48375 (USA) (PMTI) Middle-East Singapore Atlanta Boston Chicago Columbia Detroit Fairfax Houston Los Angeles New Jersey New York Raleigh San Jose San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tampa Washington DC 100+ cities... Dallas Denver Calgary Edmonton Montreal Toronto and more.... Bangalore Chennai Delhi/Gurgaon Mumbai/PuneKolkata Hyderabad Dubai Saudi Arabia Singapore Phone: 734-786-0104 Fax: 248-809-4060 Email: info@4PMTI.com Web: www.4PMTI.com Thank you!!!! I did not have to go thru several books and simulations exams to get my PMP certification. Your material and instructor was really what I needed.! - Dyana Torquato This is a fabulous boot camp and I was very impressed with the instructor. I could go on and on about your instructor because I honestly feel that the delivery of the PMTI course makes a huge difference in the success of the students. I'm going to recommend my employer use PMTI for any corporate PMP exam boot camps they think about hosting! - Jennifer Sebastian Pass In 5 Days or Your Money Back*! PMTI 4-Day PMP Exam Prep Boot Camp (100% Money-Back Guarantee) ** PMTI 10 Anniversary OfferSpecial $405 Off!! **Visit www.4PMTI.com for details Trusted instructors and class materials that receive five star praise! GS-02F-0056T Schedule th ** ** ®
DOWNLOADTHEPMNETWORKAPPandreadthemagazineonyouriPad, iPhoneoriPodTouch,orAndroiddevice. AlsoMARCH 2015 | VOLUME 29, NUMBER 3 MAKING PROJECT MANAGEMENT INDISPENSABLE FOR BUSINESS RESULTS.® THE EDGE 6 Reactor Revival Four years after Fukushima, nuclear reactor projects return. 8 A New Way to Make Art To help disabled children create 3-D art, a U.K. project turned to touch-screen and eye-tracking technologies. 9 On theVerge ofVirtual Virtual reality projects could usher in the future of journalism. 11 China’s New Stimulus Program The country looks to infrastructure and energy projects to mitigate a housing slump. 11 Defense Giant Diversifies The world’s largest defense company responds to U.S. budget cuts by branching out. 12 Old Infrastructure, New Life These urban projects have revitalized unused and underused city spaces. 14 Data Under Lock and Key To protect their virtual treasures, data centers bulk up their physical security. 16 Metrics CEOs around the world face daunting technology and talent challenges. If they want their portfolios to succeed, the current climate demands they prepare for change. VOICES 18 Inside Track Patrolling the Skies Col. ReidVander Schaaf, PhD, sensors development project manager, U.S. Department of Defense, Huntsville, Alabama, USA 20 Project Toolkit Under Pressure 24 In the Trenches Smooth Operator By DeepaGandhavalli Ramaniah, PMP 28 In the Trenches You Get the Picture By Rhonda WilsonOshetoye, PMP, and LaurenceCook, PMP 70 In the Trenches Blame Game ByGrace Willis, PMP COLUMNISTS 22 Career QA Concrete Connections By Lindsay Scott 26 Managing Relationships Facing Fears By Sheilina Somani, RPP, FAPM, PMP, Contributing Editor 27 Leadership Rush Hour By RicardoVianaVargas, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMP 29 The Business of Projects Imposed Deadline Syndrome ByGary R. Heerkens, MBA, CBM, PMP, Contributing Editor ALSO INTHIS ISSUE 68 Marketplace The Evolution and Maturity of PM 71 Directory of Services Project management resources 72 Closing Credit London’s greenest bridge 6 14 28 72 PMNetwork® COVER IMAGE COURTESY OF LAVA
THE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE OF THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE PUBLICATION MEMBERSHIP PM Network (ISSN 1040-8754) is published monthly by the Project Management Institute. PM Network is printed in the USA by Quad Graphics, Sussex, Wisconsin. Periodical postage paid at Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 and at additional mailing offices. Canadian agreement #40030957. Postmaster: Send address changes to PM Network, 14 Campus Boulevard, New- town Square, PA 19073-3299 USA. Phone +1 610 356 4600, fax +1 610 482 9971. The mission of PM Network is to facilitate the exchange of information among professionals in the fields of project, program and portfolio management, provide them with practical tools and techniques, and serve as a forum for discussion of emerging trends and issues. All articles in PM Network are the views of the authors and are not necessarily those of PMI. Subscription rate for members is US$42/year and is included in the annual dues. 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Sheilina Somani, FAPM, RPP, PMP, Positively Project Management 2015 PMI BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Steve DelGrosso, MSc, PMP +1 919 848 6986, steve.delgrosso@bod.pmi.org Vice Chair Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, PMP +32 479 80 94 18, antonio.nieto.rodriguez@bod.pmi.org Secretary-Treasurer and Chair, Audit and Performance Oversight Committee Mark Dickson, MBA, FAICD, PMP +61 407 933 110, mark.dickson@bod.pmi.org Chair, Strategy Development Oversight Committee Deena Gordon Parla, PMP +90 533 511 4462, deena.gordon.parla@bod.pmi.org DIRECTORS Margareth Carneiro, MBA, MSc, PMP +55 61 8175 3455, margareth.carneiro@bod.pmi.org J. Davidson Frame, PhD, PMP, PMI Fellow +1 703 623 0035, davidson.frame@bod.pmi.org Todd Hutchison, MCom, MBA, PMP +61 422 532 775, todd.hutchison@bod.pmi.org Victoria S. 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6 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG 70Number of reactor construction projects now underway worldwide US$135billionValue of reactor projects delayed or canceled after the 2011 Fukushima meltdown in Japan 60%Estimated increase in global nuclear generation capacity by 2040 theEdA police officer guards the construction site of the Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant in Sanmen, Zhejiang Province, China. Sources: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, International Energy Agency PHOTOBYFENGLI/GETTYIMAGES
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 7 Reactor Revival Four years after the Fukushima meltdown caused Japan to close all 48 of its nuclear plants and prompted Germany to pledge to shut down its 17 plants by 2022, nuclear projects are making a comeback. Yet, in the wake of Fukushima, the project teams overseeing new reactors must navigate heightened safety concerns and complex technology amid increased public interest and, at times, opposition. After Fukushima, 24 reactor projects around the world, representing over US$135 billion, were postponed or canceled. Now 70 reactor construction projects are underway worldwide, the most since 1989, according to Bloom- berg New Energy Finance. By 2040, nuclear generation capacity will increase 60 percent globally, the International Energy Agency estimates. The Asia Pacific region, especially China and India, is home to nearly two-thirds of the reactors under construction. China plans to complete 29 new reactors from 2018 through 2030, raising its total to 49, according to Bloomberg. China’s increased nuclear capacity will exceed the current capacity of the United States and Russia combined. “We see most of the construction in the growing economies, in the parts of the world where you see strong economic growth,” Agneta Rising, the head of the World Nuclear Associa- tion, told Bloomberg. Meanwhile, nine of the new reactors, or 13 percent of the total, are going up in developed countries. For the first time in more than 30 years, new nuclear plant projects are underway in the United States, with four due to come online by 2020. In September, the U.S. Depart- ment of Energy announced it would provide up to US$12.6 billion in loan guarantees to nuclear projects that reduce green- house gas emissions. Still, these initiatives face sometimes fierce opposition from public stakeholders. The Japanese government sees nuclear power as critical to the country’s growth, as it now relies mostly on imported natural gas and coal for its power. However, in late 2014, when Japan announced it would restart two nuclear reactors, hundreds of citizens protested. “Gaining local residents’ understanding is very important,” Yoichi Miyazawa, Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, told The Associated Press. In advance of launching projects to bring the two reac- tors back online, government officials have held explanatory meetings with local residents. ge “We see most of the construction in the growing economies, in the parts of the world where you see strong economic growth.” —Agneta Rising, World Nuclear Association, to Bloomberg
8 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG A Better Breed The new wave of reactors looks to improve upon the old, especially when it comes to safety. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy launched a five-year, US$452 million program to create first-of-their- kind small modular reactors. They’ll not only be one-third the size of current nuclear plants but also will aim to be cheaper, faster to build and safer than conven- tional reactors. Last year, Russia and China announced their intention to pursue a joint project that will build six nuclear reactors floating on barges, supplying power to remote villages and oil platforms. Placed in deep ocean waters, floating nuclear plants should be safer because they’ll be less sus- ceptible to tsunamis or earthquakes, and in a worst-case meltdown scenario, they would be cooled by the surrounding waters, according to Jacopo Buongiorno, PhD, a professor at the Mas- sachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. “The biggest selling point [of floating reactors] is the enhanced safety,” Dr. Buongiorno, who is researching and designing waterborne nuclear plants, said in a statement. In France, an international consortium is executing the estimated US$20 billion ITER project, which will be the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor. It won’t generate as much long-lasting radio- active waste as typical nuclear fission plants, and will be incapable of a meltdown. Seven state spon- sors—China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States—are contributing to the project, with the understanding that each member will have access to the technology needed to theEdge A NEWWAY TO MAKEART 3-D printing isn’t just for businesses. To allow its students with disabilities to harness their creative instincts, the Victoria Educa- tion Centre (VEC) in Poole, England partially sponsored the €1.7 million SHIVA project. (SHIVA stands for Sculpture for Health-care: Interaction and Virtual Art in 3D.) In 2010, VEC began collaborating with the National Centre for Computer Animation at Bournemouth University in England to find a way for children with limited mobility and dexterity to cre- ate three-dimensional objects. The result is a new high-tech tool that links eye-tracking and touch-screen technologies to a 3-D printer to make students’ designs tangible. “Children with disabilities find it very difficult to do art in a conventional sense,” said Mark Moseley, assistive technologist, VEC, and the technical lead on the project, in a video onThe Telegraph website. “I thought this would be a great oppor- tunity to develop a piece of software that would allow them to have these artistic experi- ences, but in a virtual sense, using technology that can compensate for whatever it is that they’re not able to do.” The eye-tracking technol- ogy translates a student’s gaze into on-screen selections that build an object from differ- ent shapes. Users with visual impairments can customize display colors and sizes. User preferences can be saved for future use. —Brittany Nims The Future of Nuclear By 2030, these countries will build the most new nuclear reactors worldwide. COUNTRY REACTORS UNDER CONSTRUCTION REACTORS PLANNED China 26 60 Russia 10 31 India 6 22 South Korea 5 8 Japan 3 9 United States 5 5 World 70 179 Source: World Nuclear Association, 2014 The ITER fusion reactor project site in April 2014, in Saint-Paul- lès-Durance, France
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 9 produce its own nuclear fusion plant in the future. “Coordinating so many different countries, cultures and locations is a bigger challenge even than the technology,” says Joseph Onstott, ITER’s budget management section leader, Saint-Paul- lès-Durance, France. “Not everyone has the same objective: Some want things done as quickly as possible; others are more cost-conscious. It takes a lot of discipline to oversee the schedule.” Costly Closings As dozens of new nuclear reactors get built, hun- dreds of aging reactors will be decommissioned. “Coordinating so many different countries, cultures and locations is a bigger challenge even than the technology. Not everyone has the same objective.” —Joseph Onstott, ITER, Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, France, commenting on a project to build the world’s largest fusion reactor, a project with seven country sponsors ON THE VERGE OF VIRTUAL Innovative journalism projects are looking to provide the news through a technology known more for its video-game applications: virtual reality. The objective of these projects isn’t to entertain, however, but to inform. The Gannett Company, one of the largest media organizations in the United States, launched its first project in June to create a virtual-reality news story. For the three-month US$20,000 initiative, the organi- zation’s digital team partnered with a Gannett newspaper, The Des Moines Register, to develop an immer- sive 3-D version of a family farm in the U.S. state of Iowa. It was part of a larger story about changes in Iowa agriculture. “This is the way we, as journalists, are going to need to communicate to the Minecraft generation,” Mitch Gelman, vice president, Gannett Company, Washington, D.C., USA, told Poynter. “Instead of building fictional representations in this type of game play, we should be able to build factual non-fiction.” Russia and China are pursuing a joint project to build nuclear reactors floating on barges. Almost half of the 434 nuclear reactors cur- rently operating—most of them in Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States—are slated to be decommissioned by 2040, at an estimated cost of over US$100 billion, if not much more. The bud- get for decommissioning projects involving just two reactors in the U.S. state of California, set to launch in 2016, will come to US$4.4 billion. Teams overseeing these complex initiatives will have to negotiate uncertainty around costs, given the relatively limited global track record of dis- mantling and decontaminating reactors. In the past 40 years, only 10 reactors have been shut down. —Kate Sykes PHOTOCOURTESYOFTHEITERORGANIZATION
10 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG Another initiative, Project Syria, uses audio, video and photos taken during the Syrian civil war, along with virtual-reality headsets, to create an immersive look at the wartime experiences of children. Funded by the World Economic Forum, the 2014 project was spearheaded by Nonny de la Peña, a graduate fellow at the University of Southern California and a pioneer in immersive journalism. “Advances in immersive three-dimensional experiences will make traditional, static two- dimensional photos and videos look as old-fash- ioned to us as the very first black-and-white photos seem to us today,” Dan Pacheco, a journalism pro- fessor at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA and a consultant on the Gannett project, told the Syracuse Media Group. On the Farm Virtual reality may represent the future of journal- ism, but only if pilot projects like Gannett’s prove successful. For Gannett and its project partners, success meant creating a self-guided 3-D walking tour that would be viewed with Oculus Rift, a vir- tual-reality headset that responds to users’ move- ments, as well as a simpler 2-D version that would live online. Yet success also meant more than a flashy presentation. “We wanted strong storytelling behind it,” says Amalie Nash, executive editor and vice president for news and engagement, The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, USA. “In a lot of ways, we tack- led it the same as any journalism project: There was a lot of reporting, interviewing, data gathering and photography.” In addition to those typical project components, however, Ms. Nash’s team—reporters, editors and photographers—had to work closely with stake- holders outside its own newsroom: the develop- ers at Gannett’s Virginia-based digital division as well as Total Cinema 360, the New York-based film company that recorded both video and audio in 360 degrees. Team members at both Gannett offices had twice-weekly phone meetings to main- tain consistent communications and to coordinate the project elements on every platform: virtual, online and print. “There was a lot of back and forth between our team and the team at Gannett Digital,” Ms. Nash says. “That was the most important thing to pull this off.” The virtual reality technique also brought unique challenges. One concern was some users who experienced nausea from the use of the headset. Another project challenge, Ms. Nash explains, involved the sheer amount and intricacy of the photographs her team needed to take so that the digital team could build the virtual environment. “Our photographer had to take these extreme detail shots,” she says. “What exactly does that barn look like? The grass over by the porch? In a traditional journalism project, the photographer is not taking a million pictures of cracks in the sidewalk.” After the Des Moines team completed its initial fact- finding, reporting and photo- graphing, it sent its data and photos to the digital team to create a prototype. Then, in July, all of the team members, from both Iowa and Virginia, visited the farm. They needed to test the prototype, and to do that, they needed input from key stakeholders: the family that owned the farm. “We had the family put the headset on, and they said, ‘The hay bales are way too theEdge “In a lot of ways, we tackled it the same as any journalism project: There was a lot of reporting, interviewing, data gathering and photography.” —Amalie Nash, The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, USA Project Syria team members created an immersive look at children’s wartime experiences. IMAGECOURTESYOFIMMERSIVEJOURNALISM
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 11 big,’” Ms. Nash says. “We had to focus more on proportion and measuring the way that the virtual world looked.” After incorporating the family’s feedback, the project team finalized its digital rep- lica of the farm. The project allows users to virtually walk around the farm through 360-degree video segments, archival photos and text. “It has a museum-like quality where you can go around and explore,” Ms. Nash says. The project’s success also could be measured through its online presence: It resulted in 430,000 page views. “That’s a very high number for us in engagement,” says Ms. Nash, whose publication has a combined print and online readership of 420,000. “I think we’ll be seeing more of these projects in newsrooms,” Ms. Nash says. “It’s very exciting to see different ways to tell stories and what that might look like in the future.” —Rebecca Little China’s New Stimulus Program Housing has been both China’s boon and its bane. While the housing sector helped the world’s second largest economy recover quickly from the global financial crisis, in the past year it has helped drag down economic growth to its slowest pace since 2009. “The linchpin of China’s economy is the housing market,” Alaistair Chan, an econo- mist at Moody’s Analytics, told The Wall Street Journal. The government’s recession-era stimulus measures helped the housing sector grow mightily—and unsustainably. Due to an oversupply of overpriced houses, housing sales, prices and construction have all dropped sharply. Cities such as Handan, where prop- erty prices shot up 24 percent in the past four years, have become home to abandoned real-estate projects. That’s having a major impact on the rest of the economy—20 per- cent of which is tied to real estate. The government is responding: The infrastructure and energy sectors are seeing a surge in projects—and in the need for greater project management maturity. A brief history of virtual-reality projects: 1957: Morton Heilig invents the Sensora- ma, a machine that played 3-D images and stereo sounds as well as emitted smells. 1961: Philco Corp. develops the Head- sight, the first head- mounted display—a technology later used in military training. DEFENSE GIANT DIVERSIFIES With U.S. defense spending in decline, at least as a percentage of GDP, the world’s largest defense company is pursuing projects with civilian applications in an effort to shore up its future. More than 60 percent of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s US$45 billion in 2013 sales came through Pentagon contracts. Several of Lockheed’s current research projects, like the patented Perforene membrane, could gener- ate commercial interest around the world. It’s a one-atom thick sheet of graphene that can be used to desali- nate seawater. The product could interest Persian Gulf nations, who might also order some of the orga- nization’s weapons systems. More surprisingly, Lockheed Martin has partnered with Kampachi Farms LLC and the Illinois Soybean Association to develop fish farm pens that will drift on open-ocean currents and be tracked by satellites. Lockheed Martin is also develop- ing a compact nuclear fusion reactor that might initially power naval ships but could be expanded for commercial use by cities. “Should the [technology] develop, that can result in a very large commercial market,” Ray Johnson, Lockheed Martin’s chief technology officer, told TheWall Street Journal. This isn’t the first time Lockheed Martin has tried to diversify its project portfolio to hedge against military cuts. In the 1990s, the orga- nization stepped into the telecom- munications market by buying three satellite operators. It sold them at a steep loss in 2001. The company says its focus on global issues like energy, food and water this time around will act as a safeguard. —Brittany Nims THE REALITY OF VIRTUAL 1991: Virtuality Group adds virtual reality to video arcade games. 1997: Georgia Tech researchers use virtual reality to design war-zone scenarios for use as therapy for veterans. 2014: Facebook acquires Oculus VR, the company that makes the Rift, for US$2 billion.
