Introduce yourself

Hi,

This new website  and community is a great initiative from APM,  and an ideal forum to exchange ideas and experiences, help each other and discuss PM issues, I look forward to being part of it all.

A quick intro, I’m David Elith, Australian, dual national, now based in Basel Switzerland, with many years of global IT project management experience with Unisys.  Managing global and EMEA based IT services and outsourcing projects has been my focus for the past 10 years or so, and more recently internal organizational PM activities.

Hello, I am David Hiney. I am an IS Project manager working for Alstom Transport.

I am an experienced Project manager with excellent record of project delivery both on time and within budget. Working for a multi national company I have experience in managing multi lingual, multi national project teams comprising of internal and external resource.
I have over the past 10 years mainly worked on SAP implementation and roll out projects Coveringthe main SAP Modules - SD, MM, SM, CRM(5.0), BI(7.0) and FI/CO.
I specialise in in Logistics and Warehouse Management. and believe good project management practice with a pragmatic approach

 

Hi there everyone.  I'm Jane, most of my time I spend coaching and mentoring with people who work on projects and programmes.  I work for E AND H who are a corporate member of the APM, providing support to a range of organisations mainly in the public sector in the UK. Every day is different - new projects and new people, but often the same issues! :-)

I'm interested in identifying the sort of things that give us confidence as project, programme and change managers.  What really makes the difference to our outlook, how we feel and ultimately what we deliver? 

 

Hi Everyone,

I am an unemployed Project Manager based in Glasgow with MSc. in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University. My dissertation topic was on "The roles of value management in Nigerian Natural Gas distribution system". I also have another masters in Housing Development and Management and BSc. in Estate Management. I have wiritten numerous articles including the popular "The Basics of Project Management". For lack of finance, I would have published my book on "The Basics of Project Management" which will be useful for APM, PMI as well as PRINCE2 examinations. I have offer to do a PhD research work on "Assessment of UK construction firms' adoption of market approach in their operations" but deferred because of lack of fund to start now. My area of interest is in Team Building and Team Management as a vital tool of project management.

My intention is to go back to Nigeria and offer Project Management training for people.

Hi,

I'm Scott and I have been involved in deliverying projects for over 5 years.  The first half was with Darchem Engineering, Aerospace Structures Div. and currently with Babcock International Group (Marine Div.) at Clyde.  I have found the APM to be of great value in deliverying projects in demanding environments.  I am looking forward to attending more conferences on the latest hot topics. 

Its not an education, its a way of life.  I'm even using APM methodology to plan my wedding, currently in the definition phase, the highest risk is scope change due to customer's (Fiancee) requirements.

I'm Ian Gaywood and my current role is running a PMO in QinetiQ Ltd.

I have over 15 years PM and PMO Management experience working on large outsourcing IT accounts for Government clients.

This is my 1st opportunity to work an a large change programme so I am keen to tap into your experience and knowledge on managing a PMO in such an environment.

Ian

I'm Deborah Neale Head of PMO at MetLife responsible for maximising the benefits of a centralised PMO across MetLife Europe Services Ltd, ensuring that resources are allocated and flexed to meet changing business priorities.  I own and drive the delivery of MetLife Europe Service Ltd PMO activity, methodology and process to ensure achievement of targets aligned to the agreed business strategy and adherence to governance.

I've been involved in project management in varies roles since 1999 and a member of APM since 2007.

I've lead a variety of projects and programme from outsourcing, organisational change, regulatory and product launches.  Apart from being a highly credible and competent programme manager my skills include facilitation, change management, contract negoitation and vendor management.  I also coach and mentor project and programme managers.

I'm looking for the community to be a sounding board for all project management related matters.

 

 

Hi everyone

I'm Lindsay Scott, I work for Arras People, the project management recruitment specialists. Before that I was Project Office Manager for Hewlett Packard. I'm happy to see APM embrace online media and would be great to see things like the magazine online too :) Like the APM you can also follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/projectmgmt

Thanks!

