ISSUE 28: MARCH 2018
CONNECT BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
In this issue: 2018 International Roundtable Series
Complexity and Partnering in Construction
How Culture Affects International PM Operations
Regional Reports: UK, Europe and Canada
Project Manager Perception - It’s about putting yourself in their shoes!
Book Review: The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management
CONTACT US
CEO MESSAGE
CONTENTS
STAFF Collin Smith Acting CEO Mirek Zarnowski Director Business Development Diane Hope Business Manager Marissa Ayala Marketing Communications Lanie Lewis Office/Training Adminstrator ICCPM BOARD Alicia Aitken, Chair Simon Henley Mary McKinlay Harry Bradford Ian Mack Phil Crosby Tim Banfield International Centre for Complex Project Management Ltd (ICCPM) PO Box 327 Deakin West ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA Level 2, Equinox 3 70 Kent Street Deakin ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA +61 2 6120 5110 admin@iccpm.com https://iccpm.com Twitter: @iccpm LinkedIn Company Page
The views expressed by contributors to this magazine are solely their own and ICCPM accepts no responsibility or liability for these views.
© ICCPM 2018
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2018 ICCPM Roundtable Series Feature
It has been a busy start to 2018. At the end of January we farewelled our former CEO, Deborah Hein and Project Certification Manager Ian Biggs, as well as commenced a series of events and activities, setting the scene for busy year. In February we ran a Knowledge Sharing Forum for the Australian Department of Defence and Defence Industry, helping to shape the betterment of projects and programs. We also began a review of the Complex Project Manager Competency Standards, hosting public events in Sydney and Vienna in association with Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards (GAPPS). This review will be ongoing throughout 2018 for revised Standards to be published in 2019. Our Certificate IV in Responding to Organisational Complexity has had a very strong start for 2018. I am very proud to announce that after completing a rigorous endorsement application from industry and assessor experts in Project Management, ICCPM’s Certificate IV qualification has received Endorse Course Status by the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM). More information on what this means for you can be read in detail in our education update. In more great news, we welcomed Lanie Lewis to ICCPM as Training and Office Administrator. With her support, we have seen 24 new students begin their ICCPM Cert IV studies, with two course intakes commencing in Melbourne and Canberra in February and March respectively. The next course intake commences in May in Sydney, enrolments are currently open. ICCPM continues to work with Kingsfield Consulting, our education delivery partner in the UK, to get our first delivery in the UK off the ground in 2018. Over the past few months planning for the 2018 International Round Table Series has gained pace. We are delighted to have The John Grill Centre for Project Leadership at Sydney University
Series Agenda is on board as our series partner. The Roundtable Series will launch on the first of May in Sydney at the John Grill Centre, with international workshops (USA, Canada, and the UK) scheduled to commence in June. We are excited to extend the reach of the 2018 Series to Asia and South Africa, giving greater opportunity for delegate representatives from around the world to participate in the initiative. More detailed information will be available soon. Marking the end of a busy 3 months, in March ICCPM was proud to have celebrated International Women’s Day, by supporting the National Association for Women’s in Construction (NAWIC) ACT Chapter Breakfast, recognising the achievements and next steps for gender equality. On the staffing front, we welcomed another new addition, with Mirek Zarnowski taking up the role of Director of Business Development. Mirek has local experience having consulted to numerous local organisations and international experience as the president of the Polish Chamber of Business in Canberra, a volunteer role which he continues to do in addition to his full time role at ICCPM. We are excited about, and looking forward to, Mirek driving ICCPM’s growth locally and internationally. The year ahead looks very exciting and we look forward to members, fellows, and volunteers getting involved to support our various activities and initiatives. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to this edition of Connect Magazine and trust that you will enjoy reading it.
Sponsorship Announcements
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Global Research Survey Outcomes
EDUCATION
ICCPM Staff Updates Canadian Regional Report
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UK / European Construction Institute Seminar
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ARTICLES How culture affects project management operations in the context of an international development project 14 Opinion: Complexity and Partnering in Construction Projects - Part 1 22 Opinion: Project Manager Perception - It is all about putting yourself in their shoes! 26
Kingsfield Education Update
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Education update
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Training Calendar
ICCPM NETWORK Member Profile: David Kretschmer
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Fellow Profile: Tom Burbage
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LINKS & EVENTS Food for Thought
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Event Calendar
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BOOK REVIEW The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management
Collin Smith
ICCPM Acting CEO
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
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NEWS
Industry News and Events
RESEARCH
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
ICCPM CONNECT | 3
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NEWS ICCPM Staff Updates Farewell CEO & Managing Director, Deborah Hein, and Certification Project Manager, Ian Biggs. Both Deb and Ian have made significant contributions to ICCPM in their time with the organisation, 5 and 2 years respectively, particularly in contributing to the creation and continuous improvement of ICCPM’s education and resource offerings. We wish them both well in their future endeavours.
Mirek Zarnowski Director of Business Development Mirek is a Strategic Business Consultant and Peak Performance Coach with extensive professional experience. Mirek specialises in business expansion, business-to-business cooperation, trade, export, and business coaching. With tertiary qualifications in Business Management from Europe and Australia, as well as in Coaching from the United States, Mirek offers a unique combination of skills and knowledge to ICCPM. Mirek has over 20 years of professional experience working predominantly in the European markets. Since 2010, he has also worked within the Australian business environment. Mirek has provided strategic business advice to a variety of Australian and Polish SMEs looking to enter Central European or Australian markets. He has also worked with Indigenous communities in NSW to deliver a government funded business feasibility study and community strategic plan. Mirek has been leading the Polish Chamber of Commerce in Australlia and since july 2015. He teaches at Charles Sturt University delivering an Innovative Product and Service Management course.
COMPLEXITY DIAGNOSTIC TOOL Diagnose Performance
validated by research
Analyse Performance
complexity diagnostic tool
Guidance Report
complexity diagnostic report
Diagnose complexity within projects Identify complexity-related risks Best practices guidance for management interventions Track performance over time Multiple stakeholder views Executive dashboards for cross-project comparisons
Lanie Lewis
Based on validated research and aligned to the ICCPM Competency Standard
Office Administrator and Training Administrator Lanie has over 7 years of Administration experience in a variety of Private and Public industry sectors. Lanie’s previous experience was working for ASPEN Medical as the Clinical Administrator where her responsibilities included organising the departments meetings, taking minutes for the Credentialing Board meetings, normal office duties and managing the RiskMAN system as the Administrator. She was also a member as the Health and Safety Representatives and the First Aid Officer for the Clinical Team. Lanie holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment and is enrolled to complete her Cert IV in Business Administration. Lanie enjoys learning new tasks and thrives on challenging herself. Lanie looks forward to providing her skills and knowledge to the ICCPM team.
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BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
To register your project for a Complexity Diagnostic please contact us on 02 6120 5110 or admin@iccpm.com BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS ICCPM CONNECT | 5
UK / Europe Regional Report
Canadian Regional Report Hello from snowy Canada!
Any regional report from Canada has to be placed in context. Here too, interest in ICCPM had (and largely still has) its roots in the government defence sector. As we like other nations have struggled to deliver military weapon systems and the related platforms, it has remained a fertile sector of complex projects with the usual panoply of challenges.
The catalyst for change has been the interest shown by the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa in the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Master’s degree program in complex project management. After a number of years of focused effort, Telfer obtained the necessary approvals to launch its first cohort in 2016 with a tailored version based on QUT’s program of studies. At this time, the second student intake is in-house as well. Concurrently, Telfer launched a Certificate program that has been very successful, attracting over 100 local students in the Ottawa area to date. Telfer has also been generous in offering their venue in support of such things as Round Table sessions, the first in Canada occurring in 2016 and a second in planning at this time. As Telfer’s initiative proceeds, the creation of a constituency educated and experienced in Complex Project Management will offer new opportunities for Canada. It will take time to spread beyond the defence sector in a sustainable way. And it will take time for those with education and experience to adequately populate senior governance levels, where their influence could enable the enhancements needed to institutionalize CPM-compatible approaches to such things as project management training, risk treatment and collaboration.
Ian Mack
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Education and experience in Complex Project Management, will offer new opportunities for Canada.
Ian Mack is an ICCPM Board Member and Fellow living in Ottawa, Canada. On retiring from his extremely busy role with the Department of National Defence Canada, Ian accepted the role as a Director of ICCPM as a way of providing strategic guidance and contributing to the work of the organisation for which he has great respect.
