2016.03 pmi netherlands newsletter
DESCRIPTION
2016.03 PMI Netherlands NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
● ● ● 1
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Table of Contents
Welcome to the March 2016 Edition ...................................................................................................... 2
Our Sponsors ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Upcoming Events Please note changes in program dates and topics! ................................................... 5
Chapter Meeting April 20th - Doctors without Borders & Teamwork .................................................. 5
Chapter Meeting May 20th - 21st - Two-Day Euregio Event in Limburg .............................................. 6
Chapter Meeting Juni 15th - Project Tooling unleashes the future of Project Management .............. 8
PMI NL Chapter Summit 2016, September 15th - Introduction ........................................................... 9
Very Early Bird registration for PMI NL CH members –tickets still available! ................................... 10
Chapter Board News.............................................................................................................................. 11
Thank you Volunteers 2015! .............................................................................................................. 11
Board Activities .................................................................................................................................. 12
Requests for Volunteers .................................................................................................................... 12
Call for ideas and participants Lustrum 2016 festivities .................................................................... 13
Announcement Summit PMI Turkey Chapter, May 12th, 2016, Ankara ............................................ 13
Recently certified PMI Netherlands members ...................................................................................... 13
Updates Local Interest Workgroups (LIWG) .......................................................................................... 14
LIWG ISO for projects......................................................................................................................... 14
PMI News............................................................................................................................................... 15
Sponsors Announcements ..................................................................................................................... 17
IIL Europe ........................................................................................................................................... 17
Northern Star Consulting ................................................................................................................... 20
Let’s stay in touch .................................................................................................................................. 23
September 2015
SepSSSeptember
Volume 54 Issue 5
March 2016
Volume 58 Issue 3
● ● ● 2
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Welcome to the March 2016 Edition
We warmly welcome you to our brand new March edition!
We remind you again of the fact that 2016 is a special year for our Chapter as we celebrate
our 15th anniversary along with the 5th edition of our annual Summit meeting on September
15th. You might have noticed through our social media that we are in the process of
collecting ideas, tips and comments for celebrating our 15th
anniversary. For this we urgently need your help. Please read our
Call later on in this edition. Get involved and be part of the fun!
Please note the changes in program dates and topics of our
Chapter events due to the April/May holidays! Read all about it
later on.
The Very Early Bird Summit 2016 registration is still open for
Chapter members. Be quick and use the special code to gain a
sizeable discount on your ticket!
We are still looking for Volunteers for several interesting Volunteer positions in our Chapter. Have a look at our vacancies in the “Request for Volunteers” section later in the newsletter or check out our dedicated webpage. New: in the upcoming editions of this Newsletter you will find a special Volunteers section dedicated to our valuable Volunteers!
Do you have an item of interest that you would like to share with your peers?
Please feel free to send us your contribution by the next deadline April 13th, 2016.
As always, enjoy reading!
Odilia Kunne Director Communications
Editorial Office:
Odilia Kunne
Karen Obi
Contact: [email protected]
● ● ● 3
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Our Sponsors Thank you to all our sponsors for their generous support!
GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
PARTNERS
FACILITY SPONSORS
Want to become our Sponsor? Please check our website for more information.
● ● ● 4
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Events Overview
PMI Netherlands Chapter Other
April 2016 20 Doctors without Borders & Teamwork More info 11-13 TwentyEighty Strategy Execution -
How to Gather & Document User
Requirements Course
More info
tbc PMP Exam Coaching Class Spring 2016 More info 18-20 TwentyEighty Strategy Execution -
Developing Use Cases Course
More info
April 2016
May 2016
20-21 Euregio Event with Germany & Belgium Chapter: Turnaround Management +
More info 23-25 THREON - Program & Benefits Management
More info
Mini-Mmaster Agile (Friday afternoon-Saturday morning)
June 2016 15 Project Tooling unleashes the future of
project management
More info 6 AMI Consultancy - Masterclass Project Recovery
More info
6-7 Northern Star Consulting - Distributed Team Canvas
More info
tbc Benefit Mgmt - Value based PM More info 9 THREON - Free event: Linking Facility Management with Program and Project Management execution of Construction Projects
More info
13-15 TwentyEighty Strategy Execution -
Foundations of Business Analysis
Course
More info
27-29 TwentyEighty Strategy Execution -
Testing Techniques for Tracing &
Validating Requirements Course
More info
July 2016
tbc Stedin Program Management Case – Stedin Program Management
More info
August 2016 28-31 THREON - Program & Benefits
Management More info
September 2016 15 Annual Summit 2016 More info 12 AMI Consultancy - Masterclass Project
Recovery
More info
Please note that the PMI NL Chapter Calendar Events are planned for your convenience, even though not all events have been definitely confirmed from a speaker and location point of view. Please do keep an eye on changes and do know that our website is leading. When an event is ready for registration all details will be confirmed. Note: the registration process has slightly changed – read the instructions carefully on our website.
