In the “Three Burning Questions” series we talk to experts, practitioners and professionals from sectors and disciplines that have a relevancy to the project management profession. We ask them three “burning” questions related to their area of expertise and competence.
In the fifth interview of the series we have been talking about the experience with the PRINCE2 qualification and AGILE principles with Tom Osebe, Senior Manager in the Commercial Development Department, Africa, GALVmed.
Tom has trained in the field of applied parasitology and has a PhD from University of Nairobi, Kenya. He is also a certified PRINCE2 project manager. His commercial experience was in banking, starting with analytics then subsequently project and strategy management. Currently, for GALVmed in Africa, he implements commercial projects aimed at availing quality animal health inputs to small holder farmers.
We have started asking …
“Tom, thanks for talking to us today. With our blog we have been trying to help our readers to navigate through the various project management certifications that are available at the moment. You are a certified PRINCE2 project manager and you have managed (and are managing) projects successfully. Based on your practical experience…
PMDG: What are the key features of the PRINCE2 training that you see as instrumental and that have helped you the most?
Tom: PRINCE2 has 7 themes, 7 principles and 7 processes. In all these components, the one that intrigues me the most is the principle of “Continued Business Justification”. This principle says whether a project is being implemented to increase revenue, reduce cost, comply with regulatory requirements etc, the business case must be relevant throughout the life of the project. It should not be a surprise that the forecasted benefits are not realisable at the end of the project. This principle advocates that if a project’s benefits are not realisable, the project should be terminated saving the organisation crucial resources.
The other aspect of this principle that I drive in my project management work is “Business Ownership”. A business case is not owned by the project manager. A business owner (the person who will realise the benefits post implementation) should develop the business case and owns it throughout the project. There should really be no room for a business owner to disown any of the commitments of the business case.
PMDG: …and conversely, what have you perceived as a limitation in the PRINCE2 framework?
Tom: While the jury is out on whether PRINCE2 is a project management methodology or a project management philosophy that is compatible with any methodology, it is worth stating that it follows a “waterfall” approach, where project activities are broken down into linear sequential phases or tasks, where each phase/task depends on the deliverables of the previous one and corresponds to a specialisation of tasks.
Now, in my view, the major disadvantage of waterfall methodologies is their unresponsiveness to changes that will affect the project outcomes. Once the requirements are documented and signed off, it is difficult to make significant changes. Markets dynamics tend to change, so projects should ideally be adapted in order to realise expected outcomes.
PMDG: …..Economy & society are in continue evolution and projects develop now in very challenging environmental conditions….More and more we see alternative, innovative PM standards receiving greater interest. What is your view about the AGILE Project Management applied to life sciences or commercial & supply chain sectors?
Tom: The Agile method is revolutionary in that all requirements are not defined at the outset, but instead gathered throughout the project’s life. This allows the implementation to adapt to changes and the project is deliberately designed around customers’ needs.
While it was developed in software development environment, there are principles that are universal and can be applied in non-tech environment such as the ones you mentioned, life sciences or commercial & supply chain. These include the following:
- The team maintains a list of all potential tasks, known as a “backlog”;
- Tasks are not worked on until explicitly prioritized;
- Work is made visible by tracking tasks on public boards;
- Team conducts regular check-in meetings;
- Team conducts regular “retrospective” meetings to identify on what is working well and what needs improvement.
I see ample opportunities for at least considering Agile methodologies in those sectors.” –
Thanks Tom. I hope that this post will be of interest for our followers and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
We leave you here with one of the favourite Tom’s quotes:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33.
Marco Bottacini, Senior Portfolio Manager at GALVmed
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinion of GALVmed.
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