Presentation led by Jason Dalrymple from NATS at the APM Conference 2015

1. MYTH BUSTING: PROCESS
DELIVERS PROJECTS
The COAST Experience
Jason Dalrymple – Senior Project Manager
APM conference
19th March 2015

2. JASON DALRYMPLE BENG (HONS) PGDIP (DIST) CENG MIET APMP
17 Years in NATS, with last 8 in
Project Management
 COAST
 EFD Programme
 Oceanic Programme:
• Oceanic System Improvements
• Oceanic International Mandates
• Reduced Longitudinal Separation
Minima (RLongSM)
• Combined Planner En-Route
(CPE)
• SAATS Build Programme
 Prestwick Centre Project:
• Operational Furniture, Design,
Development & Installation
• Manchester ACC Transition &
Closure
 SAATS: Seconded to NAV CANADA,
then Live Data test & Assurance
 Oceanic Software Development
 Engineering Graduate Programme
Pre-NATS:
 3 years with GEC Marconi
on Aircraft Missile
Countermeasures
• Team Lead for Imaging
Test Tool development
• Independent Test
Team Lead
 I.T Support, ES-COM UK
Job Title: Senior Project Manager
17 Years
in NATS
Pre-NATS

3. Let me take you
on a journey ……
Who has flown before?
Who has flown to the USA, Canada
or Mexico?
Anyone fly over the Atlantic late
November, early December 2014?

4. NATS Overview
NATS UNCLASSIFIED

5. 20/03/2015

7. PROJECT
BACKGROUND

8. The challenge we
were set ….
Address System
Obsolescence
Increased Environmental
Benefits
Review of Oceanic Strategy
Increased Collaboration

9. What was the
COAST Project?
Joint project between NATS and Canadian
Air Traffic Provider NAV CANADA to modify
and deploy their GAATS+ ATM System for
the Shanwick Operation.

10. … in detail, this
equates to …..
Review of 30k System
Requirements [in 8 weeks]
User led Verification & Validation
5 Physical System Installations
4 Operational Transitions
Development and Deployment of
new User Training
Production, Assurance and Issue
of new ATC & Engineering CONOPs
and Procedures
Product & Project Safety
Assurance

11. Our PPPM
methodology …
Swanwick
CapabilityTrainingAPM BoK CMMI
£1bn 2 Centres Awards

12. Why did we need
to be “different”?
“agile”
Change
Operation Project
Team
Out the Box
Thinking
Lessons
Learnt
Bravery
Processes People

13. Was it Agile, agile
or just plain and
simple JFDI?!
Flexible
CCPMAgile
How, not
Why
Governance
Build
Plans
Evolve

14. Back to the
speeding car ….

15. WHAT WAS
“DIFFERENT”?

16. 1 BHAG or 2?

17. Team: A great
cliché, or an
absolute must?
What?
Spent time considering
what type of team we
needed to do this. The
skills, behaviours and
capabilities
• Strong delivery focused
Project Leadership team
• “Local” based people
lead the work
• “Fresh Eyes”
Why?
Traditionally, we are told to
create teams that offer
balance.
We needed to create a
team of:
• Go-getters
• Strong-willed
• Convincing
• Challenging
• Skin in the game
• Not afraid to challenge

18. Take a stand …..
& stick to it!
• Be different
• Support & respect each
other
• Blame has no place here
• Prioritise team over
individual success

19. Let me tell you
a story …..
Story Telling can be a Project Manager’s
most powerful (& secret?) weapon ….
Bad communications is the single largest
contributing factor in Project failure!
Stories are vital for Leaders ….
• Stories engage both hearts and minds.
• Stories need a plot, actors and a setting!
• People want to believe stories – not facts,
figures, or Gantt Charts.
• People remember stories!
A story brings your project to life!

20. Every team needs
identity ….

21. Let’s talk, talk,
and talk ….
GOAL PLAN REVIEWS
STAFF ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS
Team Progress Meetings
Project Review Boards
Critical Project Review

22. Making it Personal
….
What do you want people to be saying
when you've delivered this ?
How do you want to feel when you've
delivered this ?

23. Learning doesn’t
have to be boring
Traditional Training Methodology:

24. Learning doesn’t
have to be boring
Re-vamped Training Methodology:

25. User Validation
and Engagement
 Fresh Eyes
 Unconstrained by the past
 New Approach
 Phased approach (Task, Thread, Free-Play)
 Screen grabbing
 Actively sought out Ops Room participants

26. And the result …..

27. In summary ….
PROCESS
 CENTRAL TO
PROFESSIONALISM
 CLEAR STRUCTURE
 CONSISTENCY OF
OUTPUT
 AIDS TRAINING &
DEVELOPMENT
 SCALABLE
 EVOLVE WITH BEST
PRACTICE
PEOPLE
 HEART OF ANY PROJECT
 CHALLENGED
 ENGAGED
 EMPOWERED TO SET
OWN DESTINY
 DEVELOPED
+
=
PROJECT SUCCESS

28. Kotter’s 8 Step
Change
Management
Model
Create a sense of
Urgency
Communicate a
Vision
Form a Guiding
Coalition
Create a Vision
Build on the
Change
Empower
Create Quick Wins
Institutionalise the
Change
Beliefs about
change
Lack of
alignment
Give
up