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European Construction Institute Seminar RETHINKING HOW CAPITAL PROGRAMMES ARE DELIVERED REPORT ON ECI/CII JOINT SEMINAR AMSTERDAM 21 FEB 2018
The European Construction Institute (ECI), in conjunction with the Construction Industry Institute (CII), the US equivalent organisation to the ECI, held a seminar in Amsterdam in February entitled “Rethinking How Capital Programmes are delivered”. The seminar was well attended with representatives from a significant portion of the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) companies operating in Europe (the equivalent of Prime Contractors in other sectors), as well as Academic and Professional Bodies such as the BRE Group, ECI, and CII. The seminar addressed the current state of Capital Project execution in the Engineering Construction sector eg Oil and Gas, Chemical Processing, heavy processing plants etc. The Keynote speakers were Paul Van Weert, Manager of Capital Projects for Shell, and Bernd de Jong, Executive Project Director for Fluor. They explained how Capital Projects in the sector had been significantly impacted by the fluctuations in oil prices. In the early years of the 21st century, when oil prices were at record levels, the appetite for new projects drove fierce competition amongst the EPCs to take on work, and cemented a culture of using competition to drive down bid prices, awarding Lump Sum Turn Key contracts to the lowest bidder.
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Less than 6% of contracts deliver the desired performance on time and/or cost.
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BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
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BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
However analysis shows that less than 6% of these contracts deliver the required performance on time and/or cost, and huge additional resources beyond the original contract price are expended on changes, claims, and disputed liabilities. Now that oil prices have dropped to levels nearer the historic norm, such practices are unaffordable, so companies have to find new ways of doing things to achieve a much higher success rate – otherwise projects simply will not be judged affordable and will not go ahead. Shell stated that they are working to take 50% out of the outturn cost of such projects to make them affordable – they believe that such reduction is entirely possible but requires change across the whole spectrum of people and processes involved – owners, EPCs, suppliers, and looking at different commercial relationships, new ways of working together, and a wholesale change in culture. There was broad agreement within the sector audience that the sector was facing an Existential Crisis. Data produced by the CII showed that despite the huge value and size of the Heavy Construction sector companies, and the importance of their projects to key industries such as Oil and Gas, the Dow Jones index for the sector has decreased by 3.9% over the past 5 years, compared with an overall Industrial average growth of 70%. ICCPM CONNECT | 7
Companies in the sector have grown during that time, but usually by acquisition and inorganic growth, which has to an extent masked the poor underlying performance of their projects. The recent collapse of Carillion in the UK is sounding the warning bells that these factors are starting to bite hard on the sector. New projects are becoming unbankable, and investors are shying away from the sector as a whole, as margins are razor thin, and highly unpredictable – analysis of 7 Fortune 500 EPC companies in the US showed that they made 1.8% profit on $77Bn of revenue. As alarming was the statistic that 310% profits were made on 40% of projects – the other 60% of business made losses which reduced the overall profit to the 1.8% figure.
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The CII introduced its Manifesto for Operating System 2.0 within the sector, which addresses the following areas: Reduction of organisational layers and information gaps between end users and those delivering the projects New financial vehicles/contracting relationships Focus on total cost of ownership rather than cheapest up front cost True collaboration with better risk management
All of which feels like the culture which existed within the defence industry and other more developed project-based sectors back in the nineteen seventies and eighties. Adversarial relationships, a view that risk can be dealt with by driving it down into the supply chain, a lack of recognition of changing environments both within the project and in its external context, and arms-length relationships between various tiers in the project all leading to a very low success rate and lack of investor confidence in the sector, are all features which led to the formation of ICCPM in the first place, and which Complexity thinking addresses. Again, the findings of the 2012 Roundtable series “Complexity in a Time of Financial Change: Program Delivery for the New Economy” are particularly apposite to this sector given the fluctuations in commodity prices and their impact on the viability of projects.
Find out more about the ECI conference here.
Nurture innovation and inventiveness
Analysis of 7 Fortune 500 EPC companies in the US showed that they made 1.8% profit on $77Bn of revenue.
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The sector is under threat from outsiders – even Elon Musk is looking at it (with his tunnelling company The Boring Company) as he can see that the construction industry has not improved its productivity in the last 50 years, and that the lack of profit and “race to the bottom” on pricing has denuded the industry of R&D funding to make things better. Such disruptive thinking is a real threat to the current players in the sector, so they are faced with a “Change or Die” scenario.
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The sector is under threat from outsiders... the construction industry has not improved its productivity in the last 50 years, and that the lack of profit and “race to the bottom” on pricing has denuded the industry of R&D funding. 8 | ICCPM CONNECT
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Viewing the seminar through an ICCPM lens, it is clear that many of the problems stem from a total lack of recognition of complexity within the system. A key indicator is the commercial relationship and culture, where the language is about “Risk Transfer”, “Lowest bidder” and “Lump-sum, Turn-Key” projects. This indicates that owners (project sponsors in our terms) believe they can completely abrogate any responsibility for the complexity that exists at their level – the fluctuating oil price is a great example of a complexity factor which can completely change the success factors in a project by an order of magnitude, but which cannot be “held” by any individual entity within a very linear fixed price contractual relationship. There are very few projects which exhibit any sort of collaboration between owners, EPCs and vendors, or recognition of collective responsibilities or win-win relationships, so the atmosphere is of aggressive pricebased “transfer” of accountability at every level. The findings of the 2016 Round Table “Contracting for Success in Complex Projects” are very applicable to the sector and we should work to increase awareness of this work within the sector.
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
In conjunction with Kingsfield Consulting, who provide both consultancy services and Project Management Education in the sector, ICCPM is looking to introduce complexity into the Engineering Construction sector lexicon in the UK and Europe. Many of the key tenets of our complexity teaching our education products are precisely the elements that are missing in the conversations in that sector today. Our aim is to increase the awareness of the work of ICCPM within the Heavy Construction sector through participation in conferences and seminars such as the one reported on above, to encourage companies in this sector to become members of ICCPM, and to grow cohorts of key Project Management personnel engaged with our education products, ideally with UK or EU accreditation of our courses to gain recognition of their value in professional career development.
Simon Henley graduated from the Royal Naval Engineering College Manadon with a BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and had a 32-year career in the Royal Navy as an Aircraft Engineer Officer, retiring in the rank of Rear Admiral. During his career he saw frontline service with a number of helicopter and fixed wing aircraft types, and enjoyed a progression of project management responsibilities on ship and aircraft platform and equipment programmes, culminating in four years as the Project Director for the UK programme to introduce the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter into Royal Navy and Royal Air Force service. Simon Henley is a Director and Fellow of ICCPM in the UK, where in addition to this role he works as a Senior Adviser for Newton Europe and European Business Development Manager for Magic Mobility.
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
Image: http://www.eci-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ECI-Rethinking-Capital-Programmes-Feb-2018.pdf
ICCPM CONNECT | 9
INDUSTRY NEWS & EVENTS ICCPM and GAPPS Complex Project Manager Competency Standards Review
ICCPM Supports NAWIC - ACT, International Women’s Day Breakfast
15 February (Sydney) and 23 February (Vienna), 2018
07 March 2018
In 2018 ICCPM has partnered with the Global Alliance for Project Performane Standards (GAPPS) to review the Complex Project Manager Competency Standards (CPM Review). The process is occuring internationally with the objective being able to provide the project management community an updated framework outlining and defining the project management mindset, behaviours, knowledge and special attributes required to operate effectively in complex project environments.
This year, ICCPM was pleased to support the National Association for Women in Construction (NAWIC) ACT, International Women’s Day Breakfast.
Network Updates
Hosted at the Hotel Realm in Canberra the event was a sell-out. Men and women from construction and related industries, supported the cause representing various large and SME organisations.
Intial reviews of the Standards occured in Sydney, Australia and Vienna, Austria, with both events a huge success. Feedback from the particpants provided great insight from both practioner and academic perspectives, prioviding a strong foundation for amended changes; leadership emerging as a key theme at both events. Read the full Sydney Highlights Report here. The Complex Project Manager Competency Standards review is scheduled to occur over a 12 month period. The next event is due to occur in the Netherlands in late June. For details on the event and to participate, please click here. If you are interested in participiating but are unable to attened, please contact us admin@iccpm.com to be added to the CPM Review commmunity forum to share your experiences, opinions and engage in the discussion for change.