● ● ● 5
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Upcoming Events Please note changes in program dates and topics!
Earlier we announced the upcoming Future of Project Management powered by project
tooling event to be held on April 26, however due to the long May vacation period in
different regions and Kingsday we have decided to do a Chapter Meeting program shift:
April 20th Doctors Without Borders & Teamwork
May 20th + 21st Our international event in Limburg with Agile, Turnaround and
Recovery Management topics.
June 15th Future of PM event with all our tooling sponsors (extra-long event
starting at 16:00 hrs)
Please read the details below .
Chapter Meeting April 20th - Doctors without Borders & Teamwork Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders (‘Artsen Zonder Grenzen’), is
an international humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization (NGO) and best known for
its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. The
organization actively provides health care and medical training to populations in about 70
countries and frequently insists on political responsibility in conflict zones.
In 2015 over 30,000, mostly local, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, logistical
experts, water and sanitation engineers and administrators provided medical aid. Private
donors provide about 80% of the organization's funding, while corporate donations provide
the rest, giving MSF an annual budget of approximately US $610 million.
Our presenter Wilco Dekker has worked for almost 2 years with the MSF organization. He
started his first mission with a measles campaign in Katanga (South Congo), continued in a
hospital in Mweso (North-Kivu) and finished his last mission in Boguila (Central African
Republic). He worked as a Technical Logistician responsible for Construction, ICT,
Communications, car fleet & Security.
Our second topic for the evening revolves around teamwork which is an integral part of any
project and logistical endeavor. This will be presented by Peter Storm who studied the topic
extensively and will share his insights with us. Peter Storm is a consultant in the AMI
network.
Agenda:
17:00 - Registration, sandwiches and refreshments
18:00 - Opening, welcome and introduction by the PMI Netherlands Chapter
● ● ● 6
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
18:05 - Introduction of our host - Peter Veenman, Vice President @ Colt Telecom
18:15 - Doctors without Borders – Logistics in Congo – Wilco Dekker, volunteer.
Wilco will walk us through a regular day in his Mweso hospital mission. The
skills required for execution of these responsibilities are a mix of technical
knowledge, people management, organizational skills and the ability to
oversee the E2E field, NGO goals and personal deliverables. Many activities
that must be accomplished can be compared to regular project
management skills but without the luxury of a PMO and without people
who understand structure, time and necessity
19:00 > Break <
19:15 - Does Teamwork contribute to project success? – Peter Storm, Sr.
Researcher & Consultant at AMI
Which characteristics of Teamwork should be stimulated most? What
should the PM do or not do to stimulate the right kind of teamwork? Peter
Storm will answer these questions in a presentation which is based on
research and on various cases from actual practice
20:00 - Wrap-up & Networking drink
20:30 - Closure
Location: Colt Telecom Netherlands - Van der Madeweg 14A, Amsterdam
Seats: 100
Registration to be opened soon through our website
Chapter Meeting May 20th - 21st - Two-Day Euregio Event in Limburg We have completed the logistics of our special 2-day event in Limburg.
The event starts on Friday afternoon (15:00 – 20:00) and includes an exclusive optional
program on Saturday from 9:00 – 12:00. You should arrange for a hotel yourself (if you
choose to stay overnight), but the consideration is that people are welcome to bring their
spouse/friend along and enjoy a weekend in Limburg. (Considering this is for your
professional education your employer might be inclined to sponsor your hotel cost ).
Why Limburg? Because it’s a beautiful area and we have a fair amount of members there
and not many Chapter events are hosted in this region. However, just as important, we
want to invite our colleagues from the Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany Chapters as well:
it will be a small EUREGIO event and great for networking and meeting new people.
