The Project Management

Methodology of the

European Commission

The PM² Mindsets

Nicos KourounakisMASc, MBA, PMP, IPMA-D, PRINCE2, Agile PM²

Senior Consultant, OPM²

nkouroun

About this Presentation

The PM² Mindsets:

• How Many “Ps” in Project Management?

• About the PM² Project Manager

• The PM² IAQs

• PM² Mindsets

The Path to Project Success

The PM² Mindsets enable us to apply the Methodology more effectively and help us navigate through the

complexities of project reality.

PM²Processes

PM² Processes & Mindsets

The House of PM²

Where are people involved in PM²?

PM² Responsibilities: RASCI Matrix

Einstein on Project Management…

Balancing the Project Management “Ps”

Purpose

Process People

Plan

Perception

Pleasure

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Better Project Managers

• They achieve a productive balance between managing the tactical and the strategic.

• their actions are strategically prioritised, tactically pertinent, and aligned with lower and higher order goals which come together in synchronicity producing "the desired results".

Good Project Management is the result of the many small (seemingly insignificant) decisions and actions:

▪ doing the right things

▪ at the right time

▪ for the right reasons

The PM² Project Manager:

1. Builds on the basics of PM

2. Defines MVP & CSC

3. Applies O2PM (outcomes oriented PM)

4. Manages CSFs

5. Establishes Enablers

Applies the PM² Mindsets

Why Mindsets? Because they:

1. help us navigate through the complexities of project reality

2. help us reposition our perspective and enhance our view of theproject goals within a wider project and organizational context

3. are useful reminders of effective attitudes & behaviours

4. remind us what is important for project management success

5. become the glue that holds together the PM2 processes and practices

6. provide a common set of beliefs and values for all PM2 practitioners

Altogether, the Mindsets offer PM² a "personality" with whichPM² Project Managers can associate with

and reinforce our sense of community:

PM² is OUR methodology.

PM² Mindsets: IAQs (Questions for the Brave!)

Project Managers and Project Teams who practice PM2 also ask the important questions:

• Do we know what we are doing?

• Do we know why we are doing it? Does anyone really care?

• Do we know who is doing what?

• Deliver at any cost or risk?

• Is this important?

• Is this a task for them or for us?

• Should I be involved?

• Have we improved?

• Is there life after project?

PM² Mindsets: Infrequently Asked Questions (IAQs) 1 of 2

Project Managers and Project Teams who practice PM2 also ask the important questions:

• Do we know what we are doing?Tip: We develop a clear and shared project vision. We manage using a holistic approach and optimize the whole project, not just parts. We follow a process but stay Agile, and we frequently "remember why" we were doing something in the first place.

• Do we know why we are doing it? Does anyone really care? Tip: We make sure our project matters; we understand its goals, its value and impact, and how it relates to the overall organisational strategy. We define (upfront) what project success is and we deliver maximum value and real benefits, not just outputs.

• Do we know who is doing what? Tip: Know what you should do, and make sure others know as well. Is it clear to everyone? We clearly define and understand roles, responsibilities and accountabilities.

• Deliver at any cost or risk?Tip: We show respect for people's effort and Organisational funds and avoid high risk behaviours andtactics. We always keep in mind that it's not just about the end-result, it matters how weget there. We manage our projects with values and principles.

PM² Mindsets: Infrequently Asked Questions (IAQs) 1 of 2

• Is this important? Tip: Everything is NOT equally important. We identify and agree on the project’s Critical Success Criteria (CSC), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and Critical Success Factors (CSFs), and allocate our effort and attention both tactically and strategically for the benefit of both the project and project management goals.

• Is this a task for the business or the provider team? Tip: We make sure that "client" and "provider" people work as ONE team for the same goal. Real teamwork really works! We foster clear, effective and frequent communication.