This was the first time ICCPM has supported a NAWIC event, we hope to continue to support and work with NAWIC in the future. Read full highlights report here. NAWIC is an Australian Not-For-Profit organisation whose mission is to champion and empower women in construction and related industries to reach their full potential. If you would like to know more about NAWIC and find your local chapter, visit www.nawic.com
ICCPM Defence Industry Knowledge Sharing Forum and Strategic Project Management Forum 26 February 2018
With the support of our partners and the Defence Industry Community, ICCPM held a Defence Industry Knowledge Sharing Forum (KSF) in February 2018. Held at the Mercue Hotel in Canberra, the KSF bought together representatives to discuss and share ideas on the theme: Defence Industry an exponential performance improver for the delivery of defence capability through improved partnerships in program and project delivery. With a staggering amount being invested into Defence projects, Industry is critical to delivering capability. By imporving collaboration between industry and government, Defence as a whole can work more cost-effectively to deliver the projects that meet ultimate end goals. Key themes identified to support a transformational collboration shift While I have an excellent relationship with my include: Increase project performance, mutucontractor, I learned a great deal from the al understanding between parties, innovate in managemet and risk processes and improving Knowledge Sharing Forum which will certainly influence the way I deal with industry in the future. the professionalism of Project Managers. Read full highlights report here.
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The forum represents an excellent contribution to my continued professional development. ICCPM Conference Attendee (2018)
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Following on from the KSF was an afternoon of stratgic planning forum for invited Defence Industry Participants with the objective to develop tangible actions to increase interaction between Defence and Industry members to assist with development of consistent approaches to project and program management issues and opportunities. The forum will be ongoing througout 2018. BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
Invitation to Participate! Get recognised with the IPMA Global Project Excellence Award • Does your organisation deserve to be acknowledged for its excellent project (or programme) management achievements? • Would you like your project to be assessed by an international assessment team? • Do you want to improve your project management on the basis of feedback and bench mark information provided by an international assessment team? • Are you brave enough to enter an international competition celebrating excellence in projects and programmes? Applications close 2nd April.
FIND OUT MORE HERE APPLY HERE BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
ICCPM CONNECT | 11
INDUSTRY NEWS & EVENTS Public Sector Leadership Conference Sydney, Australia
PMI’s online PMO Xpo. Hosted by PMI
14 - 15 March 2018
22 March 2018
The 3rd Public Sector PMO Leadership Summit for 2018 was held in Sydney, focusing on the “Alignment between PMO and business to strengthen team capabilities and drive agile improvement to boost maturity.” Conference delegates represented Chief Executives, Directors, Managers and Heads of, from Federal, State and local governments and councils as well as academics.
Network Updates
Representing ICCPM on the first day of the two-day conference was Acting CEO Collin Smith who addressed delegates on the topic of Competency Standards to Shape a New Project Management Paradigm for Complex Projects, a timely discussion following the release of PMI’s 2018 Pulse of the Profession and their findings regarding complex projects. Other speakers at the conference shared their perspectives on how good PMO’s are the drivers for transformational change in the sector as builders of trust and industry engagement, to encouraging a culture of continuous improvement and thus ensuring public projects are adaptive to their changing environments and continue to meet desired objectives for their end users. Read full events highlight report here.
CPD POINTS!*
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Transform your career and organisation’s development!
Candidates and Employers will gain fundamental value in understanding, navigating and leading work in complex working environments. Leadership and Team Development: Discover leadership style and qualities to help you and your team reach your full potential. Corporate Solutions: Customised support from ICCPM to help your organisation respond effectively to complexity in project environments. Executive Education: Systems Thinking Course 12 | ICCPM CONNECT
*CPD points available to PMI & AIPM members subject to each organisations requirements
Other sessions on the day included: Imagining the Future of PMOs, Creative Thinking: Engaging Your Stakeholders, Improving Your Requirements, Hacking Agile for Digital Agencies, The Conundrum: Your Project Ends, But Its Outcome Lives On, 2018 Pulse of the Profession® presentation. Check out Joel and all the other sessions available now on demand here. PMOXPO 2018 will be available online until the 22nd June 2018. Earn 6.5 PDU points for PMI Members.
ENROL TODAY! in ICCPM’s TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS
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PMI’s online 11th annual PMXPO was hosted on the 22 March, with its largest attendence on record. The virtual conference was a compilation of informative sessions hosted by industry experts, with inauigural special keynlote speaker: Joel Cohen, Emmy-Winning Writer and Producer of The Simpsons, and his presntation - The Simpsons: There’s No “I” in “Innovation” (oh wait, there’s actually two of them)...Lessons in Innovation from the Most Successful Show in TV History.
APM Scottish Conference 2018 Scotland’s Project Leaders: Shaping the Next Generation
#apmscotconf
“With 2018 being the year of the Young Person, an initiative set up by the Scottish Government, young people have never been so important to the project profession.” (APM, 2018). The conference attracted project managers and corporate employers across Scotland, with the focus of giving them the tools and inspiration needed to create and deliver value for Scotland’s future projects. Sessions on the day included a mix of interactive and plenary discussion and offering opporunitites for people in the project profession or those looking to move industries to engage with leaders and influencers in key Scottish companies. “With a large number of skilled people being freed up by the Oil and Gas industry in Scotland” (APM, 2018), the aim of the conference was specifically to “match talent with resource” (APM, 2018), with the conference exploring ways skilled workers can re-pourpose thier experience as well as a “chance for industry leaders to learn how developing people is good for business.” (APM, 2018). Attendees heared from industry decision-makers driving industries personal development, and influential speakers offering wisdom and insights from their own experience working with some of Scotlands most ground breaking projects.
FIND OUT MORE CONTACT TRAINING
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS Twitter: @iccpm LinkedIn: International Centre For Complex Project Management
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
ICCPM CONNECT | 13
ARTICLES How Culture Affects Project Management Operations in the Context of an International Development Project Amitesh Kumar
Senior Project & Business Development Manager (Liquid Instruments Pty) Amitesh Kumar, is a result-oriented management professional with over ten years of international working experience in semiconductor, healthcare, energy infrastructure, and Test & Measurement industries. Amitesh successfully conceptualized and managed the largest multi-million dollar Solar Home System (SHS) project in the Solomon Islands between 2012—2014 which brought modern electricity to over 10,000 people and enabled some 4,000 children to study at night under cleaner, safer, and renewable light.
The first few weeks of the project was a complete disaster as seemingly simple communication turned into ‘Chinese whispers’ or prolonged silence. Emails, phone calls, and scheduled meetings were just not doing the trick as it normally would in a Japanese project environment. With project operations progressing at snail speed, I actively started reaching out to government officers, community leaders, past project managers, and NGOs in Solomon Islands to acquire any information that would help me expedite project operations. Through this networking approach, I discovered the trick to get things done in Solomon Islands was short episodes of frequent face-to-face interactions. These interactions were not always work-related. It ranged from political gossips, soccer news to local jokes that I didn’t always understand but I laughed nevertheless.
Amitesh acquired his Master’s Degree in Project Management from the Australian National University in 2016 where he graduated with High Distinction and won numerous prestigious awards. The very definition and interpretation of the term ‘culture’ attracts significant controversy amongst project management scholars and practitioners alike. The focus of this article therefore, is not to further fuel the existing semantic conundrum on culture but rather look at how culture affects project management operations in the context of an international development (ID) project. For brevity, ID projects are defined here as those projects which have been donated, funded, or co-funded by developed countries to developing nations typically to address pressing socio-economic or environmental issues. Culture in this context is not merely ‘how things will be done in this project’ as dictated by the project manager’s organization but rather ‘how active, collective, and constant compromises amongst major stakeholders’ will lead to an evolving culture that shall shape project operations and eventual outcomes. Core project elements such as project governance, stakeholder management, communication strategy, risk management, and so forth are inherent complexities in any project but are substantially more pronounced in ID projects due to cultural differences amongst stakeholders. 14 | ICCPM CONNECT
A thorough understanding of how culture actually affects project management operations, therefore, could dramatically alter the very fabric of these complexities in a positive way, enhancing success in such types of projects. Created by Freepik
Background: I had the privilege to lead the largest solar home system project in Solomon Islands as the lead Project Manager. This was a bilateral arrangement between the governments of Japan and Solomon Islands. The Japanese government donated a total funding of US$4M to Solomon Islands to spend on a water desalination plant or a solar energy project. Given the extremely low electrification rate and high solar irradiation, Solomon Islands government opted for solar energy project. The project was tendered in 2012 and the Japanese company I worked for at that time won the bid and was awarded the contract. I was selected as the lead Project Manager and posted to Solomon Islands to manage this project within a timeframe of 27 months. BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
This compromise on my part had a two-fold advantage. One, I got tasks off my list and met project milestones as scheduled and two, I became increasingly accepted by the local stakeholders as me being an ‘outsider’ connotation dissolved over time. The latter is an extremely important point in a Melanesian society like Solomon Islands where personal and professional matters are heavily governed by the concept of ‘wantok’. Wantok (‘one talk’) is essentially a traditional welfare system characterized by strong social bond based on shared language. While I did not fit this definition in the traditional sense, I did come close to it as observed from the treatment I received from local stakeholders. Thus, I spent the next few months having very frequent interactions with key stakeholders. I still sent emails and made phone calls but at BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
the same time, I made sure that I met relevant stakeholders in-person as frequently as possible to get the job done. Inefficient, laborious, and costly venture? In the short-term, probably it was. But did this cultural adaptation and compromise strengthen project success in the long run? Absolutely yes.
