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THE UNRAVELLING OF RISK MANAGEMENT A Project Executive’s Perspective page 4
Sean Boone, Corey Sarver, Reginald McFadden, and Henry Monger
Carl Pritchard PMP, PMI:
Allison Nykamp, PM:
What’s the cost of risk?
Nuts and bolts of risk analysis
page 1
page 5
A P u b l i c at i o n b y M o r g a n S tat e Universit y ’s G r a d u at e P r o g r am in Project Management
Wendy Hughes Faulkner
Who’s dealing with risk? page 2
PM magazine | fall 2015
PM Magazine
CONTENTS 1 What’s the Cost of Risk? Carl Pritchard, PMP, PMI
2 Who’s Dealing with Risk? Wendy Hughes Faulkner
3 The Art of Controlling Risks Stephen Onu, Ph.D.
4 The Unraveling of Risk Management
Message from the editor It gives me great pleasure to present the fall 2015 issue of PM Magazine. The capstone course in Morgan State University’s Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM) has served as a venue to integrate project management knowledge areas and processes that are covered in the core courses of the program. Students plan, develop, and publish an Dr. Ali Emdad issue during the course of a semester. They document the project management process and present the project plan along with the project deliverable, PM Magazine, in print and online format. Students provide informative articles based on their research and interviews of experts. Photography, general layout, and other tasks involved in the publication process are all done by students. They estimate project cost and time and set the milestones. They communicate and negotiate with vendors, evaluate vendor proposals, assess risks, and work within constraints. The current issue is entirely produced by MSPM students. This publication is a fine example of how our project management students put theory into practice and deliver an outstanding product while keeping the project within the required scope, time, and budget. Enjoy! Ali Emdad, Ph.D. Associate Dean E. G. Graves School of Business and Management
Corey Sarvar, PM
5 The Nuts and Bolts of Risk Analysis Allison Nykamp,PM
5 Use of Procurement as a Risk Management Tool Monica N. Kay, DBA, PMP
6 Project/Budget Risk Management (Whaaat?) L.J. Sklenar
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Recognizing IT Risks in Projects Emma Ford
8 MSPM Program: Building Successful Leaders Sean Boone, Reginald McFadden, and Henry Monger
9 Investing in Tomorrow’s Leaders Sean Boone, Reginald McFadden, and Henry Monger
9 Our Program & Links to PMI On the Cover: The new Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management
fall 2015 | PM magazine
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What’s the cost of risk? by Carl Pritchard, PMP, PMI
The key with risk, much like
are no longer seen as cost-saving, risk-mit-
quality, is that we have a choice to make
igating devices.
investments early or late. If we make them
When risk mitigation (or transfer) costs are
reactively, we will become risk-averse. If we
questioned, we should be the first to know
make them proactively, we become risk-
the relative costs if they were not applied.
enabled. Takata makes airbags that throw
Removing an appendix with insurance (in
out shrapnel. They’re now paying the
New York State) is about a $7,000 affair.
price with millions and millions of dollars
Without insurance? You can multiply that
in recalls and rework. Other airbag manu-
by ten or more. Get hit head-on by a semi
facturers make a huge profit, as a result,
in a PT Cruiser and the replacement costs
and cannot make air bags fast enough. It
(including deductible and upgrades are
is not profiteering. It is a risk-enabled envi-
about $4,000. Otherwise? It’s a $25,000
ronment. If we are going beyond just risk identification and actually enabling better
age risk. It is not. If we want to truly see
price tag. It is the costs of risk conformance
risk behaviors, we win. Our clients win. The
cost implications from implementing risk
(dealing with the risks up front and mini-
profession wins. And when you join in and
practices, we have to make those pay-
mizing them) versus the costs of risk non-
bring a new perspective? We win.
ments in advance and live with the solace
conformance (not dealing with the risks
that it would have been far more expensive
proactively at all).
and frustrating to deal with the risks.
“If we are going beyond just risk identification and actually enabling better risk behaviors, we win. Our clients win. The profession wins.”