Lindsay

www.arraspeople.co.uk

 

Hello, 40+ PM and Architect. Married for 20 yrs with three kids. Working with FCO Services on security and other works in challenging locations all over the world. Member of APM for many years and interested in international construction project management. Secondary interest in maintaining security and confidentiality on projects with stakeholders with varying degrees of clearance. Loops with restricted access by design cut out communications. Looking forward to this developing into a mature community. Chris

Hi

My name is Ian Hughes, from the "nickname" you will guess that my general background is in logistics, but I have run projects as varied as scientific research expeditions, to ICT system delivery, to relocations, to lean, to organisational change - and guess what - Project Manager has never been in my job title - but often figured in the role descriptors.  Old age(55 - there is another hint) forced a career move a few years ago, and now I am teaching Project Management in a university busines school - as well  as running projects called - new course development etc.  I have a fun set of students, many in full time work and running projects as varied as improving armoured vehicle supply chains to providing better long term care for cancer sufferers while studying at the same time.  Blatantly, I hope to get lots of useful ideas, anecdotal comments about PM, and the general "richness" of debate from a CoI such as this which I can then in turn use to enrich my students learning experience.  In these terms I engage in similar activity on linkedin with both practitionar and HE educational groups.  In return I will throw in my tuppence worth into various discussions, and maybe even launch a few myself.

 

Ian

Hello, y'all

I joined APM last September, and am really pleased that we now have initiatives such as this one to help keep us in touch with a wide community of project management professionals.

My main work over the next few months is the refresh of the APM's 5th Edition Body of Knowledge, and I hope as many people as possible will take the chance to comment on the work as it progresses.

I'm not a Project Manager - though I did achieve the APM's Introductory  certificate at the beginning of the year - but have been involved in standards, education and vocational qualifications for pretty much all of my working life.

I look forward to having entertaining, informative and interesting discussions with you all!

 

Liz

I thought  it  would  be a good  idea  for the  President  to have  an entry on this - so here I am !

 

 Looks like a very  purposeful addition to APMs communication resources.

 

Everybody  should  join!

 

Martin

Doug is a Programme Risk Manager at Post Office Ltd.

As part of the Business Programme Management Office we develop, co-ordinate and report on the Programmes and Projects that support our Strategy.

In particular I champion the Benefits, Risk and Investment processes.

Afternoon All, I am Nigel Hellon

How good is this ? A discussion site for PM's - life just got better:)

I have been a member since the mid '90s and have stayed a staid PM in BT.

I have worked on local and national projects introducing new tools and technology as well as training, coaching and encouraging others to become involved in projects and the APM

I took part in the build of the PM NVQ (where has that gone?) and am now seeing the retirement light at the end of my particular dark tunnel.

I work in the Vendor Management side of support at present and split my time between the "day job" and representing my colleagues as a union representative.

So plenty of opportunities to practice PM however short or small the requirement.

Good day everybody, Iv'e been a PM for over twenty years and recently joined Raytheon in Glenrothes, Scotland, anybody else from Glenrothes out there?

 

Best wsihes

 

Len

David Beare is based in Aberdeen with, largely upstream oil industry experience. I have run projects in the UK North Sea,Brunei, Oman,  Saudi Arabia; covering Information Systems, Telecoms, and Power. I am particularly keen on large corporate projects affecting a large number of people. Currently I own and run CorGuv, a consultancy which saves £ millions for our clients by investigating the performance of large contracts. I have a strong interest in Project Management goverance as the main way of improving project management in UK.

Hello, I'm Rob Blakemore and I work as a Project manager in the Civil Service. I am currently dealing with a change management project, looking at improving Information and Knowledge management, and improving the value that we gain from our use of IT. I'd be particularly interested in networking with anyone working in the same field to find out more about their success, and to share what has worked for me too. I have an MBA which was focussed on IKM. I am Prince 2 and MSP qualified at Practioner level, and also hold the APMP and APMPQ qualifications. I am also a Chartered Environmentalist and am a full member of the APM, IEMA and IEnv Sc, having a BSc and an MPhil.

My name is Cathy Bryant and I work for VOSA an agency within Department for Transport.  I work within the Programme Management Office as Programme Assurance Manager. my role is to:

* Provide support to Programme/Project teams on the quality assurance and quality control activities within Programme and Project lifecycles, including advice on the use and completion of Programme and Project Management Framework (PPMF) documentation

 * Ensure all Programmes/Project reports are delivered to time and quality standards.