Understanding and putting in effort to compromise cultural differences is not a
one-way traffic though. It must be a collective effort amongst stakeholders. Case in point is the Japanese working culture of being meticulous. In my project, this was a tricky and sensitive matter as there was a fine line between being careful and condescending. In the project planning phase, there were several instances of human errors that could have been avoided if local stakeholders had paid enough attention to details. Given this, I embedded several training sessions prior to and during project execution phase on how to implement various work packages with high precision. Not only did this strategy allow me to embed Japanese work ethic in the project, it substantially improved project operations in a manner not deemed condescending to local stakeholders. To wrap up, my project management experience described in this article is a clear testimony to the fact that project management operations are certainly affected in a myriad of ways by the culture of various stakeholders involved in international development projects. The key is to embark on such projects with only a partially-filled slate. The slate progresses in completion only when the project culture is allowed to evolve and create its own unique cultural identity based on active, collective, and constant compromises amongst the stakeholders.
Allow your project to develop its own identity!
ICCPM CONNECT | 15
ICCPM 2018 International Roundtable Series This one-day facilitated roundtable event will bring together the collective wisdom of the participants to share perspectives on the topic. The principal outcomes being a clear definition of necessary action to be taken to address identified issues in relation to project leadership in complex projects. Dates: 1 May - Sydney, Australia 22 June - Ottawa, Canada 1 August - Brisbane, Australia 3 September - Canberra Australia
2018
Dates for other international locations are currently being finalised. Please check our website and follow our social media accounts for information updates. Time:
ICCPM
8:30am - 4.30pm
Attendance is reserved for a selection of invitation only participants and ICCPM and John Grill Centre Members and partners, therefore numbers for public attendance are limited. If you are interested in attending any of our Roundtable events please register your interest for your desired location at our Roundtable Conference webpage here.
ROUNDTABLE SERIES
Delegates - Who should attend?
ICCPM in association with the John Grill Centre for Project Leadership is proud to announce the launch of the 2018 International Roundtable Series. Following the success of our 2016 series “Contracting For Success in Complex Projects”, we are again bringing together senior leaders to share perspectives, identify solutions and develop a shared work plan for improvement on the topic:
Project Leadership the game changer in large scale complex projects Sponsorship We invite you to partner with us and showcase your organisation to project and program managers working in complex environments. Opportunities exist to sponsor the entire series or an individual event.
Contribute! Contribute to the discussion at one of the face-to-face events or via the online forum. All submissions and contributions will be included in the compendium of outputs and used in the final outcome report.
Get in Touch To find out more, or to register your interest in attending please visit www.iccpm.com or contact us on admin@iccpm.com or +61 2 6120 5110
Locations UK - USA - AUSTRALIA - EUROPE - SINGAPORE - NEW ZEALAND SOUTH AFRICA
16 website: | ICCPM CONNECT Visit our
www.iccpm.com to find out more
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS Twitter: @iccpm LinkedIn: International Centre For Complex Project Management
• ICCPM members and Fellows and John Grill Centre for Project Leadership Partners • Project or organisation Executives, Directors, Board Members, Group Head’s, and Senior Leaders from a range of industries, including public and private organisations
Roundtable participants may be asked to consider the following:
• Explore how we might encourage and increase board level participation in the execution of good project leadership. • Explore how we might encourage and increase board level participation in the selection of a good project leaders and their teams. • Explore and design what complex project leadership capabilities might look like. • Share examples and case studies of exemplar leadership of complex projects. • Explore how project leaders could/should deal with uncertainty and ambiguity • Explore how leaders create highly networked groups that coalesce to make a significant impact on the overall carriage of the project. • Explore how executive decision makers (leaders) might create a project environment that encourages innovation, commitment, increased risk appetite and accountability.
Outcomes An outcomes paper will be published at the conclusion of the series.
Download Discussion Paper BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
ICCPM CONNECT | 17
ICCPM 2018 International Roundtable Series Sydney University, John Grill Centre for Project Leadership joins as Series Partner for International Roundtable Series
QUT Signs Sponsorship Agreement for Brisbane and Canberra Roundtables ICCPM is pleased to announce the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Graduate School of Business as the first major sponsor to sign up for the ICCPM 2018 International Roundtable Series. QUT’s Graduate School of Business will host events in Brisbane and Canberra in August and September respectively.
ICCPM and the John Grill Centre for Project Leadership at The University of Sydney are pleased to announce their partnership, with the John Grill Centre joining as Series Partner for ICCPM’s 2018 International Roundtable Series. The 2018 International Roundtable Series conversation will challenge and seek to change leadership mindsets and practices in organisations to achieve successful planning and delivery of large scale complex projects. As Series Partner, the John Grill Centre will play an important role in supporting ICCPM host the launch of the series in Sydney and accessing industry experts and world-renowned academics to facilitate discussion on the day. Acting CEO of ICCPM Collin Smith said, “The goals and collaborative model of the John Grill Centre perfectly align with the theme and nature of the 2018 roundtable series. This partnership will provide a valuable enhancement to the discussion on leadership in complex projects. We are very fortunate to have the Centre partner with us on this initiative.” The Roundtable Series brings together high level delegates from a range of industries including public and private organisations and ICCPM Fellows and members. Approximately 200-400 attendees are expected across the various locations. This year, ICCPM plans to extend the reach of the Series to include input from delegates around Europe, Asia and South Africa as well as re-visiting past locations including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. Suresh Cuganesan, Chief Executive Officer, John Grill Centre said, “We are delighted to partner with ICCPM on this series to engage in much needed discussion on the key leadership that is required if large complex projects are to deliver on their business case and create their envisioned economic and social impacts. Importantly, we cannot stop at talk but need to also look at how we identify the right issues and take action to address these to achieve better leadership.” The principle outcome of the roundtable series is to produce a white paper report that adds to the thought leadership body of knowledge focusing on providing a clear definition for what Leadership for Success in complex projects means and recommendations of further action that may be required. The John Grill Centre for Project Leadership helps to lead projects that impact economic value and social well-being by working in partnership with organisations to change leadership mindsets and practices. The centre addresses real-world challenges through leadership development, executive education programs and high impact research.
Acting CEO of ICCPM Collin Smith said, “ICCPM is delighted to be working with QUT and is appreciative of the support they are able to provide this event. The strong alignment between the two organisations to serve our communities and the project management profession through the provision of thought leadership and education provides high-impact in the world of complex project management.” QUT will be hosting the Brisbane event on the 1st of August at the Graduate School of Business, QUT Garden’s Point Campus and Canberra event on 3rd of September at the QUT Executive Education Centre in Deakin. QUT Graduate School of Business is renowned for its real world learning opportunities, specialising in multidisciplinary education programs designed to develop and transform your leadership and decision-making skills. If you would like to know more about the QUT Graduate School of Business visit, click here.
Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership to Sponsor Canadian Roundtable Event ICCPM is honoured to have the Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership at the University of Ottawa sponsor our Canadian Roundtable event for 2018. “Following on from Telfer’s involvement in the 2016 Roundtable Series, ICCPM looks forward to working with Telfer once more over the coming months to ensure another successful event this year”, Acting CEO for ICCPM Collin Smith said. Telfer will be hosting the Candian Roundtable at their facilities at the University of Ottawa on the 22nd of June. To find out more about the Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership, click here.
