Project Risk Specialist to present tips

Collecting and managing the right kind of information is an often-overlooked essential of Project Risk Management, Bruce Chadbourne says.

Chadbourne, a PMP and risk management specialist from New Hampshire, will present “Put Risk Management Training Wheels on Your Project Support Office” at the March 13 meeting of PMI Maine.

His essential point is that project managers should not rely on the PMBOK Guide alone for everything they need to know to practice effective risk management. One of the simplest steps they can take, Chadbourne believes, is to set up a data base to maintain project risk information. His presentation will provide practical, tested and economical advice for doing that.

Chadbourne notes a recurring theme in recent symposia: the failure of project organizations to establish a meaningful risk management mindset. Yet the experts frequently fail to mention the central importance of a simple risk data base.

Such a “tool” collects and maintains information that preserves the collective memory of the project stakeholders on the details of each risk. Chadbourne’s talk will explore the benefits of a generic data base and describe several simple approaches to maintaining risk management information. He will focus specifically on how a data base has been used in his project office to support each of the four steps of the risk management process described in the PMBOK Guide.

Chadbourne is a 25-year veteran of Engineering Project Management, from nuclear engineering in the U.S. Navy through systems and software engineering with GE Aerospace and Lockheed Martin. For the last five years he has specialized in project office and risk management discipline. He is active in the PMI Risk SIG and an instructor for the Boston University Corporate Education Center.

The Center for Grieving Children has accepted an offer of Project Management assistance made by PMI Maine.

 The space currently housing the Center was designed around a brick wall traversing the length of the space, as well as support beams throughout.   Because of the growth in numbers served, a redesign is needed to provide better utilization of the space.

The objective of this effort is to enhance the Project Management expertise of the leaders of the Center for Grieving Children, as well as to provide them with qualified experts they may not otherwise have at their disposal.

The Center was founded in 1987 by Bill Hemmens, who wanted to help his 9-year-old niece after her mother died of cancer. It was the first of its kind in New England and third in the country.

The Center started with four families participating in peer support groups one night  a week. Today, it serves hundreds of families in peer groups and thousands more in outreach programs.  A 20-member volunteer Board of Directors governs the Center, which is also supported by 140 active volunteers.
Anne Lynch, Executive Director, and David M. Banks, Chapter Board Member and Facilities Advisor, have requested assistance in the space redesign project.

Project Initiation has begun.  PMI members are invited to participate through all phases of the project. Interested parties may contact Carolyn St. Pierre, PMP at:
carolyn_stpierre@wrightexpress.com.

Project Management volunteers may donate services for specific areas of expertise
or assist in  knowledge areas throughout the life of the project.

-- Carolyn St. Pierre, PMP
 

PMI Maine members and guests were given a fascinating inside look at a major software project at their February meeting.

Guess what the report was?

The technology worked fine. What didn’t work was management of the organization and people problems.

The speaker was Dwight Fischer, Director of Enterprise Computing for the University System of New Hampshire, whose program was called “Project Management: Integration with Organization Culture”.

Project FRESH was installation of an Enterprise Resource Planning process for the entire university system, which includes the University of New Hampshire at Durham, the state colleges at Keene and Plymouth and the statewide network of the College for Lifelong Learning.

The first problem Fischer reported was a “leadership revolving door”: An outside expert left within six months; the successor, an insider, proved ineffective and was out in nine months; finally, the system controller and CIO paired up to “bring it home”.

Fischer listed these successes:

• The installation going live Jan. 2 of this year.
• Coordination of many teams statewide.
• Web-based reporting as a key solution
• The IT infrastructure
• The new network security model
• Project scope management

What didn’t work?

The shortfalls, Fischer said, were in two key areas:  The university system failed to address cultural issues up front, and team leader meetings were ineffective.

What lessons were learned?

First, matters to be addressed early: Culture, a critical component; tough decisions about team leaders; WBS and network diagram.
The team must develop and adhere to a process, and must develop data standards and security parameters before implementation.

Lastly, “sometimes you have to gut it out and accept the environment.”

 PMI Maine Meetings 2002

Meetings are at UnumProvident Headquarters
Building 1 at 2211 Congress St., Portland,
unless otherwise specified. They open at 5:30 p.m.

MARCH 13 – Project Risk
with Bruce Chadbourne
(Bob Laliberte, Host)
APRIL 10 – Advanced Technology
Joint Meeting with IEEE
(Carl Gruenler, Host)
MAY 15 – Product Development Processes
(Tom Carbone, Host)
JUNE 12 – Project of the Year Project
(Jim Milliken,PMP, chairman)
PDU Registration Project
(David Johnson,PMP, chairman)