Training Archives

Are your project management practices questionable?

Are there key KPIs your business’s projects are just not meeting, time and time again? Are high priority projects regularly missing deadlines? Perhaps your projects are meeting most of their timelines but the project management practices are questionable, with little to no structure and a huge dependency on the skill and talent of the individual project manager? Aspira’s Project Capability Assessment is the perfect solution to enabling a substantial supportive structure around your project management processes, by identifying the strengths and transforming any shortcomings.

Project Management training and certification crafts individuals into excellent project managers. However it is possible and probable that the organisation’s project management framework does not align completely to the PMPTM or PMITM methodology. That being said, an organisation needs to have a mature and supportive project management framework in operation to create the ideal conditions for a PM to operate within – this is the scaffolding that supports the mason while they work. Maturity alone is not sufficient – countless organisations have mature but constraining processes which restrain operational effectiveness – year after year of working within a stagnant status quo.

This is why Aspira’s Project Capability Assessment service has proved extremely popular and effective. Aspira’s experienced project management experts conduct an assessment that will establish an independent and objective capability baseline revealing the true potential and opportunities that your PM framework provide for improvement, as well as cementing in the strengths that currently exist. True insight into your organisation comes from those who know it best; your key resources participate fully in our assessment process, maximising business buy-in to achieve ultimate success.

The Project Capability Assessment delivers a full detailed review of your current framework, methodology, skills and capability and outputs a set of clear achievable recommendations – short term quick wins as well as medium and long term mandates. Whether you are taking the first steps towards implementing a set of lean, standardized Project Management practices or already have mature, detailed processes in place – possibly operating your own Project Management Office – it is essential to realistically assess the processes by which you select and deliver projects and then to compare this with best practice, highlighting where improvements need to be made.

Customers across Ireland trust Aspira to deliver operational effectiveness and achieve tangible, measurable improvement. Contact Aspira today to discuss benefits a Project Capability Assessment can deliver to you.

How to manage your organisation’s digital security in the age of the cloud

Internet based technology and cloud is now central in everything we do, shaping growth, disrupting industry landscapes and providing the catalyst for transformation. Digital Transformation can be considered as the next industrial revolution. We now have a digital landscape where there are no defined borders and data is the new commodity to be bought, sold or stolen. The Internet is there to connect, not protect so it is inevitable that, as data is now king, securing it is a huge challenge.

Before the cloud, we could rest assured that our data was protected sitting in a data centre behind our firewall. Our security challenges were simple – how do I secure my network and prevent intrusions. We secured internal user access to resources locally, and we had a known security perimeter.

Today, with the internet and the cloud, the user can choose applications at random, store data anywhere, applications are increasingly external, and IT departments have limited visibility to provide protection.

So how do we enable the benefits of cloud while still being assured that our data is protected in a world where even organisations with enormous security budgets and elite security analysts are struggling to address modern threats?

To start, you need to change your perspective and work from the assumption that your security will be compromised. Plan for the eventuality by adopting an approach that focuses on protection, detection and response. Adopt a security posture that is:

Comprehensive in terms of understanding your environment and weaknesses;
Well-informed in terms of what the modern security challenges are;
Prescriptive in terms of what steps to take to protect your environment and respond to security events.

To begin to develop your security posture, it will help if you separate your environment into:

The devices you use, how and where they are used, from data centre to end user;
The applications you use, where there are located and how they are accessed;
The data that is updated and manipulated by applications:
The users who access the data, through the applications, that is stored on the devices.

Then develop your plans and strategies for each layer. Make sure you address your specific needs keeping in mind any internal, regulatory or legal requirements that affect your business directly. And remember, when developing your plans always keeping in mind, what do you do if you are compromised.

Author: Jason Boyle, Operations Director, Aspira

Are you the next Shane Lowry or Tiger Woods?

Are you the next Shane Lowry or Tiger Woods?