The problem for many organizations is that when the risks are either mitigated or do not materialize at all, the risk processes that held them in check are not given the credit. Y2K is still written off as an overreaction by the IT community to a problem that didn’t exist. It did exist, and proactive risk practice kept untold millions in rework costs from being incurred. Seat belts save countless lives, but have become such a standard component of our daily lives, they
“Y2K is still written off as an over-reaction to a problem that didn’t exist. It did exist, and proactive risk practice kept untold millions in rework costs from being incurred.”
Could we simply identify risk from now till doomsday? Yes. But if we identify a single likely risk (and yes, most of the risks we face are likely) and have the strategy to survive and come out stronger, we win. Too many organizations begin and end the risk process with identification, believing that awareness alone is sufficient to man-
A word of warning, however. There will
“Too many organizations [believe] that awareness alone is sufficient to manage risk.”
always be the unknown unknowns. They are among the costs that we cannot and should not anticipate. If we try to build in a risk budget or finance a risk strategy for every cataclysm, meteorite or famine, we’ll run out of budget long before we ever run out of the project.
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PM magazine | fall 2015
Who’s dealing with Risk?
by Wendy Hughes Faulkner, Certified Professional Healthcare Risk Manager. Vertical Claims Management, LLC
R isks to patients, as well as to staff members are
unavoidable in healthcare. This is why it is imperative for an organization to have risk managers to assess, evaluate risks and develop plans to implement and monitor those risks. The goal is to minimize the exposure of harm to all involved. As a risk manager, I primarily handle the finance, insurance, event/incident management and claims management roles. The goal is to identify risks, assess and evaluate those risks. The ultimate goal is to reduce injury to patients, staff and visitors. Risk managers work with every department, clinical and non-clinical alike, proactively trying to prevent incidents and accidents. Reactively, risk managers are trying to minimize any damages that may have already occurred as a result of an accident. For example, risk managers must analyze their organization’s risk of incidents of patient harm happening, the likelihood of patient harm occurring, the severity of harm if the injury does happen and what, if anything can be done to prevent harm from happening. As a risk manager, I must also assess the degree of exposure if harm occurs and most importantly, proactively find ways to be sure that harm is avoided, where possible. I have worked in the insurance industry since graduating from Morgan State as a claims adjuster for a large commercial insurance carrier. Claims adjusters are responsible for investigating insurance claims to determine liability. This involves interviewing witnesses, reviewing medical records, and other duties. Identifying how individuals
could claim different injuries as a result of the accidents they were involved in is interesting as a claims adjuster. For example, two workers with the same exact job duties can injure themselves in the same manner (such as lifting a heavy box). One worker could be out of work just a few days while the other could be out for a long period of time and, in some instances, be deemed unable to work again. There are lots of factors that go into the differences in their responses to injury: physical body make-up, pre-existing medical conditions, attitude, motivation and other factors. I then began to work in the medical malpractice insurance industry, investigating claims of medical negligence. Medicine is ever changing and is the norm. I was then fortunate enough to work for an academic medical institution where I managed claims of medical negligence. I was responsible for making the very important decision on whether a case should be settled or go to trial. While working in this hospital, my interest in the medical/legal aspect of claims handling grew. I wanted to know more about how the claims, that I was tasked with handling, could be prevented. I realized that identifying risks and making every effort to prevent those risks could significantly cut down on medical negligence claims, thereby saving money associated with settlement and costs associated with litigation. Who’s dealing with risk? I’m Wendy Hughes Faulkner, “claim adjuster”. n
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T h e A rt o f C o n t r o l l i n g R i s k s by Stephen Onu, Ph.D. Morgan State University
One of the challenges that every project manager will encounter is understanding what uncertainties exist related to the project. Risks are “uncertainties”, but may be good (opportunities) or bad (treats) for the project. Therefore, uncertain events must be identified and analyzed before planning how to manage and control project risks. Before we can control risks in our project, we must first assess that all possible risks are identified and fully evaluated to determine the priorities, severities and impact of the identified risks on our project. The level of negative impact will ultimately impact our control measures since controlling risks are expensive in terms of resources (human, financial, time etc.). After the analysis of risks based on their level of impact on the overall strategic objective of the project, the next step for the project is the formulation of the proper and effective risk control strategies. Historically, these control strategies have included risk acceptance, risk avoidance or risk mitigation measures. The Republic of South Sudan recently gained its independence from Sudan in 2011 after many years of war and destruction without a functional governmental ministry. Our project was to help the government of South Sudan set up some ministries with policies and procedures that fostered the vision of the South Sudan government. This was a firm fixed contract, meaning that the burden of risk was on our organization. As you can imagine, the level of uncertainties were high and the potential for negative risks were so enormous as a project team we decided