Find out more: https://sydney.edu.au/john-grill-centre/. 18 | ICCPM CONNECT
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OPINION PIECE Complexity and Partnering in Construction Projects - Part 1 Dr Dimitris Antoniadis Dr Dimitris Antoniadis has 30 years of experience in Programme and Project Management. He has held Senior Management posts in major utilities, infrastructure and construction organisations and has led / co-led major transformation programmes. Currently he is the Head of Programme Management Office of UK Power Networks where he has set up the department and all the relevant processes and systems for the delivery of various programmes of works through an Alliance. He is a guest lecturer/speaker at UK Universities and International conferences, a member of the International Centre for Complex Project Management and reviewer on various project management journals.
For a number of years now partnering/alliancing is used for delivering construction works for the utilities and other industries in the UK and other countries. In implementing this contractual approach there are a number of advantages and disadvantages, depending on the individual’s point of view and the prevailing economic / financial conditions. In this two part opinion article I will not focus on this discussion, but will instead focus on: ‘how the challenges that are faced by the parties, that come together in Partnering to deliver works for a certain / long period, can be addressed through the management of complexity’.
Partnering is dependent on the long term relationship of a number of organisations, driven by a Client organisation, which commit to this special relationship and obviously are bound by a contract. It requires the management of a number of interfaces that will be formed from a number of fronts – processes, systems, culture, behaviours, etc., in order to deliver the required benefits. Therefore, the teams need to understand, within a limited period, how to manage a set of dynamic variables by bringing together a 20 | ICCPM CONNECT
number of complex adaptive systems / agents. Also, in a partnering environment the degree of connectivity between the systems is (and needs to be) high, therefore the behaviour of the whole system will be unpredictable, stability will be low and thus agents will attempt to self-organise - not necessarily to the required approach. So, small perturbations will result in dramatic results, especially if these pre-exist (that is the initial conditions are not set properly). It is my view that this is ‘complexity at its best’. The applied definition of complexity is ‘the dealing with interconnections between dynamic systems and the change’ or simplified ‘the natural consequence of the interactions of dynamic relationships’.
In order to make partnering work, understanding how complexity can be managed is essential. The human race has always developed solutions, and progressed by understanding the characteristics of concepts, materials and other things. Therefore, why can’t we do the same for complexity?
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
Understanding complexity’s characteristics will help Having accepted this link, we now need to: us manage its effects and develop action plans that can be implemented through processes, routines, 1. Analyse each characteristic and decide if the effect of each one of them needs to be maximetc. From the outset, we should recognise that ised or minimised. some effects of complexity characteristics are indeed beneficial and should be maximised. We do 2. Consider what means and actions can be apnot always have to minimise these effects. plied through processes, routines, etc. In my research on ‘complexity in project teams’ and by using the 18 characteristics identified by Chris 3. Look at the frequency of reviewing, monitoring and reinforcing. Lucas, I used this approach to develop a framework which was verified by practitioners. The framework enables the management of the effects of complexity on two project management processes and In the next article together the attribute of leadership in projects. I described with a brief ‘translation’ for the the relevant details in ICCPM’s publication ‘Global above characteristics I will Perspectives and the Strategic Agenda to 2025 – propose some actions on how Compendium of Working papers’, Part V: Managing to deal with these as well as Complexity of Interactions in Projects: A Framework why and how is this approach beneficial. for Decision Making. So, in a similar way we could address the effects of complexity in partnering through its characteristics. Therefore, we need to review how each complexity characteristic affects partnering and identify what References: needs to be done to manage its effects. ICCPM ‘Global Perspectives and the Strategic Below I have provided the description of some of Agenda to 2025 – Compendium of Working pathe complexity characteristics as given by Chris Lu- pers’, Part V: Managing Complexity of Interactions cas. I believe, just by giving the description of five in Projects: A Framework for Decision Making’ characteristics, I have shown how profound the link Lucas, C. (2000) The Philosophy of Complexity. between complexity and partnering is. www.calersco.org. Downloaded in August 2005 Complexity Characteristic Co-evolution Mutability Downward Causation
Autonomous Agents
Unpredictability
C.Lucas’ Description The parts are regarded as evolving in conjunction with each other in order to fit into a wider system environment Random internal changes (mutations) or innovations typically occur in these systems. New configurations become possible due to part creation, destruction or modification The existence and properties of the parts are affected by the emergent properties … of the whole which form boundary conditions on the freedom of the constituents. Complex systems are generally composed of independent or autonomous agents (not the identical parts often assumed in science). All of these agents are regarded as equally valuable in the operation of the system. In such interacting systems a chaotic sensitivity to initial conditions can occur.
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Book Review The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management. Edited by BENT FLYVBJERG, Oxford University Press 2017 Reviewed by: Andrew Pyke Every now and again a book emerges, that must join the professional library of Project Managers of large, complex projects. This is one such book. Practitioners have long understood that there is something different about large complex projects and their propensity to fail. There has been a rising sense that ‘conventional’ project management is missing something. This book is one of the best attempts at zeroing-in on this Fighter program - the first teraproject in human history. problem. It begins by posing the question: ‘What are megaprojects’. Sparing you a chapter of definition, I was particularly taken by the proposition that megaprojects are ‘trait making’ that is, they are designed to ambitiously change the structure of society, as opposed to smaller and more conventional projects that are ‘trait taking’. The global megaproject market is estimated at US$ 6–9 trillion per year, or approximately 8% of total global gross domestic product. Flyvbjerg discusses his ‘megaprojects paradox’, where, on one side of the paradox, megaprojects as a delivery model for public and private ventures have never been more in demand, and the size and frequency of megaprojects have never been larger. On the other side, performance in megaproject management is strikingly poor and has not improved for the 90-year period for which comparable data are available. So, this book is about serious business indeed.
Somewhat amusingly, the book examines ‘the four sublimes’ that drive megaproject management, including technological, policital, economic and aesthetic ‘rapture’. In something readers will immediately recognise, the book points out that ‘Front-end planning is [usually] rushed and deficient, bad projects are not stopped, implementation phases and delays are long, costs soar, and benefits and revenue realisation diminishes and recedes into the future.’. In the case of megaprojects, ‘all you do when you hit the ground running, is fall’, says the book.
The book draws lessons from history and case studies, opining that ‘Put simply, the trick is to combine uncertainty in dealing with the difficulties of long time horizons and non-standard technologies with stakeholder complexity as expressed through the involvement of multiple The book is brutal in stating what many in the powerful interested parties’, and notes how imindustry have learned: ‘Conventional project possible it can be to plan for everything—and parties then slip into a damaging fight for conmanagers should not lead megaprojects.’ trol that results in multiple redesigns and adAnd Flyvbjerg notes that we may soon be mov- ditional costs. Again, in this reviewer’s experiing beyond megaprojects, to ‘teraprojects’, as ence, this is very true. Defence planners grapple with the Joint Strike 22 | ICCPM CONNECT
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
This book is not just another examination of the problem, however, offering a range of possible treatments. It suggests that ‘System engineering and technical complexities are well understood, but uncertainty and stakeholder complexity are still the big challenges for megaprojects. Avenues have been identified to address these challenges that require behavioural changes: these include resisting the temptation to press one’s own advantage with contractors; accepting some loss of predictability and control; patience in bringing the multiple sides to the table that are always present in megaprojects; and the discipline to maintain a common direction that allows progress-directed decision making rather than merely conflict-avoiding compromises.’. Yes!
It proposes that megaprojects require special attention to ‘power and sense-making’, something that reviewers of projects will well recognise. There is so much more, out of scope of this review. Hopefully this has given a taste. One area I felt that was under-done in the book, was the special challenges of software-intensive projects. The lessons from large infrastructure projects are very relevant, but these can be greatly amplified where deliverables are opaque, ubiquitous, intangible and subject to privacy and security challenges at a global scale. Perhaps the next edition can address this.
All-in-all, Oxford and Flyvbjerg are to be conThe book goes on to examine many case stud- gratulated on a most useful book. Definitely ies, including fascinating topics like ‘City and a ‘must buy’ for the megaproject manager or Nation Building with Debt-Financed Megapro- manager-to-be. (And full disclosure: I bought jects in China’ and to cause of failure like ‘com- my copy and have never met Flyvbjerg!). Enjoy. mitment escalation’ and ‘project death marches’. For purchase access to this book, click here. The book proposes an intriguing idea for project sponsors, that megaprojects are best viewed as ‘Games of Innovation’ rather than as linear engineering endeavours.
Andrew Pyke Andrew Pyke is owner-director, founder & principal of Keyholder Pty Ltd, an Australian-based company specialising in supporting Boards and Executives responsible for making complex programs succeed. Keyholder is a small company comprising several consultants who specialise in program strategy, assurance and gate reviews, the relationship between executives and the program, capacity-building in program management, coaching of individual program/project managers, and supporting capabilities. Andrew’s experience includes extensive public and private sector projects, advanced technologies and mission-critical products, with significant commercial challenges.
