Projectified

Project professionals are boosting their personal branding—through blogs, speaking engagements and strong social media presences—not only to help them stand out as forward-thinking leaders but also to share their knowledge and give back to the project management community. In a joint discussion, guests discuss how they decided where to focus their personal branding efforts and their top tips for o...

Introducing new ways of working to teams can be challenging, but they can also bring new insights and solutions that help teams deliver successful projects. We discuss this with:  Alexandre Mariano Vieira, AHPP, PMI-ACP, PMP, project manager, SSA México, México City: Mariano Vieira discusses how he evaluates whether a new way of working would be a good fit for his teams or projects, how he introdu...

Agile is moving further into the mainstream, and much like its name suggests, these approaches are evolving. We discuss this with:  Tammy Ashraf, PMI-ACP, Earth science systems integration manager, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA: Ashraf discusses the benefits of agile approaches, how traditionally risk-averse organizations are embracing agile techniques, and the skills...

The construction sector is moving toward a more digital and connected future, with new technologies changing how teams are executing projects. We discuss this with: Rami Kaibni, PMI-CP, PgMP, PfMP, senior projects and development manager, Field & Marten Associates, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Kaibni discusses how new tech, including building information modeling (BIM), is helping boos...

Companies across regions and sectors face myriad cyber threats from ransomware and phishing scams to attacks from professional cybercriminals—a growing number of them now using AI. In response, organizations are launching cybersecurity projects to keep their companies’ and customers’ data secure. We discuss this with: Gordon Yan, PMP, vice president, IT project manager, OCBC Bank, Singapore: Yan d...

Project professionals are in high demand, but how does someone break into the profession? In a joint discussion, guests share how they started their project management careers—one pursuing it from the start, the other taking the role unexpectedly—the top skills new project managers should develop and how organizations can help project leaders upskill. Plus, they share how certifications from PMI h...

More and more businesses are realizing that sustainability projects are not just good for the environment—they also can boost an organization’s bottom line. But project managers need the right skills to get organizational support to deliver successful initiatives. We discuss this with:  Brittany Brama, principal sustainability program manager, C.H. Robinson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA: Brama dis...

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, collaboration tools—project managers are using a bevy of new technologies to boost efficiency and improve project outcomes. We discuss this with:  Niral Rajani, project manager, Aristocrat, Sydney: Rajani discusses how tech tools can increase efficiency and reduce cost and time on projects, and how he uses machine learning to predict risk, compl...

Resilience is a must-have for teams delivering projects in today’s disruptive and volatile world. So how do you build resiliency on teams? We discuss this with: Ray Jones, PMI-ACP, PMP, program manager, SMX Technology, San Antonio, Texas, USA: Jones discusses the new context for resilience in a more complex and ambiguous world, how project leaders can build team resiliency by leaning into a learni...

For International Women’s Day, Projectified ® hosts a roundtable with three women project leaders to discuss what it’s currently like for women in project management, how teams benefit from diversity and how organizations can better support women leaders, plus questions they had for one another as fellow project leaders. Our guests include Janete Faustino, PMP, PfMP, portfolio management leader of...

Financial services companies—from established giants to new startups—face disruption from all sides. And as organizations explore new innovations to meet evolving customer needs, they must do so while considering risk management. We discuss this with:  Ashley Butao, PMI-ACP, PMP, project manager, Capital One, Toronto: Butao discusses the biggest disruptions she’s seeing in the financial services s...

As we kick off 2023, project leaders are looking ahead to new challenges and opportunities as well as looking back at what they accomplished in 2022. Projectified ® reconnected with previous guests to discuss the biggest changes they have seen in the world of projects over the last year, their top lessons learned, plus what they’re excited about—and the skills project managers need to succeed—in t...

To deliver an organization’s strategic objectives, project leaders must be able to look across the portfolio and decide which projects provide value and should be pursued, which go on the back burner and which are abandoned entirely. We discuss this with: Sunando Chaudhuri, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, director of IT, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company Group, Abu Dhabi: Chaudhuri discusses why project lea...