to strictly follow the risk management processes listed below: 1. W e developed a risk management plan—allowing us to understand the risk tolerance level of the new government and a Risk Breakdown Structure to allow us to categorize risks in the government. 2. W e identified all possible knownknown risks and known-unknown risks. 3. P erformed qualitative risk analysis to help us rank and prioritize risks 4. Performed quantitative risk analysis to help us understand the cost impacts of these risks 5. W e developed effective risk response mechanisms for both negative and positive risks 6. W e established risk control measures to help us manage the risk variances between our planned and actual risk experiences. One of the identified risks was the possibility of another war between South Sudan and Sudan. This risk was a high priority risk with a clear formulated risk response plan. This risk occurred and was well mitigated, but the risk that nearly
destroyed our project was the “intra-war” among our government stakeholders. Each ministry had certain predetermined quota from each tribal group that was unknown to our project. Each tribal entity had a different vision of the ministry that often was incompatible with the South Sudan government. The consequences were unclear requirements, excessive scope creep and thus our schedule was off by almost two years. So how do you control this type of unknown risks that continuously change as stakeholders move out due to political fallouts and new stakeholders come in with different requirements? Our risk control measure was to establish an Inter-Ministry Change Control Board (IMCCB), chaired by a minster appointed by the President of the South Sudan government. None of the standard risk control measures such as risk assessment or risk audit worked, but the use of the IMCCB was effective in helping us manage the differences between our risk plan approach and our actual risk experiences. In global projects, you must not think of risk controls simply as mechanisms but also as protocols to help further the success of your project. n
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PM magazine | fall 2015
The U n r a v e l l i n g of Risk Management
by Corey Sarver, Gilbane Project Executive
Corey Sarver is currently the Project Executive of the building that is the home of Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management at Morgan State University. Q. Why is risk management so important to project management? Risk management is one of the main keys to a successful project. As a Project Manager (PM) for a construction management firm, you have to manage the risk for the client, Morgan State University (MSU), your own firm, for the design team and the trade contractors. Risk management also comes in several forms on the project including cost, schedule, quality, and safety. As a PM, you have to constantly monitor the risk and make sure that all parties involved are sharing in that risk. If you understand the risks, you can plan accordingly to mitigate or lessen the risk. Our job as PMs is to evaluate the risk, plan accordingly and then execute the plan. If you do not manage the risk, your project will not be successful. Q. For the School of Business and Management, what were some of the overall project risks that your team or organization identified? Initial Costs:The initial project costs were higher than the allotted budget. The project team worked very closely with the MSU, design team and the trade contractors to apply value engineering to the materials and concepts to fit within the cost structure of the project. The proximity of the project to the community: The project was constructed very close to the neighboring communities. Gilbane and MSU attended community meetings as well as communicated with a community liaison concerning our current progress, travel routes and upcoming activities on the project site. Complex Design: The design of the business school was very complex in not only the shape of the building but also the components and finishes inside. This presented challenges from having the right experienced Gilbane staff to selecting the trade contractors that could implement the design. In addition, this project re-
quired support from the design team throughout the construction process to assist in detail resolution. Schedule: The project schedule, for a building of this nature, was compressed. The initial cost vs. budget challenge also had an impact on the overall schedule for the building. This was partially mitigated by phasing the trade contractors to begin work while other packages went through the value engineering. Schedule challenges continued through the course of construction due to material deliveries. This risk was mitigated through weekly material status reports completed by the Gilbane staff to monitor the deliveries and to make adjustments in the project schedule. Q. Did your project team encounter any unknown risks during the construction of the building the houses the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management? I would categorize the material deliveries as unknown risks. In addition, the complex geometry of the building created many unknown risks. These were difficult to find until you actually starting building a certain element.The Gilbane project engineers worked very hard to identify these risks in the shop drawing development and approval process. For those not located in the early stages of the project, coordination with the design team became critical in resolving conflicts. Unknown risks come every day on a construction site. As the PM, you need to have a good staff to help manage the conflict in order to avoid delays. Q. Describe your project team’s methodology (inputs, tools, and techniques) for identifying risk on the Earl Graves School of Business and Management construction project. Several tools are used to manage risk from scheduling software to simple spreadsheets to track various elements. We utilized the following: •B luebeam: We utilized the software tools to write our request for information, to as-built our documents (the process of submittal) and to manage the current set of documents for the trade contractors to utilize. This software allowed us to efficiently track revisions and changes in the documents and make sure that the trade contractors had the most current information.
