Author: Benoîte Grisouard, PMP

Change begins with a step.

As environmental challenges rise, global energy markets grow and change rapidly and there is a strong need for sustainability strategies supported by the new generation, rapidly evolving in new trends, technologies, regulations, and finances. Our long-term prosperity and success hinge on integrating sustainability into our strategic planning and decision-making, and determining the synergies between performance and impact on society, the economy and our environment.

Cooperation is necessary to enact change.

The last few years we have developed a battery of collaborations to increase project management skills diffusion; to encourage and support youth and social impact. We empower youth with the understanding, knowledge and tools to build and implement an effective sustainability strategy incorporating project management skills to their daily lives. We magnify the power of nonprofits and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in delivering their missions through the knowledge and application of project management, by facilitating no-cost workshops. 

Develop a personal plan for what you can do.

Project management is a key catalyst to solve issues, integrating sustainability into decisions and value creation.  Project coordinators, managers and leaders use their skills and their ability to affect change to tackle these issues across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. It means creating purpose-driven projects that generate value shared by all stakeholders. And it revolves around the fundamental importance of people: improve the lives of the people within their reach.

Get involved.

Learn how you can join us in our mission to inspire youth and use project management for social good

Author: Philip Springuel, PMP

Dear members, volunteers and friends,

Your May 2022 Newsletter is here!  In Agniezska Skalska’s Message from the Board (uniquely delivered this month by video!), we’re motivated to focus on innovation. We’re reminded that our Swiss Chapter has much to offer in its role as an influencer to shape the project management experience of its members and beyond. Watch her video message, engage with our social media and join us for a growing number of events, both in person and online.

We’re pleased this month to welcome Marc Lahmann, Partner and Leader Transformation Assurance, PwC, who describes what you can expect at the June 9 event in Basel “Can agile enable a full scope transformation approach and realise expected benefits more successfully?” Similarly, we propose another teaser to encourage you to join an upcoming event: “Design Thinking toolbox for project managers.” Other articles this month bring you highlights of past events related to tailoring projects; using data to drive decision-making; and leading a dynamic people centered transformation. As we propose each month, take a moment to discover profiles of new Swiss Chapter members. 

We hope you will be motivated to participate, learn, grow and share with your peers, and perhaps even become a volunteer at PMI Switzerland.

Philip SPRINGUEL, PMI Switzerland Newsletter Copy Editor

Author: Marc Lahmann

Partner and Leader Transformation Assurance, PwC

Nowadays everyone is talking about agile and its great potential for quickly delivering value to organisations and customers. Anyone following this discussion might get the impression that agile is a silver bullet. While some organisations have demonstrated success in agile project or programme delivery, others have been seriously struggling to quickly deliver the expected benefits – or to deliver anything at all. Why is that?

Have these organisations suffered a lack of agile education and experience or made inappropriate use of agile methods and tools; did they encounter resistance to cultural change, or was there just a lack of discipline? Was it maybe a combination of all these factors? In our presentation we will answer these questions and more:

1. Why agile projects, and especially large-scale agile programmes, often struggle, and
2. How the challenges and risks of agile delivery can be overcome to ensure smooth and continuous delivery of value and realize the expected benefits.

Structure of the presentation

• Agile delivery – the pervasive solution for maximising transformation benefits? 
• Scaling agile in order to comprehensively realize business objectives 
• Embedding agile in a full scope transformation approach
• When to act – common risk areas and early warning indicators 
• Our point of view

Link to the full article: https://pmi-switzerland.ch/index.php/files/41/Public-Files/37/can-agile-enable-a-full-scope-transformation-approach.pdf

Blog link:

https://www.pwc.ch/en/insights/risk/can-agile-enable-a-full-scope-transformation-approach-and-realise-expected-benefits-more-successfully.html

Author: Johana ten Hove, PMP

Enhancing your Project Management skills by boosting ideation and collaboration

Do you feel like you're juggling competing expectations, priorities, and people?

Join the interactive session to learn and experiment in Design Thinking, and which simple tools can support you with delivering a project where your stakeholders feel engaged from start to end. The session is designed to teach you about the principles of human-centric problem finding and iterative solution creation. Sign up and walk away with concrete tips and tricks to bring back to your project work (both online and on-site)!

This will be the agenda for the day:

• Introduction to Design Thinking principles
• The 4 Key questions: Why, When, What, and How to use Design Thinking while managing and delivering your projects
• Design Thinking in action: Let’s get practical and use some methods to experience and understand the benefits of Design Thinking
• Experience Sharing and Key take aways
• Apéro and networking time

Are you wondering if the topic is for you? 

Here are some additional insights that might help:

Design thinking methods originated from observing the way designers go about understanding their client's needs and creating products they truly love. As project managers, we deliver solutions and innovation to our clients or stakeholders hoping they value the results as much as the project team who designed them.

How do we make sure we understand needs and create something truly valuable?

There are many design thinking principles, methods and tools that can enhance your project delivery - be it classic or agile. Here are a few of the topics which will be covered by your speakers and facilitators both from theory and practice perspectives:

🡪 Breaking the ice and connecting

• Facilitating open conversations about project objectives, scope and outcomes
• Amplifying voices and sharing ideas in a safe space
• Diffusing tension or disagreements

🡪 Improving Transparency and Alignment:

• Reaching alignment and prioritization across stakeholders
• Democratic and simple decision making
• Running great project meetings and retrospectives

🡪 Problem finding and target framing:

• Observing beyond the obvious
• Identifying and agreeing on the right problems and objectives
• Understanding the needs and goals of clients and stakeholders

🡪 Ideation and iterative solution generation:

• Creative thinking and prototyping
• User testing
• Evaluation and improvements

The team of certified facilitators is looking forward to taking you on a Design Thinking journey around human-centered methods and, after the event, there will be an apéro and the opportunity to network with other Design Thinkers to share your perspectives. 

Join us on May 17th!