Why 2 days? Because that makes it worthwhile inviting your significant other to join you
and have a great and romantic weekend in Limburg afterwards!
● ● ● 7
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
What’s on the agenda? While the final agenda is still a work-in-progress, we can shed some
light on what we’re organizing. One hot topic that is firm will be Turnaround management.
In addition we want to make it special in a sense that we will organize a parallel session as
“Mini Master Agile for Beginners” against a small participation fee (limited seats).
Agenda – Friday May 20th
15:00 - Registration, with coffee
16:00 - Opening, welcome and introduction by the PMI Netherlands Chapter
16:05 - Introduction of our hosts Perfact Group
16:20 - Turnaround Management – astonishing cases -
17:20 > Break <
17:35 - Recovery Management – Peter Storms
18:30 - Wrap-up & Friday Afternoon Networking drink
19:20 - Closure & your chance to visit beautiful Limburg and spend the evening
with friends
Saturday May 21st
9:00 - Registration, with coffee
9:30 - Saturday Key Note speaker – the 4th dimension of planning, Paul Vogels,
director Primaned
10:30 - Closure & your chance to visit beautiful Limburg and enjoy a great weekend
Parallel track – Mini Master Agile agenda - Friday May 20th
Please not that this mini-track has limited seats (20) and requires an additional fee of € 55
15:00 - Registration, with coffee
16:00 - Opening, welcome and introduction by the PMI Netherlands Chapter
16:05 - Introduction of our hosts Perfact Group
16:20 - Start of the Mini Master Agile - part 1
19:00 - Wrap-up & Friday Afternoon Networking drink
19:20 - Closure & your chance to visit beautiful Limburg and spend the evening
with friends
Saturday May 21st
9:00 - Registration, with coffee
9:30 - Mini-Master - part 2, Surprise!
10:30 - Closure & your chance to visit beautiful Limburg and enjoy a great weekend
● ● ● 8
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Location: Klooster Munstergeleen, Abshoven 33, 6151 GC Munstergeleen Seats: 80 (for now)
Registration to be
opened soon through
our website
Chapter Meeting Juni 15th - Project Tooling unleashes the future of Project
Management The future of Project Management was a hot topic in 2015 and will be in 2016. What will
the future bring and what does it mean for the profession of Project Management?
We all see the profession changing: Yes, we do see a shift to agile projects. Yes, we do see
more self-steering teams (no project manager needed)? And yes, we understand that
projects entail much more collaboration with partners, suppliers, consultants than before
due to smaller more agile specialized units and companies (a complete ecosystem by itself).
This requires different governance, different management style perhaps, but what it also
requires, are the right tools to enable teamwork, collaboration, transparency over so many
different parties involved and an easy way to keep abreast of status, priorities and cost by
means of dashboards and reports.
That’s why PMI Netherlands Chapter is proud to help you take a peek into the future by
presenting you with possible visions of this future. Senior consultants will update us about
what they see is coming upon us. We will bring you an intermediate update of the PMI NL
BIG10 working group who are investigating the required skills and profile of the Project
Manager of 2020. Last but not least, we have invited our sponsors to provide the 2 most
compelling and useful features of their products and services that are enabling the future
already now!
Agenda (16:00 – 20:30hrs):
Part 1: The Future of Projects: enabled by Tooling – Consultant/Presenter view –
Part 2: The most amazing features and abilities of Project Tooling, presented by our
Sponsors
Location: INSynQ, Eindhoven
Registration to be opened soon through our website
● ● ● 9
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
We are very pleased to inform you that Brian Weiss, the Vice President of Practitioner
Career Development at PMI will be one of our invited keynote speakers
PMI NL Chapter Summit 2016, September 15th - Introduction by Cees Pijs – Chair Summit Program Committee
According to Agent of Change: The Future of Technology Disruption in Business, a white
paper produced by Economic Intelligence Unit and based on a global survey of 567
executives, few industries will remain unchanged by technological disruption.
Project Management has become a robust discipline with many competent practitioners.
But despite the professionalism of Project Managers and the best efforts of project team
members, many projects still fail. Even when managers deliver projects on time and on
budget, they may still not meet the needs of their customers. So much about projects is
uncertain, a problem compounded by today’s need for more adaptability than traditional
models allow 1.
