People services

This white paper explores Uncertainty and Risk, being two elements of the changing project environment which people need to deal with.  It defines Risk and Uncertainty, explores their impact on project objectives and the various ways they can be managed.

About the Author: Masoud Zakipoor was a consultant with Core Consulting Group for a number of years.  He had over fourteen years of experience in major infrastructure, technology transfer and business transformation projects, during that time he had a keen interest in Risk Management.

This whitepaper provides a summary of the points discussed in the Core Consulting Group breakfast event held in April 2014 on when Project Management meets Agile. We wanted to explore the similarities and differences between the two approaches to delivery, whether there are opportunities to use parts of each and the degree of change required when adopting Agile. In considering the perspective of the general manager or head of department in a mixed project environment, we also explored how the inputs and outputs of the approaches differed, the problems that might arise and how these differences and problems could be managed.

About the Author: Adam Ryall was a senior consultant with Core Consulting Group for a number of years. Adam fulfilled various Program Management roles in the early days of Agile software development.

Planning/Scheduling was once a career in its own right. Contributing to its demise was the development of PC based scheduling software, particularly Microsoft Project with “anyone can schedule” marketing from Microsoft. Also contributing to the demise are the Professional Associations such as AIPM and PMI demoting Planning/Scheduling skills to a subset or stepping stone to those of a Project Manager.

Particularly evident in Business and IT projects, the lack of Planning/Scheduling skills is having a significant impact on project delivery success. This paper reflects on the skills and attributes of effective Planner/Schedulers and provides business with a roadmap for skills development.

About the Author: Martin Vaughan (AIPM CPPD) is a Director and Senior consultant at Core Consulting. Martin has lectured in IT Project Management at the University of Melbourne and is an active member of the AIPM PMO Community of Practice.

One of the subtle roles of many PMOs is to facilitate professional development in and around Project Management. Professional development, for the Project Management community, whether for Project Managers, Project Management support staff or for Sponsors usually involves a mixture of training courses, coaching/mentoring and networking/discussion sessions.

This article looks at ways in which professional development can be facilitated by the PMO.

About the Author: Martin Vaughan (AIPM CPPD) is a Director and Senior consultant at Core Consulting. Martin has lectured in IT Project Management at the University of Melbourne and is an active member of the AIPM PMO Community of Practice.

Project Management skills are highly sought after as they are applicable to general business management. When one considers the communication and people management skills, together with financial, risk management and the ability to “get things done”, Project Management provides tangible and useful skills. This article looks at career Pathways into Project Management, skills and attributes of effective Project Managers, skills development, accreditation, coaching and mentoring.

About the Author: Martin Vaughan (AIPM CPPD) is a Director and Senior consultant at Core Consulting. Martin has lectured in IT Project Management at the University of Melbourne and is an active member of the AIPM PMO Community of Practice.

The author says “One of the lasting memories of my work experience stint at a regional council, as part of my Civil Engineering degree, was how useless I felt. The disconnect between what the council needed me to do, and the skills/experience I had obtained through my undergraduate studies, was large. I still remember the level of frustration felt by both myself and my supervisor at the council. Fast forward 25 years, I now find myself not only an employer of graduates but also a trainer. Has much changed over this time, how should we approach today’s graduates?”

This article looks at the key issues that arise with graduation employment, with tips for both employers and university students.

About the Author: Martin Vaughan (AIPM CPPD) is a Director and Senior consultant at Core Consulting. Martin has lectured in IT Project Management at the University of Melbourne and is an active member of the AIPM PMO Community of Practice.