Creative Problem-solving Workshop

Authors: Adi Muslic, PMP, VP Sponsors & Partners / Tetiana Pavliuk, PMP / Joachim Dehais, PMP, VP Volunteers

Following the successful "Wicked Problem-solving Workshop" at the PMI Annual Conference in October, we ventured to Lugano to share the practice of creative problem-solving, which integrates powerful elements, such as systems thinking, visualisation, creativity, and open collaboration.

The workshop, organised in collaboration with the local Association for Project Management (APM Ticino), took place at the Professional School of Italian Switzerland (SUPSI). Through newly acquired systems thinking, visualisation, and creative collaboration concepts and tools, the participants achieved broadened perspective. This enabled the formation of new and innovative solutions for long-standing, strategic problems, including those that they had experienced themselves.

Picture the challenge before you as a dynamic constellation of interconnected elements, each influencing, and being influenced, by each other. Systems thinking invites one to step back, see the bigger picture, and comprehend the intricate dance of variables at play.

Unleash the power of visualisation to illuminate the unseen. Imagine your ideas taking shape in vibrant images and dynamic forms. Visual imagery not only clarifies one’s understanding, but also serves as a canvas for one’s inventive mind to explore innovative solutions. Whether one’s preferred methods include mind-maps, diagrams, or interactive simulations, one should allow one’s ideas to materialize in the visual landscape. This is your roadmap for innovation.

Now let us infuse your journey with creativity – the catalyst that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. Embrace the unconventional, dance with ambiguity, and dare to dream beyond the constraints of the status quo. Your creative spirit is the spark that ignites novel connections, leading to breakthrough solutions. Remember… constraints are merely invitations for inventive thinking.

Yet, the true magic lies in collaboration – the symphony of minds harmonising towards a common goal. Engage in open and safe collaboration, where diverse perspectives converge into a collective force. Each participant brings a unique point of view to the orchestra, contributing to a melody of ideas that goes beyond limitations of one’s perspective. Through open dialogue and shared creativity, the boundaries of what is possible expand unexpectedly.

Should you join this creative problem-solving odyssey, remember that the journey itself is as valuable as the destination. Embrace the joy of discovery, relish the challenges, and celebrate the triumphs of ingenuity. Innovation thrives at the intersection between systems thinking, visualisation, creativity, and close collaboration. This is where your problem-solving narrative becomes a tapestry of inspiration for others.

The next Creative Problem-solving Workshop, which is to be held in January 2024, will be hosted in Swiss Romandie. Follow us on LinkedIn, check our website regularly, or look out for event notifications to register for this invaluable workshop.

See you soon!

Joachim, Tetiana and Adi

The Basel Events Team: Join where Passion Meets Purpose!

Author: Lisa Gryzagoridis, PMP DASM

Are you ready to be part of something extraordinary? 

The PMI Basel Events Team is calling you, the enthusiastic, creative, and conscientious individual, to join our dynamic team of volunteers! As a part of our team, you'll have the unique opportunity to make lasting connections and memories, while delivering events, workshops, networking sessions, and enriching the project management community.

As a volunteer, you'll have the chance to meet like-minded people, expand your professional network, and develop new skills. You will gain invaluable experience in event planning, collaboration, and project management. 

Volunteering with the Basel Events Team is more than just a commitment; it's a journey filled with fun, learning, and growth. You’ll get the opportunity to meet, collaborate and socialise with individuals from a mosaic of various professional domains, boundless cultures, unique personalities, and individuals from all regions and walks of life. Just recently, a few of our volunteers enjoyed an evening of ‘Negotiation games’, the likes of which are often used in team building, workshops, and simulations. 

The evening kicked off with one of the more recognized strategy games, namely “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” or “Reds and Blues” and further games played were creatively inclined. Highly mentally stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable, the evening was over too soon, but not before the next get-together was scheduled. 

The Basel Events Team is more than just a group of volunteers; we're like a family united by a common goal – to bring joy and enrichment to the lives of those in our community. If you're ready to embark on this rewarding adventure, we can't wait to welcome you aboard!

Should you wish to join our team, please contact Mi Sook Park -

She is looking forward to hearing from you.

Let's Create Unforgettable Experiences Together!

Record Membership Achieved!

Author: Stefan Vesenmeier, Swiss Chapter President

This month marks an extraordinary milestone for our chapter – a milestone that I am immensely proud to announce. It is a historic moment for our 22-year-old chapter, as we have surpassed a significant threshold. The PMI Swiss Charter can now boast a staggering membership of over 1800 individuals! This achievement is testament to the incredible dedication and collective effort of our volunteer community.

I want to take this opportunity to extend my deepest appreciation to each, and every one of our volunteers. Your unwavering commitment and enthusiasm have played a pivotal role in propelling our chapter to this remarkable position. Together, you have transformed PMI Switzerland into more than just an association; you've made it the epitome of excellence within the Swiss project management community.

Your active participation, consistent contributions, and innovative ideas have been the driving force behind our success. Your efforts have not only elevated our chapter but have also left an indelible mark on our wider community. The positive impact you've created exemplifies our chapter's ethos and reinforces our standing as leaders in the project management domain.

I firmly believe that each one of you embodies the very essence of our chapter's values and goals. You are our most influential ambassadors, spreading the spirit of our community far and wide.

Once again, I want to express my sincerest gratitude for your relentless hard work, steadfast dedication, and the infectious positivity you inject into our chapter. Your support continues to shape the narrative of our success story.

And I also want to express my sincere appreciation to all those who represent this outstanding milestone - our valued chapter members. Your enthusiastic participation in our events and your keen interest in our content means a great deal to us. We deeply appreciate the trust you place in our services through your membership. Your satisfaction and personal feedback are the best motivation for us.