In Disruption in Project Management, Raj Kaushik states that in the wake of technology
disruption and crowdfunding, the role of Project Managers will have to change. By 2025, we
will see more or less flat organizations, with hardly anyone working as a traditional manager
with the main responsibilities of scoping, scheduling, resource handling, and reporting. The
project manager needs to take on the role of a project entrepreneur, where we need to
change hats frequently.
So, if all kinds of disruptions in every possible branch are to be expected, we might be
running late already in preparing ourselves. What will Project Management look like in the
era of disruption? What practices will then be embraced as ‘good’, ‘better’ or even ‘best?’
One of your current practices? Lessons you learnt and worthy to spread among the
community of Project Managers?
After the successful PMI Netherlands Summit 2015, the PMI Netherlands Chapter in co-
1 Reinventing Project Management. The Diamond Approach to Successful Growth and Innovation, Aaron J. Shenhar and Dov Dvir, 2009
● ● ● 10
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
creation with CKC Seminars are preparing for the fifth edition on September 15th, 2016 in
Conference Center Spant! in Bussum, the Netherlands. Central theme of the 2016 edition is:
Disruption!
In this Summit we will elaborate on the interrelation between Disruption and Project
Management. What is the key role of Project Management? What are the capabilities we
need to develop? The lesson according to Josh Linkner, author of "The Road to Reinvention"
is simple: disrupt or be disrupted.
This Summit is a call for action and will look at disruption from several viewpoints.
You’re invited to become a part of the leading conference on Project Management by
submitting an innovative best practice or workshop corresponding with our themes. If you
would like to submit a valuable suggestion, take a look at the requirements and submit your
paper before March 31th 2016. Go to the PMI Netherlands Summit 2016 website and find
out more.
Very Early Bird registration for PMI NL CH members –tickets still available! The first 30 PMI NL CH members will pay only €125,- excl. VAT. You can register here. Please
tick “I have a discount code”and use discount code PMI16-DC125 to receive your
discount (Note: membership will be checked)
Until May 30th Early Bird registration
Register now and receive a € 50,- Early Bird discount!
PMI members fee € 245,- excl. VAT
non-PMI members fee € 345,- excl. VAT
After May 30th
regular fee for PMI members is € 295,- excl. VAT regular fee for non-PMI members is € 395,- excl. VAT
Not PMI member yet? Become member and save € 100,- on the fee! For more information and registration please visit the official PMI Netherlands Summit 2016 website. Be quick!
● ● ● 11
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Chapter Board News
Thank you Volunteers 2015! The Board of PMI Netherlands Chapter would like to thank the dedication and contribution
of the Volunteers in 2015! These volunteers are one of the key reasons behind the success
of the Netherlands Chapter.
These volunteers will earn PDU’s for their efforts (when have a PMI credential), which will be
included in the 2015 PDU overview.
We are always looking for the best volunteers and we are so grateful that these volunteers
came across last year. We wish them every success in 2016! We would be pleased to meet
them as volunteer again! We look forward to seeing more volunteers who are willing to
support us and/or develop themselves in 2016!
Volunteers 2015:
Rommert Stellingwerf President
Andre Legerman Treasurer
Fons van de Wouw Treasurer
Jan Vorwald Treasurer
Rochelle Rober Development
Henk Jan Molenkamp Events
Odilia Kunne Communications
Karen Obi Communications
Rene Vielvoije COO
Ger van der Geld Director at Large
Jan Vermeijs Secretary
Louis van Norel Membership & Volunteers
Cees Pijs PM Summit
Goran Banjanin Program Management LIWG
Henk Smits Program Management LIWG
Frank Hendriks Agile LIWG
Johan de Vroet Culture LIWG
Anton Zandhuis Program Board Dutch Publications LIWG
Tammy Vesely CSR Initiative LIWG
Ad Withaar PMP Coaches
● ● ● 12
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Board Activities
Chapter Review 2015 and Outlook 2016 in Annual Meeting
There was a good turnout of members on our Annual Meeting on March 1st . We have
reviewed 2015 and shared the Chapter’s plans for 2016. The meeting approved the 2015
financials and discharged the Chapter Board of their duties for the previous year. For more
detailed information you can look up the presentation on our website.