12 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG theEdge Getting Out of the House The Chinese government has not yet introduced a stimulus package like the CNY4 trillion program of 2008, but it has set in motion more targeted stimulus initiatives. In late 2014, China announced it would invest CNY693 billion in 21 infrastructure projects: 16 railways and five airports. Earlier, it approved a CNY800 billion investment in 64 rail projects. Meanwhile, nine provincial and two city governments have launched new construction and infra- structure projects worth over CNY3 trillion. These infrastructure investments could help stabilize China’s economy, Lian Ping, chief economist for the Bank of Communications, told the Xinhua News Agency. “Most railway and airport projects are quite necessary in the country, and they are also important to the local economies,” he said. Like the construction sector, China’s coal sector has fallen into severe distress, propelled by weakening growth in electricity demand that, in 2014, fell to its low- est levels since the global economic crisis. Yet as the government looks to boost the country’s use of renewable energy, other energy sectors show clear signs of growth. For example, the country—the world’s largest solar market—planned to install 8 gigawatts of small solar power systems in 2014, which is more than 10 times the 2013 figure. It aims to install 15 gigawatts of photovoltaic power in 2015. Beyond the Slowdown Despite the current slowdown, China will continue to see an active project landscape, says Henry Hsieh, a Shanghai-based vice president and general manager for Fluor, which has more than a dozen Chinese projects underway in sectors such as oil and gas, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals China will invest CNY693billion in 21 infrastruc- ture projects: 16 railways and five airports. RiverWalk Moscow, Russia is far from a pedestrian paradise: Foot traffic is largely channeled into the city’s hundreds of underground crossings, which run beneath the sprawling eight-lane high- ways that shoot out from the downtown center. The Russian capital ranked as the leading European metropolitan area for auto congestion levels in 2014, according to GPS manufac- turer TomTom. To help shake its reputation as a motorway mecca, the city approved a project to replace a four-lane roadway with a 45,000-square-meter (484,000-square-foot) public park. Project objectives included revitalizing the surrounding areas by building a public space that is accessible year-round. Russian studio Wowhaus began sketching the new park without a confirmed budget, dividing the area into outdoor zones (filled with fountains, bike paths and lit pavilions) and 1 CHALLENGE 3 PROJECTS 1 OLD INFRASTRUCTURE, NEW LIFE How to repurpose abandoned buildings and defunct infrastructure to best meet a community’s needs is a problem seen in cities around the world. These projects are creative examples of how project leaders are reimagining these defunct spaces into revitalized resources. indoor cafés and artist studios. After the studio presented proj- ect plans and a traffic analysis to the city’s mayor, the RUB2 billion project was approved and completed in eight months. It is now the first year-round park in Moscow.
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 13 THE AUSSIE EFFECT and chemicals. Following the investment flurry of the past several years, the slowdown could precede more sustainable growth, Mr. Hsieh adds. “It is slower, but this is partially by design,” he says. “What the Chinese government is aiming for is more sustainable and quality growth.” While the slowdown has affected industries tied to real estate—such as manufacturers of steel, aluminum and glass—not all sectors face the same outlook, espe- cially if their organizations have solid project manage- ment practices in place, Mr. Hsieh says. “If you are diversified and you have the latest project management tools, you have a good track record and you focus on the encouraged industries, then you will stay busy,” he says. With the changing economy has come an even greater need for project management skills, Mr. Hsieh says. In the past, the government sometimes would eagerly green-light projects, despite subpar feasibility studies and return-on-investment esti- mates, he says. Now, it’s paying greater attention to the projects it approves and the oversight they need. —Ambreen Ali China’s economic woes have implications far beyond its own borders—as Australia knows all too well. China has been Austra- lia’s main customer for iron ore, the main ingredient in steel, leading to record profits for ore producers over the past decade. Yet China’s real-estate slump, particularly the dip in new apartment buildings, has driven a sharp decline in demand for steel and, with it, iron ore. China’s slowdown has led to dramatic fluctuations in iron ore prices that in turn have affected Australia’s national budget. That decrease in demand has been accompanied by an increase in supply from industry heavyweights such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and Vale. After Australian production of iron ore increased 40 percent between 2010 and 2013, iron ore prices in 2014 fell to a five-year low. As a result, some big iron projects planned for the next few years could have a hard time getting the investments they need. One such project is a US$7 bil- lion initiative to develop a mine, port and railway in western Australia. It’s small wonder, then, that Goldman Sachs has announced the “end of the Iron Age.” ElevatedTrail A 2.7-mile (4.3-kilometer) stretch of the Bloomingdale train line in Chicago, Illinois, USA has been the subject of rehab speculation since its last freight ran in 2001. More than a decade later, a US$95 million project is finally underway to transform the space into a cycling and jogging path surrounded by new parks. Originally slated for completion in late 2014, the project experienced a setback when an abnormally cold winter froze the team’s excavation phase. That caused project delays including cut- ting short the planting season originally scheduled for late summer. Plantings will now occur in the second quarter of this year. “We want to … meet the visions set forth for the com- munity,” transportation com- missioner Rebekah Scheinfeld told the Chicago Tribune. Factory Farm The Guangdong Float Glass Factory in Shenzhen, China stopped production in 2009. The derelict factory didn’t just sit empty; it was in disar- ray. “The site was a piece of abandoned wasteland,” says Tris Kee, assistant professor, department of architecture, Uni- versity of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Yet her project team saw potential in the space, and chose the site to build its 8,100-square-meter (87,200-square-foot) Hong Kong Value Farm, a part organic farm, part art installation developed for the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture. To maximize the CNY700,000 project budget, the team incor- porated standing infrastructure whenever possible. Local bricks, for instance, were utilized to separate crops of bok choy and kale. Though the installation has closed, the project team designed with the future in mind: The chief curator is developing a pro- posal to convert the organic farm into a public park. —Ian Fullerton 2 3 An iron ore mine in western Australia
14 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG theEdge Data Under Lock and Key Data security is not just a virtual concern, but a physical one. Project teams are constructing data centers that fend off real-world intrusion. Large-scale cyberattacks have made clear organizations’ vulnerability to hackers—and the high stakes involved. The 2013 breach at Target compromised 40 million credit cards, 70 million custom- ers’ personal information and factored into the retail giant’s 46-percent plummet in holiday profits. The 2014 attacks at retailer Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, affected 56 million cards and 76 million households, respectively. Project teams thus face heightened pressure to defend the security of data centers—ground zero for all information. In 2013, for instance, Google spent US$7.35 billion on Internet infrastructure, largely due to its data-center expansion projects. “For our mission-critical clients, the security of their facilities is high on the list of nonnegotiables,” says David Ibarra, project director at DPR Construction, Redwood City, California, USA, which has built data centers for Facebook and eBay. DPR’s data centers range from simple cage environments requiring card access to “facilities that include barriers, bomb-blast-resistant zones and even dog-patrol areas,” Mr. Ibarra says. “These facilities must comply with multiple rings of security philosophy: deter, detect, access, delay, respond and deny.” Data center provider Equinix also builds multiple rings of security into its data centers. “We design “We design our centers to have five layers of security before anyone can even reach the equipment.” —Raouf Abdel, Equinix Americas, Denver, Colorado, USA
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 15 our centers to have five layers of security before anyone can even reach the equipment,” says Raouf Abdel, regional operating chief, Equinix Americas, Denver, Colorado, USA. Equinix operates more than 100 data centers in 15 countries, helping to keep safe the information of organizations such as Amazon and Google. Projects have featured security stations situ- ated behind ballistic glass and biometric scanning incorporated into almost every entry point. At Equinix-built facilities, potential intruders immedi- ately encounter the aptly named mantrap. A hall- way with a door on each end, the mantrap opens just one door at a time. Its biometric scanners and access code require the appropriate credentials before the second door will open. Otherwise, Mr. Abdel says, “the second door will not unlock, effec- tively trapping the person from entering or leav- ing the facility.” Guards can hold individuals here either for traffic flow or to squash security risks. Such extremely well-guarded data centers come at a cost. Mr. Ibarra says DPR’s project budgets for its centers can jump 1 percent to 5 percent for secu- rity features such as crash-resistant perimeter fenc- ing, gunfire-resistant finishes and exterior-access deterrent mechanisms. Considering that Google spent US$390 million to expand its data center in Belgium, such measures, even at small percentages, mean hefty budget items. Yet they can offset poten- tially much greater costs resulting from lax security. Custom-Built Project teams can’t build the same type of data centers for different clients—or even for the same client. They must weigh the demands of each facil- ity’s location. “Site selection is driven by the primary busi- ness need—production or not, backup or disaster recovery, proximity to users—and security must be tailored to each location and facility type,” Mr. Ibarra says. Google’s data centers in the Americas, Asia and Europe each have site-specific needs dependent on regional conditions and risks. “Sometimes, within the United States,” Mr. Ibarra says, “we have to consider extra security in areas of the country where hunting season is typi- cal. Exterior elements may need addi- tional barriers installed to protect from potential bul- let impacts.” In cities, DPR project teams might install, for instance, metal bars on venti- lation systems to prevent unauthorized access. DPR teams building facilities in more isolated locations have created 10-foot (3-meter) berms surrounding the structures, set back from the road by 150 feet (46 meters). The most carefully protected data center is use- less, however, if it cannot perform seamlessly. To maintain uninterrupted service in these facilities, project teams must ensure the unlimited supply of electricity and water, especially in the event of power outages. Google’s facilities use diesel engine backup generators that can power the data centers at full capacity for extended periods of time. To help maintain function, DPR uses alarms on manhole covers and security cameras detecting intrusions. “The primary power and water streams serving the data center are provided, maintained and protected, from plain vandalism to intentional breach,” Mr. Ibarra says. —Stephanie Schomer Well-guarded data centers come at a cost. Project budgets can jump 1to 5percent for security features. “These facilities must comply with multiple rings of security philosophy: deter, detect, access, delay, respond and deny.” —David Ibarra, DPR Construction, Redwood City, California, USA Facebook’s data center in Prineville, Oregon, USA
16 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG THE SITUATION CHANGING THEIR WAYS CEOs around the world face daunting technology and talent challenges. If they want their portfolios to succeed, the current climate demands they invest in change. THE LATEST STATISTICS, SURVEYS AND STUDIES Two major areas of strategic concern in 2015: 86%of CEOs say it’s important to understand how competitive advantages stem from digital technologies 77%of CEOs have or plan to adopt a strategy to attract diverse talent TECHNOLOGY TALENT THE SITUATION CEOs say digital technology enhances the business value of these areas: 88% say operational efficiency 85% say data and data analytics 77% say internal and external collaboration 77% say customer experience 50% of CEOs plan to increase their company’s headcount throughout the next 12 months 55% of Australian CEOs plan to do so 59% of U.S. CEOs plan to do so US$130 billionexpected global value of additional productivity made accessible by nurturing an adaptable talent pool
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 17 71% of CEOs say their business actively searches for talent in different geographies, industries and demographic segments CEOs’ talent strategies pursue, or will soon pursue, various aspects of diversity: 33% are pursuing or will pursue gender diversity 32% are pursuing or will pursue diversity in knowledge, skills and experience 25% are pursuing or will pursue diversity in ethnicity, nation- ality and race 64% of CEOs have adopted a diversity and inclusion strategy 75% of CEOs in Brazil 66% of CEOs in Canada 57% of CEOs in the United Kingdom LEADING THE WAY In response to these top global trends, CEOs are: Source: PwC, 18thAnnualGlobalCEO Survey, 2015 Executives say it’s strategically important to invest in digital technology: 85%of CEOs whose companies have a formal diversity and inclusion strategy think it has improved the bottom line 58%creating business value in talent acqui- sition, retention and development through digital investments 75%supporting specific hiring and training strategies to integrate digital technology 78%using multiple chan- nels, including online and social media plat- forms, to find talent 46%using data analytics to provide better insight into how effectively workforce skills are being deployed CEOs with diversity and inclusion strategies see clear benefits: 90% have attracted talent 85% have enhanced business performance 83% have strengthened brand and reputation 55% have helped companies com- pete in new industries or geographies THE RESPONSE 81%of CEOs are seeking a much broader range of skills THE RESPONSE 47%say leveraging emerging technologies is one of their top three reasons for creating strategic alliances or partnerships 15%of CEOs who have entered or considered entering a new sector within the past three years have chosen technology 32% view the technology sector as the main source of cross-sector competition 58% cite the speed of technological change as a threat 71% see this threat in the Asia Pacific region 37% see this threat in Central and Eastern Europe 81% Mobile technology for customer engagement 80% Data mining and analysis 78% Cybersecurity
18 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG Voices INSIDE TRACK Patrolling the Skies Col. Reid Vander Schaaf, PhD, sen- sors development project manager, U.S. Department of Defense, Huntsville, Alabama, USA ILLUSTRATIONBYJOELKIMMEL from the U.S. Air Force’s Air War College. He later got his doctorate in system-of-systems engineering from Purdue University. In addition to his long military career and many project manager roles, Vander Schaaf has taught at West Point. As a professor, he learned how to tell stories, which served him well as a project man- ager. “That’s how you communicate with people,” he says. Whichkindsofradardoesyourofficehandle? There are three kinds. The first two are homeland defense radars: a ground-based radar developed in the mid-’90s and the Sea-Based X-band (SBX) radar. After the events of September 11th, there was In 1984, the U.S. Department of Defense formed the Sensors Program Directorate in response to the Soviet threat. Its directive was to help protect the United States by creating radar technology that could detect ballistic missiles. Three decades later, that remains the office’s primary purpose even as its scope has broadened to protect deployed forces and allies in military theaters. In June 2013, Col. Reid Vander Schaaf began leading the office. He brings a wealth of expertise to the project manager role. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he earned three master’s degrees: structural engineering and construction engineering management degrees from Stanford University and a strategic studies degree
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 19 “[Project management standards] ensure that we’re following all the different systems engineering processes to determine what looks promising to continue to mature and test.” Small Talk Best professional advice you’ve ever received? Maintain your bal- ance. You need to be balanced in life, be- cause work can really consume your time. The one skill every project manager should have? The ability to build a team with a shared vision. Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Running. I try hard to stay at 40 miles [64 kilometers] a week. My kids both run cross-country, so I run with them. urgency to increase homeland defense—that’s the origin of the Sea-Based X-band radar. It can see a baseball from 2,500 miles [4,023 kilometers] away. The third radar system is the AN/TPY-2 [the Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance] radar. We’re contracted to build 12 of those. Ten have been delivered, and two are still in production. What do these radars do? They search airspace to find and track ballistic mis- siles. But the other important thing they do—and the thing that X-bands are particularly well suited for—is discrimination. When there’s a launch of a missile, lots of things end up in flight with it. The job of the Missile Defense Agency is to find and intercept the lethal warhead. But you’ll have the tank, the boosters and debris, and there can be intentional countermeasures as well. This can make it really hard to find and intercept the lethal object with our missiles to protect our homeland and our assets in theater. Intercepting something traveling in space hundreds to thousands of miles away is very challenging. What projects does your office execute to overcome that challenge? Every year or two there’s a new software build related to discrimination in particular. One of the roles I have is overseeing development of a long- range discrimination radar, which is going to start this year—a new Alaska-based radar for discrimi- nation. We’re developing the requirements and capabilities of that system. We also have other TPY radars in production. So there’s a big focus on increasing our ability to distinguish the lethal object. Why has discrimination become a more urgent concern? Threats continue to grow in number and capabil- ity. Whereas in the past we were dealing with relatively simple threats, at least from the smaller rogue states, those countries’ capabilities have continued to increase. If we look out another five to 10 years—and it takes us that long to develop new capabilities, too—it looks like they’re going to have the capability to add countermeasures to make it harder for us to determine what the lethal object is. How does your office use project management standards when developing software capabilities? Project management standards help ensure program success, and they do that by giving us best practices and a structure that helps ensure rigor. They ensure that we’re following all the different systems engi- neering processes to determine what looks promis- ing to continue to mature and test, and to ensure it has independent verification. The Missile Defense Agency has a robust test program to make sure these things really work before we field them. What does the testing phase look like? We build a little, test a little. We’re building incredi- bly complex, challenging capabilities. Intercontinen- tal ballistic missile intercepts approach 10,000 miles [16,093 kilometers] per hour—exo-atmospheric, so way up in space. We have very small margins of error. So we build a bit of capability, test it and make sure we don’t get unintended consequences— that’s been a big risk—before we keep building and continue to add the next capabilities. It takes longer, but because we’re shooting down missiles and launching missiles, we don’t want anything to go wrong. So it is very much a con- tinual build process. How has the U.S. budget “sequestration” of 2013, which lowered defense spending, affected your office? It’s made for a challenging environment, espe- cially given uncertainty around future funding. But so far we’ve mitigated that. Some things have been delayed a bit, but discrimination has been a very high priority and that’s actually received additional funding. PM
20 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG VOICES ProjectToolkit From looming deadlines to scope changes to overbearing clients, projects can be stressful. But the stress doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We asked practitioners: When the pressure is on, how do you relieve your team’s stress? Under Pressure Sweat It Out Trying to deliver excellent quality under tight deadlines carries a strong risk of stress which, in my experience, reduces team members’ productivity and efficiency. We’ve adopted a practice that may seem less im- portant than, say, risk management, but is actually just as useful: 20 minutes of daily exercise. A professional trainer visits the office and leads us through stretches, relaxation and strengthening exercises, along with games that reinforce the team dynamic. The sessions aren’t mandatory, but most team members partici- pate. Not only does exercising prevent strain injuries (like the ones you might get from sitting in front of the computer for several hours and having bad posture), but the sessions improve the team’s mental health and contribute to better performance and productivity.” —Andrea Paparello, PMP, project manager, LDS-LABS, Fortaleza, Brazil Take a Laugh Break I’ve found the best way to handle stress is humor and team camaraderie, especially when we’re trying to problem-solve. I encourage the team to brainstorm together by asking them to share a relevant experience (“tell us about the last time you dealt with a similar issue”) and the lessons learned from it. Then I’ll attempt to find some humor in the event. But humor doesn’t have to be about work—it can be a silly chat for a few minutes about what hap- pened at lunch. If all else fails, I’ll share a Dilbert comic strip [known for its satirical office humor]. Once, on a very challenging project with an extremely tight deadline, our developers were having trouble com- ing up with a solution to a problem at a meeting. So they took a break to banter. Even though they were joking, I could tell it was a productive conversation, so I didn’t stop the flow of energy. We all laughed for a few minutes and gave our brains a break from the stress. By the time the meeting ended, the team had come up with a solution.” —RaeLynn DeParsqual, PMP, project manager, Insight Global, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA Inclusive Planning, Constant Communication Avoiding surprises—both from team members and issues that may arise with the project itself—is a good way to keep team stress to a minimum.