The career of a professional golfer is similar to that of a project manager in many ways, and not just in its longevity. Let’s explore three ways that will help PMs to be as successful as Tiger – or Shane Lowry, our popular recent winner of the British Open.

Dedication

Tiger famously started golf as a toddler, appearing on TV as a two year old. Even though that was an extreme example, to become successful a golfer needs to have the dedication to work at their game. And when success comes, they have to work even harder. That means hour after hour of practice, investment in the best tools and equipment, and the obsessive desire to improve.

Project Managers have a similar challenge. Many people are asked to lead a project without being given the training or tools they need – it can be a ‘sink or swim’ experience for many first-time PMs. However, by dedicating some time to understand what project management is about, and by investing time to understand what proven tools and techniques are out there, a PM can ensure they are set up for success.

Support

No professional golfer gets there by himself/herself. From their early days they need to enlist a good coach, someone who will invest time with them to provide positive and negative constructive advice and guidance to help them develop. They need a reliable caddy, someone to put in the hard yards and be there to lean on when crunch time comes in a tournament. They will need a supportive sponsor to give them the backing they need to establish themselves as a member of the elite.

Project Managers must also build a support team. The support and backing of a Project Sponsor is critical. Advice and guidance from a mentor is invaluable when trying to figure out how best to deal with a tricky situation. And success will only come if the project team is willing to put in the effort and respond to the leadership of the PM.

Resilience

While any of us can hole a putt from 6 feet, how many of us could do it under the gaze of millions of people, and do it knowing that to miss the putt would mean losing your livelihood? That is the kind of mental fortitude that elite golfers must demonstrate. Many of them build up an entourage of physical trainers, dieticians, and psychologists purely to give them that resilience – give them an edge by having the confidence that are perfectly prepared for this moment.

Project managers also need resilience. Every project involves risk, meaning every project will see things go wrong. Should the Project Manager retreat into a bunker, blaming themselves for everything? Of course not! The PM needs to learn from mistakes and accept that not every decision made – even made the be best available information – will deliver the desired result. After every bunker shot the PM needs to aim to chip back onto the green

So – maybe you project managers have more in common with Pro Golfers than you thought? The next thing we need to do is secure some TV commentator roles for PMs who are ready to hang up their schedules?

Aspira delivers training to help Project Managers, Sponsors and Project Team members to get into the swing of things and make success par for the course! https://aspira.ie/training/

Three Tips To Influencing Without Authority

The 2019 PMI EMEA Congress kicks off in Dublin next week, where I will deliver an interactive session on the crucial project management skill of influencing without authority, alongside my colleague and Aspira CEO, Pat Lucey.

Getting things done on time, on budget and not leaving a trail of dead bodies while doing so is always a bonus!

The old style of command and control hierarchy is gone and project managers have to manage by influence, especially in a matrix environment. Often as a project manager you are managing people who don’t typically report to you and may have never worked with you, who are in separate locations and are likely to be at least working on more than one project.

Therefore, to deliver your project successfully, you need to manage by influence.

Make a good first impression

From the start of your project, you need to assume everyone is a potential ally and that the uncooperative will cooperate. You must suspend judgement and be curious about their world.

This is also your time to establish yourself as a credible leader by speaking about your experience of leading similar projects and highlighting your skills.

Your ability to influence is at its highest point at the start of the project, so this is a crucial time to impress your stakeholders.

Communicate the right messages

Begin by communicating what you are trying to achieve and help each person understand the vision and mission of the project and how they are connected to it.

Each person whether down the corridor or across the ocean needs to know, believe in and feel connected to the project story.

Understand your stakeholders

It is important to schedule time with each of your stakeholders to understand their priorities, concerns and objectives.

This will allow you to see the project through their eyes. You will learn how they are rewarded and measured, what is important to them, what keeps them awake at night and what they are passionate about. It will also give you insights into their preferred working styles and methods of communication.

This information will allow you to build rapport and communicate in a way that resonates with them, mapping project benefits to their needs.