Repeated requests for Volunteers
Due to work and personal circumstances our Secretary, Jan Vermeijs has suspended his role
in the Board. We are looking for a Volunteer to fill this gap on a temporary basis. See our
Request for Volunteers below.
Requests for Volunteers
Secretary of the Chapter Board (temporary)
We are looking for a Volunteer to take over the Board Secretary duties for the next three
months. A nice opportunity to get an inside look in the Board activities!
Interested? Please contact Rommert Stellingwerf or André Legerman
Other Volunteer positions
Work Groups & other
Volunteers in the region to organize regional ‘Beermeetings’ 2016 for networking and project discussions in the region
Program Board
Volunteers for supporting the CEO with organizing events, finding compelling speakers and finding locations
Interested? Please contact Rommert Stellingwerf or André Legerman
Good things happen when you get involved with PMI Netherlands Chapter!
● ● ● 13
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Call for ideas and participants Lustrum 2016 festivities 2016 is a special year for our Chapter as we are celebrating our 15th anniversary! So, this year may not pass by without proper festivities, and for this we need YOUR HELP! Do you have a (crazy) idea, tip, suggestion, or would you even like to participate in organizing, please contact our Director Communications as soon as possible. All (suitable) ideas are welcome!
Announcement Summit PMI Turkey Chapter, May 12th, 2016, Ankara
On May 12th our colleagues of the PMI Turkey Chapter will organize their (one of two each year) Summit in Ankara, at the CerModern, which attracts around 400 professionals on every occasion. The topic of the Summit in Ankara this year is:
Shaping the Future with Projects
The Board of the Turkey Chapter has made it possible for members of the Netherlands Chapter to attend their Summits free of charge, if you become a member of the Turkey Chapter. For more information on the program, venue and subscription please visit the website of the Summit of Turkey Chapter.
Recently certified PMI Netherlands members
This month there are no new credential holders to be announced.
● ● ● 14
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Updates Local Interest Workgroups (LIWG)
LIWG ISO for projects by Rommert Stellingwerf - President PMI Netherlands Chapter
Update March 2016 - Draft ISO Governance standard open for comments
You now have the possibility to comment on the draft document ISO/DIS 21505.2 “Project,
Programme and Portfolio Management – Guidance on Governance.”
NEN provides an electronic version of this document for online reviewing and submitting
comments to everyone interested in The Netherlands, see:
http://www.normontwerpen.nen.nl/Home/Category/001, which is available until Monday
April 11th , 2016.
You are invited to have a look and deliver your comments on this important future standard
that will impact Board Members, Senior Executives and all practicing Project, Program and
Portfolio Managers.
Contact
For further information on the above ISO document and on the LIWG ISO for projects you can contact:
- PMI Netherlands Chapter: Rommert Stellingwerf, [email protected]
- IPMA Nederland: Lex van der Helm, [email protected] The NEN Standards Committee is always looking for new members, participating in the actual development of the ISO standards in this field. Please contact the NEN standards committee (“normcommissie”) Maarten Peelen, Secretary, [email protected].
● ● ● 15
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
PMI News
Free to Members: PMI® Scheduling Conference 2016
Held exclusively for PMI members, attendees will learn the latest in Scheduling best
practices including tips and tools from real-life projects and programs. Anchoring the
agenda is Keynote Speaker Dan Patterson, PhD, PMP. He will provide an in-depth look at
the progression of project scheduling. Registration is free to PMI members.
You will also learn:
- how to turn failed projects into successes;
- how to ensure your projects are aligned with your organization’s goals;
- why it is important to understand each team member’s role, and more.
PMI® Scheduling Conference 2016—Free and Exclusive for PMI Members
March 30th, 2016 | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm ET | 6 PDUs Register now
See the New Look and Design of Learning.pmi.org
From preparing for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® exam to keeping
up with the skills of the PMI Talent Triangle™, you need to find knowledge fast. Visit the
updated Online Learning and SeminarsWorld website at learning.pmi.org.
It features:
- Refreshed content, giving you more of what you want and need
- Streamlined search and navigation, to help you find what you are looking for—faster
- An enhanced user interface, making the experience more fun
Find what you need on learning.pmi.org now!
