Conference Agenda
Bill Dow
PMO Director
Dow Publishing LLC
Opening Keynote
The Secret to Building a World-Class PMO Isn’t What you Think
The current state of PMOs is often a cause for concern, with a disheartening rate of failures. The alarming statistics and countless horror stories leave us wondering why nothing seems to improve. However, amidst these discouraging figures lies a crucial aspect that holds the key to running a world-class PMO—and surprisingly, it is often the simplest to address.
In this enlightening presentation, we invite you to join Bill Dow, an esteemed PMP, PMO and PM expert, a prolific author with seven publications under his belt, and an active PMO Manager overseeing his impressive tenth PMO. Bill will delve into his number one area of focus when it comes to establishing and maintaining a truly exceptional PMO.
Prepare to discover the untapped potential that lies within, as Bill Dow unravels the hidden secrets and unveils the transformative strategies required to propel your PMO to unprecedented heights. Together, we will unlock the door to building a world-class PMO.
PMOs are failing at alarming rates. We see the statistics; we hear the horror stories, and nothing seems to change. But what is missing in those statistics is key to running a world class PMO and often the easiest to fix. Join Bill Dow, PMP PMO and PM Expert, 7 X Author and active PMO Manager running his 10th PMO as he takes you into what has been his number one area of focus to running a world class PMO.
Tom Quinn
Director of Project Controls
Jacobs UK
Unleashing the Power of Lessons Learned: Overcoming Common Challenges for Project Success
In the world of project management, certain areas consistently pose challenges and hinder success. Join us in this dynamic presentation as we explore four to five crucial aspects that often cause problems or remain underutilised. Through lessons learnt we examine how areas, such as schedule, risk management, cost, reporting & data management, assurance and change, commonly go astray or fail to deliver desired outcomes.
Tom will share his wealth of knowledge and personal experiences, providing insights into their tried-and-tested approaches and invaluable strategies for overcoming obstacles.
Ross Garland
President
P3GQA
Project, Programme & Portfolio Governance (P3G) – Principles and Case Studies
The presentation will begin with an introduction to Project, Programme & Portfolio Governance to ensure a common level of understanding. It will address the definition of P3G, why it is so important, and its key components. A selection of the principles contained in the P3G guide will then be discussed with the assistance of case studies.
Participants will explore: strategic alignment, the importance of the business case, the design of portfolio governance, how to ensure clarity of decision rights of various committees and decision makers and, evidenced based decision making.
Eileen Roden
Co-Founder
House of PMO
Specialist Roles in the PMO
In this interactive group session, it is an opportunity to learn more about the different specialist roles that exist in PMOs today. Led by Eileen Roden, you will be collaborating with your PMO peers to work on creating role profiles. You will learn about key responsibilities; knowledge, skills and behaviours and which competences are needed for each role. You will also have the opportunity to learn more about competence levels and how they are set for different roles within the PMO.
This is a perfect session for PMO Managers and those responsible for creating role profiles for the PMO team. If you have talent hiring responsibilities, it’s a great skill to have within your PMO toolbox.
Richard Kyle
Director – Office of the CIO & PMO
Upfield
How Upfield used PPM Tools to Drive Efficiency in Change Management
Upfield is the number one producer of plant-based spreads globally, with iconic brands including FLORA, RAMA, and PROACTIV.
Hear from Richard Kyle, Director – Office of the CIO & PMO on Upfield’s journey on improving portfolio management capability – focusing on effective change management, stakeholder engagement and resource management.
In this session, Richard specifically talks about being able to measure success and how the PMO has utilised real-time visibility to improve delivery. He will also talk about how adopting a cloud-based solution has enabled the organisation to become fully digital has they continue to innovate and evolve.
Gero Renker
Co-Founder
Program Framework
The Do’s and Don’ts of Successful PPM Tool Implementation
If your organisation is looking to deploy a Project Portfolio Management tool, or if you’ve got one deployed that isn’t quite delivering on its promise, then this session is for you!