With heartfelt appreciation,

Stefan Vesenmeier

Chapter President, PMI Switzerland

Author: Ruggero Paraventi, PMP 

Lessons Learned: Enhancing Medical Device Development Through Experience

Having had the privilege of being part of the PMO leadership team in a global medical device company, I have witnessed the crucial role that a well-structured lessons learned process plays within the industry. In this article, I will share our journey in designing and implementing the lessons learned process, emphasizing key elements, challenges faced, and continuous process improvements.

The Essence of our Lessons Learned Process

The process that we implemented aimed to reflect real-world experiences and challenges in medical device development, which encompassed learning from both failures and successes. To further develop our process, we consulted literature in the domain, and found advice provided by Nick Milton, in his book “Lessons Learned Handbook” [1] particularly valuable.

Key Elements of the Lessons Learned Process and Tools

Definition of Lesson Learned

Upon initiation, we set out to agree a univocal definition for a lesson learned within our organisation. 'Lessons Learned' is a common term for almost every PMO, however, how it is defined and interpreted varies. We found Nick Milton’s definition of a lesson learned most useful - “a recommendation, based on analysed experience (positive or negative), from which others can learn in order to improve their performance on a specific task or objective.” Adopting a similarly clear, single description of a lesson learned paved the way in designing our process.

Identification and Capture

An initial challenge that we faced was that learnings were retrospectively collected at project closure, and in some cases, several months after critical events had occurred. Valuable knowledge had been slipping through the cracks. To overcome this, we introduced a requirement for project managers to ensure that team experiences were documented in a devoted section of their project diaries, as they occurred, throughout the entire project life cycle. Milton underscores the importance of this, stating that "recording experiences and learning is vital to a successful lesson learned process."

Storage and Organization

Owing to a lacking knowledge repository, no uniformity existed in how information was stored, making it difficult to retrieve and apply past lessons. Milton's advice on “organizing knowledge” deeply resonated with us. Establishing a structured repository, and defining meaningful categories for the learnings, ensured that future teams could locate and benefit from recorded knowledge from past projects.

Dissemination

Whilst Milton's perspective is that "lessons should be disseminated to those who need them", we found that our teams were sporadically sharing their lessons with others. To ensure that our process allowed for efficient dissemination, we increasingly emphasized the importance of sharing lessons learned with other teams. Lesson-sharing was added as a standard agenda item for single functional community meetings, such as global PMO meetings or engineering forums (for learnings of more technical nature).

Actionable Improvements

Following Milton's advice that "lessons should lead to improvements", actionable lessons learned were extracted from knowledge repositories as inputs for identifying process efficiency optimisation. In this way we ensured that lessons learned systematically translated into tangible improvements, including the streamlining of project execution. Ultimately, the structured repository of lessons learned became one of the major sources supporting the definition of cross-functional, continuous improvement initiatives within our organization.

Further Improvement of our Lessons Learned Process

After the initial implementation of the lessons learned process, an analysis and evaluation task were defined for the enhancement of the process. This was introduced because of the known benefits of continuous improvement. This task was assigned to a dedicated resource, skilled in both LEAN principles and process analysis methods.

To refine and further optimise the process, LEAN workshops were conducted using virtual collaboration tools to enable optimal participation of our global PMO community. These workshops allowed our lessons learned subject matter experts to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, brainstorm solutions and enhancements, and gather inputs for process effectiveness changes.

The Importance of Uniformity and Quantification

The consideration of LEAN principles guided us in the retrospective analysis, highlighting the importance of two major focal elements for streamlining our lessons learned process, namely Uniform Generic Formulation, and Quantification of Impact.

The importance of having a standardized, generic format for lessons learned was recognized, because non-standardized formulations hindered the effectiveness of transference of lessons learned from one project to another. Implementing a standard syntax ensured that every team could understand and apply these lessons uniformly, avoiding ambiguity and misinterpretation.

Further it was recognised, that only through the consistent impact quantification of lessons learned relating to time, cost, resources, or other critical factors, could a proper prioritisation of learnings be achieved. This in turn enabled the ordered adoption by other projects and continuous improvement initiative selection within the organization. This data-driven approach allowed us to focus our efforts on areas that delivered the most substantial improvements.

The Role of Dedicated Software Solutions

In our pursuit of continuous improvement, we also evaluated dedicated software solutions for storing and sharing lessons learned in an integrated manner. Tools such as these provide a structured platform for efficiently capturing, categorising, and sharing lessons within the broader organization, further enhancing the ability to leverage learnings in real-time. Common implementation of such software within affiliated medical device companies was explored, to identify value-adds in up-scaling learning dissemination and use amongst enterprises operating in similar business contexts.

Realizing the Full Potential

The ability to learn from experiences is clearly indispensable, in the medical device sector as in any other industry. Through the implementation of a refined Lessons Learned Process, tailored to specific organisational needs, we better positioned our teams to avoid common pitfalls, reduce errors, and prevent costly delays. Learnings from past failures and successes also began to generate process streamlining initiatives, expedite development, and reduce time-to-market. Through understanding of pitfalls and key elements of this process, and continuous refinement of the process through LEAN principles, the organisation became committed to the practical transformation of knowledge into action. Together with the future incorporation of technology, and further incorporation of past learnings into key risk management documents, this process lays the foundation for successful leveraging of past experiences.

A Heartfelt Thanks

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Mrs. Rosablanca Paez, who led the continuous improvement efforts, and guided our PMO team through the LEAN workshops. Her passion, expertise, and dedication were instrumental in advancing our Lessons Learned Process.

References:

[1] Nick Milton, “Lessons Learned Handbook – Practical Approaches to Learning from Experience”, Elsevier Science & Technology (2010)