WiPM Connect: A Heart-to-Heart talk with Mirza
Date: August 6 @ 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm
In this installment of Women in Project Management (WiPM) Connect, Mirza Ahsan Baig was invited to on Emotional Intelligence and how one can better manage it. Mirza began by defining emotional intelligence and discussing why it’s so crucial that we all have a firm grasp on how we feel. Furthermore, Mirza addressed the impact of emotions and provided advice for coping with them. In his talk, Mirza outlined four components of emotional intelligence: introspection, self-control, perspective-taking, and sociability. By learning to control our feelings, we can make a big difference in our lives, the lives of others around us, and the world. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) for this online conversation was 75, with 39 people participants.
This event was organized by WiPM Special Interest Group to create a platform and channel for the PMIMY volunteers to share their niche knowledge with the project management community in Malaysia.
Special thanks to Shafida Hermy Halamy and Esther Shai for organizing this event.
Video recording: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AnZ10yslFaxbpSo6AYhiECeFnN8x
PMIMY Webinar: Scrum Anti-Patterns
Date: August 8 @ 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Have you ever heard someone stating that Scrum did not work for their organization or team and had to revert to their older approach?
Shashi Shekhar is the Senior Technical Account Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) based in the United States. Shashi has over two decades of experience in system requirements, system analysis and design, software development, testing and maintenance, and application and infrastructure migration. He is experienced in designing cloud-based strategies and roadmaps on the AWS and Azure Cloud platforms. He is also a LinkedIn Learning Author.
During the webinar, Shashi Shekhar presented why Agile failed to work in some organizations, which can be summarized by eight anti-patterns.
Anti-Pattern #1 – Daily scrum meeting deviated into a regular status meeting
Anti-Pattern #2 – Sprint (Iteration) length is longer than 30 days
Anti-Pattern #3 – Assuming Agile is all about the tools
Anti-Pattern #4 – Producing “non-tangible” output from Sprints
Anti-Pattern #5 – Disconnected Development and Testing Sprints
Anti-Pattern #6 – Skipping Retrospective Event
Anti-Pattern #7 – Build systems with no design
Anti-Pattern #8 – The Project Manager is the Scrum Master
Shashi elucidated how the agile framework and correct Scrum practices can overcome these anti-patterns and gave some case studies and best practices that can be adopted by the audience. His parting message to the audience is to always refer to the Agile Manifesto and Principles when in doubt. The presentation was fused with interactive elements such as quizzes which were well received and drew active participation from the audience. This is event is organized by the PMI MY Agile Outreach Squad aimed at Empowering Agility.
Organizing & Support team: Host: Jamie Goh, Co-host: Stan Lee, Support team: Liu Yen-Han and Harvin Singh
Video recording: Scrum Anti-Patterns-20220815_210403-Meeting Recording.mp4
PMIMY Webinar: Navigating through Volatile Times in the Construction Industry
Date: August 18 @ 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm
We had the pleasure of having Cheryl Lum and Dr. Joshua Netto for this webinar. Chery Lum is the Head of Data Research for Turner & Townsend. Dr. Joshua Netto is Turner & Townsend’s Director of Portfolio Management and the current PMIMY Chapter Treasurer.
2022 had started with the hope of recovery and rebound, with increasing activity levels for construction markets expected worldwide. The past 12 months have seen the post-pandemic recovery gathering momentum. Turner & Townsend ICMS 2022 report shows that warning signs are now appearing. Headwinds are felt on multiple fronts across the global construction sector and the broader international economy. These challenges are:
- Market volatility – rising inflation. Interest rates are increasing to try to dampen demand and control rising inflation – central banks will be hoping to get the balance right and engineer a “soft landing.”
- Slowing of global growth. Given the conflict in Ukraine and ongoing volatility, IMF predicts a reduced global growth rate of 3.6 percent in both 2022 and 2023.
- Skills & talent shortages. Labour shortages are driving inflation by driving up labour costs.
- Supply chain bottlenecks. Driving by surging demand for consumer goods, building materials, and manufacturing.
- Competitive pressures. Longer lead times are driving up competition and rising construction costs and labour shortages.
- Rethinking how to deliver. Policymakers and businesses need to focus on driving innovation, improving productivity, and building models to avoid falling into a period of stagnation or even perhaps recession.
In navigating through the volatility, Joshua prescribed the following strategies to help clients take the right action.
- Investment strategy
- Revalidation of business cases
- Review funding sources
- Value Management/Engineering and optimisation
- Early risk management
- Robust cost planning and estimating
- Inflation scenario planning
- Reprofile programme based on risk, scope and priority
- Pre-contract/Planning
- Advance final construction design
- Early supply chain engagement and consider alternatives
- Consider inflation indices with client contingency
- Hedging and splitting work across additional supply chain members
- Be diligent and check financial stability
- Post-contract/’in-flight’ contracts
- Ensure existing contract understanding on how to deal with inflation
- Adapt and share inflation risk
- Enhance assurance of the supply chain – regular credit checks and audits
- Increase project controls
- Reassess delivery timescale and project schedules
- Be prepared for off-site payments, vesting to reserve critical equipment or hold prices
Shout out to the team that brought this valuable webinar to us – Preeta Nair, Chia Shang Yeet, Maruthamutu Mahesan and Goh Yoon Chuan.
Video recording: PMIM Webinar_ Navigating through Volatile Times in the Construction Industry-20220818_210052-Meeting Recording.mp4 (sharepoint.com)
‘Project Management Skills for Life’ Training @ PSC
Penang Science Cluster @ Georgetown, Penang
Date: August 20th and 21st 2022
The Project Management Institute Malaysia (PMIMY) Northern region, PMIMY Youth and Social Impact Squad, and the Penang Science Cluster (PSC) teamed up to host a two-day workshop on Project Management Skills for Life on 20 & 21 August recently. It is a PMI Education Foundation training for PSC employees, high school students, and college interns. The goal is to provide the foundational understanding of project management that will serve students well in their academic pursuits, workplace, and potential future professions. Everyone had a great time at the workshop. There was great excitement among the attendees to hear firsthand from professional project managers. After completing the session, attendees had a firm grasp of the fundamentals of project management, including the framework, standard vocabulary, and basic project management tools. Prior to this event, volunteers were trained to deliver the session at PSC. The Train-the-Trainers (TTT) workshop was conducted by Michael Kum, a seasoned trainer and member of the PMIMY staff who was leading the TTT session.
Heartfelt thanks to the selfless trainers that made this workshop a success:
- Mohamed Hussain Rasool Mohd, PMI-PMP®
- Zhe Yan, Lau, PMP®, PSM
- Karnan Shanmugam
- Sugaintheran Muniandy
- Samuel Mohanaraj Paul Prakasam PMP
- Yau Chang Siew, PMP, PgMP, Prosci
- Krishnan Srinivasan, PMP, DA, MBA, ACMA, CA(M), LS