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 21 To that end, I do a lot of work in the project’s plan- ning stage. I meet with the team to discuss scope and what needs to be accomplished, and we discuss various options and their associated risks until we reach the best one. I also ask my team members what they spe- cifically want to achieve on a particular project and how they plan on achieving it. Once the project gets underway, I hold face-to-face discussions with team members during which they can talk about their needs and concerns with the project. Asking for feedback lets me fix misunderstandings as soon as they arise. Plus, I’ve found that when everyone on the team feels heard, it’s more likely that they’ll hap- pily proceed with the job at hand.” —Nick Fartais, PMP, project manager, Endeavour Energy, Sydney, Australia Manage the Workload Stress management equals workload management. It’s difficult to make sure any single team member doesn’t feel like the project is entirely on his or her shoulders, but always remind them that—to paraphrase Ben-Hur—we all exist for the good of the ship. I was working on a project to develop a training exercise for two U.S. Army divisions and several smaller units. As the Army kept adding units to the exercise, we rapidly outgrew the available space. My team’s stress level climbed as the units were added. The first thing I did was remind the project team members who weren’t affected by the space issue to continue on with their parts of the project. Then I took the remaining team members down to the training site. A 3-Step Solution What’s Your Solution? There are myriad ways to prevent and manage stress. Share your tips and tricks on the PMI Project, Program and Port- folio Management LinkedIn Group. After three weeks of problem-solving, we determined how to maximize the space and remotely connect to other sites so everyone could participate in the exercise. Be the shield that protects your team. And of course, know when to send your people home.” —Brian Schonfeld, PMP, operations officer and travel program manager, Mission Command Training Program, U.S. Army, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, USA Work Toward a Common Goal As a project manager, you have much to gain by building a strong sense of shared purpose. Make the team collectively com- mit to complete work within a sprint. Help the team by removing impediments to progress. Then there should be no reason to feel any stress. A couple of years ago, I was leading the project management office (PMO) at Europe’s leading provider of accessories for sound and vision. We had the op- portunity to pursue an emerging product category, but the technology was immature and not widely tested. The engineers had no real feeling for the product or the purpose. However, the CEO helped by providing an inspir- ing market vision and customer dialogue. To avoid stress due to uncertainty, we designed in modules and prototyped a lot. With time, the modules grew into a shippable product. As a result of the hard work we put in, we became early adopters of the product and the team became industry experts along the way!” —Richard Svahn, PMI-ACP, PMP, project manager, National Civil Authority, Stockholm, Sweden Stress is a natural defense mecha- nism to keep us alert to possible danger. It’s also subjective: During the same project, one team member may feel much more stress than another. Alan Patching and Rick Best’s 2014 study, An Investigation Into Psychological Stress Detection and Management inOrganizations Operating in Project andConstruc- tion Management, published in the journal Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, suggests three steps for managing individuals’ stress levels: 3. Monitor the results 1. Note job-related stressors and apply risk management strategies 2. Monitor when a team member seems stressed and teach him or her coping techniques
22 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG Q CONCRETE CONNECTIONS Q: I want to start a new career in project man- agement. What questions should I ask project managers who already have a great career? A: Finding out more about a career in project management from those who have already carved out their path is an excellent idea. It is known as informational interviewing. If you have some great people to speak to, make sure you get the best out of that opportunity. Here are seven areas to con- sider and a selection of questions you can ask to really understand what project managers do: 1. Start with job satisfaction and motivation. Ask questions like, “What do you enjoy most and least about your job?”, “How does the job differ from your initial expectations?” and “What inspires you to do your job?” 2. Ask about the details of the work with ques- tions like, “What is a typical day for you?”, “How do you know you are doing a good job?”, “What skills do you use the most?” and “Give me an example of the sort of activities your job involves.” 3. Ask them to detail their career progression (it will become apparent that there isn’t necessarily a typical project management career path). Ask how they have been promoted and how they gained experience. Ask about their ultimate career goals. 4. Find out about the work culture and environ- ment, as well as the management aspects of the job. Ask, “How much time do you spend work- ing with your team, your customers and on your own?”, “What type of person makes a good project manager?” and “What are your experiences man- aging projects in this particular environment?” The answers can reveal details that you may—or may not—like about this potential career. 5. Project management roles vary from organi- zation to organization. Get a broader understand- ing by talking to practitioners in different sectors. Specific questions could include, “Are there a lot of opportunities within the sector?”, “What is staff turnover like?”, “How do you see project manage- ment changing in this sector in the future?” and “How competitive is the sector?” 6. Ask about job hunting. Some project manag- ers can offer dual insights, because not only did they find their current job, but they also hire team members. Ask, “What background or experience is useful and how do people typically get it?”, “How did you get your job?”, “What would you look for on someone’s CV or résumé?”, “What do you look for when hiring someone?” and “What advice would you give to someone in my position?” 7. Finally, realize this informational interview is also a networking opportunity, a crucial skill for anyone in this career. Don’t be afraid to ask ques- tions like, “Would you let me know if there are any opportunities that might be suitable for me?”, “Can we stay connected on LinkedIn?”, “Would you mind if I occasionally drop you a line?” and “Is there anyone else you recommend I talk to?” Make the most of the time you’re given to under- stand the differing views that project managers have. Hopefully the questions you pick will uncover whether this is the right career choice for you. Q: In my current job, I perform the role of project manager but it’s not my official title. How will this affect my chances of finding another project management role? A: Organizations have many different job titles for people who work in and around projects, but titles like service delivery manager, product manager, projects engineer or coordinator can mask the actual role someone performs.   If you are worried about prospective employ- CAREER QA From the project manager just beginning on a career path to a seasoned pro ready to take the next step, networks make a difference. BY LINDSAY SCOTT
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 23 Lindsay Scott is the director of program and project management recruitment at Arras People in London, England. ers thinking you are not really a project manager, there is a simple way to rectify this: Make sure your résumé or CV accurately details your project management responsibilities and includes com- mon project management language. You can also simply add the words “project manager” in brackets after the job title on your résumé. This is not about replacing the actual job title (I wouldn’t recommend this because it isn’t factually cor- rect, which may cause a problem when potential employers check your references). It is a change you are making to reflect the wider marketplace, using a job title that everyone understands. Q: Is Twitter a good place to learn about proj- ect management? A: There are a number of ways to use Twitter as a project manager. The trick is to make sure you are using it in the right way. You can follow popu- lar hashtags (a searchable word, combination of words or acronym marked by the # symbol) like #pmot. It stands for “project managers on Twit- ter.” The tweets are an eclectic mix of project managers sharing news, blogs, surveys or useful websites. A host of organizations also share the latest products or news about conferences or events. New hashtags spring up every day, especially when there is a par- ticular project management conference or event. If you can’t attend a certain event, you can virtually attend by following the hashtag. There’s also #PMChat, a weekly Friday event when project managers from around the globe chat about a particular project management theme. It’s been happening for three years. Recent themes have included agile project management, digital project management, interviews and plan- ning. The emphasis is making connections. New users are encouraged to initiate conversations, so don’t hold back. PM Make sure your résumé or CV accurately details your project management responsibilities and includes common project management language.
24 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG VOICES In theTrenches ALTHOUGHANOPERATION is completely differ- ent from a project, many project managers find them- selves in roles involving operations. The good news is the jobs involve a considerable overlap in skills. Consider a business operation such as produc- tion support, design maintenance or remediation. Here, operations managers focus on executing, monitoring and controlling the business operations so that business goals are achieved. This will sound familiar to project managers, who execute, monitor and control a project’s process groups. Here are three of the most important project management skills needed if you find yourself in operations management: COMMUNICATION As a liaison to multiple stakeholders, an operations manager needs to plan communications by iden- tifying all the required stakeholders, then working out the mode and frequency of communication for each of them. For example, an operations man- ager handling a production support team needs to communicate the list of prioritized activities to the operations team, relate the progress of tickets or requests to customers, and keep senior management informed of operational activities. Operations managers also need to proactively identify and communicate any potential overdue tasks to the required stakeholders, as well as escalate any non-compliance to service level agreements according to the organization’s escalation policies and procedures. Once, while managing a production support team, I handled a highly escalated customer ticket as a small-scale project. Since the ticket had a huge impact on the production environment, the customer insisted on getting an immediate fix or patch. I arranged a quick meeting of the operations team to make sure we understood the issue, its root cause and the impact. When we were unable to identify a temporary fix, we knew we would have to develop a permanent one and release a patch. Con- sidering the customer’s business impact, I met with the senior management stakeholders immediately, summarized the issue and explained that it should be handled as a mini project. My communications skills, honed while managing projects, were a great asset at this point. NEGOTIATION AND INFLUENCING When an operations manager handles a high- severity customer request or a production ticket, he or she might have to use negotiation and influencing skills to acquire highly skilled techni- cal resources from a project team. Negotiation may also be required to explain to the customer about the complexity of tickets being handled by the operations team and buy additional time, if required. At times, the operations manager might even have to negotiate with and influence his or her team members to get tasks done. In my operations mini-project, the next step after communicating was to devise a plan and negotiate with senior executives to create a “tiger team” of different resources, such as an architect who could propose a permanent fix, a designer who could implement, a configuration manager who could build the code and develop a patch, and a lead tester who could deploy the patch and test all possible scenarios, with the architect’s assistance. But because those people were already assigned to projects, I had to negotiate with project managers. To create a win-win situation, I had earlier negotiated with senior executives that this escalation would be the highest priority, and any other program or project would have to be depri- oritized. This meant project managers willingly lent the resources required for the tiger team. LEADERSHIP An operations manager must direct, facilitate, coach and lead teams to handle daily operations. Smooth OperatorHow to use your project management skills in operations. By Deepa Gandhavalli Ramaniah, PMP
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 25 Deepa Gandhavalli Ramaniah, PMP, is senior associate—projects at Cognizant Technology Solutions, Chennai, India. He or she should be aware of the competencies possessed by the team and assign tasks accord- ingly. He or she also must motivate team members through continuous appreciation and recognition. The operations manager should possess excel- lent problem-solving and decision-making skills. For instance, when a production problem arises, an operations manager should have a complete understanding of the problem’s context, impact and consequences before making a decision on the timeline for resolution. It is also a good practice to meet with the operations team to get its buy-in on the timeline before committing to the customer. It’s common for operational team members to disagree on issues or solutions to problems. The operations manager must take the lead, bring the team members together, get their thoughts, ana- lyze pros and cons of each member’s proposal and identify the best-fit solution. It is the operations manager’s responsibility to create a problem-solv- ing environment and manage conflict. Returning to my example: Once the team was formed through negotiation and influencing, we held a brief meeting to explain the background, what was expected from each resource, the project deadlines and so on. As operations manager, I made sure the team had all the required resources, such as hardware and software, to execute the project. I directed the lead tester to get involved during the implementation phase itself, so he could prepare the test cases and get them reviewed by the architect before the patch got delivered to him for testing. I worked to ensure the tiger team was constantly motivated and empowered to fix the issue by the deadline. But at one point, two members of the team got into a serious argument over an error. I called them to a meeting and, using my interpersonal skills, explained that we were not there to blame but to get the patch to the customer by the dead- line. I persuaded them to shake hands and proceed with the next phase. After successful testing of the patch, we were able to deliver it to the customer as planned. Finally, I arranged a meeting with the tiger team and senior executives and made sure the team was recognized for its work. PM It is the operations manager’s responsibility to create a problem-solving environment and manage conflict.
26 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG I Sheilina Somani, RPP, FAPM, PMP, is the owner of the U.K.-based consultancy Positively Project Management, a senior project manager, a speaker and a mentor. It’s almost a requirement of every project man- ager to boldly go into new territory. Recently, it was my turn to fulfill this requirement. As scary as it can be to journey into uncharted waters, I learned that knowing whom to petition for help and resources can ensure smooth sailing. A senior sponsor asked me to establish a dia- logue between two IT teams about viable strate- gies for the global implementation of a software system that respected the organization’s current IT infrastructure. The outcome of this dialogue was critical to a program that I’m responsible for. The challenge was my knowledge is largely in data integrity, legal data storage requirements, speed and performance from an experienced user per- spective. I voiced my concerns to the senior sponsor, who nevertheless tasked me with the responsibility. But I knew I needed help. I called a meeting with 10 very tech- nical, experienced individuals (to add some authority to the request, I used the sponsor’s name). Though I dreaded this meeting, it soon became an animated dialogue between the experts and me. I asked for help on everything from clarifying acronyms to explaining new terms. At the end of the meeting, I confirmed with the experts what I’d summarized from the day and scheduled a subsequent session to conclude findings. I was appreciative when everyone turned up to the follow-up session, on time, with more opinions, research and suggestions. By being honest about my lack of knowledge about IT infrastructure, I had provided these indi- viduals full permission to contribute, challenge and advise me to ensure my understanding before writ- ing a recommendation and influencing a sponsor decision. The sponsor was extremely pleased with the progress and eventual outcome, and so was I. Even though I initially resisted the task, following through with it meant everyone gained something from the experience. I learned the sponsor has confidence in me. I got to know a completely new group of people with skills vastly different from my own that I can go to for help and guidance. The group members learned from one another, appre- ciating the opportunity to collaborate and engage in problem resolution. As project managers, we have to communicate with people across a multitude of disciplines. Not only does it give us the opportunity to garner multiple contributions and put them toward the project goal, but this communication also encour- ages our own professional progress while growing our network. In this case, my acting as a facilitator for these meetings between IT teams—rather than project lead—not only fostered dialogue and coop- eration between the two teams, it also expanded my own knowledge, network and range of skills, and taught me again about the benefits of honesty and seeking help. Most significantly, we delivered a collaborative, comprehensive report to fulfill the sponsor requirement. When another opportunity comes to work with this particular group, I’ll be the first to volunteer. PM When tasked with a project in an unfamiliar industry, remember that you don’t have to go it alone. BY SHEILINA SOMANI, RPP, FAPM, PMP, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR FACINGFEARS MANAGING Relationships
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 27 T The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) often manages projects in which every minute counts. Here’s what I’ve learned about hurrying a project toward completion. DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT Everyone wants perfection, but the priority should be completing your task. A completed element can be tinkered with or optimized while being of use, but an unfinished one confuses attempts at improvement while being of no utility at all. In the realm of development projects, perfect is the enemy of good. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, UNOPS worked hard to build shelters for survivors and provide them with access to basic living conditions. There is a big difference between a shelter and a five-star hotel, but we must prioritize what is essen- tial when we have limited time to deliver. COMPRESSION IS CRITICAL Schedule compression is a technique that shortens the project duration to meet key stakeholders’ expectations without reducing scope. This may be required if, for instance, changes in environmental conditions, logistical constraints, economic land- scape or political climate are likely to derail the project unless it is completed immediately. The project manager must find ways to reduce the time it will take to complete all remaining activities. The two classic solutions are to increase the parallel- ism (fast-track) and/or increase resources (crashing). WHENYOUCOMPRESS,YOUINCREASESTRESS Schedule compression can push time, cost and quality to the extreme. The most significant way to lead a team through schedule compression is by supporting team members and understanding that stress levels are likely to rise. Despite the level of tolerance and experience team members build up during every project, stress can manifest itself in different ways, and its accumulation can come at a significant cost to project accuracy. Project managers must mitigate this risk through the Three C’s Process: COMMUNICATION Although a team working long hours, seven days a week, can deliver its project earlier than originally planned, the quality of delivery may be affected. Mistakes requiring rework can end up increasing stress levels and lengthening the time needed to complete the project; this may negate the whole schedule compression effort. Communicating exactly what is expected of the team in terms of quality and performance, despite the shortened time frame, is necessary for successful delivery. COORDINATION Schedule compression can just as easily create new challenges as it can hasten project delivery. To achieve results, project managers need to moni- tor and analyze the dynamics in the office and the field. Organizing daily site meetings for close coordination can help with quality control and provides an arena in which problems with team members can be resolved efficiently. The key word in this process is integration. CONSIDERATION You need to understand your staff and consider their welfare. Accidents are more frequent when and where people are overworked, so consider the specifics of your team’s time-related stress factors: What conditions are they working in? What can you do to help? Ensuring that your team members understand they will be prop- erly compensated for their additional efforts (through the provision of extra days off) can make all the difference. Finally, the success of all projects is related to how we lead people and manage stress during critical moments. Despite the sense of urgency that triggers the schedule compression, the project manager must effectively communicate, coordi- nate and consider the team to deliver results. PM Beat the clock swiftly and carefully. BY RICARDOVIANAVARGAS, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMPRUSHHOUR Ricardo Viana Vargas, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMP, a past PMI chair, is the director of the Sustainable Project Management Group at the United Nations Office for Project Services in Copenhagen, Denmark. Even the best of schedules can change. Visit PMI.org to read November 2014’s edition of PM Network about when a project schedule changes and the scope does not. LEADERSHIP
28 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG A VOICES In theTrenches You Get the Picture Project managers learn the challenges of making a movie. By Rhonda Wilson Oshetoye, PMP, and Laurence Cook, PMP Rhonda Wilson Oshetoye, PMP, and Laurence Cook, PMP, are practicing partners at RLO Enterprises, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. MAKINGA MOVIE IS A PROJECT. Yet when our project management firm undertook a film for the first time, we could find little information about project management in the movie industry. Instead, we had to discover on our own how to implement project management methodologies in this field. When BJG Media Productions hired us for the indie film A Choice to Yield, our project managers facilitated the initiation discussion with stakehold- ers. Once stakeholders agreed on the scope and budget, the team began the initiation process. Planning was a nightmare at first, as we tried to learn the ins and outs of moviemaking. With minimal guidance and without historical documents, the team struggled to understand the depth and cost of every task. We learned through intense research that the closest position to a project manager is the line producer. Once the line pro- ducer responsibilities became clear, planning began to roll. Planning ses- sions shifted to risks. We created a risk management plan with high-, medium- and low- risk factors and associated costs for each. From changing actors to planning the use of venues, the cost of change is a huge variable for movies. One venue change can cost up to US$15,000 for a three-hour shoot. The ten- sion between the director’s vision and the reality of managing the budget for unknowns is a serious issue, and managing the director became the high- est and most costly risk of the entire project. A STRICT BUDGET FOCUS Project plans had to be solidified before the first scene could be shot. We broke the plan into phases. From there, our team planned everything from the script review to the casting call, identi- fied resources, procured equipment and enacted a communication plan. We planned movement from set to set, coordinated with a caterer and signed venue contracts. Next, we distributed the shoot schedule and wardrobe requirements to each actor, gaffer, cam- eraman, associate director and other production support personnel. Project execution entailed early morning pre- shoot meetings and post-shoot assessments of the shots—including immediate lessons-learned discus- sions, schedule adjustments and revalidating resource assignments. This process enabled us to manage every aspect of filming with regard to contract agree- ments, set requirements and payment distribution. The need to reshoot scenes required significant adjustments to the schedule and budget. While we’d expected some reshoots, we didn’t expect as many as were required. This sent the budget spiraling, and pushed us back to planning. To mitigate cost and overages per scene, we made specific adjustments for future shoots. We reduced lighting costs by shooting night scenes during the day and simplified makeup requirements. We also had to renegotiate a few contracts, make backdrop construction changes on location and modify venue-use agreements. As with any project in execution, budget awareness took precedence and required strict focus. This paid off when the project was successfully completed 2 percent under budget. In addition, our firm has been asked to manage another movie project. Of the many skills project managers bring to the film industry, the most important are manag- ing change and controlling the supporting tasks of filming. The orchestration of multiple moving parts requires a project manager’s ability to adapt and overcome obstacles. In moviemaking, the unknowns are huge and unpredictable, but the project manager’s skills and training are a great fit for managing the process. PM
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 29 THE BUSINESS of Projects IMPOSED DEADLINE SYNDROME Setting unrealistic goals can doom a project manager. Instead, build budgets and schedules from the ground up. BY GARY R. HEERKENS, MBA, CBM, PMP, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR A Gary R. Heerkens, MBA, CBM, PMP, president of Management Solutions Group Inc., is a consultant, trainer, speaker, and author and has 25 years of project management experience. His latest book is The Business-Savvy Project Manager. targets are not derived from carefully developed plans. They are not based in reality; they are based in desire. The most damaging of these imposed targets are the unrealistic ones. According to a majority of project managers I meet these days (and I meet a large num- ber through my training activities), unrealistic targets are disturbingly common. This creates an environ- ment of high stress and frustration for project manag- ers who are often well aware that they are heading down a dark path of project performance. From a business perspective, the impact is note- worthy. When imposed deadlines are unachievable, projects are delivered late, which triggers a delay in the realization of financial returns. In situations where both the delay and the estimated financial return are sizable, the result can be an enormous overall reduc- tion in realized economic gain. When imposed budgets are not achievable, the result is turmoil as money must be acquired elsewhere, which can affect the timing and funding of other projects. But there’s also a human cost to this situation. When project managers spend the majority of their time trying to achieve the unachievable, the result is frustration and potential burnout. The core lesson is simple: Organizational managers who want an environment of predictability and fiscal responsibility will avoid imposing unrealistic solu- tions, deadlines and budgets. PM As my gray hair clearly suggests, I’ve been around project management for a long time. I began leading projects more than 35 years ago, and I’ve noticed many changes in my work and in the profession. Some of the biggest changes involve how project timelines and budgets are developed: These responsibilities seem to have drifted away from the project manager’s role. Years ago, project managers were given problems to solve based on the needs of the business. They would work with their teams to investigate those problems, and then recommend a preferred solution to senior management. They would also provide an estimated budget and timeline. And while there may have been some give-and-take between project teams and senior management, it was common to be granted the requested amount of time and fund- ing (after a proper costs-versus-benefits analysis). The payoff for all parties was an exceptionally high percentage of on-time and on-budget project deliv- eries. Project outcomes were reasonably predictable. Over the past decade or two, there has been a slow and steady shift in senior management behav- ior. Many executives now appear to believe that a legitimate part of their role is to tell the project manager what the best solution is, when the proj- ect is to be completed and how much to spend. The reality for many of today’s project managers is that they are no longer asked to generate authen- tic, bottom-up schedule and cost estimates. They’re instead given those values as targets and then have to force-fit their plans to suit the situation. It is crucial to note that in many cases these When project managers spend the majority of their time trying to achieve the unachievable, the result is frustration and potential burnout.