• Building Information Modeling (BIM): We utilized BIM to coordinate building utilities and some of the more challenging design elements of the building. This software helped us identify conflicts for resolution prior to starting the construction. • BIM 360 Field: We utilized this software for punch list development and tracking. This is web based software that the team used to access and monitor item completion, change status, etc. • Primavera Scheduling Software: We utilized this software for our construction activity scheduling for the project.This schedule started during the design phase of the project and continues today for close-out activities. Q. Discuss the effectiveness of your project team’s planned risk responses. Give an example(s). We implemented a weekly task planning session on the project for all to get a better handle on the daily construction activities. This proved to be very beneficial for Gilbane, MSU, the design team and the trade contractors. This allowed us to bring issues to the table and see where they were impacting the schedule. This also helped us in knowing the priority in which the issues needed to be resolved and established responsibility. This allowed the trade contractors to have a voice in the projection of the schedule to assist in the resolution of the activity. Q. Discuss some of the risk management lessons learned from the School of Business and Management construction project. As I look back on the construction of the Business School, I would change several things, such as: • BIM: I would have focused more effort on the use of BIM for additional components of the construction including exterior and interior wall construction, building a layout, exterior façade, ceiling construction, etc. We could have uncovered several additional conflicts that would have mitigated the delays in construction. • Increase Design Team Working Session: I would have utilized additional design team working sessions to work through submittals and shops drawings with the trade contractors /vendors through the course of the project. This would have decreased the overall review time and accelerated material procurement.
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Nuts and Bolts of Risk Analysis by Alison Nykamp, Project Manager, Barton Malow Co
Risk analysis is the process of defining and analyzing potential risks on a project. It is considered in every aspect of a construction project, from the conceptual design phase through the closeout phase of the project. It is an important part of a project as it is designed to remove or reduce the risks which threaten the achievement of project objectives, which are typical to complete the project on time, within budget, with good quality, and without any safety accidents. On the Jenkins Behavioral and Social Science Center (JBSSC) construction project, great attention to detail was paid to the project risk factors during preconstruction and the early stages of construction. As a general rule of thumb, it is important to identify about five to ten key risks per project. For example, on the Morgan State University (MSU) JBSSC construction project the site is very tight in terms of room, especially since there is an adjacent building. Site logistics planning and sequencing was imperative in minimizing any potential disruptions to the normal operation of the adjacent Earl Graves School of Business and Management building. One other example of risk analysis is thoroughly reviewing the bid documents for constructability review. The construction team engaged subcontractors and consultants to ensure that what was shown
on the documents provided by the design team was feasible and could be constructed without issue in the field. It is extremely important that risk analysis and management is used on all projects, whatever the industry or environment and whatever the timescale of the budget is.
As a general rule of thumb, it is important to identify about five to ten key risks per project.
Our JBSSC at Morgan State University is a new mixed-use project that provides facilities supporting the disciplines of History and Geography, Economics, Sociology and Anthropology, Psychology and Political Science. The building with an overall area of approximately 137,000 square feet will consist of classrooms, offices, lecture halls, study areas, a retail store at the ground floor and building support mechanical/electrical areas. There will be an animal research suite with animal holding areas and procedure rooms. In general, the building use classification will be mixed use business and assembly, Group A-3. The facility will be located on the West Campus (Northwood) and will be five stories tall with a mechanical penthouse level. The project has been designed to achieve the LEEDNC Silver (minimum 50 points) rating, as defined in the LEED® Green Building Rating System™ for New Construction and Major Renovations.
