Thursday 28 October 2021

Simplifying complex projects using visuals

In my previous work experience as a program director, I led very large programs consisting of hundreds of people distributed across geographies. I had multiple stakeholders to manage, mostly C-Suite folks that depended on me to simplify the details and present the essence of program to them, so that they could make effective decisions in a timely manner. Whilst I managed the detailed project plans and task breakdowns with my team of project, program & engineering managers, I adopted varying styles of communications to suit my audience level.

To this day, even though I've left program and project leadership behind for some years now, I myself served as a SteerCo member, sponsoring projects and programs to deliver KPIs. I still prefer the art of simple visuals as a means of communication. A picture, presented in a way that directs a conversation can be so much more efficient and powerful than reading lines and lines of verbose text, IMHO.

Sort of a #throwbackthursday post, I came across these old visuals I used on a project Steerco going back six years ago. This particular program was pretty tight, very little buffer contingency, executed in under six months, a major upgrade and launch of feature end-to-end, with hundreds of people contributing. The steerco group consisted of a dozen executives. The detailed project plan cut across 20 workstreams, the launch release updated 55 countries in Africa.

Paths to Launch



Launch Go/No-Go Checklist & Plan


Some program and project managers can over complicate messaging and communications. I've learnt over time that whilst detail rigour is still necessary for tracking project deliveries, there is actually an art to managing projects - there is also a style to stakeholder engagement - the methods of communication plays a major role. Whilst some might argue that pictures remove much of the thinking and thought process behind, I believe in the power of visuals...after all, a picture is worth a thousand words!



Thursday 21 October 2021

About me - One slide intro with my new leadership team in Amazon

 A #thismightnotwork post

Earlier this year, as part of breaking the ice with the new senior management team, our leader asked each one of us to share a bit of background about ourselves on one slide. Sharing my story here. It was an interesting learning experience as it opens up the team for inclusion & diversity - getting to know more than just the work-side of your colleague. A great way to get to know one another!


FYI: Check out Amazon's Leadership Principles here - we live and breathe these every day, with every interaction. It's not just lip service or posters on a wall. 

P.S. We're always hiring - do get in touch with me if interested!