If you would like to learn more about how you can influence without authority, click here for an insight to our dedicated training course.

Author: Norma Lynch, Head of Training, Aspira

PMI EMEA Congress comes to Dublin

PMI EMEA Congress comes to Dublin

This month will see the biggest international event in the project management (PM) world come to Dublin. It will also be the largest PM event for the next ten years to come to Ireland and Aspira is delighted to participate in the event this year.

What is all the fuss about?

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the biggest PM professional body in the world, and was founded 50 years ago in Philadelphia. There are two big events held every year; one in North America and one in the EMEA region. This year, the North American event will be back in Philadelphia to mark its 50th anniversary, while the EMEA event will be held in Dublin.

Because project managers are good at managing resources, the PMI actually roll up two events into one. On the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they hold what is called the Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM for us lovers of three-letter acronyms). The LIM is an invitee-only event, and it is where the leaders of the PMI from all over the world come together to share ideas, initiatives, discuss new trends, and go networking.

Aspira at the Congress

As CEO of Aspira, along with my colleague Norma Lynch, who is Head of Training at Aspira, we will deliver a session on ‘Influencing Without Authority – An Essential Skill for Project Managers’. In most organizations, project managers need to manage people by influence rather than by control, and this can be a hard thing to achieve if you don’t have authority in an organization.

Aspira offer a two-day training course on ‘Influence without Authority’ and the core concepts shared in that course have been distilled down into a 75 minute interactive session. There has been a huge amount of interest expressed by Congress attendees – so much so that we have been asked to deliver an encore presentation on the same topic on Tuesday. Special prize for anyone who attends our keynote on both days!

My involvement at the Congress as President of the Ireland Chapter of PMI

In my role as President of the Ireland Chapter of PMI, I am honoured to deliver the welcoming address as part of the opening keynote session to the LIM, where I will also introduce ‘The Sky at Night’ TV presenter Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, who is a fascinating speaker. As part of the social setting we will introduce our PM Leadership colleagues from around the world to iconic Irish cultural activities, such as pouring a pint of Guinness and trying out for a Riverdance troupe. It will be interesting to see if project managers can bust a few Michael Flatley moves!

In my PMI role, I will deliver a talk on Sunday morning on the subject of Sponsorship and Project Management. This is a topic I am very keen on, as establishing and maintaining a good relationship with sponsors can deliver a real win/win for all concerned.

On Monday, the Congress commences. Attendance is not restricted to this – basically anybody interested in project management can participate. The Congress attracts a huge crowd from all over the world – it is the most geographically-diverse group in the PMI annual calendar. It runs from Monday, 13 May to Wednesday, 15 May and will include a number of site visits to real-life working projects in the Dublin area.

The Congress will wrap up with a TED session on Wednesday, exploring aspects of Project Management. I am a huge fan of the TED format so I have high hopes for the event to have a fantastic finish.

It is exciting to welcome so many people with a passion for project management to Dublin. Ireland has deservedly established an international reputation as a centre of project management excellence and this event gives us an opportunity to demonstrate our expertise and talent in project management.

The four ways your leadership is killing your project, and how to change it.

Growing up, my favourite Star Trek Next Generation character was Commander Will Riker. And I’ll admit it, I may have modelled my own beard on Number One’s impressive facial hair. But apart from the trendy beard, here is why Commander Riker should make you rethink how your leadership style is affecting the projects you sponsor.

‘Command and Control’ style leadership is something many of us grew up watching on television and in movies, and it’s still the approach many of us encounter and expect today in our organisations. But in a modern dynamic digital world, ‘Command and Control’ leadership is killing projects.