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OPINION PIECE Project Manager Perception: It is all about putting yourself in their shoes! Youcef J-T. Zidane Youcef has over 10 years’ experience working internationally as a Senior Project Manager, developing, planning and delivering projects in many medium to large-scale telecommunications infrastructure projects in many countries worldwide. Youcef studied a Bachelor of Electronic and Electrical Engineering from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (INELEC) in Algeria, and went on to study a Masters in Project Management and a PHD at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Youcef’s PhD focused on investigating the two dimensions of time (i.e., Chronos and Kairos), and its relationship in managing large-scale engineering projects. Currently, Youcef works as a Research Fellow at NTNU for the Faculty of Engineering.
Projects get complex in the eyes of their project managers, because they try to satisfy all their project’s stakeholders. When I began my career as junior project manager more than fifteen years ago, I was always making that mistake. There is nothing wrong or immoral with that thinking; nevertheless, I guess it is more about how things should be done! Entering the workforce, I was confident in my ability. I had advanced project management training, high understanding of the technologies, products and services I would be working with and was familiar with the internal and external policies and procedures that would guide my work. However, despite my skills and knowledge I soon found myself working from early morning to very late at night trying to keep my projects on track to meet their budgets, deadlines and objectives. Looking back, it was the human elements of the projects I was working on that was making them difficult for me to manage. I was forgetting that perceptions differ from one individual to another, from group to group and from organisation to organisation. If I was asked to go back and manage those projects again and with the same tools and means, I would focus on developing my 24 | ICCPM CONNECT
soft skills and the way I interact with people; as only through my gathered experience have I realised the importance and necessity of these skills. In the last few decades, there has been a strong and accumulative inclination among project management academics to move away from the traditional understandings of linearity and predictability in project management practices. This move has been directed by the complex nature of social human interactions and relationships in projects. The principal hypothesis is that a project is a complex system, where humans are the prime attribute, and other elements such as sociocultural content and context are continuously interacting with the human system.
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
The figure above shows the overt side of the iceberg, which is related to IQ, MQ and rationality –(the ability to learn policies, procedures, technologies, products, services, rules and regulations). These are the skills I learned as a junior project manager. However, as the human interactions and sociocultural environments begun to increase the complexity of my projects, I soon This is when the leadership style and soft skills realised those traditional project management of project managers become key in dealing with tools that I had learnt in my Masters studies and human relationships and sociocultural complexi- was so heavily and confidently relied on, would ties that arise throughout the project’s develop- be insufficient in on their own for me to effectively manage the complexities I was facing as a ment and execution. practising project manager. Many studies – e.g., Goleman (2007), show that being able to learn and understand traditional The larger and covert part of the image relates management methods, tools, policies, processes to the irrational, and is related to the emotional and procedures, – or in other words intellectual intelligence (EQ) of the project manager. Defined (IQ) and managerial (MQ) competences – are not in several English dictionaries as “the capacity to enough to lead projects in complex social sys- be aware of, control, and express one’s requires tems. It is in these systems that the importance experience in human interactions and different of leadership comes into play. The Project Di- social situations to accumulate the appropriate rector must be able to communicate and interact skills and knowledge to effectively complete a with their team of project managers and likewise project In my personal experience, it was the EQ be able to engage with the Project Executives component of project management that took the flexibly and continuously to ensure the project is most time, and commitment to continuous peradapting as required to address required chang- sonal development, to accumulate even a small es or stakeholder concerns. This subject has been amount of sound wisdom and judgement to help debated in philosophy for many decades under me correctly deal with the social complexities of the title of “rational versus emotional”, and has projects. returned under the social sciences, humanities, and psychology umbrella, with application in project management. Considering projects are immersed in these complicated sociocultural environments, project success is not only dependent on appropriate planning, monitoring and control, but is also dependent on an understanding and consideration of the complexity arising from the impact of culture.
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During my career from junior to senior project manager, and then project director; I had subordinate deputy project managers that I had been asked to train and advise. I admit that the project managers with the strongest soft skills such as empathy, autonomous attributes, and in control of their negative emotions such as anger, fears, etc. were quickly promoted, rapidly climbing the echelons of the company and given the opportunities to manage their own medium to large projects. Project Managers exemplifying this type of profile were showing exceptional soft skills and emotional intelligence to deal with different complex social situations. In addition, they were developing valued relationships with their own teams, superiors, customers, subcontractors and most of their stakeholders. Several studies support this series of progression. They argue OPENNESS
TRUST
HONESTY
THESE VALUES FACILITATE THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
INVOLVEMENT
AND:
Reduce transaction Cost;
Reduce monitoring, control and associated costs;
Strengthen working relationships;
Enhance mututal understanding of the project scope;
Facilitate the alignment of goals;
Improve the atmosphere of the workplace by reducing mistrust, misunderstanding and conflict of interest
In conclusion, when dealing with social complexity in a project, Project Managers, Directors and Executives need to realise the importance of developing competencies outside of the traditional and technical project management skills – IQ and MQ - to successfully manage projects and achieve desired objectives. Project managers must also be proficient in areas related to their behaviour and leadership (soft skills) and therefore emphasise focus on EQ development. When I have been asked by my project managers, how they can improve their own emotional competencies and deal with social complexities in a timely manner, I always begin my answer with: “it is all about putting yourself in their shoes” – the shoes of the project stakeholders.
Delivering PMO process excellence through leadership” Best practices and next level thinking for Project, Progamme and Portfolio Managers Today’s PMOs are evolving, requiring leaders to re-think traditional models and incorporate new methodologies and cutting-edge tools into their repertoire. Agile techniques, digital transformation and the shift to value offices will enable PMOs to unify organisational outcomes and improve delivery. With these new forces propelling PMOs into the future, leaders must step up their game. The 6th PMO Leadership Summit brings together leading professionals in the PMO, project, portfolio and program space to discuss key strategies and techniques required to overcome challenges and advance your PMO’s capability. Through engaging sessions, this event will provide the opportunity to learn from and network with high-performing PMO professionals from across Australia. Explore: • Skills to promote PMO excellence • Dynamic methodologies to improve results • Navigate a changing PMO landscape • Long-term sustainability for your PMO Featured speakers include: • Collin Smith, Chief Executive Officer, International Centre for Complex Project Management • Nalini Prakash, Chief Officer, Information, HCF • Matthew Harman, Head of EPMO, Telstra Corporation Ltd • Brigadier David McGahey, Director General Plan Centaur, Department of Defence • Peter Tow, Director, PMO, Western Sydney University View the full speaker line up and program Contact us: • Book now with brochure code Q1 for a 10% discount! • Event Brochure : http://bit.ly/2uskc6l • Phone: +61 2 8239 9711 • Email: registration@liquidlearning.com.au
ENGAGEMENT References: Goleman, D. (2007). Social intelligence. Random house.
COMMITMENT 26 | ICCPM CONNECT
Plant, R. (1987). Managing Change and Making it Stick. Fontana/Collins. BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
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RESEARCH UPDATE Integration and Implementation Sciences (I2S): Improving research impact on complex real-world problems
During 2017 ICCPM undertook a survey to capture and understand what current research is being undertaken around the world that can help individuals and organisations manage complexity in their environment better, in particular in general management and project management contexts. To date we have had 30 responses from researchers in various locations globally.
Professor Gabriele Bammer from the Australian National University (ANU)
INDUSTRY UPDATES
Research topics/themes include Systems Thinking, Complexity Science, Complexity Theory, Complex Adaptive Systems, Systems of Systems Methodology, Chaos theory and Soft Systems Methodology. Some of our respondents are happy to share their topics and progress and we have included a summary of these and some links below. The survey will remain open, so please tell us about your research activity. Take ICCPM’s Global Research survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HLLT7Z7
I2S is a new discipline providing concepts and methods for conducting research on complex, real-world problems. It supports researchers (I2S specialists) who contribute to cross-disciplinary teams tackling challenging social and environmental problems, by enhancing: 1. 2. 3.
Synthesis of disciplinary and stakeholder knowledge, Understanding and management of diverse unknowns, and Provision of integrated research support for policy and practice change.
I2S is an intellectual hub which provides: a. A home for compiling and further developing relevant concepts and methods, as well as case examples which illustrate their use, b. A conduit for transmitting these between teams working on different problems, c. A forum for evaluating quality and raising standards, and d. Education at a range of levels. Find out more.