Pulse of the Profession® In-Depth Report , is launched: The Strategic Impact of
Projects
The newest Pulse In-Depth report, The Strategic Impact of Projects: Identify benefits to drive
business results, explores the value of Benefits Realization Management as a means to
improving project success rates. The report focuses specifically on benefits identification
and reveals that when benefits are identified before the start of a project, 74% of projects
meet goals and business intent. Key actions include linking benefits identification to both
project and program management, establishing benefits identification as a shared
responsibility among an organization’s executive leaders, business owners and project
professionals and aligning identified benefits to the organization’s strategic goals. Read the
full Pulse report at PMI.org/Pulse.
● ● ● 16
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Watch the Video: Valuing Ethics
PMI President and CEO Mark A. Langley talks about the importance of ethics to the project
management profession and PMI. View Now
Get Started in Business Analysis
The business analysis profession is growing quickly as organizations realize the connection
between clear and well-understood requirements and project success. Get a free digital
download of 5 Tips for Starting Your Business Analyst Career. View Now
Why Good Strategies Fail
Strategic initiatives are too often relegated to the realm of good intentions left by the
wayside. The truth is that well implemented, supported strategies can drive a company’s
growth and development. View Now
Help PMI Update the Global Standard for Project Management
The PMBOK® Guide—Sixth Edition exposure draft is now open for your review and
comments. Discover the new changes to the PMBOK® Guide and the exposure draft process,
and comment on this important standard for the profession. View Now
How Have Project Success Rates Changed Over the Past 5 Years?
PMI's Pulse of the Profession® reveals trends on how well organizations are implementing
key initiatives. View Now
Develop the Skills You Need to Get Ahead
Essentials of Project Management online course will help you prepare for the Certified
Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® exam. View Now
Good things happen when you stay involved with PMI Netherlands Chapter!
● ● ● 17
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Sponsors Announcements
IIL Europe
Managing the People Side of Change By Christa Kirby, MA, LCAT, PMP
If you are familiar with the topic of organizational change, you have probably heard the
statistic that 70% of change initiatives fail in large organizations. But do you know why
they are not successful?
Here’s a hint: it’s not because of poor strategy or process implementation. The largest
contributor to the failure of the change initiatives is an inability to lead people through
change.
Understanding how to manage the people side of change is critical, because ultimately any
change initiative is about getting people to change their behavior. And in order to do that,
you have to influence their hearts, their minds AND their environment.
It is a fact that a change of any size or shape has emotional consequences for the people
who are asked to implement or live with it. Of course, this emotional response will look
different for different people, depending on their personalities and their relationship to the
change. One thing that is pretty consistent for everyone, however, is that change moves us
out of our comfort zones. It can jolt us out of auto-pilot mode, where we are executing tasks
almost mindlessly. Adapting to change forces us to focus, think creatively, inhibit our
impulses and make choices. This kind of active engagement exhausts our mental muscles. In
addition to being metabolically expensive to our brains, it can also be uncomfortable and
disruptive.
Now add this to the mix: the path that change will take is completely unknown. This can
make it difficult to envision a clear and positive future, so leaders need to help their people
with that.
Know that disruption and unknowability are inherent in the nature of change - you have to
work with this nature, not against it. As a leader, you cannot control change; what you CAN
do is guide, shape and influence it.
● ● ● 18
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
So, what are some concrete actions leaders can take to help people move through a change
situation? Ideally, before a change is introduced, you can begin to create a “felt need” for
the change. Share why it is important to make the change and help people understand the
consequences to them as individuals and to the organization as a whole if the change is not
made. Give them some time to let the idea of the impending change sink in.
Once you do ask them to change, know that this will cause a reaction, and there will be
some emotional fallout. People may feel a variety of emotions, from anger or frustration to
sadness or exhaustion.
This is where you need to provide especially strong support. It is the leader’s role to listen
to and empathize with employees’ fears and concerns, as well as to offer specific solutions
to the dilemmas ahead. When you listen to and address people’s fears and perceived losses,
you open the door for them to begin to proactively participate in and shape the change.
As a leader, you need to keep people engaged and talking about things, because if they are
not talking to YOU, you can be sure they are talking to one another. Acknowledge their
feelings and their pain, and know that doing so does not mean that you have to
immediately help them work through those feelings. Give them information and involve
them in active problem solving around the challenges and obstacles they perceive around
the change.