Statistically 32% of projects fail to meet expectations, and the leaders sponsoring those projects are the number one issue. So here are the four ways your leadership is killing project success, and how you can change it:

First, you are only human and like all humans you have insecurities. So although being a project sponsor demands a different approach, it’s common to default to your ‘business as usual’ way of working because you are afraid to fail. But the leadership approach that works so well in your day job as Sales Director, Account Manager, CEO etc. doesn’t transpose to the project world. In that world as a project sponsor you must be the team’s champion, not their captain. It is your job to set out the vision, and get the team fired up about bringing it to life. Your biggest achievement is not getting started, it is binding together as a project team to work through issues together as they arise. Plan for some setbacks, accept the team’s support, and persevere for success.

Second, avoid the HIPPO effect. The Highest Paid Person in the Office is the one people usually defer to, rather than listening to the most capable person in the office. Your project team have special skills and responsibilities in their roles, different from their ‘business as usual’ functions. Just because you have more stripes on your shoulder doesn’t mean you have the right answers. Unnecessary hierarchy constrains innovation and project delivery success. So if you run into one of the project team in the corridor and are tempted to over-reach your sponsorship role by acting as the high commander, remember that dictatorial decision making is almost always counter productive.

Third, embrace the fact that projects can often be seen as a disruptive and loss making entity at the start. This can be very confronting and stressful for an executive leader used to running a profit making unit, especially when this costly project is changing core business. I have seen leaders lose sight of the overarching vision amidst all this change, and interfere with the project plan causing chaos. Stay focussed on the vision and benefits of the project, and facilitate the unlocking of your project team’s immense skills so they can deliver successfully.

Fourth, be willing to release control and take a ‘belly of the beast’ approach. Support self managing teams because they will be more innovative, more empowered and will deliver change faster. Traditional top down ‘command and control’ is disproportionate, time consuming and less effective. I have supported leaders to release control, and those project teams having failed to deliver their KPIs initially, went on to exceed them. There is no situation where control becomes irrelevant however. Instead it’s about the boundaries to that control and how those are interpreted. Good governance, agreed responsibilities, and inclusive ways of working are the key to productive dynamic project teams.

Follow my four recommendations to relinquish your ‘Command and Control’ leadership style, and make the move to a more people-centred project approach. You may not satisfy all of your requirements, but your organisation will evolve to become more nimble and more innovative, and better able to respond to rapid technological change.

For all your PM Consultancy needs, please contact aspira.ie or aspira-europe.nl

Author: Peter Ryan, Managing Director, Aspira-Europe

Internship – Putting theory into practice

As part of my college course, I started a six month internship with Aspira in January. At last, the chance to put all my college theory into practice!

From my modules in college, I gained a grasp of three of the key ingredients required to succeed in marketing – creativity, interactivity and engagement. Progressing through my internship, I learned that variety is another important factor in attracting user attention and retaining user interaction. Some individuals are like-minded but equally some are not – some prefer to watch a video versus reading content and vice versa.

For example, when I helped create the new IT Solutions section on the https://aspira.ie/it-solutions/ website, we included short videos and the option to view brochure elements which offer more detail about the services on offer. It is important to produce content in multiple formats, as people absorb information in different ways.

Tip-toeing through the tulips

Aspira unveiled its Amsterdam office on 14 February and I joined the preparations as part of the launch team. This was an exciting project that required a vast amount of elements to be organised, amended and researched, plus a new website http://www.aspira-europe.nl/ to be launched.

This project really drove home the need to get things right – I learned that in the real world, there is little to no room for mistakes. In college, there is usually the opportunity to rectify mistakes and scoring 8/10 is a very satisfactory result. In work, only 10/10 is acceptable!

I realised that errors can reflect badly on an organisation’s reputation, so I was determined to predict potential problems and address them before they could lead to trouble. Attention to detail is a key skill which should not be undermined.

An event to remember

For the first time, the Ireland Chapter PMI decided to host its annual National Conference outside of Dublin. The 2019 location was Fota Island in Cork and my boss, the Head of Marketing for Aspira, was selected as the Project Manager for the event. She encouraged me to be part of her team of volunteers.