Use of Procurement as a Risk Management Tool by Monica N. Kay, DBA, PMP Morgan State University Every day professional project managers (PM) run numerous projects. As PMs, one typically encounters scope creep, increased cost and throughout the project unenviable risks, both known and unknown. As skilled staff work on different projects, project managers are identifying, analyzing and quantifying risks to ultimately find the best and least costly ways in which to mitigate them. Options available to PMs in risk response include risk mitigation where the mitigation is assigned and owned by the project team or avoidance of the risk altogether. The team may also decide to accept the risk and deal with any downstream consequences that come to bear or finally decide transference is the best solution via the use of a procurement vehicle. Procurement as a risk mitigation option can be used by the PM to employ the services of skilled professional services or purchase of a product. From my experience, I have procured various contractor services such as an Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) contractor whose sole purpose is to provide an independent assessment of project activities (typically used in large systems implementations). The services provided by IV&V contractors mitigate risks by identifying areas that may have been missed by the team (or other contractors) and confirm that activities are going as planned. Another way to use procurement is to transfer the entire body of
work to a third party via procurement. In this instance, the contractor that is awarded the work has the specialized skill set to perform the action or actions that the project team may lack (e.g. coding and development of systems), or access to a toolset that the project team would have a long learning curve to master (e.g. specialized software used in testing). By using a procurement vehicle, the project manager hopes to mitigate the risks of poor implementation, with specialized services. So it now begs the question. When should a procurement vehicle be utilized? In my opinion, the PM has two major questions to consider. 1. Will the procurement successfully mitigate the risk? – Why are you bringing them on board? Do they possess the skill and tool set and to properly implement? 2. Is the benefit of the mitigation greater than the effort and cost of implementing and managing the procurement? – There is usually a lot of effort expended in soliciting contractors, reviewing the proposals and making the award, along with the cost of the contract. Once all is said and done, will you as a PM spend more time managing the contract than the contract yielding significant value? As the PM researches and discusses with others on the team and can say yes to those primary questions, the PM is well on their way to using procurement as a viable option in mitigating risks on your project.
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PM magazine | fall 2015
Project Cost/Budget Risk Management (Whaaat?) by L. J. Sklenar A long-standing principle in project management has been “the triple constraint.” This has pictured the project’s scope, cost, and time as three sides of a triangle, making the point being that changing (lengthening or shortening) any one side of a triangle requires that at least one other side must be changed to keep it a “triangle.” Today, a more realistic view has project quality, human resource. Communication, risk, procurement, and stakeholder management as equally important as the triple constraint. Many practitioners, however, still see the triple constraint as being extremely important and interrelated. For example, the project “must” be completed on time and under budget. If it takes too long, using additional resources, the budget will be exceeded. If the cost is an overriding factor, then not enough staff may be assigned to the project to complete it on time, or the project is “completed” with required scope missing or with less quality than originally specified. The factors must be rationalized. • In order for project cost risks to be minimized, the project manager should be identified and made available to the project as early as possible. The project manager should be involved in early, later, and closing budget/schedule/scope meetings to ensure that the project is, in fact, doable within the budget and schedule. A worst-case scenario would have the organization’s marketing manager selling a project to a customer without talking to a project manager at all, basing the total contract cost on work done before, for a different customer, involving different products and a project team with expertise that is no longer available within the organization. In these situations, the project manager must quickly examine the assigned (or contracted-for) scope of the project, and then do a realistic estimate to compare it to the budget. Any large discrepancies must be brought to senior
management (the project’s sponsor, for example) and modifications to the scope or budget negotiated with the customer or with senior management.
• Indirect costs are costs incurred whether your project is happening or not. Examples would rent for the building, cost of shared copy machines, utilities, etc.