* Ensure that Programme/Projects planned benefits are clearly defined, measured, tracked and realised through the delivery of change along with the Business Change Managers/Change Managers.

* Ensuring Programmes and Projects Complete a Risk Potential Assessment (RPA) in order to schedule Gateway and/or Health Checks Reviews, including implementing Assurance of Actions Plans (AAPs).

I currently work as an Information Manager within the PPM Development Unit of the Welsh Assembly Government.Part of my remit is to look at PPM standards and guidance across the public sector and I am therefore looking forward to  participating in sharing best practice,sharing ideas and discussing common issues.

Hi, my name is Jon Purser and I have been in the construction industry since I left University back in 1997. I have worked with the same firm of civil engineering contractors for whole of this time (Geoffrey Osborne Ltd) and managed to work my way up to Senior Site Manager. I run many of our sites generally in the South of England and find project and programme management is a day to day part of life.

Great to have a community of like minded people that can be there for help and guidance when it is needed.

I have only recently become a full member of APM and I am already looking to do the practioner certificate. Lets all hope the APM get the royal charter.

 

 

Hello APM,

I am a new member to the APM, having delivered projects in the Automotive, Infrastructure and Arts environments.

Cheers

Mark

Hi I am Liam Johnston, currently working for Fujitsu Service in a Programme Management role. I am assigned to the Ford Motor Company where I am managing the infrastructure programme for the separation of Volvo Car Company. Previous to this I spent 18 months managing the infrastructure project to separate the Jaguar and Land Rover companies from Ford. My previous 18 years have been spent managing IT and Civil Engineering programmes and projects in Local and National Government, NHS and Private sector (Manufacturing, Financial and Consulting) I am looking forward to meeting other project and programme professionals and extending my network of contacts in all areas of project and programme management.

Greetings to all,

I am Seg Tan, civil engineer by profession for 20+ years now. Currently stationed in Bahrain as Assistant Project Manager / Coordinator with a leading local contractor. Bahrain's been my 5th country to visit, reside and work over the last 15 years. I just recently joined APM early this year, though my former employer back in the Philippines is a corporate member of APM. My employer then, Mr. Salvador P Castro, Jr, is an FAPM and was the first Asian fellow member in APM. I have learned a lot from him, especially during our 7-year stint in Brunei Darussalam in the 90's.

I believe joining this online community discussions will update and enrich my knowledge in the field of project and construction management, as well as, to be able to share my experiences.

Thank you.

My name is Wami Ichemati, i am a graduate of computer engineering and also writing my thesis for the award of project management Msc, currently am working for the rivers state government  ICT department as an operations service management staff. i have huge interest in IT project management and am looking forward to views and opinions that can better my understanding of project management.

Cheers

Well done Owain and team!  A new edge to the APM :-)

I run a business called People Deliver Projects.  We help project managers and project organisations to grow people skills, team performance, and leadership capability.  I like to keep project process simple and plain English, and make it people and delivery focused.  We have a network of interims and consultants, and we run large fun events for project organisations and communities of practise.  We have 40 clients across all sectors

I'm keen to connect with people who are interested in: 

- The people challenge of projects

- Building team and leadership capability

- Simplifying project management and focusing it on how it can help people to deliver

 

Andy

Hello all,

My name is Alexandra and I'm a new project manager, currently working for the MOD in Bristol. I passed my APMP and joined APM in September last year, after moving into a project management job in April 08.

I'm looking for information and guidance to help me on my way to becoming a "proper" project manager. I can offer my limited experience of project managing for a large Government department, and a pretty tasty recipe for a ginger martini :)

TTFN,

 

Hi, I’m Jonathan Davies - a Chartered Engineer with the IET turned Project Manager and, having recently completed ten years with a robotics and automation development team at a genetic research institute, am currently looking for something new.  

I started out in machining and welding though with forays into computing I felt that I should find something to combine these two interests. I completed a Masters in Electronic Engineering at the University of Hull in 1996. Then turned to control system software development in real-time environments where my early hands-on engineering experience paid dividends.

Over the next ten years I progressed from modelling system, machine and user behaviour and task patterns for software design and implementation purposes to full life-cycle multi-discipline system design and implementation planning. In a period during which I became directly responsible to both corporate management and to system sponsors, I realised that by taking on the role of Project Manager, I could influence areas that as an engineer I’d often felt frustrated by.