• Should I be involved? Tip: Remember to contribute from any position. Be proud of the skills, the value, and the positive attitude you bring to

the project. Help everyone who needs to be involved get involved. Promote and facilitate the contribution of all

stakeholders.

• Have we improved? Tip: We commit to on-going self-improvement and organizational improvement through the creation and sharing of knowledge. As project teams, we reflect on how to become more effective, and adjust our behaviour accordingly.

• Is there life after project?Tip: The product life(cycle) has just begun! We make sure that we contribute to its success.

PM² Mindsets

1. Apply PM2 best practices to manage projects.

2. Remain mindful that methodologies are there to serve projects and not the other way around.

3. Maintain an Outcomes Orientation in relation to all project & project management activities.

4. Become committed to delivering project results with maximum valuerather than just following plans.

5. Foster a project culture of clear communication and effective

collaboration .

Project Teams and Managers who practice PM²:

PM² Mindsets (cont'd)

Project Teams and Managers who practice PM²:

6. Assign Project Roles to the most appropriate people and for the benefit of the project.

7. Balance in the most productive way the project management “Ps” of:product, process, plan, people, pleasure/pain and perception.

8. Invest in developing those competences required to become better project contributors.

9. Involve project stakeholders in the organizational change needed to maximize project

benefits .

10.Share knowledge and lessons learned, and contribute to the improvement of project management at EC.

11. Draw inspiration from the PM2 Guidelines on Ethics and Professional Virtues.

The PM² Mindsets Poster

Internal Disablers

Deal with internal distortions and resistances.

• Explore your virtues profile:– Insightfulness & Judgment

– Courage

– Generosity

– Honours (desire for…)

– Fairness, temperance, humor, magnanimity

– …

Read more here: PM2 Guide – Appendix on Personal and Professional Virtues

Bringing it all together: Processes + Mindsets

The Methodology's processes, artefacts, tools and techniques, help us mange the project dimensions of

time, cost, scope and quality,

whereas

the Mindsets present those attitudes and behaviours which help us focus on what is really important in achieving our project/management goals.

Together

they help us navigate through the complexities of managing PM² projects and make PM² more effective and complete.

Summary

1.Don't get trapped in simply "serving" the methodology.

2. Shift your perspective and…

3. …view your project work through the lenses of effective mindstes.

The Open PM² PSN (PM² Project Support Network)

… bringing together the PM Community, to learn from each other & exchange experiences in using PM².

…and help each other deal with the challenges of performance, collaboration, engagement with stakeholders, and keeping up with the complexities of managing contractors and outsourced projects.

Nicos Kourounakis

Nicos Kourounakis is a Project Management Consultant specializing in Project Management Methodologies

and Organizational Project Management Maturity. He is the Co-Author of the PM² (2012) and Agile@EC

(2014) Project Management Methodologies of the European Commission.

Mr. Kourounakis has been involved in many international projects in Canada, the United States, the United

Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Austria and Greece, working both with large organizations and with smaller

ventures and start-ups.

Mr. Kourounakis also has several years of experience in training and public speaking. As an Adjunct Professor

at the Professional MBA program of the Hellenic American University in Athens, Greece, he has taught

courses and delivered seminars in Project Management, Portfolio Management, Operations & Supply Chain

Management and Management of Information Systems.

He has also been involved with PMI both as a speaker at the 2011 PMI Global Project Management Congress

in Dublin, as a Keynote speaker at the PMI BeLux Congress (2013), and as an elected Vice President of the

Board of Directors of the PMI Chapter in Athens, Greece (2008-2010).

Mr. Kourounakis holds an MBA from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, a MASc in Electrical Engineering

from the University of Victoria, Canada, and a BSc in Physics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,

Greece. Nicos is also one of the first 100 professionals to be certified in PMI’s Organizational Project

Management Maturity (OPM3), a PMI certified Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification,

PRINCE2, IPMA-D, and PM² Practitioner.

Senior Consultant, OPM²

http://www.linkedin.com/in/NicosKourounakis