• I always kept my ears open for any inkling that the marketing manager was going to a potential customer’s site and either got myself invited to the meeting or presented the marketing manager with a completed “boilerplate” contract for the work…with a reasonable completion date and cost already calculated…before she left for the meeting.
• What can be included in “other direct costs” are sometimes specified in a contract or in company internal budgets because someone, somewhere, at some time found them problematic or suspicious. Once the budget is established, routinely check that costs are adhering to the budget. Book all expenses in their lines, as discussed above. Since there will be a lot of details available, give the big picture in reports and presentation. For example, the chart below clearly and easily shows that the project is well under budget. In a situation like this, you may need supplementary charts, tables, or graphs to explain why it is well under budget.
Once there is a negotiated and signed contract, or an internal project approved by the organization’s strategic planning group, the most important thing to know is how we are doing, compared to our plan. It is important to track all costs incurred, and track them in the appropriate “line items” of the budget. When details cannot be tracked separately, combine them with a footnote explaining what are included. • Conversely, if you have multiple, say, subcontractors, have a separate budget line for each subcontractor, especially since they may start and finish their work for the project on different dates. • Remember that your internal contracts folks may require that paper or electronic copies (find out which) of contracts and invoices be retained for a period (find out what) of years for legal purposes. Find out your customer’s (if a contract project) or accounting staff’s (if an inhouse project) requirements for identifying and reporting expenses. Lessons learned from previous projects may have yielded a list of direct costs, indirect costs, and “other direct costs” that the organization wants them classified by. • Direct costs are costs incurred because your project (and only because your project) is going on.
Track your expenses carefully and in detail. Do not expect the accounting department to do it for you; theirs is a different job. At monthly (or more frequent) status meetings, report on the budget status. Compare what you are spending with what you expected to spend (“the plan”). Discuss any changes to the project plan that the current budget scenario may require. All of this can only be done if there was a plan at the beginning of the project, the accounting department timely records expenditures against it and the actual expenses are compared to the planned expenditures regularly so that necessary modifications to the spending plan can be made timely. It is your play, Ms. Project Manager.
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Recognizing IT risk in projects by Emma Ford Department head of Application & Web Development Uniformed Services University
As a successful project manager, my skill sets included the ability to create, monitor and maintain project plans for various types of IT initiatives that consisted of desktop support, data management, security, training, networking, applications and web development. In a nutshell, my knowledge, education and experience in various IT positions allowed me to understand the complexity of processes, integration of data and systems and taught me the benefits of collaboration.
What are the single largest problems facing project managers in your opinion? From my experience, the biggest problem facing project management is security. In the information technology world, things change at the “blink of an eye”— security threats are identified daily. Functions you were able to perform yesterday may be a vulnerability tomorrow, thereby limiting and/or dismantling a function that is a major requirement for the stakeholders. Developing an application, for example, the developer must meet the user needs while staying within the boundaries of security requirements and sometimes it is a challenge to satisfy. If you require a specialized resource, you can usually train or hire external personnel to meet the need. If you require hardware or software, you can usually obtain additional funds to obtain the resource. Meeting timelines can be performed with additional resources, overtime or delaying tasks that are not dependent. The biggest problems I faced as a project manager was meeting user requirements when attempting to satisfy security requirements.
When projects do not go well, what happened? There were times projects did not go well. Personally, I like to deal with problems head on. My approach was to identify the problem from stakeholder’s perspective, meet
with the team to obtain their perspective, review requirements, and project documents, assess all the information present a summary of the problem with a resolution, obtain agreement from stakeholders and implement.
How do you recognize IT risk on your project and what methods did you use? While performing the duties of project manager, one of the functions was to identify, evaluate and mitigate risks. Identifying and evaluating risks as it relates to people, hardware, software, networks and most importantly security of these resources were critical. I used various mechanisms to mitigate and monitor risks, for example:
• Following the established controls was imperative in order to protect data, accounts, networks;
• Software tools such as Microsoft Project were utilized to assist with identifying and managing risks, constraints and timelines; and,
• In-house practices were in places such as presenting the project’s scope and known risks to the Change Control Board (CCB). This CCB would provide feedback in the form of resolution/alternatives, identifying additional risks and ultimately acceptance or denial of a function.