30 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 31 BY EMMA HAAK n ILLUSTRATION BY ROB DONNELLY Rethinking Cities With the global challenge of a booming urban population comes the opportunity to create more advanced cities.
While the cities themselves may be new, the idea behind them isn’t, says Eran Ben-Joseph, PhD, professor and head of the department of urban studies and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Whereas most cities develop organically over time, the practice of building new ones from scratch became common after World War II in countries like China, England, Japan and Russia, where they were primarily government initiatives. “What sets these new and future cities apart, how- ever, is that sustainability and ecological technology are being incorporated into them, and while they often have government involvement, they tend to come from the private sector,” Dr. Ben-Joseph says. ENVISIONING TOMORROW’S CITIES TODAY Before this bold new future can get built, the cities’ project sponsors first must make the same decision facing any construction project: location. A city set slightly apart from, yet still close to, other urban hubs has proved to be the ideal. The US$35 billion new city of Songdo Inter- national Business District (IBD), South Korea is within the metropolis of Incheon and near Seoul. Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates, a US$18 billion project, is just 11 miles (17 kilometers) out- side the capital of Abu Dhabi. In India, the city of Today, just over half of the world’s 7.2 billion people live in urban areas. By 2050, that’s projected to soar to two-thirds of 9.6 billion people, according to the United Nations. To prepare for that tremendous urban growth, project leaders in both the public and private sectors are taking action—from rebuilding existing cities to constructing entirely new ones. These cities of the future will accommodate unprecedented populations with projects that extend far beyond new buildings. The initiatives also run the full gamut of infrastruc- ture that the millions of new residents will need, such as power grids, water management, waste removal, public transit and educational facilities. To support long-term growth, these city projects, often com- prising public-private partnerships, also must entail state-of-the-art sustainability and connectivity. “We are going to have to think very differently about how we build cities, particularly in the devel- oping countries that are urbanizing so fast, so these cities give us an example,” says Joan Fitzgerald, PhD, professor of urban and public policy at Northeast- ern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. “They point us in the right direction in terms of how we can totally rethink how cities look and are built.” Almost 90 percent of urban growth will be con- centrated in Africa and Asia, while just three coun- tries—China, India and Nigeria—will account for 37 percent of the projected city surge by 2050. The world’s cities are feeling the squeeze. 32 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 33 “What sets these new and future cities apart is that sustainability and ecological technology are being incorporated into them, and while they often have government involvement, they tend to come from the private sector.” —Eran Ben-Joseph, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
34 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG Lavasa aims to take advantage of its proximity to Pune, a booming software hub 40 miles (64 kilome- ters) away. Konza Techno City, Kenya, a US$14.5 billion development, will be 37 miles (60 kilometers) from the capital of Nairobi. China has offered a counterpoint lesson. As many cities have sprung up in remote areas, the country has seen an epidemic of ghost towns—newly con- structed urban centers that did not attract busi- nesses and residents and now sit largely empty. “These Chinese cities were built mainly as specula- tive housing projects, not necessarily corresponding to where people want to live,” Dr. Ben-Joseph says. It may seem counterintuitive to build a new city near another, more established one, but such urban clusters carry distinct advantages. “You can ben- efit from and complement the social and economic dynamics of the metropolis. This makes the new city much more attractive for companies and the types of tenants they envision hosting,” says Luis Carvalho, PhD, senior researcher, European Institute for Com- parative Urban Research, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. To help future residents and businesses appreciate the allure of their city over others, project sponsors must coordinate with nearby cities to make sure they’re complementing others’ appeal, not duplicat- ing it. “Many new cities are designed to provide heavy incentives to lure companies, but those are often insufficient to match the social advantages of other places, let alone the fact that they can hardly be kept over time,” Dr. Carvalho says. “This would call for the integration and coordination between the new city and other nearby locations, to avoid negative-sum competition for companies and tenants.” Source: United Nations “[New] Chinese cities were built mainly as speculative housing projects, not necessarily corresponding to where people want to live.” —Eran Ben-Joseph The Urban FutureThe world will see not only more cities, but bigger ones too. City Dwellers Percentages and populations of the world living in urban areas Big Medium-sized cities, each with 1 million to 5 million inhabitants 1950 100% 10% 50% 2014 2050 30% 54% 66% 746 million people 3.9 billion people 6.4 billion people 417827 million people 43300 million people 8 percent of the global urban population 2816 in Asia, 4 in Latin America, 3 in Africa, 3 in Europe, 2 in North America 453 million people 12 percent of the global urban population 63400 million people 9 percent of the global urban population 41Top two: Tokyo, Japan, 37 million; Delhi, India, 36 million 5581.1 billion people Bigger Large cities, each with 5 million to 10 million inhabitants Biggest Megacities, each with more than 10 million inhabitants 2014 2030 2014 2030 2014 2030 medium- sized cities large cities large cities medium- sized cities Top two: Tokyo, Japan, 38 million; Delhi, India, 25 million megacities megacities
MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 35 with taking these cities from grand vision to on- the-ground reality must be able to adapt to change. Such long-range initiatives demand flexible plans. Cutting-edge technology is standard in these new cities, but what’s forward-thinking today won’t be down the road. Project managers need to determine how the technologies they’re implementing now can be updated when the time comes. “That’s one of the elements that can be quite problematic—when you build a whole new town out of scratch and you just build it for a particular era or time, it doesn’t necessarily modify itself very well to changing circumstances,” Dr. Ben-Joseph says. “You might have a place that looks great now, but the question is how will it look 10 years down the line. And as technology and elements that deal with sustainability and infrastructure change, how will you adapt?” That means creating flexible, adaptable systems that allow for disruptive innovation, he adds. Project plans also must consider the city’s future growth—and determine how to direct it. “City Location is crucial, but it isn’t enough. To attract and retain more and more people and businesses, tomorrow’s cities must be better than yesterday’s— more advanced with regards to sustainability and technology. In the cities of Gujarat, India and Songdo, that means an underground network of vacuum- powered tubes that shuttle garbage from homes to a central processing facility. In Masdar City, it means designing a city layout that creates cooling breezes. These cities also will sustain burgeoning pop- ulations with reliable public transportation that replaces the need—and desire—for private trans- port. “You have to put your money in good public transit,” says Carolina Barco, senior adviser, Emerg- ing and Sustainable Cities Initiative, Inter-Amer- ican Development Bank, Washington, D.C., USA. “You want to make taking public transit attractive because you want people to want to take it and not be forced to take it. Otherwise, they’ll start looking for alternatives, like cars and motorcycles.” Project sponsors can’t agree to every sustain- able initiative that promises to ease the problems of overcrowding, however. In Masdar City, original plans called for small, two-person vehicles that oper- ated on a system separate from mass transit. After research into the development and implementation of the vehicles revealed they would be far pricier than anticipated, the plans were dropped. “Planners and city officials have to be open to learning during the process and be willing to shift course,” Dr. Fitzgerald says. FROMVISION TO REALITY Like project sponsors, the project managers tasked Project managers tasked with taking these cities from grand vision to on-the-ground reality must be able to adapt to change. Views of Songdo, South Korea, above, and Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates IMAGECOURTESYOFLAVA
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pmnetwork201503-dl

  • 1. MAKING PROJECT MANAGEMENT INDISPENSABLE FOR BUSINESS RESULTS.® PMNetwork® MARCH 2015 VOLUME 29, NUMBER 3 NUCLEAR PROJECTS MAKE A COMEBACK PAGE 6 AVOID IMPOSED DEADLINE SYNDROME PAGE 29 HOW YOUNG PROJECT MANAGERS BREAK INTO THE FIELD PAGE 52 PAGE 30 THE PROJECTS BEHIND THE PAGE 30 CITIES OF THE FUTURE
  • 2. It’s time to reach your next goal. Get a doctorate in project management. The numbers don’t lie: Project managers in the U.S. who hold a doctoral degree earn a median of $13,000 more annually than those with just a master’s degree. SOURCE: PMI’S THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SALARY SURVEY, EIGHTH EDITION (2013). Online doctoral offerings to take you to the next phase of your career: • DBA with a specialization in Project Management • PhD in Business Management with a specialization in Project Management • PhD in Information Technology with a specialization in Project Management Why Capella? • The only university to offer project management programs in business and information technology at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, as well as an IT PM certificate offering. • Programs are recognized by industry associations and accrediting bodies. • Learn from faculty with top academic credentials and real-world experience. • Earn your doctorate in a way that fits your life—without relocating or putting your career on hold. See graduation rates, median student debt, and other information at www.capellaresults.com/outcomes.asp. ACCREDITATION: Capella University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Capella University, Capella Tower, 225 South Sixth Street, Ninth Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55402, 1.888.CAPELLA (227.3552), www.capella.edu. © 2015. Capella University 15-8018 SAVE UP TO $10,000 WITH A CAPELLA SCHOLARSHIP Don’t miss out. Start today. TEACH, CONSULT, OR LEAD with a doctorate in project management in business or IT from Capella University. YOUR NEXT STEP STARTS HERE: CAPELLA.EDU/PMNETWORK | 866.516.9183
  • 3. 30 42 6046 30 42 46 52 60 Features Rethinking Cities With the global challenge of a booming urban population comes the opportunity to create more advanced cities. By Emma Haak Technical Know-How A smart robot builds an innovative structure— with the help of the project team behind it. By Meredith Landry Passion Projects Whether startups or not-for-profits, resource- strapped organizations can benefit from familiar—and not-so-familiar—project management approaches. By Steve Hendershot Starting Out Right Early-career project practitioners share their stories of breaking into the field, and succeeding in it. By Rachel Bertsche An Island Unto Itself A French project team manages competing currents—of water and stakeholder concerns— to restore Mont-Saint-Michel’s maritime character. By MattAlderton MARCH 2015 | VOLUME 29, NUMBER 3
  • 4. 4-Day Classroom Boot Camp Prep Online/e-Learning Prep Virtual Instructor-Led Classroom Prep Corporate/Group Training & Discounts PMI, the PMI Logo, the PMI Registered Education Provider Logo, PMP and PMBOK are marks of Project Management Institute, Inc Try FREE 200 question exam prep test at: http://www.4PMTI.com/Free_200_PMP_Questions 4PMTI.com/SocialMedia FREE PMP exam eligibility advice, exam application preparation tool & application review FREE 60 PDUs after you pass the exam! Renew your PMP certification for free! 45,000+ successful PMP certificants agree our courses & expert instructors are the best! FREE 35 contact hours course included! America’s most proven bootcamp for 10 years! This course is designed as a 4-day class where students can take the exam on the 5th day. Visit www.4PMTI.com for further details. Subject to meeting other requirements set by PMI. * We guarantee that you will pass the PMP exam within your first three attempts or we will return your money per following terms: if you fail, we will pay your re-exam fees and provide additional coaching up to two times. If you fail a 3rd time, we will refund your course fees less re-exam fees. Based on results reported by 100% of our customers since 2003, 95% of our students pass the on 1st attempt and 98% pass on the 2nd attempt. Visit www.4PMTI.com/MoneyBack.exam Global Head Quarters: 29777 Telegraph Road, Suite 2120, Southfield, MI - 48375 (USA) (PMTI) Middle-East Singapore Atlanta Boston Chicago Columbia Detroit Fairfax Houston Los Angeles New Jersey New York Raleigh San Jose San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tampa Washington DC 100+ cities... Dallas Denver Calgary Edmonton Montreal Toronto and more.... Bangalore Chennai Delhi/Gurgaon Mumbai/PuneKolkata Hyderabad Dubai Saudi Arabia Singapore Phone: 734-786-0104 Fax: 248-809-4060 Email: info@4PMTI.com Web: www.4PMTI.com Thank you!!!! I did not have to go thru several books and simulations exams to get my PMP certification. Your material and instructor was really what I needed.! - Dyana Torquato This is a fabulous boot camp and I was very impressed with the instructor. I could go on and on about your instructor because I honestly feel that the delivery of the PMTI course makes a huge difference in the success of the students. I'm going to recommend my employer use PMTI for any corporate PMP exam boot camps they think about hosting! - Jennifer Sebastian Pass In 5 Days or Your Money Back*! PMTI 4-Day PMP Exam Prep Boot Camp (100% Money-Back Guarantee) ** PMTI 10 Anniversary OfferSpecial $405 Off!! **Visit www.4PMTI.com for details Trusted instructors and class materials that receive five star praise! GS-02F-0056T Schedule th ** ** ®
  • 5. DOWNLOADTHEPMNETWORKAPPandreadthemagazineonyouriPad, iPhoneoriPodTouch,orAndroiddevice. AlsoMARCH 2015 | VOLUME 29, NUMBER 3 MAKING PROJECT MANAGEMENT INDISPENSABLE FOR BUSINESS RESULTS.® THE EDGE 6 Reactor Revival Four years after Fukushima, nuclear reactor projects return. 8 A New Way to Make Art To help disabled children create 3-D art, a U.K. project turned to touch-screen and eye-tracking technologies. 9 On theVerge ofVirtual Virtual reality projects could usher in the future of journalism. 11 China’s New Stimulus Program The country looks to infrastructure and energy projects to mitigate a housing slump. 11 Defense Giant Diversifies The world’s largest defense company responds to U.S. budget cuts by branching out. 12 Old Infrastructure, New Life These urban projects have revitalized unused and underused city spaces. 14 Data Under Lock and Key To protect their virtual treasures, data centers bulk up their physical security. 16 Metrics CEOs around the world face daunting technology and talent challenges. If they want their portfolios to succeed, the current climate demands they prepare for change. VOICES 18 Inside Track Patrolling the Skies Col. ReidVander Schaaf, PhD, sensors development project manager, U.S. Department of Defense, Huntsville, Alabama, USA 20 Project Toolkit Under Pressure 24 In the Trenches Smooth Operator By DeepaGandhavalli Ramaniah, PMP 28 In the Trenches You Get the Picture By Rhonda WilsonOshetoye, PMP, and LaurenceCook, PMP 70 In the Trenches Blame Game ByGrace Willis, PMP COLUMNISTS 22 Career QA Concrete Connections By Lindsay Scott 26 Managing Relationships Facing Fears By Sheilina Somani, RPP, FAPM, PMP, Contributing Editor 27 Leadership Rush Hour By RicardoVianaVargas, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMP 29 The Business of Projects Imposed Deadline Syndrome ByGary R. Heerkens, MBA, CBM, PMP, Contributing Editor ALSO INTHIS ISSUE 68 Marketplace The Evolution and Maturity of PM 71 Directory of Services Project management resources 72 Closing Credit London’s greenest bridge 6 14 28 72 PMNetwork® COVER IMAGE COURTESY OF LAVA
  • 6. THE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE OF THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE PUBLICATION MEMBERSHIP PM Network (ISSN 1040-8754) is published monthly by the Project Management Institute. PM Network is printed in the USA by Quad Graphics, Sussex, Wisconsin. Periodical postage paid at Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 and at additional mailing offices. Canadian agreement #40030957. Postmaster: Send address changes to PM Network, 14 Campus Boulevard, New- town Square, PA 19073-3299 USA. Phone +1 610 356 4600, fax +1 610 482 9971. The mission of PM Network is to facilitate the exchange of information among professionals in the fields of project, program and portfolio management, provide them with practical tools and techniques, and serve as a forum for discussion of emerging trends and issues. All articles in PM Network are the views of the authors and are not necessarily those of PMI. Subscription rate for members is US$42/year and is included in the annual dues. PMI is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to advancing the state of the art of project man- agement. Membership in PMI is open to all at an annual dues rate of US$129. For information on PMI programs and membership, or to report change of address or problems with your subscription, contact: PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE 14 Campus Boulevard / Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA Tel +1 610 356 4600; Fax +1 610 482 9971 E-mail: customercare@pmi.org Toll-free: 1 855 746 4849 (United States) / 1 855 746 4849 (Canada) / 1 800 563 0665 (Mexico) PMI Asia Pacific Service Centre Singapore Tel: +65 6496 5501 / E-mail: customercare.asiapac@pmi.org PMI Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA) Service Centre Lelystad, Netherlands Tel: +31 320 239 539 / E-mail: customercare.emea@pmi.org Toll-free Numbers 00 800 7464 8490: Austria, Belgium*, Bulgaria*, Czech Republic*, Denmark, Estonia*, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia*, Lithuania*, Luxembourg, Malta*, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic*, Slovenia*, Spain, Sweden*, Switzer- land, United Kingdom, Vatican City 00 800 4414 3100: Cyprus, Greece 07 810 800 7464 8490: Russia* +31 320 239 539 (toll number): Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Ukraine *Use the toll number (+31 320 239 539) from mobile phones in these countries PMI India Service Centre New Delhi, India Tel: +91 124 4517140 / E-mail: customercare.india@pmi.org OTHER LOCATIONS Beijing, China; Bengaluru, India; Brussels, Belgium; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Mumbai, India; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Shenzhen, China; Washington, D.C., USA See www.PMI.org/AboutUs/Customer-Care.aspx for contact details. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT #40030957 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Circulation Department / P.O. Box 1051 / Fort Erie, Ontario L2A 6C7 © 2015 Project Management Institute Inc. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. “PMI,” the PMI logo, “Making project management indispensable for business results,”“PMIToday,”“PMNetwork,”“ProjectManagementJournal,”“PMBOK,”“CAPM,”“Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM),” “PMP,” the PMP logo, “PgMP,” “Program Management Professional (PgMP),” “PMI-RMP,” “PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP),” ”PMI-SP,” “PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP),” “OPM3” and “PMI-ACP,” “PMI Agile Certified Practitio- ner (PMI-ACP)” are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. “Project Management Professional (PMP)” is a service mark of Project Management Institute, Inc. in the United States and/or other nations. PM Network welcomes story ideas and/or suggestions about sources. Our stories are written by professional journalists. Please contact Imagination editorial director Cyndee Miller or PMI editor in chief Dan Goldfischer with your ideas and suggestions. If you are interested in submitting articles for the PMI Knowledge Shelf, located at www.PMI.org/Knowledge-Center/Knowledge-Shelf.aspx, please contact Dan Goldfischer. More information can be found at www.PMI.org/en/Knowledge- Center/Publications-PM-Network.aspx. Published articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or the Project Management Institute. PM Network is not responsible for loss, damage, or any other injury to unsolicited manuscripts or other material. DIGITAL EDITION A digital edition of this issue is available to PMI members by logging on to www.PMI.org and select- ing Knowledge Center, PM Network andAccess the Full PM Network.The digital edition of PM Net- work is also accessible on Android devices, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, via the PM Network app. READER SERVICES For placing orders or for inquiries, please contact PMI Publishing Department at pmipub@pmi.org. Permissions. Please visit www.PMI.org/Home-Permissions.aspx for information on requesting per- mission to reprint articles published in PM Network. No part of PM Network may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Back Issues. Back issues may be purchasedwhen available by contactingdocumentdelivery@pmi.org. Pricing varies with number of copies, and members receive a discount. PDF Files. Articles in PDF format are available for download from the Marketplace at www.PMI.org at no cost to members. Non-member price for all articles is US$15 each. Glossy Reprints. Requests for glossy reprints of articles in quantities of 100 or more can be sent to pmipub@pmi.org. Bulk Copies of Current Issue. Copies of the current PM Network can be obtained in quantities of 25 or more. Orders must be placed 40 days prior to date of issue. The cost is US$5.50 per copy plus shipping. Change of Address. Members can edit their demographics, including their addresses, by logging onto www.PMI.org and accessing “My PMI.” All readers can send change of address information to customercare@pmi.org or call PMI customer service at +1 610 356 4600 option 8. PMI STAFF Vice President, Brand Management Cindy W. Anderson; cindy.anderson@pmi.org Publisher Donn Greenberg; donn.greenberg@pmi.org Director of Thought Leadership and Content Christine Perovich; christine.perovich@pmi.org Editor in Chief Dan Goldfischer; dan.goldfischer@pmi.org Publications Production Supervisor Barbara Walsh; barbara.walsh@pmi.org Reader Feedback: editorial@pmi.org Bookstore: bookstore@pmi.org ADVERTISING SALES For advertising information, contact: J.T. Hroncich PMI Advertising Sales Program c/o Capitol Media Solutions 3340 Peachtree Rd. NE, Suite 1050 Atlanta, GA 30326 USA +1 404 347 3316 advertising@pmi.org Media kit: www.PMI.org/Advertising Project Management Institute Publishing Department 14 Campus Boulevard / Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA Tel +1 610 356 4600; Fax +1 610 356 4647 Address editorial inquiries, advertising and mailing list rental queries, and requests for reprints, bulk copies or reprint permis- sion to PMI Publishing Department. Unless otherwise specified, all letters and articles sent to PMI are assumed for publi- cation and become the copyright property of PMI if published. PUBLICATION SERVICES Imagination, Chicago, Illinois, USA President, CEO James Meyers; jmeyers@imaginepub.com Vice President, Editorial Director Cyndee Miller; cmiller@imaginepub.com Senior Content Director Kate Rockwood; krockwood@imaginepub.com Senior Editor Jeremy Gantz; jgantz@imaginepub.com Editors Alma Bahman; abahman@imaginepub.com Becky Maughan; bmaughan@imaginepub.com Senior Art Director Hugo Espinoza; hespinoza@imaginepub.com Senior Strategy Director, Associations Jaime Andriopoulos; jandriopoulos@imaginepub.com Director of Production Kelley Hunsberger; khunsberger@imaginepub.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jesse Fewell, CST, PMI-ACP, PMP, LeadingAgile Gary R. Heerkens, MBA, CBM, PMP, Management Solutions Group Inc. Sheilina Somani, FAPM, RPP, PMP, Positively Project Management 2015 PMI BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Steve DelGrosso, MSc, PMP +1 919 848 6986, steve.delgrosso@bod.pmi.org Vice Chair Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, PMP +32 479 80 94 18, antonio.nieto.rodriguez@bod.pmi.org Secretary-Treasurer and Chair, Audit and Performance Oversight Committee Mark Dickson, MBA, FAICD, PMP +61 407 933 110, mark.dickson@bod.pmi.org Chair, Strategy Development Oversight Committee Deena Gordon Parla, PMP +90 533 511 4462, deena.gordon.parla@bod.pmi.org DIRECTORS Margareth Carneiro, MBA, MSc, PMP +55 61 8175 3455, margareth.carneiro@bod.pmi.org J. Davidson Frame, PhD, PMP, PMI Fellow +1 703 623 0035, davidson.frame@bod.pmi.org Todd Hutchison, MCom, MBA, PMP +61 422 532 775, todd.hutchison@bod.pmi.org Victoria S. Kumar, MM, PMP +1 919 924 1013, victoria.kumar@bod.pmi.org Caterina (Cathy) La Tona, BCS, PMP, PfMP +1 248 703 9810, cathy.latona@bod.pmi.org Wagner Maxsen Jose de Oliveria, PMI-RMP, PMP +45 21247673, wagner.maxsen@bod.pmi.org William “Steve” Sawle, PE, CMC, PMP, PgMP +1 312 209 5512, steve.sawle@bod.pmi.org Jennifer Tharp, PMP +1 415 385 1749, jennifer.tharp@bod.pmi.org Ricardo Triana, PMP, Immediate Past Chair +1 305 778 9091, ricardo.triana@bod.pmi.org Cheryl J. (CJ) Walker Waite, PhD, PMP +1 206 774 0774, cj.walker.waite@bod.pmi.org Al Zeitoun, PhD, EVP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMP +971 50 688 6346, al.zeitoun@bod.pmi.org STAFF EXECUTIVE President Chief Executive Officer Mark A. Langley +1 610 356 4600, mark.langley@pmi.org PMNetwork®
  • 7.
  • 8. 6 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG 70Number of reactor construction projects now underway worldwide US$135billionValue of reactor projects delayed or canceled after the 2011 Fukushima meltdown in Japan 60%Estimated increase in global nuclear generation capacity by 2040 theEdA police officer guards the construction site of the Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant in Sanmen, Zhejiang Province, China. Sources: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, International Energy Agency PHOTOBYFENGLI/GETTYIMAGES
  • 9. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 7 Reactor Revival Four years after the Fukushima meltdown caused Japan to close all 48 of its nuclear plants and prompted Germany to pledge to shut down its 17 plants by 2022, nuclear projects are making a comeback. Yet, in the wake of Fukushima, the project teams overseeing new reactors must navigate heightened safety concerns and complex technology amid increased public interest and, at times, opposition. After Fukushima, 24 reactor projects around the world, representing over US$135 billion, were postponed or canceled. Now 70 reactor construction projects are underway worldwide, the most since 1989, according to Bloom- berg New Energy Finance. By 2040, nuclear generation capacity will increase 60 percent globally, the International Energy Agency estimates. The Asia Pacific region, especially China and India, is home to nearly two-thirds of the reactors under construction. China plans to complete 29 new reactors from 2018 through 2030, raising its total to 49, according to Bloomberg. China’s increased nuclear capacity will exceed the current capacity of the United States and Russia combined. “We see most of the construction in the growing economies, in the parts of the world where you see strong economic growth,” Agneta Rising, the head of the World Nuclear Associa- tion, told Bloomberg. Meanwhile, nine of the new reactors, or 13 percent of the total, are going up in developed countries. For the first time in more than 30 years, new nuclear plant projects are underway in the United States, with four due to come online by 2020. In September, the U.S. Depart- ment of Energy announced it would provide up to US$12.6 billion in loan guarantees to nuclear projects that reduce green- house gas emissions. Still, these initiatives face sometimes fierce opposition from public stakeholders. The Japanese government sees nuclear power as critical to the country’s growth, as it now relies mostly on imported natural gas and coal for its power. However, in late 2014, when Japan announced it would restart two nuclear reactors, hundreds of citizens protested. “Gaining local residents’ understanding is very important,” Yoichi Miyazawa, Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, told The Associated Press. In advance of launching projects to bring the two reac- tors back online, government officials have held explanatory meetings with local residents. ge “We see most of the construction in the growing economies, in the parts of the world where you see strong economic growth.” —Agneta Rising, World Nuclear Association, to Bloomberg
  • 10. 8 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG A Better Breed The new wave of reactors looks to improve upon the old, especially when it comes to safety. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy launched a five-year, US$452 million program to create first-of-their- kind small modular reactors. They’ll not only be one-third the size of current nuclear plants but also will aim to be cheaper, faster to build and safer than conven- tional reactors. Last year, Russia and China announced their intention to pursue a joint project that will build six nuclear reactors floating on barges, supplying power to remote villages and oil platforms. Placed in deep ocean waters, floating nuclear plants should be safer because they’ll be less sus- ceptible to tsunamis or earthquakes, and in a worst-case meltdown scenario, they would be cooled by the surrounding waters, according to Jacopo Buongiorno, PhD, a professor at the Mas- sachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. “The biggest selling point [of floating reactors] is the enhanced safety,” Dr. Buongiorno, who is researching and designing waterborne nuclear plants, said in a statement. In France, an international consortium is executing the estimated US$20 billion ITER project, which will be the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor. It won’t generate as much long-lasting radio- active waste as typical nuclear fission plants, and will be incapable of a meltdown. Seven state spon- sors—China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States—are contributing to the project, with the understanding that each member will have access to the technology needed to theEdge A NEWWAY TO MAKEART 3-D printing isn’t just for businesses. To allow its students with disabilities to harness their creative instincts, the Victoria Educa- tion Centre (VEC) in Poole, England partially sponsored the €1.7 million SHIVA project. (SHIVA stands for Sculpture for Health-care: Interaction and Virtual Art in 3D.) In 2010, VEC began collaborating with the National Centre for Computer Animation at Bournemouth University in England to find a way for children with limited mobility and dexterity to cre- ate three-dimensional objects. The result is a new high-tech tool that links eye-tracking and touch-screen technologies to a 3-D printer to make students’ designs tangible. “Children with disabilities find it very difficult to do art in a conventional sense,” said Mark Moseley, assistive technologist, VEC, and the technical lead on the project, in a video onThe Telegraph website. “I thought this would be a great oppor- tunity to develop a piece of software that would allow them to have these artistic experi- ences, but in a virtual sense, using technology that can compensate for whatever it is that they’re not able to do.” The eye-tracking technol- ogy translates a student’s gaze into on-screen selections that build an object from differ- ent shapes. Users with visual impairments can customize display colors and sizes. User preferences can be saved for future use. —Brittany Nims The Future of Nuclear By 2030, these countries will build the most new nuclear reactors worldwide. COUNTRY REACTORS UNDER CONSTRUCTION REACTORS PLANNED China 26 60 Russia 10 31 India 6 22 South Korea 5 8 Japan 3 9 United States 5 5 World 70 179 Source: World Nuclear Association, 2014 The ITER fusion reactor project site in April 2014, in Saint-Paul- lès-Durance, France
  • 11. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 9 produce its own nuclear fusion plant in the future. “Coordinating so many different countries, cultures and locations is a bigger challenge even than the technology,” says Joseph Onstott, ITER’s budget management section leader, Saint-Paul- lès-Durance, France. “Not everyone has the same objective: Some want things done as quickly as possible; others are more cost-conscious. It takes a lot of discipline to oversee the schedule.” Costly Closings As dozens of new nuclear reactors get built, hun- dreds of aging reactors will be decommissioned. “Coordinating so many different countries, cultures and locations is a bigger challenge even than the technology. Not everyone has the same objective.” —Joseph Onstott, ITER, Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, France, commenting on a project to build the world’s largest fusion reactor, a project with seven country sponsors ON THE VERGE OF VIRTUAL Innovative journalism projects are looking to provide the news through a technology known more for its video-game applications: virtual reality. The objective of these projects isn’t to entertain, however, but to inform. The Gannett Company, one of the largest media organizations in the United States, launched its first project in June to create a virtual-reality news story. For the three-month US$20,000 initiative, the organi- zation’s digital team partnered with a Gannett newspaper, The Des Moines Register, to develop an immer- sive 3-D version of a family farm in the U.S. state of Iowa. It was part of a larger story about changes in Iowa agriculture. “This is the way we, as journalists, are going to need to communicate to the Minecraft generation,” Mitch Gelman, vice president, Gannett Company, Washington, D.C., USA, told Poynter. “Instead of building fictional representations in this type of game play, we should be able to build factual non-fiction.” Russia and China are pursuing a joint project to build nuclear reactors floating on barges. Almost half of the 434 nuclear reactors cur- rently operating—most of them in Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States—are slated to be decommissioned by 2040, at an estimated cost of over US$100 billion, if not much more. The bud- get for decommissioning projects involving just two reactors in the U.S. state of California, set to launch in 2016, will come to US$4.4 billion. Teams overseeing these complex initiatives will have to negotiate uncertainty around costs, given the relatively limited global track record of dis- mantling and decontaminating reactors. In the past 40 years, only 10 reactors have been shut down. —Kate Sykes PHOTOCOURTESYOFTHEITERORGANIZATION
  • 12. 10 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG Another initiative, Project Syria, uses audio, video and photos taken during the Syrian civil war, along with virtual-reality headsets, to create an immersive look at the wartime experiences of children. Funded by the World Economic Forum, the 2014 project was spearheaded by Nonny de la Peña, a graduate fellow at the University of Southern California and a pioneer in immersive journalism. “Advances in immersive three-dimensional experiences will make traditional, static two- dimensional photos and videos look as old-fash- ioned to us as the very first black-and-white photos seem to us today,” Dan Pacheco, a journalism pro- fessor at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA and a consultant on the Gannett project, told the Syracuse Media Group. On the Farm Virtual reality may represent the future of journal- ism, but only if pilot projects like Gannett’s prove successful. For Gannett and its project partners, success meant creating a self-guided 3-D walking tour that would be viewed with Oculus Rift, a vir- tual-reality headset that responds to users’ move- ments, as well as a simpler 2-D version that would live online. Yet success also meant more than a flashy presentation. “We wanted strong storytelling behind it,” says Amalie Nash, executive editor and vice president for news and engagement, The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, USA. “In a lot of ways, we tack- led it the same as any journalism project: There was a lot of reporting, interviewing, data gathering and photography.” In addition to those typical project components, however, Ms. Nash’s team—reporters, editors and photographers—had to work closely with stake- holders outside its own newsroom: the develop- ers at Gannett’s Virginia-based digital division as well as Total Cinema 360, the New York-based film company that recorded both video and audio in 360 degrees. Team members at both Gannett offices had twice-weekly phone meetings to main- tain consistent communications and to coordinate the project elements on every platform: virtual, online and print. “There was a lot of back and forth between our team and the team at Gannett Digital,” Ms. Nash says. “That was the most important thing to pull this off.” The virtual reality technique also brought unique challenges. One concern was some users who experienced nausea from the use of the headset. Another project challenge, Ms. Nash explains, involved the sheer amount and intricacy of the photographs her team needed to take so that the digital team could build the virtual environment. “Our photographer had to take these extreme detail shots,” she says. “What exactly does that barn look like? The grass over by the porch? In a traditional journalism project, the photographer is not taking a million pictures of cracks in the sidewalk.” After the Des Moines team completed its initial fact- finding, reporting and photo- graphing, it sent its data and photos to the digital team to create a prototype. Then, in July, all of the team members, from both Iowa and Virginia, visited the farm. They needed to test the prototype, and to do that, they needed input from key stakeholders: the family that owned the farm. “We had the family put the headset on, and they said, ‘The hay bales are way too theEdge “In a lot of ways, we tackled it the same as any journalism project: There was a lot of reporting, interviewing, data gathering and photography.” —Amalie Nash, The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, USA Project Syria team members created an immersive look at children’s wartime experiences. IMAGECOURTESYOFIMMERSIVEJOURNALISM
  • 13. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 11 big,’” Ms. Nash says. “We had to focus more on proportion and measuring the way that the virtual world looked.” After incorporating the family’s feedback, the project team finalized its digital rep- lica of the farm. The project allows users to virtually walk around the farm through 360-degree video segments, archival photos and text. “It has a museum-like quality where you can go around and explore,” Ms. Nash says. The project’s success also could be measured through its online presence: It resulted in 430,000 page views. “That’s a very high number for us in engagement,” says Ms. Nash, whose publication has a combined print and online readership of 420,000. “I think we’ll be seeing more of these projects in newsrooms,” Ms. Nash says. “It’s very exciting to see different ways to tell stories and what that might look like in the future.” —Rebecca Little China’s New Stimulus Program Housing has been both China’s boon and its bane. While the housing sector helped the world’s second largest economy recover quickly from the global financial crisis, in the past year it has helped drag down economic growth to its slowest pace since 2009. “The linchpin of China’s economy is the housing market,” Alaistair Chan, an econo- mist at Moody’s Analytics, told The Wall Street Journal. The government’s recession-era stimulus measures helped the housing sector grow mightily—and unsustainably. Due to an oversupply of overpriced houses, housing sales, prices and construction have all dropped sharply. Cities such as Handan, where prop- erty prices shot up 24 percent in the past four years, have become home to abandoned real-estate projects. That’s having a major impact on the rest of the economy—20 per- cent of which is tied to real estate. The government is responding: The infrastructure and energy sectors are seeing a surge in projects—and in the need for greater project management maturity. A brief history of virtual-reality projects: 1957: Morton Heilig invents the Sensora- ma, a machine that played 3-D images and stereo sounds as well as emitted smells. 1961: Philco Corp. develops the Head- sight, the first head- mounted display—a technology later used in military training. DEFENSE GIANT DIVERSIFIES With U.S. defense spending in decline, at least as a percentage of GDP, the world’s largest defense company is pursuing projects with civilian applications in an effort to shore up its future. More than 60 percent of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s US$45 billion in 2013 sales came through Pentagon contracts. Several of Lockheed’s current research projects, like the patented Perforene membrane, could gener- ate commercial interest around the world. It’s a one-atom thick sheet of graphene that can be used to desali- nate seawater. The product could interest Persian Gulf nations, who might also order some of the orga- nization’s weapons systems. More surprisingly, Lockheed Martin has partnered with Kampachi Farms LLC and the Illinois Soybean Association to develop fish farm pens that will drift on open-ocean currents and be tracked by satellites. Lockheed Martin is also develop- ing a compact nuclear fusion reactor that might initially power naval ships but could be expanded for commercial use by cities. “Should the [technology] develop, that can result in a very large commercial market,” Ray Johnson, Lockheed Martin’s chief technology officer, told TheWall Street Journal. This isn’t the first time Lockheed Martin has tried to diversify its project portfolio to hedge against military cuts. In the 1990s, the orga- nization stepped into the telecom- munications market by buying three satellite operators. It sold them at a steep loss in 2001. The company says its focus on global issues like energy, food and water this time around will act as a safeguard. —Brittany Nims THE REALITY OF VIRTUAL 1991: Virtuality Group adds virtual reality to video arcade games. 1997: Georgia Tech researchers use virtual reality to design war-zone scenarios for use as therapy for veterans. 2014: Facebook acquires Oculus VR, the company that makes the Rift, for US$2 billion.