From feats of engineering and art to exploring the unknown, the 2022 Most Influential Projects showcase innovative and creative efforts from teams across sectors and regions. We discuss two of these projects with: Alicia Tkacz, partner and architect, Stufish, London: Tkacz discusses how producers, animators, architects and pop superstars ABBA collaborated to create the immersive ABBA Voyage show a...

Project management offices (PMOs) are evolving, taking on a greater strategic role to deliver value. We discuss this with: Fiona Lin, PMI-ACP, PMP, VP of the enterprise PMO, agile PMO and business transformation, Snap Finance, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Lin discusses why PMOs must support organizations across projects, programs, portfolios and processes, the importance of including PMOs in strateg...

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept. Project leaders are putting AI to use on everything from automating day-to-day tasks to analyzing risk. We discuss this with: Milie Taing, founder and CEO, Lili.ai, Paris: Taing explains how project leaders’ perspective of AI has changed over the last few years, how AI is helping project leaders deliver more value and what impact a larger...

It’s time to lean into the power skills—communication, problem-solving, collaborative leadership and strategic thinking—that help project leaders influence stakeholders and deliver successful projects. We discuss this with: Swapna Yadavalli, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, VP of technology program management, Mastercard, Pune, India: Yadavalli discusses how leaders with power skills help their teams succeed, how...

In today’s uncertain business landscape, companies must be more agile than ever, embracing new ways of working and nurturing a changemaker mindset across teams. We discuss this with: Anne Cherouny, organizational change management leader, Boeing, Arlington, Virginia, USA: Cherouny discusses the benefits of organizational agility, how a lack of coordination and structured change management can hind...

As urbanization increases worldwide, the public transportation sector is evolving. Teams are launching projects to meet changing consumer demands and employing new technologies with the goal of making public transport systems more sustainable, accessible and efficient. We discuss this with:  Graham Currie, director of the Public Transport Research Group and professor of public transport, Monash Un...

The energy sector is evolving, with organizations and governments alike rethinking their options to push for a more sustainable future. We discuss this with: Meriem Lhammoumi, senior project manager, Jesa, Casablanca, Morocco: Lhammoumi shares how green hydrogen can impact the world’s decarbonization efforts, must-have skills to execute these projects, and the need for innovation in hydrogen stora...

Organizations worldwide are putting greater focus on ESG (environmental, social and governance). As companies ramp up their efforts, leaders are determining how to integrate ESG into their projects. We discuss this with: Mauricio Bolaños, PMP, ESG operations and program manager, VMware, Heredia, Costa Rica: Bolaños discusses how his company’s ESG office works across business units to collaborate w...

Organizations are facing a massive shift in the workforce as people reevaluate what they want from their jobs. It’s up to project leaders to keep teams on track and to continue to deliver value, even amid high attrition. We discuss this with:  Kierstin Gray, PMI-ACP, PMP, program director, Argodesign, Brooklyn, New York, USA: Gray explains how project talent turnover can impact a team’s deliverabl...

PMI’s annual Future 50 shines the spotlight on rising project leaders who are creating a better future for all. Projectified â spoke with three 2022 honorees:  Kathy Johnston, chief chocolate officer, Mirzam Chocolate Makers, Dubai: Johnston discusses tackling challenges to build the company’s second chocolate factory with hybrid teams, how she’s learned to be a change-ready and flexible leader, a...

With omnichannel shopping on the rise, consumer behaviors are changing. This is paving the way for a tech-fueled reset in retail, spanning brick-and-mortar stores and ecommerce alike. We discuss this with:  Saad Siddiqui, COO, Veeve, Seattle: Siddiqui shares what inspired his team to create a smart shopping cart, how customer and retailer feedback helped the team iteratively improve the cart’s fun...

The climate crisis is impacting coastlines across the globe, with communities facing threats from rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events. In response, teams are launching projects to mitigate risks and build resilience. We discuss this with: Swarna Kazi, senior disaster risk management specialist, World Bank, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Ignacio Urrutia, senior disaster risk manageme...