Throughout the next few weeks there were numerous phone calls, emails, late night meetings and a lot of organisation– from choosing menus to setting up exhibition stands to grouping name badges into sections. I really enjoyed this additional workload as it gave me the chance to utilise my skills and take on new responsibilities, where possible. I learned from the meetings how important it is to capture actions successfully and follow up on decisions reached.

Again, attention to detail was paramount. With a room full of project managers coming, it was important to have everything running smoothly and to pre-empt any issues. For example, on the evening before the event, we conducted a ‘walkthrough’ of the attendee registration process.

The walkthrough identified the likelihood of a bottleneck being created and so we re-designed the process into two steps, physically separated. The next morning, during the heat of the registration process, we really appreciated that change – and the attendees had a seamless experience – a win-win situation. It gave me a real sense of pride knowing that I positively contributed to such a successful event.

I am already approaching halfway through my internship and am looking forward to learning lots more as part of the Aspira team!

Author: Dean Murphy, Marketing Co-ordinator, Aspira.

From denial to acceptance: The five stages of navigating unexpected change

The Kübler-Ross model lists the five emotional stages that we go through when dealing with grief. These are first denial, then anger, moving into bargaining, then depression and finally acceptance.

Apart from serious and tragic events, we can also go through a milder version of these five stages when faced with unexpected events or change.

Last Sunday I needed to drive from Cork to Dublin – normally a 2.5 to 3 hour drive, depending on traffic. I decided to detour via Limerick to attend a funeral which would add another hour to my journey.

I checked the weather forecast which was not great – lots of rain, wind and with the possibility of snow on high ground. But it was only a yellow alert – which is far from the “stay at home” red alert status.

So off I went. Within 30 minutes, the snow was pelting down.

Denial. This can’t be right? I’m not on high ground. It will go away shortly. 60 minutes in, some cars are pulling over and giving up.

Anger. 2 hours in. For god’s sake! Are these weather forecasters just looking out their windows? The radio station is giving me no information. This is ridiculous. The car behind me is driving far too close. Why are there so many muppets on the road?!

Bargaining. Ok – I will not attend the funeral as that will delay me an hour and then it will be dark driving through the snow. Visibility won’t be too bad if I complete my journey in daylight hours. If I just keep going I should get there within 5.5 hours. It’s the best option. Staying somewhere overnight means I’ll be stranded as the roads will be frozen over in the morning.

Depression. OMG. 6 hours in and I’ve spent the last hour literally parked on the motorway. Nobody moving. No idea what’s happening. Why did I leave this afternoon? Why didn’t I stay overnight in Limerick? Why did I need to go to Dublin? What’s the point of it all anyway? Why am I not in front of a warm fire watching football on TV? Why? Why? Why?

Acceptance. 8 hours in. Traffic has started moving again. Roads look fine here on the outskirts of Dublin. It was interesting listening to that Talk Radio report from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona – I never knew there was a tech review radio show on Sunday nights – mental note for the future. The most important thing was to travel safely even though the journey took longer than it should. Feeling lucky that I had a full tank of fuel when I set off on my trip this afternoon.

As I realise that I’ve reached a Zen-like state of Acceptance, I also realise that when I am dealing with people in work and trying to drive through a major change, I need to recognise that people may go through their own version of the Kübler-Ross model. So instead of rushing people along and telling them to ‘get with the program’, I need to recognise and respect people’s need to get through the cycle in order to become supportive of the change project. After all, we are all passengers on the same journey – let’s be courteous to our fellow travellers!

After 8 hrs 45 minutes. I arrived. New record. 3 hours spent stationary on the motorway. But feeling calm, I decide to go celebrate my arrival with a pint of beer in the Ferryman pub on Dublin’s Quays – a great pub.

But it’s Sunday, and I arrived after 11pm, so the pub has just stopped serving beer. I can feel it coming on again – denial – anger – etc. etc.

Here’s to acceptance!