How is Systems Thinking used in projects? Dr Michael Emes of the APM Systems Thinking Specific Interest Group (SIG) and University College London (UCL) is conducting research which seeks to answer this very question. The study aims to produce a guide on how to apply systems thinking in projects and to understand whether systems thinking is a critical success factor in complex projects. Michael is keen to talk to project managers in organisations that we would expect to benefit the most from systems thinking – i.e. organisations that undertake major, complex projects (typically long duration and with unclear requirements at the outset). Help shape the qualitative component of the research by taking part in an interview to share your perspectives on systems thinking or participate in the Systems Thinking Survey.
Professor Fran Ackermann Curtin University in Western Australia Has a fascination with supporting complex decision making which has driven her research and she seeks insights and practices that are both practical and intellectually rigorous. One area of focus for Fran is on complex project management. Fran is particularly interested in developing and refining processes and techniques for risk assessment and management. As such, a risk filter and specially designed workshops have been developed and employed in organisations testing the efficacy of the techniques. The work in disruption and delay modelling also gave rise to the development of a mixed methodology for modelling indirect costs. This work also has implications for insights into project cost overruns, project failure and reduction of rework. Find out more.
Find out more. “Systems Thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns rather than static ‘snapshots’. Systems Thinking is a discipline for seeing the ‘structures’ that underlie complex situations.” Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation Source: https://www.apm.org.uk/community/systems-thinking-sig/
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EDUCATION UPDATE The ICCPM course on ‘Responding to Organisational Complexity’ was developed with all the above in mind. It’s a seven-day course with work-based assignments run over a six month programme, which allows the delegates to open their minds to the lens of complexity – introducing ideas and frameworks that allow us to think and act differently.
DEVELOPING COMPLEX PROJECT LEADERS Karen Cherrill Starting as a process engineer with a degree in chemical engineering, Karen has over 25 years experience working on engineering and construction projects globally. She developed a keen interest in risk management but found it generally leaving a lot to be desired! Today, Karen is a Director at the UK firm Kingsfield Consulting where she provides a range of services for clients that help them manage their project risks, and thereby achieve their business objectives.
It’s been an interesting few months here in the UK for those of us involved with major projects. The Carillion scandal has been reverberating around the industry – surely it is too big to fail? Surely the Government will step in? Now, after going into liquidation, the senior executives from Carillion are being grilled by MPs over the way they ran their business – and their failure to take action to prevent its demise months, if not years, ago. There are a number of other project management businesses who must be having sleepless nights as this is not a problem unique to Carillion. From regularly bidding too aggressively for what is typically unprofitable work, to seemingly prioritising shareholders dividends over most other aspects of the business, there will be yet another round of navel gazing and asking “how can we do things differently”. In the end, it was the failure of three key projects that took the company over the edge… and with profit margins in the industry as low as 0.8%, it doesn’t take much for a project to fail. And what’s the role of project leadership in all of this – surely we must improve? “Yes” must be the answer, along with governance, roles of auditors, and company leadership. The UK Government has taken initiatives in the public sector to improve its management and leadership of major projects. The introduction of the Major Projects Leadership Academy in 2012 has been described as the senior civil service version of TV’s Big Brother!
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It brings cohorts of 25 leaders of some of the UK’s biggest public schemes together for periods of a week at a time focusing on four leadership pillars – personal, major projects, commercial and technical. There are a number of major programme leadership courses available for the private sector too, including a Masters course at one of our top London universities on the ‘Management of Complex Projects’ and another run by Cranfield Management School. The message that I’m taking from this is that the UK is recognising that it needs to invest in its project and programme leaders who go on to head up some of the biggest and most complex projects in the world. And this learning is starting to recognise the role that complexity plays in these mega projects. We know there is no manual or set of procedures that we can follow to deliver complex projects; it requires a whole different mindset and agility that needs to be nurtured in our aspiring leaders. Crucially learning in this arena needs people to come together, to have truly open minds, to share cross-sector experiences and to have a network to continue to share that learning as they try to put it into practice. For example, we all know that the ‘probe-sense-respond’ reaction to challenges that emerge on our projects has a better chance of working than sticking rigidly to our plan. Sticking rigidly to a plan seems (or doing the same thing over again and expecting different results) seems to be one of the issues at the heart of the Carillion collapse. BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
No-one should attend expecting to be given a manual and all the answers to project management! It’s an intentional space to step outside of your comfort zone and to start to understand why complex systems behave as they do – and what strategies can succeed in that kind of environment. This course has been running successfully in Australia for several years now. The ICCPM, together with Kingsfield Consulting, are now bringing it to the UK and Europe, which I’m excited about. If you are interested to know more, contact Simon Henley at the ICCPM or myself.
Project management is both an art and a science - this 3 day course introduces and applies complexity thinking relevant for today’s interconnected world.
Who should attend...
Experienced project leaders operating in complex environments who are interested to add another dimension to their skillsets.
Disclaimer: This article contains advertorial content for ICCPM and Kingsfield Academy. For over 30 years, Kingsfield has consulted and trained on international engineering and construction projects. In 2017 ICCPM partnered with Kingsfield Consulting to take ICCPM’s course to the UK for the first time. Together we hope to teach project practioners the skills sets required to identify, assess and respond to complexity in project environments.
Identify and respond to complexity in project environments: + Recognise and report the presence of complexity + Analyse the impact of complexity + Develop, communicate and monitor strategies to respond to complexity
KingsfieldCAPABILITY ConsultingINInternational Limited, West Byfleet | KT14 6LB | United KingdomICCPM | tel +44(0)1932 BUILDING COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS CONNECT | 340 31 140 | kingsfieldconsulting.com | Registered in England 3372553 | e: kci@kingsfieldconsulting.com
EDUCATION UPDATE In Case You Missed It....
Information Sessions
40 CPD points!*
In 2018 we will continue to host information sessions for our next intake of courses. We are in the process of planning more information sessions for in line with the upcoming 2018/2019 Training Calander. The second course intakes for 2018 for Sydney and Melbourne are commencing in May and June, please refer to the training calendar for details and follow us on social media for your local course and enrolment updates.
Twitter: @iccpm LinkedIn: International Centre For Complex Project Management Phone: +61 2 6120 5110
The International Centre for Complex Project Management (ICCPM) has achieved Endorsed Course status by the AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT (AIPM) For our Certificate IV Course
10195NAT Responding to Organisational Complexity
7.5% OFF GROUP DISCOUNT
AL I C E SP !! S R E OFF
*CPD points available to PMI & AIPM members subject to each organisations requirements
ICCPM’s Certificate IV course in Responding to Organisational Complextiy uses leading edge research to provide students with a set of practical tools, techniques and modern thinking philosophies in the field of organisational complexity management. Assessment tasks are practically focused and are designed for students to apply learnings to real and live workplace projects.
OFF EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT
CALL TODAY! Quote: MarchConnect
AIPM’s endorsed courses enhance professional development opportunities and certification pathways for students, with the assurance that the endorsed course reflects current best practice and industry standards in project management. As part of the AIPM Endorsed Course Status, any AIPM members under the RegPM certification program will earn 40 Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points upon the completion of the course.
5%
Enquire about corporate payment! Discounts only apply to students who enrol into ICCPM’s Certificate IV in Responding to Organisational Complexity. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Cannot be used simultaneously - highest discount will be applied. Group Discount applies to groups of 5-7 particpiants with upfront payment on one invoice. Early Bird Discounts only applied when students enrol and pay for the full course 2 months prior to course start date. Coruse cost includes 12 month ICCPM membership.