I became a member of the APM in 2009 and attended various APM meetings, courses and SIG events to increase my understanding of project management. At most of the APM presentations I’ve attended I’ve felt able to identify in some part with the concepts presented. At other events I’ve identified areas I that I felt would bear further investigation.

APM East of England branch Committee members I approached have given help and advice regarding an application for an MSc I’ve been looking into. As a result I’ve just accepted the offer (subject to references) of a place on a part-time MSc Managing Major Projects and Programmes from the National Centre for Project Management at Middlesex University and CITI starting in October 2010.

I hope this forum will be of help both in a new position and in my studies.

 

Hello, I'm Mike Matthews, a construction project manager for over 12 years, and a QS before that (someone has to do it).

I have over 25 years of world-wide construction industry experience, particularly with technically biased projects of high M&E services content, and high quality Grade listed structures.

I have managed over the last 10 years a UK wide consultancy framework with blue chip international corporate, comprising business critical 24/7 operational on-line data centres, IT laboratories, and occupied office refurbishments across the UK. Under this framework, I employ and manage all other consultants, and oversee all client business and Human Resource ‘soft’ issues surrounding the core construction activities. 

 I hope this new APM venture will bring me closer other PM's out there, and keep me up to date with the young guns...... 

 

 

My background in in Architecure and Town Planning with porfessional experience in local and regional government service, the private and voluntary sectors at home and abroad (mainly in the Middle East).

 

I am looking for ideas of new pathways to improved cybernetics in project management.

Dear all,

My name is Sjors Alfons Nelissen and I am 25. Since my middle name is slightly more suitable for an international community than my Dutch name is, I decided to take it on this as my nickname.

I am a newly BSc Industrial Engineering & Management graduate and I will be studying MSc International Management at Trinity College in Dublin (Ireland) upcoming September. At the moment I am working for a large producer for the automotive industry. It is here where I did my final internship and afterwards I got offered a vacancy. It is an international organisation with dozens of production facilities all over Europe. The headquarters is based in Germany. I am currently stationed there.  

Although a lot of work revolving Industrial Engineering is more likely to be structered around Project management (improvement project), I am pretty surprised to find out in retrospect that we have not learned explicit assets for this during my degree. It was only during an exchange programme in Rovaniemi, Finland were I was introduced to more structured ways for project management.

At my current company I get the opportunity to gain vital work experience I need and to develop myself in the field of project management: I get project management training and I am assigned to a project myself. With this platform I am hoping to gain that extra help in my development and maybe look with (newby) fresh eyes upon your projects.

With Kind Regards,

Sjors

 

Geoffrey Rea (MBA) a Project Controls and Programme Management professional with over 20 years experience; an experienced Office of Government Commerce (OGC) High Risk Project Review Team Member, PRINCE2 Practitioner and an IT expert in Programme Management software (Primavera P6).

 

Delivery focused individual on major programmes, providing leadership for programme controls and management. Experienced in the Private and Public Sector - BAA Capital Programmes (Heathrow), Nuclear, Decommissioning, Waste Management, IT Implementations, Utilities and Construction.  

 

Interested in views on leadership, governance, intelligent client, managed service provision, NEC3, performance management, management of risk and contingency with like minded individuals.

Hi Everybody

Totally agree with previous comments, this is a much appreciated forum for our very professional business. Lets hope the next step will be to achieve Chartered Status, the wholly grail for any proud individual.

My name is Trevor hutchinson and from my early days in special purpose machinery design, have been a Project Engineer/Manager for the last 26 years. Joined the association as MAPM in 1996 and a member of the IET. Recently became a member of the ISPE, a society dedicated to Pharmaceutical Engineers, having spent the last 8 years in the industry.

My background has generally been site based, dealing with any type of project a company chooses to spend it's capital or revenue budgets on. These have been as diverse as minor building works, office and laboratory refurbishment, infrastructure, security, special purpose machinery installations/replacements, departmental relocations in new or refurbished facilities and many more.

My specialisation is to be given the absolute minimal of brief for a new project and then to liaise with the various stakeholders to produce an agreed working scheme. Then to choose suitable suppliers, purchase goods and services, supervise off site/on site builds, commission, train and handover to customer and maintenance. Have generally worked as Project Lead, responsible for Mechanical content of task, to manage the project specific project team.