  • 14. 12 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG theEdge Getting Out of the House The Chinese government has not yet introduced a stimulus package like the CNY4 trillion program of 2008, but it has set in motion more targeted stimulus initiatives. In late 2014, China announced it would invest CNY693 billion in 21 infrastructure projects: 16 railways and five airports. Earlier, it approved a CNY800 billion investment in 64 rail projects. Meanwhile, nine provincial and two city governments have launched new construction and infra- structure projects worth over CNY3 trillion. These infrastructure investments could help stabilize China’s economy, Lian Ping, chief economist for the Bank of Communications, told the Xinhua News Agency. “Most railway and airport projects are quite necessary in the country, and they are also important to the local economies,” he said. Like the construction sector, China’s coal sector has fallen into severe distress, propelled by weakening growth in electricity demand that, in 2014, fell to its low- est levels since the global economic crisis. Yet as the government looks to boost the country’s use of renewable energy, other energy sectors show clear signs of growth. For example, the country—the world’s largest solar market—planned to install 8 gigawatts of small solar power systems in 2014, which is more than 10 times the 2013 figure. It aims to install 15 gigawatts of photovoltaic power in 2015. Beyond the Slowdown Despite the current slowdown, China will continue to see an active project landscape, says Henry Hsieh, a Shanghai-based vice president and general manager for Fluor, which has more than a dozen Chinese projects underway in sectors such as oil and gas, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals China will invest CNY693billion in 21 infrastruc- ture projects: 16 railways and five airports. RiverWalk Moscow, Russia is far from a pedestrian paradise: Foot traffic is largely channeled into the city’s hundreds of underground crossings, which run beneath the sprawling eight-lane high- ways that shoot out from the downtown center. The Russian capital ranked as the leading European metropolitan area for auto congestion levels in 2014, according to GPS manufac- turer TomTom. To help shake its reputation as a motorway mecca, the city approved a project to replace a four-lane roadway with a 45,000-square-meter (484,000-square-foot) public park. Project objectives included revitalizing the surrounding areas by building a public space that is accessible year-round. Russian studio Wowhaus began sketching the new park without a confirmed budget, dividing the area into outdoor zones (filled with fountains, bike paths and lit pavilions) and 1 CHALLENGE 3 PROJECTS 1 OLD INFRASTRUCTURE, NEW LIFE How to repurpose abandoned buildings and defunct infrastructure to best meet a community’s needs is a problem seen in cities around the world. These projects are creative examples of how project leaders are reimagining these defunct spaces into revitalized resources. indoor cafés and artist studios. After the studio presented proj- ect plans and a traffic analysis to the city’s mayor, the RUB2 billion project was approved and completed in eight months. It is now the first year-round park in Moscow.
  • 15. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 13 THE AUSSIE EFFECT and chemicals. Following the investment flurry of the past several years, the slowdown could precede more sustainable growth, Mr. Hsieh adds. “It is slower, but this is partially by design,” he says. “What the Chinese government is aiming for is more sustainable and quality growth.” While the slowdown has affected industries tied to real estate—such as manufacturers of steel, aluminum and glass—not all sectors face the same outlook, espe- cially if their organizations have solid project manage- ment practices in place, Mr. Hsieh says. “If you are diversified and you have the latest project management tools, you have a good track record and you focus on the encouraged industries, then you will stay busy,” he says. With the changing economy has come an even greater need for project management skills, Mr. Hsieh says. In the past, the government sometimes would eagerly green-light projects, despite subpar feasibility studies and return-on-investment esti- mates, he says. Now, it’s paying greater attention to the projects it approves and the oversight they need. —Ambreen Ali China’s economic woes have implications far beyond its own borders—as Australia knows all too well. China has been Austra- lia’s main customer for iron ore, the main ingredient in steel, leading to record profits for ore producers over the past decade. Yet China’s real-estate slump, particularly the dip in new apartment buildings, has driven a sharp decline in demand for steel and, with it, iron ore. China’s slowdown has led to dramatic fluctuations in iron ore prices that in turn have affected Australia’s national budget. That decrease in demand has been accompanied by an increase in supply from industry heavyweights such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and Vale. After Australian production of iron ore increased 40 percent between 2010 and 2013, iron ore prices in 2014 fell to a five-year low. As a result, some big iron projects planned for the next few years could have a hard time getting the investments they need. One such project is a US$7 bil- lion initiative to develop a mine, port and railway in western Australia. It’s small wonder, then, that Goldman Sachs has announced the “end of the Iron Age.” ElevatedTrail A 2.7-mile (4.3-kilometer) stretch of the Bloomingdale train line in Chicago, Illinois, USA has been the subject of rehab speculation since its last freight ran in 2001. More than a decade later, a US$95 million project is finally underway to transform the space into a cycling and jogging path surrounded by new parks. Originally slated for completion in late 2014, the project experienced a setback when an abnormally cold winter froze the team’s excavation phase. That caused project delays including cut- ting short the planting season originally scheduled for late summer. Plantings will now occur in the second quarter of this year. “We want to … meet the visions set forth for the com- munity,” transportation com- missioner Rebekah Scheinfeld told the Chicago Tribune. Factory Farm The Guangdong Float Glass Factory in Shenzhen, China stopped production in 2009. The derelict factory didn’t just sit empty; it was in disar- ray. “The site was a piece of abandoned wasteland,” says Tris Kee, assistant professor, department of architecture, Uni- versity of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Yet her project team saw potential in the space, and chose the site to build its 8,100-square-meter (87,200-square-foot) Hong Kong Value Farm, a part organic farm, part art installation developed for the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture. To maximize the CNY700,000 project budget, the team incor- porated standing infrastructure whenever possible. Local bricks, for instance, were utilized to separate crops of bok choy and kale. Though the installation has closed, the project team designed with the future in mind: The chief curator is developing a pro- posal to convert the organic farm into a public park. —Ian Fullerton 2 3 An iron ore mine in western Australia
  • 16. 14 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG theEdge Data Under Lock and Key Data security is not just a virtual concern, but a physical one. Project teams are constructing data centers that fend off real-world intrusion. Large-scale cyberattacks have made clear organizations’ vulnerability to hackers—and the high stakes involved. The 2013 breach at Target compromised 40 million credit cards, 70 million custom- ers’ personal information and factored into the retail giant’s 46-percent plummet in holiday profits. The 2014 attacks at retailer Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, affected 56 million cards and 76 million households, respectively. Project teams thus face heightened pressure to defend the security of data centers—ground zero for all information. In 2013, for instance, Google spent US$7.35 billion on Internet infrastructure, largely due to its data-center expansion projects. “For our mission-critical clients, the security of their facilities is high on the list of nonnegotiables,” says David Ibarra, project director at DPR Construction, Redwood City, California, USA, which has built data centers for Facebook and eBay. DPR’s data centers range from simple cage environments requiring card access to “facilities that include barriers, bomb-blast-resistant zones and even dog-patrol areas,” Mr. Ibarra says. “These facilities must comply with multiple rings of security philosophy: deter, detect, access, delay, respond and deny.” Data center provider Equinix also builds multiple rings of security into its data centers. “We design “We design our centers to have five layers of security before anyone can even reach the equipment.” —Raouf Abdel, Equinix Americas, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • 17. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 15 our centers to have five layers of security before anyone can even reach the equipment,” says Raouf Abdel, regional operating chief, Equinix Americas, Denver, Colorado, USA. Equinix operates more than 100 data centers in 15 countries, helping to keep safe the information of organizations such as Amazon and Google. Projects have featured security stations situ- ated behind ballistic glass and biometric scanning incorporated into almost every entry point. At Equinix-built facilities, potential intruders immedi- ately encounter the aptly named mantrap. A hall- way with a door on each end, the mantrap opens just one door at a time. Its biometric scanners and access code require the appropriate credentials before the second door will open. Otherwise, Mr. Abdel says, “the second door will not unlock, effec- tively trapping the person from entering or leav- ing the facility.” Guards can hold individuals here either for traffic flow or to squash security risks. Such extremely well-guarded data centers come at a cost. Mr. Ibarra says DPR’s project budgets for its centers can jump 1 percent to 5 percent for secu- rity features such as crash-resistant perimeter fenc- ing, gunfire-resistant finishes and exterior-access deterrent mechanisms. Considering that Google spent US$390 million to expand its data center in Belgium, such measures, even at small percentages, mean hefty budget items. Yet they can offset poten- tially much greater costs resulting from lax security. Custom-Built Project teams can’t build the same type of data centers for different clients—or even for the same client. They must weigh the demands of each facil- ity’s location. “Site selection is driven by the primary busi- ness need—production or not, backup or disaster recovery, proximity to users—and security must be tailored to each location and facility type,” Mr. Ibarra says. Google’s data centers in the Americas, Asia and Europe each have site-specific needs dependent on regional conditions and risks. “Sometimes, within the United States,” Mr. Ibarra says, “we have to consider extra security in areas of the country where hunting season is typi- cal. Exterior elements may need addi- tional barriers installed to protect from potential bul- let impacts.” In cities, DPR project teams might install, for instance, metal bars on venti- lation systems to prevent unauthorized access. DPR teams building facilities in more isolated locations have created 10-foot (3-meter) berms surrounding the structures, set back from the road by 150 feet (46 meters). The most carefully protected data center is use- less, however, if it cannot perform seamlessly. To maintain uninterrupted service in these facilities, project teams must ensure the unlimited supply of electricity and water, especially in the event of power outages. Google’s facilities use diesel engine backup generators that can power the data centers at full capacity for extended periods of time. To help maintain function, DPR uses alarms on manhole covers and security cameras detecting intrusions. “The primary power and water streams serving the data center are provided, maintained and protected, from plain vandalism to intentional breach,” Mr. Ibarra says. —Stephanie Schomer Well-guarded data centers come at a cost. Project budgets can jump 1to 5percent for security features. “These facilities must comply with multiple rings of security philosophy: deter, detect, access, delay, respond and deny.” —David Ibarra, DPR Construction, Redwood City, California, USA Facebook’s data center in Prineville, Oregon, USA
  • 18. 16 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG THE SITUATION CHANGING THEIR WAYS CEOs around the world face daunting technology and talent challenges. If they want their portfolios to succeed, the current climate demands they invest in change. THE LATEST STATISTICS, SURVEYS AND STUDIES Two major areas of strategic concern in 2015: 86%of CEOs say it’s important to understand how competitive advantages stem from digital technologies 77%of CEOs have or plan to adopt a strategy to attract diverse talent TECHNOLOGY TALENT THE SITUATION CEOs say digital technology enhances the business value of these areas: 88% say operational efficiency 85% say data and data analytics 77% say internal and external collaboration 77% say customer experience 50% of CEOs plan to increase their company’s headcount throughout the next 12 months 55% of Australian CEOs plan to do so 59% of U.S. CEOs plan to do so US$130 billionexpected global value of additional productivity made accessible by nurturing an adaptable talent pool
  • 19. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 17 71% of CEOs say their business actively searches for talent in different geographies, industries and demographic segments CEOs’ talent strategies pursue, or will soon pursue, various aspects of diversity: 33% are pursuing or will pursue gender diversity 32% are pursuing or will pursue diversity in knowledge, skills and experience 25% are pursuing or will pursue diversity in ethnicity, nation- ality and race 64% of CEOs have adopted a diversity and inclusion strategy 75% of CEOs in Brazil 66% of CEOs in Canada 57% of CEOs in the United Kingdom LEADING THE WAY In response to these top global trends, CEOs are: Source: PwC, 18thAnnualGlobalCEO Survey, 2015 Executives say it’s strategically important to invest in digital technology: 85%of CEOs whose companies have a formal diversity and inclusion strategy think it has improved the bottom line 58%creating business value in talent acqui- sition, retention and development through digital investments 75%supporting specific hiring and training strategies to integrate digital technology 78%using multiple chan- nels, including online and social media plat- forms, to find talent 46%using data analytics to provide better insight into how effectively workforce skills are being deployed CEOs with diversity and inclusion strategies see clear benefits: 90% have attracted talent 85% have enhanced business performance 83% have strengthened brand and reputation 55% have helped companies com- pete in new industries or geographies THE RESPONSE 81%of CEOs are seeking a much broader range of skills THE RESPONSE 47%say leveraging emerging technologies is one of their top three reasons for creating strategic alliances or partnerships 15%of CEOs who have entered or considered entering a new sector within the past three years have chosen technology 32% view the technology sector as the main source of cross-sector competition 58% cite the speed of technological change as a threat 71% see this threat in the Asia Pacific region 37% see this threat in Central and Eastern Europe 81% Mobile technology for customer engagement 80% Data mining and analysis 78% Cybersecurity
  • 20. 18 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG Voices INSIDE TRACK Patrolling the Skies Col. Reid Vander Schaaf, PhD, sen- sors development project manager, U.S. Department of Defense, Huntsville, Alabama, USA ILLUSTRATIONBYJOELKIMMEL from the U.S. Air Force’s Air War College. He later got his doctorate in system-of-systems engineering from Purdue University. In addition to his long military career and many project manager roles, Vander Schaaf has taught at West Point. As a professor, he learned how to tell stories, which served him well as a project man- ager. “That’s how you communicate with people,” he says. Whichkindsofradardoesyourofficehandle? There are three kinds. The first two are homeland defense radars: a ground-based radar developed in the mid-’90s and the Sea-Based X-band (SBX) radar. After the events of September 11th, there was In 1984, the U.S. Department of Defense formed the Sensors Program Directorate in response to the Soviet threat. Its directive was to help protect the United States by creating radar technology that could detect ballistic missiles. Three decades later, that remains the office’s primary purpose even as its scope has broadened to protect deployed forces and allies in military theaters. In June 2013, Col. Reid Vander Schaaf began leading the office. He brings a wealth of expertise to the project manager role. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he earned three master’s degrees: structural engineering and construction engineering management degrees from Stanford University and a strategic studies degree