For a detailed course brochure and and enrolment information please click here. 32 | ICCPM CONNECT
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EDUCATION UPDATE
ICCPM NETWORK
ICCPM Training Calendar 2018
ICCPM Welcomes New Members
Cert IV in Responding to Organisational Complexity Dates
Details
Location
4 - 5 April
Lead Through Organisational Complexity
Canberra
22 - 23 May
Michael Rosetta
Raymond Cairney
Wendy Bourke
Cate Caldwell
Risk and Decision Making in Complex Enrionments
Brian Cameron
Jacqueline Chan
3 - 4 July
Lead Through Organisational Complexity
Nathan Dannock
Justin Cockroft
Joy Woods
15 - 17 May
Complexity in Project Environments
26 - 27 June
Risk and Decision Making in Complex Environments
Iain Johnstone
Michael Cook
Jamie Scott
28 - 29 August 10 - 11 April
Lead Through Organisational Complexity Risk and Decision Making in Complex Environments
Carly Dobbs
Kaye Greenwood
Kathleen Ibbotson
5 - 6 June
Lead Through Organisational Complexity
Jonathan Rofe
Rachel Haynes
Evelyne Meier
Shane Sarlin
Michael Hunt
Mary Phelps
12 - 14 June
Complexity in Project Environments
David Knight
Shaun Hutchinson
Steve Hedges
14 - 15 August
Risk and Decision Making in Complex Enrionments
Darren Lysenko
Gary Hines
16 - 17 October Taking Expressions of Interest
Lead Through Organisational Complexity
Scott Levers
David Hartog
Myles Mahood
David Kretschmer
Brett Weinman
Bernadette Melder
James Paul
Adrian Giandomenico
Alecia Millard
Nathan Bligh
Catherine Roberts
Kelwyn O'Brien
Dave Newdick
Thea Huber
Rodger Phillips
Trevor Thrupp
Damien Keddie
Mark Scougall
Paul Morris
Warren Bowden
Mark Sierant
Mark Skidmore
Phil Bevan
Liz Stephens
Michael Rollo
Neelam Bhalla
Erin Stonestreet
Rebecca Atkinson
Nathan Booth
Peter Theunissen
Stephen John
Naomi Bradshaw
Paul Ticehurst
Jamie Todling
Tony Burger
Stacey Wehmeier
Peter Hill
Ben Burrows
Helen Williams
Jorge Filgueira
Ken Butler
Michael Williams
Galvarino Soto
Sydney
Melbourne
Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth
“The course provided valuable opportunity to learn various new tools to break down the topics and expose a different way of thinking about risk, great to achieve an informed position to aid decision-making.”
EDUCATION
Melbourne Student, 2017
“An Interactive session that provided great group discussion and excellent examples from real-world workplace experience!” Canberra Student, 2017 34 | ICCPM CONNECT
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ICCPM NETWORK ICCPM Member - David Kretschmer Project Manager
David has many years experience delivering high-profile business and technical change. He has worked in public and private sectors in Australia and the United Kingdom, operating in health, regulatory and defence environments. David is currently working for the Department of Defence (Australia), helping implement the initiatives in the 2016 Defence Industry Policy Statement. He managed the delivery of the Centre for Defence Industry Capability and the Defence Innovation Hub, and is now helping with the implementation of the Defence Export Strategy and other change initiatives.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Adelaide, he started his career in ICT support. As ICT projects got bigger, so did the business change and transformation elements. He completed an MBA in London along with the PRINCE2 and MSP courses. “For me, complexity comes from translating policy and strategic intent into operating capabilities, managing design and delivery within organisational constraints and unpredictable external influences.” David addresses complexity by tailoring the basics of program, project and change management to the organisational culture and personalities within the project. “Pre-empting what the decision makers need and when is one of the hardest parts of my job, as is finding the right balance of effort between project activities and BAU with the teams.” His efforts have been recognised by the AIPM, with projects being awarded the 2014 Project of the Year (Organisation/Change Management) and the 2017 Project of the Year (Defence/Aerospace).
“Joining the ICCPM has given me access to a global network of complex project practitioners that remind me that the challenges I face are the same challenges faced by everyone else. It’s exciting to be part of the movement that is building upon the process-based project methodologies to focus on managing relationships and uncertainties in complex project environments”.
ICCPM Fellow Profile Tom Burbage Tom Burbage is founder of Burbage Global Consulting, LLC, an international defense consulting firm. Mr. Burbage retired from the Lockheed Martin Corporation in April 2013 after serving as Vice President for Washington Operations, Vice President and General Manager for the F-22 Raptor Air Dominance Fighter Program and President of Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems in Marietta, Georgia. In November 2000, he was named Executive Vice President and General Manager of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program, leading the Concept Demonstration Phase and Lockheed Martin’s competitive selection as the Prime Contractor in October of 2001. The F-35 is the first tri-service, multinational program and is generally regarded as the largest program in the U.S. Department of Defense. In this capacity, he led the integration of technical requirements for the nine-nation partnership as well as the development of global industrial participation for the nine participating nations. He retired from Lockheed Martin after 33 years in 2013. Mr Burbage is a principal and founder of Global Alliance Advisors, a consulting company specializing in strategic international security and industrial development. Mr Burbage also currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for both Terma North America and Chemring Group. He is a member of the Board of Directors for AeroVironment, Inc. and a strategic advisor to the Board of Directors of Kale Aerospace, a leading Aerospace manufacturing company in Turkey. He is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and was awarded the 2013 James H. Doolittle Award by the Society for outstanding accomplishment in technical management and engineering achievement in aerospace technology. He was elected an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in recognition of notable contributions to the arts, sciences and technology of aeronautics and astronautics. Mr. Burbage received a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds masters’ degree’s in Aeronautical Systems from the University of West Florida and Business Administration from UCLA.
“I joined the ICCPM movement when it was a fledgling “thought leadership” idea. I was part of a living laboratory on complexity management called the F-35 program and it was apparent that traditional program management tools and techniques were inadequate to ensure success within acceptable parameters of cost and schedule. I believe firmly that you have to be immersed in the day to day challenges of complexity management to fully appreciate that it is a new frontier for knowledge mining and application of real world experiences and not an academic experiment. The world of highly technical project management is no longer an outcome focused application of science and resources. Today, it is more often influenced by political and social factors which are very difficult to “manage and control” but which have disproportionate effects on the desired end product. I hope my experiences can contribute to the body of knowledge that can help ensure future successes in the world of global complex projects.” Find out more about Global Consulting, LLC here.
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LINKS & UPCOMING EVENTS
ICCPM NETWORK
Why Become an ICCPM Member? Membership benefits include: Monthly member bulletin with exclusive updates
The problem with saying “Don’t Bring Me Problems, Bring Me Solutions.” Leading Teams - Harvard Business Review Ethical Thinking (Part 3)
Global Trrends in Client Models in Major Projects
In a world of ethical complexity, leaders needs to learn clear and coherent ethical thinking.
MPA highlights report
Discounts on ICCPM courses and events
Access to research, communications and information reserved for ICCPM members
Networking Opportunities
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Diversity in Team Members - Part 1
Exclusive member events and early notification of ICCPM events
Opportunities to contribute to ICCPM sponsored research Access to ICCPM’s Digital Gateway
Want to get great at something? Get a coach
IPMA Blog Post
TED TALK - How do we improve in the face of complexity?
Access to the online member forum The Changing Digital World How is this going to change the way we deliver Major Projects?
How to join ICCPM
MPA Highlights report
Visit iccpm.com/register and follow the links to join as either an Individual Member (open to everyone) or a Partner Employee (open to employees of our partners).
Ethical Thinking (Part 4) Leaders are ethical brand value Ambassadors The Reframing Matrix - Using Creative Perspectives to Solve Problems Looking at problems with fresh eyes
If you are a Partner Employee please contact us so we can provide you with your Corporate Code. We will be profiling members of the ICCPM network in each issue of the CONNECT magazine; if you would like to appear or suggest someone for a profile in a future edition please get in touch. 38 | ICCPM CONNECT
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LINKS & UPCOMING EVENTS
PARTNERS
Event Calendar Dates
Title
Location
25 April 2018
APM Project Management Conference
UK
27 April 2018
IML Conference 2018: Leading Well - People Melbourne, & Performance Australia
20 - 22 May 2018
PMI Australia Conference
Melbourne, Australia
30 May - 1 June 2018
IACCM Australasia Conference
Brisbane, Australia
20-22 June 2018 22 - 27 July 2018
University-Industry Interaction Conference 9th International Conference on Complex Systems
London Cambridge, MA, USA
The next edition of CONNECT will be published in mid June - watch out for it in your inbox • Shared insights and key considerations from Roundtable events • Opporunities for ICCPM members to register interest to attend upcoming Roundtables • Share lessons, insights and opinions from other Project and Program Managers • Case Studies: Project learnings from working in complex environments
AIPM APM (UK)
• Stay up to date with the latest industry news • Education and Research updates
APM Group ARPI CSIRO DAU GAPPS Hudson
• Around the network - upcoming events Contributions are welcome and need to be submitted to admin@iccpm.com by 1 June 2018
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ICCPM also recognises the support of the following organisations:
BUILDING CAPABILITY IN COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
IACCM IPMA MinterEllison The PM Channel SE Group
Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership
University of Hull
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Keep connected to ICCPM through iccpm.com, find us on Twitter (@ICCPM) and participate in the LinkedIn discussion group.