2019 Session Speakers
Breakout Sessions Speakers for the 2019 PD Days
Daniel Fay
The PMI-PBA Certification - Strengthening your Organization
"The new Project Management Institute (PMI)® credential in Business Analysis has been highly anticipated. Be one of the first to earn it! Today more than ever the world is moving towards project-based work. The jobs of business analysts and solution builders are intermingled with project environments and management of projects. PMI has recognized the need to educate and certify the role of the business analyst as viewed through the lens of the project. With the introduction of the PBA credential, PMI is formalizing the importance of BA work in the project management world. PMI has highlighted specific knowledge areas, skills, and published materials which describe the value of business analysis to projects and built the new PBA certification around them. In this session, we teach you exactly what you need to know to add this newly minted PMI-PBA® credential to your qualifications."
1 Strategic and Business PDU
Terry Nikkel
Aligning Roles in Enterprise Projects
At UNB we've been engaging business analysts much earlier in the project definition and business case writing processes. All too frequently, we've deployed project managers too early, thereby introducing inefficiency and delays right from the start of an initiative. Business analysts are in a much better position to work with subject matter experts in the early definition stages, helping to articulate and document requirements. When the PM finally does receive the project, it is in a much more developed state, allowing them to get underway quickly and (usually) painlessly.
1 Strategic and Business PDU
Chris Weir
How to Sell Project Management Services More Effectively (So you spend more time doing billable work)
"Who is it for? - Independent (solo-preneur) Project Managers who are looking for best practices on how to sell their services, or Senior Leaders (i.e., Partners) in Professional Services firms who carry the responsibility to find and close business."
Topics Covered - Best practices associated with identifying, qualifying, pursuing and closing opportunities.
Goals - Make it easier for the audience to find and close opportunities so they will spend less time on non-billable selling activities (business development) and more time on billable work, delivering project management services.
1 Strategic and Business PDU
Stéphane Parent
Agile for Grown-Ups
We love Agile. Agile allows small teams to be nimble, flexible and responsible. What happens when you scale Agile up to bigger projects? Can you still reap the benefits of Agile? What are some of the pitfalls?
1 Technical PDU
Caitlyn Milberry
Get Real with Sincere Branding and Social Media
"The intent of my workshop is to shake-up current thoughts on marketing and sales strategies. How we talk in person, and especially online, is more critical than ever. Understanding how to add projects to your pipeline and how to be truly successful in these ventures is very important. Together, we will create content and ensure you leave with important information and new applications you can use now!"
1 Leadership PDU
Dahlia Das
The Cross-Cultural Aspect of Project Leadership
Along with multinational organizations, today's projects are often executed globally, working across national and regional boundaries, and increasingly utilizing talent from a worldwide spectrum. With this, comes an acute awareness of the needs and nuances of strong leadership in a cross-cultural environment. As both our workforce and customer base is becoming more culturally diverse than ever before, we face on one hand the potential of conflict or culture-clash, but on the other, the unbounded richness in our differences and a combined wealth of varied experience. When properly tapped, this could be one of our strongest assets. Let's explore how.
1 Leadership PDU
Jennifer Kikkert
"Busy is the New Stupid" - Productivity & Optimizing Time
"In 2019, with the world as hyper-connected as it is, it seems harder and harder to accomplish what we want to even though we seem to be working 24x7. Professionals are technical experts in their fields, they know how to do surgery, how to write legal briefs, how to weld, how to bake. It’s what they are good at. However, most professionals are not trained in the field of operational excellence and improvement and therefore they are wasting precious hours each day and each week on non-value added work. What compounds the problem is the fact that the word “productivity” is misunderstood. We have created a society that judges people based on how busy they are versus how productive they are, and this is driving the wrong behaviours in our workplaces and our lives. In this session you will:
• be introduced to what productivity truly is and is not, and why you should care
• learn how to identify what is the true priority work you need to focus on
• find the minutes & even hours you are unknowingly losing each day
• identify how to best plan your day to be as efficient & productive as possible"
1 Leadership PDU
Lenny Qian
Top cognitive biases leading to project failure and how you can conquer them
We all strive to make the most objective and rational decisions as we can. However, the reality is our brains are inherently wired with subconscious biases that could mislead us into making the wrong decisions. From our own preconceived notions on how things should work to externally influenced judgement, project managers need to be able to separate the fact from perception. This presentation will demonstrate the most common cognitive biases in project management and recommend the best approaches to defeat them.