  • 21. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 19 “[Project management standards] ensure that we’re following all the different systems engineering processes to determine what looks promising to continue to mature and test.” Small Talk Best professional advice you’ve ever received? Maintain your bal- ance. You need to be balanced in life, be- cause work can really consume your time. The one skill every project manager should have? The ability to build a team with a shared vision. Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Running. I try hard to stay at 40 miles [64 kilometers] a week. My kids both run cross-country, so I run with them. urgency to increase homeland defense—that’s the origin of the Sea-Based X-band radar. It can see a baseball from 2,500 miles [4,023 kilometers] away. The third radar system is the AN/TPY-2 [the Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance] radar. We’re contracted to build 12 of those. Ten have been delivered, and two are still in production. What do these radars do? They search airspace to find and track ballistic mis- siles. But the other important thing they do—and the thing that X-bands are particularly well suited for—is discrimination. When there’s a launch of a missile, lots of things end up in flight with it. The job of the Missile Defense Agency is to find and intercept the lethal warhead. But you’ll have the tank, the boosters and debris, and there can be intentional countermeasures as well. This can make it really hard to find and intercept the lethal object with our missiles to protect our homeland and our assets in theater. Intercepting something traveling in space hundreds to thousands of miles away is very challenging. What projects does your office execute to overcome that challenge? Every year or two there’s a new software build related to discrimination in particular. One of the roles I have is overseeing development of a long- range discrimination radar, which is going to start this year—a new Alaska-based radar for discrimi- nation. We’re developing the requirements and capabilities of that system. We also have other TPY radars in production. So there’s a big focus on increasing our ability to distinguish the lethal object. Why has discrimination become a more urgent concern? Threats continue to grow in number and capabil- ity. Whereas in the past we were dealing with relatively simple threats, at least from the smaller rogue states, those countries’ capabilities have continued to increase. If we look out another five to 10 years—and it takes us that long to develop new capabilities, too—it looks like they’re going to have the capability to add countermeasures to make it harder for us to determine what the lethal object is. How does your office use project management standards when developing software capabilities? Project management standards help ensure program success, and they do that by giving us best practices and a structure that helps ensure rigor. They ensure that we’re following all the different systems engi- neering processes to determine what looks promis- ing to continue to mature and test, and to ensure it has independent verification. The Missile Defense Agency has a robust test program to make sure these things really work before we field them. What does the testing phase look like? We build a little, test a little. We’re building incredi- bly complex, challenging capabilities. Intercontinen- tal ballistic missile intercepts approach 10,000 miles [16,093 kilometers] per hour—exo-atmospheric, so way up in space. We have very small margins of error. So we build a bit of capability, test it and make sure we don’t get unintended consequences— that’s been a big risk—before we keep building and continue to add the next capabilities. It takes longer, but because we’re shooting down missiles and launching missiles, we don’t want anything to go wrong. So it is very much a con- tinual build process. How has the U.S. budget “sequestration” of 2013, which lowered defense spending, affected your office? It’s made for a challenging environment, espe- cially given uncertainty around future funding. But so far we’ve mitigated that. Some things have been delayed a bit, but discrimination has been a very high priority and that’s actually received additional funding. PM
  • 22. 20 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG VOICES ProjectToolkit From looming deadlines to scope changes to overbearing clients, projects can be stressful. But the stress doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We asked practitioners: When the pressure is on, how do you relieve your team’s stress? Under Pressure Sweat It Out Trying to deliver excellent quality under tight deadlines carries a strong risk of stress which, in my experience, reduces team members’ productivity and efficiency. We’ve adopted a practice that may seem less im- portant than, say, risk management, but is actually just as useful: 20 minutes of daily exercise. A professional trainer visits the office and leads us through stretches, relaxation and strengthening exercises, along with games that reinforce the team dynamic. The sessions aren’t mandatory, but most team members partici- pate. Not only does exercising prevent strain injuries (like the ones you might get from sitting in front of the computer for several hours and having bad posture), but the sessions improve the team’s mental health and contribute to better performance and productivity.” —Andrea Paparello, PMP, project manager, LDS-LABS, Fortaleza, Brazil Take a Laugh Break I’ve found the best way to handle stress is humor and team camaraderie, especially when we’re trying to problem-solve. I encourage the team to brainstorm together by asking them to share a relevant experience (“tell us about the last time you dealt with a similar issue”) and the lessons learned from it. Then I’ll attempt to find some humor in the event. But humor doesn’t have to be about work—it can be a silly chat for a few minutes about what hap- pened at lunch. If all else fails, I’ll share a Dilbert comic strip [known for its satirical office humor]. Once, on a very challenging project with an extremely tight deadline, our developers were having trouble com- ing up with a solution to a problem at a meeting. So they took a break to banter. Even though they were joking, I could tell it was a productive conversation, so I didn’t stop the flow of energy. We all laughed for a few minutes and gave our brains a break from the stress. By the time the meeting ended, the team had come up with a solution.” —RaeLynn DeParsqual, PMP, project manager, Insight Global, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA Inclusive Planning, Constant Communication Avoiding surprises—both from team members and issues that may arise with the project itself—is a good way to keep team stress to a minimum.
  • 23. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 21 To that end, I do a lot of work in the project’s plan- ning stage. I meet with the team to discuss scope and what needs to be accomplished, and we discuss various options and their associated risks until we reach the best one. I also ask my team members what they spe- cifically want to achieve on a particular project and how they plan on achieving it. Once the project gets underway, I hold face-to-face discussions with team members during which they can talk about their needs and concerns with the project. Asking for feedback lets me fix misunderstandings as soon as they arise. Plus, I’ve found that when everyone on the team feels heard, it’s more likely that they’ll hap- pily proceed with the job at hand.” —Nick Fartais, PMP, project manager, Endeavour Energy, Sydney, Australia Manage the Workload Stress management equals workload management. It’s difficult to make sure any single team member doesn’t feel like the project is entirely on his or her shoulders, but always remind them that—to paraphrase Ben-Hur—we all exist for the good of the ship. I was working on a project to develop a training exercise for two U.S. Army divisions and several smaller units. As the Army kept adding units to the exercise, we rapidly outgrew the available space. My team’s stress level climbed as the units were added. The first thing I did was remind the project team members who weren’t affected by the space issue to continue on with their parts of the project. Then I took the remaining team members down to the training site. A 3-Step Solution What’s Your Solution? There are myriad ways to prevent and manage stress. Share your tips and tricks on the PMI Project, Program and Port- folio Management LinkedIn Group. After three weeks of problem-solving, we determined how to maximize the space and remotely connect to other sites so everyone could participate in the exercise. Be the shield that protects your team. And of course, know when to send your people home.” —Brian Schonfeld, PMP, operations officer and travel program manager, Mission Command Training Program, U.S. Army, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, USA Work Toward a Common Goal As a project manager, you have much to gain by building a strong sense of shared purpose. Make the team collectively com- mit to complete work within a sprint. Help the team by removing impediments to progress. Then there should be no reason to feel any stress. A couple of years ago, I was leading the project management office (PMO) at Europe’s leading provider of accessories for sound and vision. We had the op- portunity to pursue an emerging product category, but the technology was immature and not widely tested. The engineers had no real feeling for the product or the purpose. However, the CEO helped by providing an inspir- ing market vision and customer dialogue. To avoid stress due to uncertainty, we designed in modules and prototyped a lot. With time, the modules grew into a shippable product. As a result of the hard work we put in, we became early adopters of the product and the team became industry experts along the way!” —Richard Svahn, PMI-ACP, PMP, project manager, National Civil Authority, Stockholm, Sweden Stress is a natural defense mecha- nism to keep us alert to possible danger. It’s also subjective: During the same project, one team member may feel much more stress than another. Alan Patching and Rick Best’s 2014 study, An Investigation Into Psychological Stress Detection and Management inOrganizations Operating in Project andConstruc- tion Management, published in the journal Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, suggests three steps for managing individuals’ stress levels: 3. Monitor the results 1. Note job-related stressors and apply risk management strategies 2. Monitor when a team member seems stressed and teach him or her coping techniques
  • 24. 22 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG Q CONCRETE CONNECTIONS Q: I want to start a new career in project man- agement. What questions should I ask project managers who already have a great career? A: Finding out more about a career in project management from those who have already carved out their path is an excellent idea. It is known as informational interviewing. If you have some great people to speak to, make sure you get the best out of that opportunity. Here are seven areas to con- sider and a selection of questions you can ask to really understand what project managers do: 1. Start with job satisfaction and motivation. Ask questions like, “What do you enjoy most and least about your job?”, “How does the job differ from your initial expectations?” and “What inspires you to do your job?” 2. Ask about the details of the work with ques- tions like, “What is a typical day for you?”, “How do you know you are doing a good job?”, “What skills do you use the most?” and “Give me an example of the sort of activities your job involves.” 3. Ask them to detail their career progression (it will become apparent that there isn’t necessarily a typical project management career path). Ask how they have been promoted and how they gained experience. Ask about their ultimate career goals. 4. Find out about the work culture and environ- ment, as well as the management aspects of the job. Ask, “How much time do you spend work- ing with your team, your customers and on your own?”, “What type of person makes a good project manager?” and “What are your experiences man- aging projects in this particular environment?” The answers can reveal details that you may—or may not—like about this potential career. 5. Project management roles vary from organi- zation to organization. Get a broader understand- ing by talking to practitioners in different sectors. Specific questions could include, “Are there a lot of opportunities within the sector?”, “What is staff turnover like?”, “How do you see project manage- ment changing in this sector in the future?” and “How competitive is the sector?” 6. Ask about job hunting. Some project manag- ers can offer dual insights, because not only did they find their current job, but they also hire team members. Ask, “What background or experience is useful and how do people typically get it?”, “How did you get your job?”, “What would you look for on someone’s CV or résumé?”, “What do you look for when hiring someone?” and “What advice would you give to someone in my position?” 7. Finally, realize this informational interview is also a networking opportunity, a crucial skill for anyone in this career. Don’t be afraid to ask ques- tions like, “Would you let me know if there are any opportunities that might be suitable for me?”, “Can we stay connected on LinkedIn?”, “Would you mind if I occasionally drop you a line?” and “Is there anyone else you recommend I talk to?” Make the most of the time you’re given to under- stand the differing views that project managers have. Hopefully the questions you pick will uncover whether this is the right career choice for you. Q: In my current job, I perform the role of project manager but it’s not my official title. How will this affect my chances of finding another project management role? A: Organizations have many different job titles for people who work in and around projects, but titles like service delivery manager, product manager, projects engineer or coordinator can mask the actual role someone performs.   If you are worried about prospective employ- CAREER QA From the project manager just beginning on a career path to a seasoned pro ready to take the next step, networks make a difference. BY LINDSAY SCOTT
  • 25. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 23 Lindsay Scott is the director of program and project management recruitment at Arras People in London, England. ers thinking you are not really a project manager, there is a simple way to rectify this: Make sure your résumé or CV accurately details your project management responsibilities and includes com- mon project management language. You can also simply add the words “project manager” in brackets after the job title on your résumé. This is not about replacing the actual job title (I wouldn’t recommend this because it isn’t factually cor- rect, which may cause a problem when potential employers check your references). It is a change you are making to reflect the wider marketplace, using a job title that everyone understands. Q: Is Twitter a good place to learn about proj- ect management? A: There are a number of ways to use Twitter as a project manager. The trick is to make sure you are using it in the right way. You can follow popu- lar hashtags (a searchable word, combination of words or acronym marked by the # symbol) like #pmot. It stands for “project managers on Twit- ter.” The tweets are an eclectic mix of project managers sharing news, blogs, surveys or useful websites. A host of organizations also share the latest products or news about conferences or events. New hashtags spring up every day, especially when there is a par- ticular project management conference or event. If you can’t attend a certain event, you can virtually attend by following the hashtag. There’s also #PMChat, a weekly Friday event when project managers from around the globe chat about a particular project management theme. It’s been happening for three years. Recent themes have included agile project management, digital project management, interviews and plan- ning. The emphasis is making connections. New users are encouraged to initiate conversations, so don’t hold back. PM Make sure your résumé or CV accurately details your project management responsibilities and includes common project management language.
  • 26. 24 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG VOICES In theTrenches ALTHOUGHANOPERATION is completely differ- ent from a project, many project managers find them- selves in roles involving operations. The good news is the jobs involve a considerable overlap in skills. Consider a business operation such as produc- tion support, design maintenance or remediation. Here, operations managers focus on executing, monitoring and controlling the business operations so that business goals are achieved. This will sound familiar to project managers, who execute, monitor and control a project’s process groups. Here are three of the most important project management skills needed if you find yourself in operations management: COMMUNICATION As a liaison to multiple stakeholders, an operations manager needs to plan communications by iden- tifying all the required stakeholders, then working out the mode and frequency of communication for each of them. For example, an operations man- ager handling a production support team needs to communicate the list of prioritized activities to the operations team, relate the progress of tickets or requests to customers, and keep senior management informed of operational activities. Operations managers also need to proactively identify and communicate any potential overdue tasks to the required stakeholders, as well as escalate any non-compliance to service level agreements according to the organization’s escalation policies and procedures. Once, while managing a production support team, I handled a highly escalated customer ticket as a small-scale project. Since the ticket had a huge impact on the production environment, the customer insisted on getting an immediate fix or patch. I arranged a quick meeting of the operations team to make sure we understood the issue, its root cause and the impact. When we were unable to identify a temporary fix, we knew we would have to develop a permanent one and release a patch. Con- sidering the customer’s business impact, I met with the senior management stakeholders immediately, summarized the issue and explained that it should be handled as a mini project. My communications skills, honed while managing projects, were a great asset at this point. NEGOTIATION AND INFLUENCING When an operations manager handles a high- severity customer request or a production ticket, he or she might have to use negotiation and influencing skills to acquire highly skilled techni- cal resources from a project team. Negotiation may also be required to explain to the customer about the complexity of tickets being handled by the operations team and buy additional time, if required. At times, the operations manager might even have to negotiate with and influence his or her team members to get tasks done. In my operations mini-project, the next step after communicating was to devise a plan and negotiate with senior executives to create a “tiger team” of different resources, such as an architect who could propose a permanent fix, a designer who could implement, a configuration manager who could build the code and develop a patch, and a lead tester who could deploy the patch and test all possible scenarios, with the architect’s assistance. But because those people were already assigned to projects, I had to negotiate with project managers. To create a win-win situation, I had earlier negotiated with senior executives that this escalation would be the highest priority, and any other program or project would have to be depri- oritized. This meant project managers willingly lent the resources required for the tiger team. LEADERSHIP An operations manager must direct, facilitate, coach and lead teams to handle daily operations. Smooth OperatorHow to use your project management skills in operations. By Deepa Gandhavalli Ramaniah, PMP
  • 27. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 25 Deepa Gandhavalli Ramaniah, PMP, is senior associate—projects at Cognizant Technology Solutions, Chennai, India. He or she should be aware of the competencies possessed by the team and assign tasks accord- ingly. He or she also must motivate team members through continuous appreciation and recognition. The operations manager should possess excel- lent problem-solving and decision-making skills. For instance, when a production problem arises, an operations manager should have a complete understanding of the problem’s context, impact and consequences before making a decision on the timeline for resolution. It is also a good practice to meet with the operations team to get its buy-in on the timeline before committing to the customer. It’s common for operational team members to disagree on issues or solutions to problems. The operations manager must take the lead, bring the team members together, get their thoughts, ana- lyze pros and cons of each member’s proposal and identify the best-fit solution. It is the operations manager’s responsibility to create a problem-solv- ing environment and manage conflict. Returning to my example: Once the team was formed through negotiation and influencing, we held a brief meeting to explain the background, what was expected from each resource, the project deadlines and so on. As operations manager, I made sure the team had all the required resources, such as hardware and software, to execute the project. I directed the lead tester to get involved during the implementation phase itself, so he could prepare the test cases and get them reviewed by the architect before the patch got delivered to him for testing. I worked to ensure the tiger team was constantly motivated and empowered to fix the issue by the deadline. But at one point, two members of the team got into a serious argument over an error. I called them to a meeting and, using my interpersonal skills, explained that we were not there to blame but to get the patch to the customer by the dead- line. I persuaded them to shake hands and proceed with the next phase. After successful testing of the patch, we were able to deliver it to the customer as planned. Finally, I arranged a meeting with the tiger team and senior executives and made sure the team was recognized for its work. PM It is the operations manager’s responsibility to create a problem-solving environment and manage conflict.