For more information on how Aspira can help your organisation navigate times of change using our project management expertise, contact us here. https://aspira.ie/consulting/

Diploma in Project Management

In February, I was invited to give an address and hand out awards at the annual graduation ceremony for the Diploma in Project Management at Cork Institute of Technology.

It was a pleasure to do so, and get the opportunity to meet so many people who put in a huge effort to achieve their qualification. The CIT Diploma is not targeted at undergraduates – it is a part-time course (two days per month, over seven months) and the people on the course are typically working full-time jobs, who are seeking to build up their capabilities and career options, augmenting their existing qualifications with a respected qualification in Project Management.

It is no joke to take on an educational qualification while also holding down a demanding job and balancing domestic responsibilities. It forces people to be organised and efficient in their allocation of time. Maybe it’s why many of these people like to study Project Management – they are a natural fit!

As I looked around the room, it was great to see the level of pride expressed by the family members who accompanied the graduates to honour, recognise and celebrate their achievements. People brought along their children, their parents, their partners, etc.
I know that in order to take time to study over weekends, the daily family responsibilities did not magically disappear – other family members or friends stepped up and helped out. It was heartening to see the graduates give a loud round of applause to all those people in their lives who helped them to successfully complete the Diploma.

Additionally, what struck me was the old African proverb – ‘to go fast go alone, but to go far bring a team’. None of the graduates completed their achievement alone. Every single one of them had the support of their families, colleagues, friends and of one another.

In my role as President of the Ireland Chapter PMI, it is a proverb I need to remember. When working in a voluntary organisation, it can be tempting to do things yourself, in order to achieve the fastest results. However, in order to build up an organisation’s long-term capability, it is important to build a team. A good team will always be far more capable that any one individual — no matter how efficient that individual is.

A huge congratulations to everyone who received their Diploma!

For those who may be interested in this course, the next cohort of the CIT Diploma in Project Management, starting 22nd March 2019, is taking in applications now. For more information, or to apply for the course, visit the course page here: http://bit.ly/2SHJlW6

Author: Pat Lucey, CEO, Aspira

Benefit Resolutions and Getting Fit: How to apply project management principles to real life

It is now early February, so it’s time to start thinking about my New Year Resolutions. Yes, I know the convention is that January 1st is the day to kick off those positive intentions, but my experience is that, like the TV ads for DIY magazines and the surge in keep-fit classes, after three weeks of ‘being good’, the novelty wears off and old habits return.

I prefer to reserve my energies and attempt my resolutions towards the end of the month. Remember that while January 1st may be the first day of the year, the old maxim says that ‘today is the first day of the rest of your life’, so there’s no need to procrastinate or put off trying to improve.

There are a couple of ideas from the world of project management that can help you stick to your resolutions.
The first is benefit realisation – the idea that you identify upfront what benefits your project will deliver and that you keep your eye on that prize rather than focussing on the activities to deliver the prize. If I resolve to run 5 miles each day, and focus on that activity as the goal, I am far more likely to give up. For example, if I were to miss a day or two and feel that I had broken my resolution, that would give me the excuse to give up. But if I identify the prize – that I will run my first ever Marathon in June, then an occasional blip won’t deter me – I can still keep going and achieve the benefit.

The second is the idea of opportunity cost vs sunk cost. In project management, opportunity cost is future-looking – what do I stand to lose if I don’t take action now. Sunk cost is backward-looking – what has already been spent. Emotionally, it is natural to obsess about sunk cost even though that ship has sailed and there is nothing more we can do about it. Instead, we should try to guide our decisions by considering opportunity cost. For example, if I resolve to reach a certain target weight, but yesterday I succumbed to temptation and had a burger and chips for dinner, today I shouldn’t use that as an excuse to give up on my diet. Instead, I should be forward looking and see what I can do today to help realise my goal and achieve my target benefit.

So – as we approach the end of January I am resolving to be more active and eat more healthily with the goal of losing eleven pounds. The benefit? Reducing cholesterol, improving BMI, and facilitating more acrobatic dance moves at the next wedding I attend!