With a background of 20 years in the PPM space, Gero will share the essence of Program Framework’s experience in implementing PPM solutions for hundreds of organisations across all sectors. Covering the full journey from business case and tool selection to implementation and ongoing adoption, get some real-world pragmatic advice on what you can do right from the start, and what traps to avoid. Some of the topics we will discuss:
- How you can tell that you need a PPM tool
- What not to do when you’re initiating the implementation project
- Real-world advice for successful user adoption
- Principles for long-term success
There are many ways of getting it wrong – join this session to increase your chances of getting it right!
Lloyd Norman
Vice President Strategic Solutions
Prosymmetry
How to Design Your Delivery with Adaptive Resource Capacity Planning
Best resource capacity planning practices & automation allow delivery managers to interactively design & optimize project, epic, product, program, or portfolio value flow, with immediate visibility to strategy, delivery, financial, & portfolio guardrail risks.
Join this session to learn how to:
- Dynamically design future sequence & capacity to reduce delivery, budget, & talent risks.
- Confidently adapt & align resource capacity to deliver changing business priorities.
- Easily align people, teams, and work with key value indicators & business strategy.
- Have availability & alignment continuously inform Agile, Waterfall, & Hybrid delivery.
- Have A.I. recommend best resources & start dates.
Stuart Easton
CEO and Co-Founder of TransparentChoice
Executives are People too: What Execs want from PMOS
Executives are frustrated. They just want to have their strategy executed. PMOS are frustrated. “The business” keeps changing its mind about what it wants, doesn’t understand project management, and doesn’t turn up to governance meetings. Generally, frustration stems from unmet needs on both sides.
In this session, we’ll explore those needs and will put forward actionable recommendations that will help transform your relationships with executive stakeholders. In the process, we’ll discover 3 key actions you can take that will transform the performance of your PMO.
You’ll walk away with:
- A key understanding of why executives are frustrated
- An understanding of what needs to change to deliver the value execs want
- Three key actions that the PMO can take immediately that can completely transform PMO performance and, through it, the relationship with execs
- A rubber duck
Simon Hazelwood
Head of Census PMO
Navigating Success: The PMO’s Journey in Scotland’s Census 2022 – Insights, Lessons, and Future Directions
Join us for a session that delves into the journey of the PMO in Scotland’s Census 2022. As Simon navigates the successes and challenges encountered along the way, he will unveil valuable insights, key lessons, and how these can help shape NRS PPM delivery approaches moving forward.
The session will focus on:
- The importance and significance of Scotland’s Census, understanding why it holds immense value for the country.
- From Support to Strategy: the transformation of the 2022 Census PMO, evolving from a support office to a strategic management hub. Learn how this shift played a pivotal role in the programme’s success.
- The Good, the Bad, and the Lessons: explore the obstacles and challenges encountered throughout the Census journey. Gain valuable insights from the lessons learned.
- Census Capability and Legacy Benefits: Delve into the enduring benefits of the Census project, fuelling the National Records of Scotland’s Project Portfolio Management and delivery approaches. Uncover how this initiative has enhanced organisational capabilities and laid a solid foundation for future projects and programmes.
By the end of this session, you’ll walk away with a deep understanding of Scotland’s Census 2022 programme, its transformative PMO journey, and the invaluable lessons and insights gained along the way for the National Records of Scotland.
Karen Lambert
PMO Manager – Senior Delivery Manager
Aegon UK
A PMO Career – Unveiling Two Decades of Insights, Challenges, and Triumphs
Embarking on a journey within the PMO and change domain quickly reveals a myriad of pathways to explore. Diverse types of PMOs, along with unique challenges present themselves.
During this session, Karen Lambert, a seasoned PMO Manager, offers her perspectives on a career spanning from PMO to Transformation Office, across both small and large portfolios, encompassing roles in client service and internal PMOs. Providing both on the ground PMO services, or advice and assurance to change delivery teams across a span of many industries.