  • 28. 26 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG I Sheilina Somani, RPP, FAPM, PMP, is the owner of the U.K.-based consultancy Positively Project Management, a senior project manager, a speaker and a mentor. It’s almost a requirement of every project man- ager to boldly go into new territory. Recently, it was my turn to fulfill this requirement. As scary as it can be to journey into uncharted waters, I learned that knowing whom to petition for help and resources can ensure smooth sailing. A senior sponsor asked me to establish a dia- logue between two IT teams about viable strate- gies for the global implementation of a software system that respected the organization’s current IT infrastructure. The outcome of this dialogue was critical to a program that I’m responsible for. The challenge was my knowledge is largely in data integrity, legal data storage requirements, speed and performance from an experienced user per- spective. I voiced my concerns to the senior sponsor, who nevertheless tasked me with the responsibility. But I knew I needed help. I called a meeting with 10 very tech- nical, experienced individuals (to add some authority to the request, I used the sponsor’s name). Though I dreaded this meeting, it soon became an animated dialogue between the experts and me. I asked for help on everything from clarifying acronyms to explaining new terms. At the end of the meeting, I confirmed with the experts what I’d summarized from the day and scheduled a subsequent session to conclude findings. I was appreciative when everyone turned up to the follow-up session, on time, with more opinions, research and suggestions. By being honest about my lack of knowledge about IT infrastructure, I had provided these indi- viduals full permission to contribute, challenge and advise me to ensure my understanding before writ- ing a recommendation and influencing a sponsor decision. The sponsor was extremely pleased with the progress and eventual outcome, and so was I. Even though I initially resisted the task, following through with it meant everyone gained something from the experience. I learned the sponsor has confidence in me. I got to know a completely new group of people with skills vastly different from my own that I can go to for help and guidance. The group members learned from one another, appre- ciating the opportunity to collaborate and engage in problem resolution. As project managers, we have to communicate with people across a multitude of disciplines. Not only does it give us the opportunity to garner multiple contributions and put them toward the project goal, but this communication also encour- ages our own professional progress while growing our network. In this case, my acting as a facilitator for these meetings between IT teams—rather than project lead—not only fostered dialogue and coop- eration between the two teams, it also expanded my own knowledge, network and range of skills, and taught me again about the benefits of honesty and seeking help. Most significantly, we delivered a collaborative, comprehensive report to fulfill the sponsor requirement. When another opportunity comes to work with this particular group, I’ll be the first to volunteer. PM When tasked with a project in an unfamiliar industry, remember that you don’t have to go it alone. BY SHEILINA SOMANI, RPP, FAPM, PMP, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR FACINGFEARS MANAGING Relationships
  • 29. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 27 T The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) often manages projects in which every minute counts. Here’s what I’ve learned about hurrying a project toward completion. DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT Everyone wants perfection, but the priority should be completing your task. A completed element can be tinkered with or optimized while being of use, but an unfinished one confuses attempts at improvement while being of no utility at all. In the realm of development projects, perfect is the enemy of good. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, UNOPS worked hard to build shelters for survivors and provide them with access to basic living conditions. There is a big difference between a shelter and a five-star hotel, but we must prioritize what is essen- tial when we have limited time to deliver. COMPRESSION IS CRITICAL Schedule compression is a technique that shortens the project duration to meet key stakeholders’ expectations without reducing scope. This may be required if, for instance, changes in environmental conditions, logistical constraints, economic land- scape or political climate are likely to derail the project unless it is completed immediately. The project manager must find ways to reduce the time it will take to complete all remaining activities. The two classic solutions are to increase the parallel- ism (fast-track) and/or increase resources (crashing). WHENYOUCOMPRESS,YOUINCREASESTRESS Schedule compression can push time, cost and quality to the extreme. The most significant way to lead a team through schedule compression is by supporting team members and understanding that stress levels are likely to rise. Despite the level of tolerance and experience team members build up during every project, stress can manifest itself in different ways, and its accumulation can come at a significant cost to project accuracy. Project managers must mitigate this risk through the Three C’s Process: COMMUNICATION Although a team working long hours, seven days a week, can deliver its project earlier than originally planned, the quality of delivery may be affected. Mistakes requiring rework can end up increasing stress levels and lengthening the time needed to complete the project; this may negate the whole schedule compression effort. Communicating exactly what is expected of the team in terms of quality and performance, despite the shortened time frame, is necessary for successful delivery. COORDINATION Schedule compression can just as easily create new challenges as it can hasten project delivery. To achieve results, project managers need to moni- tor and analyze the dynamics in the office and the field. Organizing daily site meetings for close coordination can help with quality control and provides an arena in which problems with team members can be resolved efficiently. The key word in this process is integration. CONSIDERATION You need to understand your staff and consider their welfare. Accidents are more frequent when and where people are overworked, so consider the specifics of your team’s time-related stress factors: What conditions are they working in? What can you do to help? Ensuring that your team members understand they will be prop- erly compensated for their additional efforts (through the provision of extra days off) can make all the difference. Finally, the success of all projects is related to how we lead people and manage stress during critical moments. Despite the sense of urgency that triggers the schedule compression, the project manager must effectively communicate, coordi- nate and consider the team to deliver results. PM Beat the clock swiftly and carefully. BY RICARDOVIANAVARGAS, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMPRUSHHOUR Ricardo Viana Vargas, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMP, a past PMI chair, is the director of the Sustainable Project Management Group at the United Nations Office for Project Services in Copenhagen, Denmark. Even the best of schedules can change. Visit PMI.org to read November 2014’s edition of PM Network about when a project schedule changes and the scope does not. LEADERSHIP
  • 30. 28 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG A VOICES In theTrenches You Get the Picture Project managers learn the challenges of making a movie. By Rhonda Wilson Oshetoye, PMP, and Laurence Cook, PMP Rhonda Wilson Oshetoye, PMP, and Laurence Cook, PMP, are practicing partners at RLO Enterprises, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. MAKINGA MOVIE IS A PROJECT. Yet when our project management firm undertook a film for the first time, we could find little information about project management in the movie industry. Instead, we had to discover on our own how to implement project management methodologies in this field. When BJG Media Productions hired us for the indie film A Choice to Yield, our project managers facilitated the initiation discussion with stakehold- ers. Once stakeholders agreed on the scope and budget, the team began the initiation process. Planning was a nightmare at first, as we tried to learn the ins and outs of moviemaking. With minimal guidance and without historical documents, the team struggled to understand the depth and cost of every task. We learned through intense research that the closest position to a project manager is the line producer. Once the line pro- ducer responsibilities became clear, planning began to roll. Planning ses- sions shifted to risks. We created a risk management plan with high-, medium- and low- risk factors and associated costs for each. From changing actors to planning the use of venues, the cost of change is a huge variable for movies. One venue change can cost up to US$15,000 for a three-hour shoot. The ten- sion between the director’s vision and the reality of managing the budget for unknowns is a serious issue, and managing the director became the high- est and most costly risk of the entire project. A STRICT BUDGET FOCUS Project plans had to be solidified before the first scene could be shot. We broke the plan into phases. From there, our team planned everything from the script review to the casting call, identi- fied resources, procured equipment and enacted a communication plan. We planned movement from set to set, coordinated with a caterer and signed venue contracts. Next, we distributed the shoot schedule and wardrobe requirements to each actor, gaffer, cam- eraman, associate director and other production support personnel. Project execution entailed early morning pre- shoot meetings and post-shoot assessments of the shots—including immediate lessons-learned discus- sions, schedule adjustments and revalidating resource assignments. This process enabled us to manage every aspect of filming with regard to contract agree- ments, set requirements and payment distribution. The need to reshoot scenes required significant adjustments to the schedule and budget. While we’d expected some reshoots, we didn’t expect as many as were required. This sent the budget spiraling, and pushed us back to planning. To mitigate cost and overages per scene, we made specific adjustments for future shoots. We reduced lighting costs by shooting night scenes during the day and simplified makeup requirements. We also had to renegotiate a few contracts, make backdrop construction changes on location and modify venue-use agreements. As with any project in execution, budget awareness took precedence and required strict focus. This paid off when the project was successfully completed 2 percent under budget. In addition, our firm has been asked to manage another movie project. Of the many skills project managers bring to the film industry, the most important are manag- ing change and controlling the supporting tasks of filming. The orchestration of multiple moving parts requires a project manager’s ability to adapt and overcome obstacles. In moviemaking, the unknowns are huge and unpredictable, but the project manager’s skills and training are a great fit for managing the process. PM
  • 31. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 29 THE BUSINESS of Projects IMPOSED DEADLINE SYNDROME Setting unrealistic goals can doom a project manager. Instead, build budgets and schedules from the ground up. BY GARY R. HEERKENS, MBA, CBM, PMP, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR A Gary R. Heerkens, MBA, CBM, PMP, president of Management Solutions Group Inc., is a consultant, trainer, speaker, and author and has 25 years of project management experience. His latest book is The Business-Savvy Project Manager. targets are not derived from carefully developed plans. They are not based in reality; they are based in desire. The most damaging of these imposed targets are the unrealistic ones. According to a majority of project managers I meet these days (and I meet a large num- ber through my training activities), unrealistic targets are disturbingly common. This creates an environ- ment of high stress and frustration for project manag- ers who are often well aware that they are heading down a dark path of project performance. From a business perspective, the impact is note- worthy. When imposed deadlines are unachievable, projects are delivered late, which triggers a delay in the realization of financial returns. In situations where both the delay and the estimated financial return are sizable, the result can be an enormous overall reduc- tion in realized economic gain. When imposed budgets are not achievable, the result is turmoil as money must be acquired elsewhere, which can affect the timing and funding of other projects. But there’s also a human cost to this situation. When project managers spend the majority of their time trying to achieve the unachievable, the result is frustration and potential burnout. The core lesson is simple: Organizational managers who want an environment of predictability and fiscal responsibility will avoid imposing unrealistic solu- tions, deadlines and budgets. PM As my gray hair clearly suggests, I’ve been around project management for a long time. I began leading projects more than 35 years ago, and I’ve noticed many changes in my work and in the profession. Some of the biggest changes involve how project timelines and budgets are developed: These responsibilities seem to have drifted away from the project manager’s role. Years ago, project managers were given problems to solve based on the needs of the business. They would work with their teams to investigate those problems, and then recommend a preferred solution to senior management. They would also provide an estimated budget and timeline. And while there may have been some give-and-take between project teams and senior management, it was common to be granted the requested amount of time and fund- ing (after a proper costs-versus-benefits analysis). The payoff for all parties was an exceptionally high percentage of on-time and on-budget project deliv- eries. Project outcomes were reasonably predictable. Over the past decade or two, there has been a slow and steady shift in senior management behav- ior. Many executives now appear to believe that a legitimate part of their role is to tell the project manager what the best solution is, when the proj- ect is to be completed and how much to spend. The reality for many of today’s project managers is that they are no longer asked to generate authen- tic, bottom-up schedule and cost estimates. They’re instead given those values as targets and then have to force-fit their plans to suit the situation. It is crucial to note that in many cases these When project managers spend the majority of their time trying to achieve the unachievable, the result is frustration and potential burnout.
  • 32. 30 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG
  • 33. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 31 BY EMMA HAAK n ILLUSTRATION BY ROB DONNELLY Rethinking Cities With the global challenge of a booming urban population comes the opportunity to create more advanced cities.
  • 34. While the cities themselves may be new, the idea behind them isn’t, says Eran Ben-Joseph, PhD, professor and head of the department of urban studies and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Whereas most cities develop organically over time, the practice of building new ones from scratch became common after World War II in countries like China, England, Japan and Russia, where they were primarily government initiatives. “What sets these new and future cities apart, how- ever, is that sustainability and ecological technology are being incorporated into them, and while they often have government involvement, they tend to come from the private sector,” Dr. Ben-Joseph says. ENVISIONING TOMORROW’S CITIES TODAY Before this bold new future can get built, the cities’ project sponsors first must make the same decision facing any construction project: location. A city set slightly apart from, yet still close to, other urban hubs has proved to be the ideal. The US$35 billion new city of Songdo Inter- national Business District (IBD), South Korea is within the metropolis of Incheon and near Seoul. Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates, a US$18 billion project, is just 11 miles (17 kilometers) out- side the capital of Abu Dhabi. In India, the city of Today, just over half of the world’s 7.2 billion people live in urban areas. By 2050, that’s projected to soar to two-thirds of 9.6 billion people, according to the United Nations. To prepare for that tremendous urban growth, project leaders in both the public and private sectors are taking action—from rebuilding existing cities to constructing entirely new ones. These cities of the future will accommodate unprecedented populations with projects that extend far beyond new buildings. The initiatives also run the full gamut of infrastruc- ture that the millions of new residents will need, such as power grids, water management, waste removal, public transit and educational facilities. To support long-term growth, these city projects, often com- prising public-private partnerships, also must entail state-of-the-art sustainability and connectivity. “We are going to have to think very differently about how we build cities, particularly in the devel- oping countries that are urbanizing so fast, so these cities give us an example,” says Joan Fitzgerald, PhD, professor of urban and public policy at Northeast- ern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. “They point us in the right direction in terms of how we can totally rethink how cities look and are built.” Almost 90 percent of urban growth will be con- centrated in Africa and Asia, while just three coun- tries—China, India and Nigeria—will account for 37 percent of the projected city surge by 2050. The world’s cities are feeling the squeeze. 32 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG
  • 35. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 33 “What sets these new and future cities apart is that sustainability and ecological technology are being incorporated into them, and while they often have government involvement, they tend to come from the private sector.” —Eran Ben-Joseph, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  • 36. 34 PM NETWORK MARCH 2015 WWW.PMI.ORG Lavasa aims to take advantage of its proximity to Pune, a booming software hub 40 miles (64 kilome- ters) away. Konza Techno City, Kenya, a US$14.5 billion development, will be 37 miles (60 kilometers) from the capital of Nairobi. China has offered a counterpoint lesson. As many cities have sprung up in remote areas, the country has seen an epidemic of ghost towns—newly con- structed urban centers that did not attract busi- nesses and residents and now sit largely empty. “These Chinese cities were built mainly as specula- tive housing projects, not necessarily corresponding to where people want to live,” Dr. Ben-Joseph says. It may seem counterintuitive to build a new city near another, more established one, but such urban clusters carry distinct advantages. “You can ben- efit from and complement the social and economic dynamics of the metropolis. This makes the new city much more attractive for companies and the types of tenants they envision hosting,” says Luis Carvalho, PhD, senior researcher, European Institute for Com- parative Urban Research, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. To help future residents and businesses appreciate the allure of their city over others, project sponsors must coordinate with nearby cities to make sure they’re complementing others’ appeal, not duplicat- ing it. “Many new cities are designed to provide heavy incentives to lure companies, but those are often insufficient to match the social advantages of other places, let alone the fact that they can hardly be kept over time,” Dr. Carvalho says. “This would call for the integration and coordination between the new city and other nearby locations, to avoid negative-sum competition for companies and tenants.” Source: United Nations “[New] Chinese cities were built mainly as speculative housing projects, not necessarily corresponding to where people want to live.” —Eran Ben-Joseph The Urban FutureThe world will see not only more cities, but bigger ones too. City Dwellers Percentages and populations of the world living in urban areas Big Medium-sized cities, each with 1 million to 5 million inhabitants 1950 100% 10% 50% 2014 2050 30% 54% 66% 746 million people 3.9 billion people 6.4 billion people 417827 million people 43300 million people 8 percent of the global urban population 2816 in Asia, 4 in Latin America, 3 in Africa, 3 in Europe, 2 in North America 453 million people 12 percent of the global urban population 63400 million people 9 percent of the global urban population 41Top two: Tokyo, Japan, 37 million; Delhi, India, 36 million 5581.1 billion people Bigger Large cities, each with 5 million to 10 million inhabitants Biggest Megacities, each with more than 10 million inhabitants 2014 2030 2014 2030 2014 2030 medium- sized cities large cities large cities medium- sized cities Top two: Tokyo, Japan, 38 million; Delhi, India, 25 million megacities megacities
  • 37. MARCH 2015 PM NETWORK 35 with taking these cities from grand vision to on- the-ground reality must be able to adapt to change. Such long-range initiatives demand flexible plans. Cutting-edge technology is standard in these new cities, but what’s forward-thinking today won’t be down the road. Project managers need to determine how the technologies they’re implementing now can be updated when the time comes. “That’s one of the elements that can be quite problematic—when you build a whole new town out of scratch and you just build it for a particular era or time, it doesn’t necessarily modify itself very well to changing circumstances,” Dr. Ben-Joseph says. “You might have a place that looks great now, but the question is how will it look 10 years down the line. And as technology and elements that deal with sustainability and infrastructure change, how will you adapt?” That means creating flexible, adaptable systems that allow for disruptive innovation, he adds. Project plans also must consider the city’s future growth—and determine how to direct it. “City Location is crucial, but it isn’t enough. To attract and retain more and more people and businesses, tomorrow’s cities must be better than yesterday’s— more advanced with regards to sustainability and technology. In the cities of Gujarat, India and Songdo, that means an underground network of vacuum- powered tubes that shuttle garbage from homes to a central processing facility. In Masdar City, it means designing a city layout that creates cooling breezes. These cities also will sustain burgeoning pop- ulations with reliable public transportation that replaces the need—and desire—for private trans- port. “You have to put your money in good public transit,” says Carolina Barco, senior adviser, Emerg- ing and Sustainable Cities Initiative, Inter-Amer- ican Development Bank, Washington, D.C., USA. “You want to make taking public transit attractive because you want people to want to take it and not be forced to take it. Otherwise, they’ll start looking for alternatives, like cars and motorcycles.” Project sponsors can’t agree to every sustain- able initiative that promises to ease the problems of overcrowding, however. In Masdar City, original plans called for small, two-person vehicles that oper- ated on a system separate from mass transit. After research into the development and implementation of the vehicles revealed they would be far pricier than anticipated, the plans were dropped. “Planners and city officials have to be open to learning during the process and be willing to shift course,” Dr. Fitzgerald says. FROMVISION TO REALITY Like project sponsors, the project managers tasked Project managers tasked with taking these cities from grand vision to on-the-ground reality must be able to adapt to change. Views of Songdo, South Korea, above, and Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates IMAGECOURTESYOFLAVA