• Establishing test environments for applications, functions, network accessibility;
• Conducting routine status meetings with technical staff, keeping stakeholders abreast of project status, immediately resolving problems;
• Communicating changes to technical and non-technical personnel, stakeholders, management and executives; and,
• Most importantly, I never planned behind closed doors.
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PM magazine | fall 2015
MSPM PROGRAM: BUILDING SUCCESSFUL LEADERS The Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM) is Morgan State University’s (MSU) 30 credit case-based problem analysis platform graduate program. The MSPM program is designed to enhance the graduate’s ability to compete in a global market. The curriculum equips the graduates with the tools necessary to become the great leaders of the 21st century. It offers a comprehensive understanding of the theories and best practices of project management based on the Project management institute’s project management body of knowledge (PMBOK). As a member of a cohort, the student gains valuable experience working on actual projects. The program is a great foundation for those professionals who aspire to reach the next level in planning, consulting or project management positions.
Sean Boone MSPM c/o 2015
Reginald McFadden MSPM c/o 2015
Henry Monger MSPM c/o 2015
Sean Boone is the owner of NAES LLC, a small company that has been in business for 10 years providing geotechnical inspection and testing services on construction projects. As owner of NAES LLC, Mr. Boone has participated on the project management teams of several highprofile construction projects including the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel (HBCCH) and the Intercounty Connector (MD 200) Contracts A and B. As a student, he has also participated in project management teams for the Nzema Solar Project in Ghana and this issue of PM magazine. Upon graduation from the Master of Science in Project Management (MSPM) program in December 2015, he plans to use the knowledge and skills acquired in the program to increase the capabilities of his company. His goal also includes using the tools he has learned from this program to more effectively manage his company’s projects and as preparation for taking the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam.
Reginald McFadden spent 13 years in the military, serving as a detachment supervisor for a Transportation unit. After the military, He earned his B.S. in Architecture and Environmental Design at Morgan State University. Reginald works for a small construction company where he is currently the foreman. His work experience helps him to navigate through the Project Management program by preparing him for the practical skills and guiding framework that is needed to be successful in the project management field. The program strongly emphasizes the people skills and real world practices required to effectively manage projects on time, on a budget, and within scope.
Henry Monger is originally from Liberia, West Africa. He has an undergraduate degree in accounting and decided to study project management because it will help him become a better planner and help him to achieve his goals in an orderly manner. As a graduate of the MSPM program, he plans to use the knowledge and skills acquired to establish his business.
He plans to take full advantage of his work experience and education when he achieves his Master’s degree in Project Management this fall semester.
With his undergraduate degree in accounting and masters in project management, he believes his knowledge and understanding of how to analyze and journalize business transactions (his accounting knowledge), and mixing it with the triple constraint will help his future efforts. To learn the interactions and combinations of the three most significant restrictions on any project scope, schedule, and the cost will prepare him for the challenges of real-world projects.