1 Leadership PDU
Monica Adair
Storied Architecture: Stories from the Fringe
"Building a practice in a bilingual province without a school of architecture, where there are only 11 Architects under the age of 40, Acre Architects do not take the
conventional order of things as a given. Based out of Saint John, New Brunswick, they see operating on the fringe of larger city centers as a fertile testing ground to tackle global questions, and to explore new models of practice without the barriers of preconceived ways forward. The format will be a series of short stories on how their practice is operating on the fringe."
1 Leadership PDU
Olufemi Falodun
Designing Temporary Organizations for Megaprojects
Megaprojects are complex and the expertise needed to manage them has been revealed in different research works as conventional practices have failed very badly in this regard. Not everyone can manage Megaprojects but those with the required skills and knowledge; thus, Designing a Temporary Organization for any type of Megaprojects is key and fundamental for Practitioners. The vital requirements for designing an effective Temporary Organization for Megaprojects shall be the focus of the session.
1 Leadership PDU
1 Technical PDU
Joe Cormier
West Side Terminals Modernization Project - Best Management Practices for Multidisciplinary Projects
Port Saint John (PSJ) is one of the major ports in the Atlantic Gateway, ideally situated with some of the deepest ice-free tidal waters in Canada, closer to key markets on the US East Coast, the Gulf Coast, and South America than any other Canadian port, and supported with an excellent rail and road network. To compete and grow on the world stage a terminal upgrade to PSJ is essential to accommodate larger vessels and have the proper handling capabilities required to service modern fleets. The West Side Terminals Modernization Project will allow PSJ to continue to build on the import and export growth and prepare for the future.
A project of this size and complexity involves a large project team incorporating many different technical backgrounds working simultaneously. Effectively managing the team is imperative to meet client and stakeholder expectations as well as schedule and budget constraints. Joe Cormier (Dillon) and Tyler O’Rourke (PSJ) will discuss the challenges that are faced during a project of this magnitude, the importance of a transparent client/consultant relationship, and best management practices to successfully achieve the overall project goal.
Marc-Andre Alary
The importance of good habits in a successful and sustainable project
"One of the major challenges facing organizations is the sustainability of projects. What is the missing link? What are the key differences between successful and non-successful projects?
The workshop will focus on understanding the importance of identifying in advance the new behaviours required from the employees affected by the project and then changing habits to create those needed behaviours."
1 Leadership PDU
Catherine Lawrence & Sandra Lawrence
Don't fall into a PM rut always reaching for the same tools, techniques and templates
Presenting 2 tools and techniques: Empathy Diagram and Emotional Seismograph. Beyond teaching people how to use these tools, the session is geared to encourage PMs to think outside the box and leverage innovation and design thinking tools in order to learn more in their projects.
Catherine Lawrence has over 25 years of experience leading execution of strategy, aligning Portfolios, and managing projects from product development to successful completion. She is currently working for Bell as a Senior Consultant.
Sandra Lawrence is a Process Improvement Facilitator (PIF) for the Policy and Performance excellence group within Treasury Board, Government of New Brunswick. Prior to her current position, Sandra worked in the immigration sector in NB and as project analyst for the Government of Belgium. On top of her Project Management experience and academic accomplishments, Sandra has a deep understanding and expertise in intercultural communication and cultural differences.
1 Technical PDU
Peter Van Kessel
Using 'Risk' to inform Scope
If your project was a ship navigating rough waters and hidden obstacles on a journey to its final destination (completion), then the process of identifying and assessing risk could be its sonar. During this session, we will talk about the importance of perspective when exploring risk. We'll also explore some of the inputs, processes, and tools that Peter has used over his 15 years in the Oil & Gas business to inform the planning and execution of projects. Examples include: Risk Review Planning and Facilitation, Risk Ranking, Risk Registers, and Risk Analysis.
1 Technical PDU
Sandra Lawrence
Are you a culturally inclusive people leader?
Communication is the cornerstone in your role as a Project Manager, but how sure are you that all stakeholders understand you? Do you ever wonder if you have what it takes to lead in an increasingly culturally diverse province? This session will explore the challenges of intercultural communication, and provide some food for thought on how to be a culturally inclusive team leader.
1 Leadership PDU