As you move further along in the change journey, people will begin to try and make the
change work, but they will not have all the answers. Leaders need to maintain a delicate
balance here, giving people freedom to explore, while at the same time providing direction
and support.
Giving direction reminds people of the vision behind the change, its long-term goal and why
achieving the vision remains important. Keep in mind that you can have the most elegant
and compelling vision in the world, but if you do not continue to provide guidance toward it
with behavior-level execution, it will remain just that – a vision.
So, paint a vivid picture of what could be possible in the near future. There is an excellent
book on change called Switch: How to change things when change is hard by Chip and Dan
Heath. They say that leaders have to “script the critical moves.” In a new situation, decision
paralysis can overwhelm people, and what looks like resistance can often be a lack of clarity.
Translate ambiguous goals into concrete behaviors. Encourage smart risk taking, teamwork,
collaboration and personal reflection.
● ● ● 19
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
As people move into the “acceptance” stage of change, our hope is that they are excited
about the future and are working closely together to accomplish the change vision. As a
leader, you can be most helpful in this stage by encouraging and supporting learning and
celebrating people’s successes and accomplishments.
Acknowledge progress as well as what has been left behind; reinforce and reward new
behaviors; and help people develop long-term goals and plans. Nothing encourages
movement toward a goal as much as progress, so build on small successes and create
momentum to sustain the change.
There is no “magic bullet” for managing the people side of change, but the first step is
understanding that doing so is critical to the success of any change initiative. Many
companies say, “Our greatest asset is our people,” but then they fail to take that into
consideration when implementing organizational change.
Hopefully, these tips have given you some insights that will help you guide your people
through any change situations that come your way.
About the Author
Christa Kirby, MA, LCAT, PMP
Vice President, Global Learning Innovation
Global Practice Director, Leadership and
Interpersonal Skills
International Institute for Learning
Christa oversees a portfolio of products designed to help organizations
assess, enhance and continuously improve their performance. She is also a
Senior Trainer at IIL and a frequent speaker at conferences, PMI chapters
and client events. For over fifteen years, Christa has conducted workshops
and
led trainings for corporations, non-governmental organizations and
foundations in countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia, Romania,
Ethiopia, Greece and the US. Her specialty areas of focus are team-
building, leadership, conflict resolution, effective communication, cross-
cultural communication and Emotional Intelligence.
● ● ● 20
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Northern Star Consulting By Manoj Vadakkan
Miscommunication: the most common way to communicate.
It appears that miscommunication is the most common way to communicate1. I have
observed that communication issues challenge any type of Product Development activities,
including software development work, much more than technical issues. I have also
observed that when a product is not working in the way it is expected to and when
examined for the root cause, more often than not, we find it was because someone did not
communicate something correctly or someone did not correctly understand what was
communicated.
Principle 6 of Agile Manifesto2 says face-to-face communication is the most efficient and
effective form of communication. Is that form of communication flawless? Let's look at an
example. Here is a personal story from last year. [Granted this might enlighten you of my
stupidity more than general communication problems you may face - but I am going of take
that risk :-)].
I participated in a clinical study at University of Colorado Hospital. Jane (not her real name),
a Registered Nurse is my study coordinator. I met with her every few weeks to undergo
various tests and receive more or different study medicine. Jane was very friendly and we
got along very well - so no communication issues - so we thought. On one of such visits, she
told me, “Manoj, so far you have been taking just 1 tablet in the morning for the last few
batches of the medication. For the next four weeks, the medication schedule is going to be
weird. For the next four weeks, you need to take 3 in the AM and 1 in the PM. You may set
up an alarm if you need to remind yourself.” That indeed is weird, I thought - wake up at
3AM and then remember to take another one in the middle of my class at 1PM. Oh, well, it
is for a good cause (resulting in a medicine for a disease that affected millions of people in
the world), so I did not complain. While leaving, she said, she will call me in a week to find
out how I am tolerating the drug with the new schedule.
Next week, I was in the airport when I got a call - it was Jane checking in on me. She
inquired how I was doing after increasing the tablets to a total of 4 tablets a day. She
wanted to find out if I was tolerating them well. I was confused. Well, getting up at 3AM
and stopping the class at 1PM is difficult but I am only taking 2 tablets a day; not 4. That is
when I understood, what she meant was 3 tablets in the morning and 1 tablet in the
● ● ● 21
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
afternoon not specifically 3AM and 1 PM. We laughed about it for a bit and I promised to
take the medication correctly in the next three weeks.