Her journey covers locations as varied as Scotland and Australia, resulting in two decades’ worth of invaluable insights. As Karen shares her story, expect to glean insights from triumphs, conquering hurdles, and doing the best job you can. This session sheds light on the real-life experiences that define professional trajectory in PMO.
By the end of this session, you’ll walk away with a deep understanding of Scotland’s Census 2022 programme, its transformative PMO journey, and the invaluable lessons and insights gained along the way for the National Records of Scotland.
Liz Bohler
Senior Manager
MiGSO-PCUBED
A Tartan Career in Portfolio Management
In this session, Liz Bohler will delve into her personal experiences and insights gained from diverse roles in contracting, permanent employment, and consulting positions, showcasing how these roles have been woven together to create a unique role at MiGSO-PCUBED.
Why tartan?
Liz gives examples of the different environments, cultures and situations and how that impacts the role you perform. From the flexibility and adaptability of contract-based work (the horizontal and vertical stripes), the consistency and stability in permanent employment (the core colour) and the expertise, specialisms and commercial acumen of consulting (the intricate patterns and colours).
All these experiences woven together have helped build an interesting and varied career and now see her utilising all these skills to establish the Northern Hub of MiGSO-PCUBED.
Throughout the session, attendees can expect a high degree of interactivity. Liz will engage the audience with anecdotes, case studies, and real-life scenarios that allow the audience to connect with her experiences and apply the lessons learned to their own careers.
Lindsay Scott
Co-Founder
House of PMO
Getting Started with PMO Self-Assessments
In this interactive group session, you have the opportunity to learn more about the PMO Competency Framework and the accompanying self-assessment. Lindsay will give an overview of the competency framework, highlighting the key elements before leading a practical session on assessing yourself on some of the main competences for your role.
There will be plenty of group interaction as we discuss and learn together, sharing tips and insights on how to carry out the self-assessment. It’s also a great opportunity to get answers to questions about using the assessment throughout your PMO career.
John McIntyre
Founder
HotPMO
Redefining Agility: The PMO as a Catalyst for Organisational Transformation
Explore the transformative role of the PMO in fostering business-level agility. This talk delves into whether PMOs should be agile themselves or act as enablers for organisational agility. It also examines the impact of systems thinking and value streams on accelerating strategically aligned projects and initiatives. Don’t miss this insightful session—join us to learn actionable strategies for transforming your PMO into an agile powerhouse.
Sarah Halstead
Professional Head of Discipline, PMO, Atkins
A PMO that Enables Visibility of Performance: Getting The Systems and Data Right
A Programme Director asks, “Build me a dashboard that provides me with the information I need to control my programme, manage performance, and give me confidence that the projects and other work will be delivered in line with cost, schedule, and quality. Tell me what I need to worry about so we can focus our limited resources where needed.”
When you look at the data behind management information dashboards it’s no surprise that visibility of performance, control and foresight can be lacking on major programmes.
In this session we’ll cover the issues thats occur when creating dashboard, their causes and the foundational characteristics that should be implemented when creating your dashboard.
These are the foundations that make the visibility of performance easier by creating a single version of the truth you can trust. With these foundations we can automate the creation of a single version of the truth easily, despite many systems and users. This can enable more advanced analytics that leverage data to improve foresight and predictability.
Kingsley Thomas
Closing Keynote
Songs, Strategies & Success
Our success, both individually, and as part of a team, is built upon the positive relationships that we build with others, combined with ensuring that we do things in an effective and efficient way.
In this engaging and interactive presentation, Nick Fewings aka Mr Infotainment on the speaker circuit, will provide learning about how you can maximise your own potential, and that of the team that you lead or are a part of, based on his 30+ years of leading and working with teams around the world.
Nick Fewings
Teamworkologist and MD of Ngagementworks