My industry sector experiences range from pre-cast concrete to plastic foam moulding, industrial weaving in paper industry, ceramics, speciality chemicals, engineering consultancy, pharmaceutical and finally air filters and clean rooms. Now looking for a new challenge as previous company could not secure sufficient complex orders for me to Project manage. So any known vacancies around the South East for permanent positions or anywhere for contract work would be greatly appreciated. tph50@btinternet.com

 

Hello, I am a Civil Engineer based in Belgium, with a focus on the design, construction and operation of heavy industrial facilities in the manufacturing, energy and waste sectors worldwide. I see this site as a great opportunity to keep up in this fast developing profession.

Hello. I'm Catherine Hallett and I am a project manager with Transport for London. I'm a civil engineer by 'origin' and moved into the project management of major transportation projects about 12 years ago.

I am a member of the APM membership panel and I work within TfL on our own Project Management capability initiative - Project Pyramid.

I'm really delighted that APM have developed such an accessible and interesting site and I look forward to some lively debates 

Congratulations on the new site!

I am Skantha, eagerly awaiting to see APM achieving Chartered status and expanding worldwide similar to other UK professional bodies.   

About me: Assistant Project Manager - Change Delivery
Diploma in Project Management (DIPM, UK), Associate Member of APM (UK)
Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certified
7 years of work experience in Project Management, Operations Management and Training domains.
Planning to do Masters in Development Studies & Public Policy as my Bachelors degree is near completion.
Love to live and work in Canada, hence let me know if you have job offers there :-)
skantharoopan@yahoo.com

Hi everyone,

my name is Keith Jarvis. I am a chartered civil engineer with 20+ years in consultancy and have been an APM member since 2000. I currently work for Mouchel in the rail sector as a Senior Project Manager.

I believe that this site will provide an opportunity for some good lively debates amongst like minded professionals resulting in benefit to everyone involved with the sum of knowledge being greater than the individual parts.

Here's to its continued success.

Hi everyone!

I’m Andrew: - 

I am a graduate with 4 years Project Management experience working in international/multi-cultural teams in a global company with experiences of operational and strategic projects including project control, project management, and business analysis/management. 

My personal interest is in project management in culturally diverse environments and the role behaviour and leadership plays in successful projects. 

I have experienced projects at all stages of the lifecycle from concept to closure and have worked on external customer delivery projects, internal improvement projects, and strategic development projects. 

I hope this forum get people communicating with some good and challenging discussions.

My name is Graham Devine.

I have been involved in the business of change, projects and programmes for over 30 years....that's just about when I started working!

I have worked in IT, operational management and Proj/Change management roles in many places, organisations and contexts - Vehicle Leasing and Finance, Higher Education, Commercial Aviation, NHS Trusts, SMEs.

My delight in working with change, and those involved in it, and my broad experience led me to become a trainer and 'developer' of talent in the field and disciplines of Portofolio, Programme and Project Management. I am an approvefd PRINCE2 and P3O trainer and run my own 'micro' business ADJUNCT LTD which supports my ability to offer consulting, assurance, delivery support and maturity building services to individuals, teams and organisations.

It's a real pleasure to be part of the foremost P3 professional body - the APM - and I am greatly looking forard to giving something to the 'profession' in later in 2010 as I have been selected to be part of several forums and review panels for the APMBOK Refresh.

Finally, I have a great interest in the improvement of capability using many differnt forms of learning - my favourite at the moment i the exploration and use of online Virtual Learning Environments/Learning Management Systems to provide foundational learning for Project Management roles - currently I am building my skills in the open source software system called Moodle. I hope this will provide a valuable alternative to traditional classroom training and offer performance support to both novice and experienced Project workers and teams.

 

Hello everyone.

I am an experienced interim business change programme leader and change consultant, FAPM CPM, and have worked in several sectors [Aerospace, Telecoms, Utilities, Central Government and the wider public sector] and am the events co-ordinator for the lively APM East of England branch.

I am also a LinkedIn.com user, so feel free to connect with me [JohnB@ippm.co.uk].

I am looking to network with project/programme/change management professionals and perhaps to collaborate on assignments and opportunities.

