Crossing the assault course: Seeing the pitfalls before you fall into them webinar

It’s easy to be wise after the event.

If the APM’s target of all projects succeeding is to be met, we must all be a lot wiser before the event.

Improving the identification of consequences i.e. the knock-on effects of making a choice, is essential to improving decision-making at all levels, from change control up to strategic implementation.

Tragically, the NHS manager who filled a gap in the Health Visitor workforce by redeploying midwives failed to recognise that the shortage of midwives created would cost the lives of mothers and babies.

Systems Dynamics and the use of Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) are a graphical tool for exploring both the scope and the dynamics of a problem and the solution so helping reveal unexpected consequences of projects, solutions and decisions.

We have found them to be easy to use, quick and cheap to employ, so dramatically reducing the need to make the simplifying assumptions responsible for so many project failures.

Stock and Flow models (SFMs) take CLDs into the world of simulation and can demonstrate the quantitative effects. Using CLDs is powerful in developing a consensus amongst diverse stakeholders due to effectiveness in facilitating collaborative working across different stakeholders, removing many of the barriers to a shared understanding of the situation to be addressed by the project/programme.

We briefly describe CLDs and SFMs then illustrate their practical application by working through real yet apparently simple case study.

In this webinar on Monday 10 March, we covered how CLDs and SFMs can be used generically in change impact assessment and risk identification for a project, illustrating it in a commercial sales context, as well as with the world-wide climate change issue.

Webinar resources

The panel have very kindly allowed their presented material to be made available for viewing. The slides on Slideshare and the webinar recording on Vimeo are available in our APM resources area and also embedded below for reference.

This webinar content is suitable for an beginner to intermediate level of the project profession.

Speakers

Andrew Wright has 30 years’ experience in managing innovative and complex projects and is a founder member of the System Thinking IN. He has extensive experience of teaching project management to organisations including Rolls Royce, E-ON, AMEC and Sellafield Ltd, at the University of Manchester, the University of Cumbria, UCL and MMU in parallel to his consultancy practice, and published a successful textbook on project success.

He is a Fellow of the APM and a Chartered Project Professional.

 

Amanda Whittaker specialises in customer focused business transformation and has worked with global clients across a range of industries on their experience strategy and operations including technology, measurements and improvements.

During her twenty years as a management consultant, she has managed projects developing solutions, identifying required capabilities and deploying technical and operational changes with an emphasis on change management and adoption.

 

Gareth David has worked in project management for the last two decades, predominantly as a management consultant and project / programme manager. Working as Head of Projects for a large financial services organisation, he also sits on the Association for Project Management Systems Thinking Interest Network.

Gareth has multiple qualifications in relevant fields, notably a PGCert in Information Systems and an MSc in Systems Thinking in Practice from the Open University, UK.

 

Previous presentations and webinars can be viewed on the APM Slideshare and YouTube channels.

This event is suitable for an intermediate to advanced level of the project profession.

 

APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition reference
Section	Description
1.1.2 1.3.3 4.2.2 4.3.6	Strategic implementation Sustainability Risk identification Change control