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Investing in Tomorrow’s Leaders Morgan has a tradition of producing some of the best and brightest graduates in a wide range of professional disciplines. Here are some of MSU’S students on the move. Jojo Duah Project Coordinator Facilities Management, Design & Construction University of Maryland C/O 2013 Mr. Duah works as a Project Coordinator, providing assistance to a Project Manager. These tasks include, but are not limited to reviewing and becoming knowledgeable of construction documents; reviewing and evaluating project submittals, RFIs, change order requests/bulletins; evaluating financial data; creating project budgets; reviewing project schedules to assess the proposed sequence of work; creating project schedules; proofreading various contract documents and preparing draft contract documents for the ADs review; tracking required permit status and other time-sensitive project elements. Kyndra Williams Budget Analyst U.S. Department of State C/O 2014 Kyndra is a 2014 graduate of Morgan’s MBA Program. Ms. Williams, a Budget Analyst, has been very instrumental in providing data driven guidance to senior management regarding strength and weakness of budget submissions to
better defend the agencies resources. Her vital financial position assists in managing over $700 million dollars of Information Technology Investments for the U.S. Department of State. Additionally, Ms. Williams has started a human capital and management consulting company named Kokuis. Daniel N. Janak Assistant Project Manager Morgan State University C/O 2015 “Being an assistant project manager, you are assigned to multiple projects and currently I am assigned to three, they are currently all at different phases. I am currently closing out the new Business Management Complex project, managing current construction on a campus rehabilitation project, and in the design phase for our new student service center.” Juanita Singletary Jones Construction Contracts Manager Procurement & Property Control Department Morgan State University C/O 2016 Mrs. Jones currently holds the position of Construction Contracts Manager
entails the administration of a four person unit that is responsible for managing and directing daily activities of construction/construction related, architectural, engineering, maintenance and professional service consultant contracts. She perform cradle to grave contract administration. The Project Management Program has allowed her to be able to develop project schedules, demonstrate an in depth knowledge of theories and practices, plan, organize, secure, and manage resources to achieve specific goals; thereby bringing added value to the project and University. Jim Jones Supervisor, EPMO Compliance Office Maryland Department of Human Resources (DHR) C/O 2013 Jim Jones provides contract and project management oversight of all major information technology contracts. He provides compliance reporting to executive management and outside entities. His department validates and approves contractor-submitted formal deliverables and invoices. The team has co-responsibility for reviewing and approving project change requests received from the project manager and also provides financial reporting and services to stakeholders within Department of Human Resources.
OUR PROGRAM & LINKS TO PMI Morgan State University’s graduate programs in Project Management are offered by the department of Information Science and Systems in the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. The MSPM program is suitable for professionals that want to develop their knowledge and skills to move up to senior planning, consulting, and project management positions. Applicants are required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, at least two years professional level work experience, and meet the MSU Graduate School admission requirements. The program requires 30 credits and a comprehensive examination. Program participants complete courses as a cohort. The interdisciplinary feature of the MSPM allows students to take three supporting courses that form the focus areas in a wide range of fields.
Students choose three courses from a list of over 40 courses to integrate project management skills in a specific subject area from Architecture; The Arts; Business; City and Regional Planning; Civil Engineering; Industrial Engineering; Information Technology; Science; and Transportation. The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers membership to full time students in degree-granting programs at a college or university that has U.S. accreditation or the global equivalent. A PMI student membership also offers discounts on certifications such as the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) and the Project Management Professional (PMP). Additionally, PMI in collaboration with MSU has held CAPM and PMP exam prep workshops on the campus of Morgan State and continues to offer the workshops every spring.
Samples of courses offered include: n Foundations in Project, Program, and Portfolio Management n Project Integration and Scope Management n Building and Leading Successful Project Teams n Project Time and Cost Management n Managing Project Procurement, Quality, and Risk
1700 E. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, Maryland 21251
The Baltimore Chapter provides its members the opportunity to take Prep Courses in order to qualify for the following PMI Credential Exams: Project Management Professional Certified Associate of Project Management Risk Management Professional Schedule Professional
Visit www.pmbaltimore.org
The Baltimore Chapter provides various opportunities for corporations, academia, non-profit and government organizations to promote their product, services or organizational image – through its sponsorship programs. At this time, corporations and organizations can sign up for one or more of the following promotional and networking opportunities we offer: Premier Sponsorship Program – Several advertising & promotional opportunities bundled together Site Meeting Sponsorship – Available throughout the year at many area PMI BC sites PMI BC Annual Meeting – Well-attended ”State of the Chapter” held every November PMI BC Golf Tournament – Play golf and network with area PM’s Project-of-the-Year Award Ceremony – Join PMI BC in recognizing & supporting bestmanaged projects
PMI is the world's largest not-for-profit membership association for the project management profession. Our professional resources and research empower more than 700,000 members, credential holders and volunteers in nearly every country in the world to enhance their careers, improve their organizations' success and further mature the profession. PMI's worldwide advocacy for project management is reinforced by our globally recognized standards and certification programs, extensive academic and market research programs, chapters and communities of practice, and professional development opportunities Visit PMI at www.PMI.org, www.facebook.com/PMInstitute and on Twitter @PMInstitute