Yours, John

 

Hi,

 I’m a freelance programme manager with public and private sector experience in the UK and overseas. I’m an ISEB Certified Project Manager, MSP Advanced Practitioner and succeeded this summer in the new Change Management Practitioner qualification. My latest development activity was attendance at a P3M3 workshop in August.

My specific interests are in the area of benefits-led decision-making (whether for project, programme or portfolio), strong governance, and capacity building in programme and project expertise.

I’m joining this community to keep abreast of best practice and current thinking.

Hello!

 

I’m Eddie Allison, a Project Manager at Aviva in the UK and have more than 15 years experience the role. During that time I’ve also operated as a Portfolio Manager, Programme Manager, Practice Manager (responsible for the professional development of around 100 PMs) and Portfolio Office Manager.

 

I’ve been a full member of APM since 2003, and hold a number of PM-related qualifications including APM PQ, PRINCE 2 Practitioner, MSP Advanced Practitioner and ISEB Certificate in Project Management.

 

I’m fully supportive of the APM’s drive to achieve chartered status and passionately believe that Project Management should be recognised as a true ‘capital P’ profession.

 

This site offers us all a great opportunity to share experiences, help each other & contribute to the future direction of our emerging Profession!

I am an Accountant by profession based in Nigeria- Africa. Over time  the responsibilties i find myself handling has always been in areas boardering on Logistics and Business Development. Project Management is a field i look forward to evolving into as resources permit to.

 

I look forward to meeting people in this community that would be helping giude me through this process while making use of opportunities open to me available to me when they come. 

 

Regards

Emmanuel Diala

I'm the managing director of AFA. We have specialised in training around projects for nearly 15 years, with a regular side line in consultancy. I have been very heavily involved in helping author the OGC Best Practice products PRINCE2, MSP, etc.

I now see our discipline as encompassing a set of nearly a dozen methods covering what I call "Practices for Delivering Change". Significantly I include Change Management - Organisational Sociology - in this group.

I, and my company work globally, from a converted cowshed in Norfolk, UK - very convenient for a local airfield where I keep a couple of aeroplanes. I was an RAF Engineering Officer.

I have been involved in Project / Contracts Management for the past 20 years in senior positions and have been in the "business" for over 30 years. I love to look at others people’s interpretations and understandings of project management and see how they differ from my own. I am a very hands on professional and like to know who I am working with from the site up. The men and women on site are the back bone of any project management and their skills need to be monitored and nurtured careful, so their moral is always high. It is the workforce that constructs projects and therefore makes the money. Bad moral equals low productivity and loss of revenue.

I often get frustrated by numerous paperwork exercises that do nothing but check paper work is in place, yet ignore important health, environmental and quality issues. I am a realist and will cut out what I consider to be time wasting and get fed up with buzz word culture that has developed in recent years.

I have worked as both game keeper and poacher and I am presently a Project Manager for CH2M Hill UK Limited and have been seconded to the Olympic Park at Stratford. Well I am sure that has upset a few, so please be gentle!

 

 

 

I am delighted to be in the process of applying for Member of the APM.  New to your perceptions of Project Management (qualified with APM and MSP for Programme Management in 2009, Chartered in 2009), I actually enter this Community following 18 very happy years in the Royal Navy, having conducted large-scale Operational Programmes including the offload of missiles from a Trident Class Submarine in the US, taking the same platform into Dock for a major Refit, and the conduct of Trials and Operations in support of UK Deterrent Patrols.  Other appointments included Head of Strategic Training and Acoustic Intelligence Engineer (responsible for the use, re-design and procurement of equipment).  On leaving the RN in 2009, I spent a year with BAE Systems (Submarine Solutions), working on the new Astute Class project, before breaking free of Defence and joining Omiino Ltd, a Telecommunications Company specialising in Virtual ASSPs; unique IP that delivers highly efficient solutions for specific Packet Optical Network Transport Applications whether OTN or SONET/SDH, at rates ranging from 2MBit to 100GBit.  Looking to the future, I am keen to develop other skills in the Business side of Project/Programme Management, particularly Contracts (I am attending the APM event on 23 Mar 11), Finance and Sales - areas for which the RN did not provide real experience in.

I look forward to participating in events and discussions wherever possible.