As I was boarding and while laughing about my stupidity, I wondered what happened. How
did I miss that she was saying 3 tablets in the morning and 1 in the afternoon? In spoken
sentences, we tend to omit words leaving them implied. In this case, she most likely said all
the words. Even when all the words are said, the listener may not hear all the words for
many reasons. For a variety of these reasons we often miscommunicate.
I also pondered what I could have done to better understand what she was asking me to do.
I could have certainly asked a question or two especially when the schedule sounded
different. I should have checked my assumptions with my questions. She could have asked
me to repeat her instructions to make sure I understood it correctly. While on the phone,
she explained why it was necessary to have 3 tablets in the morning and 1 tablet in the
afternoon. As a layman, I understood enough to say that the half life period of the drug is
shorter so to have enough medicine in my body, I need to take it multiple times. I did not
need to know that additional detail but it helps understand the process and certainly what I
need to know better.
How do we reduce the possibility of miscommunicating in a face-to-face situation?
By a combination of talking, the listener repeating, paraphrasing, and writing down what
was communicated. This process tends to uncover those finer points that are usually
missed. Remember - “documenting to communicate is not usually a good idea but
documenting what you just communicated, usually is.”3 Personally, I have found that
communicating more than what may be necessary for the context is useful, especially
learning the “why” part of the story.
We know that written words can be even more confusing. Mike Cohn has written about this
subject in his article “Miscommunicating with the written word.”4
Communication becomes even more challenging when you are not doing that face-to-face.
What if the parties are half the world apart, have never met, and have different cultural
backgrounds? This becomes a fertile ground for miscommunication. Here is what Hugo
Messer, an expert on distributed teams had to say about it, “Getting your point across to
your doctor is challenging. Expressing your ideas about the software you want to build to a
development team is more challenging. Now when your team is halfway around the planet,
it’s even more challenging. I learned in the past 10 years that in managing distributed teams
there are several factors influencing results: team communication, culture, process, people
and tools. The way for distributed teams to collaborate better and avoid miscommunication,
● ● ● 22
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
is to consciously work on alignment on all these aspects. I’ve created a distributed team
canvas and built a training around the use of the canvas.”
In closing, my advice will be to use as many communication channels as possible, check
what you communicated, and do it often.
Distributed Team Canvas
Join Hugo Messer and Manoj Vadakkan to learn about Distributed Team Canvas and more
at their training in the Netherlands on June 6-7th, 2016.
What techniques do you use to improve your communication skills in a team? Share with us.
Join us for a face-to-face discussion while Hugo and I are conducting a Certified ScrumMaster
class in Amsterdam.
1. References: Title inspired from an article by Ryan O'Hanlon, When Miscommunication
Is the Only Way to Communicate, Pacific Standard, March 20, 2014
2. Principles Behind Agile Manifesto: http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
3. Author: unknown
4. Miscommunicating with written word by Mike Cohn, blog on
MountainGoatSoftware.com, May 22, 2007
● ● ● 23
PMI Netherlands 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en
Portfoliomanagers
www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Let’s stay in touch Our webpage is the main source of information about the PMI
Netherlands Chapter: http://pmi-netherlands-chapter.org
You can also sign up here to get Chapter news on your email.
Join our LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/PMI-Netherlands-Chapter-130083 Share your thoughts and join discussions. We will also inform you
about Chapter events, Newletters issues and other PMI news.
You can also follow our company page: http://www.linkedin.com/company/pmi-netherlands-chapter
Check out our Facebook Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/PMINetherlandsChapter which was set up to inform you about recent news and for
community building purposes. We will let you know about
Chapter events, Newletters issues and share with you our
meetings’ impressions.
Besides the website, LinkedIn and Facebook you can follow us on
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pminlch
On a regular basis we send tweets to inform you about Chapter
events, news from PMI etc. Have a look and give it a go and join
other followers. Looking forward to tweet-connect.
To make reading our newsletters more convenient for you, we’ve
created an Issuu account where you can find all our newsletters: http://issuu.com/pmi_netherlands_Chapter
You may also be interested in the latest Newsletter of IPMA-NL