May 2017, Volume 7 Issue 1

Reaching for the Skies

L&T adopts creative methods to reduce construction time, avoid
disruptions, and deliver a green, new airport terminal in Mumbai
Contents

PMI Poll Booth

Managing Editor
Voice your Opinion Raj Kalady

PMI India Communications

Q. Project managers in India are Priya Awasare

well prepared to manage change.

Publication Project Team
Click here to fill your entry. CyberMedia Services Limited (CMSL)
Marketing Communications Division

Project Editor
Cast your vote today. Learn if your fellow practitioners feel the same way as you Panchalee Thakur
when the results come out in the next issue of Manage India.
Project Manager
Kamran Sahil
Cover Story

Reaching for the Skies

7
Design
L&T adopts creative methods to reduce construction time, avoid disruptions, Depender Rawat
and deliver a green, new airport terminal in Mumbai
Web Design
CMSL developer team
  3 Letter from Managing Director, PMI India

  4 PMI Research and Academic Conference

  6 PMI India National Conference

10 R.E.P Update
PMI Organization Centre Private Limited
  11 Chapter News 302-305, III Floor, Balarama,
Plot No. C-3, E Block,
13 Champion Update Bandra Kurla Complex,
Bandra East,
  14 Short Takes Mumbai – 400051, India

15 Announcement: Contest Winners Phone

+91 22 2659 8659

Fax
+91 22 2659 2235

E-mail
pmi.india@pmi.org

Results of February poll www.pmi.org.in

Q. High salary equals to high job
satisfaction.
Agree Disagree
64.4% 35.6%

Voice your Opinion - Last poll results

2 May 2017
Letter from the
Managing Director, PMI India
Dear Practitioners, We have had an overwhelming response for the PMI Regional
Conference in Kolkata on 22 April, and registrations closed
PMI India has been working tirelessly to ensure we have enough well in time. This is a demonstration of the acceptance of the
project management talent to deliver the ambitious growth plans importance of the profession across the country, specifically
drawn by the government. One of the approaches is to make in east India. The conference had great speakers from across
project management a part of college-level course curriculum industry, the social sector, and the government.
and provide teachers and scholars the right resources to advance
project management education in the country. Preparations are on in full swing for the PMI India National
Conference in Chennai 15-17 September. We have just closed
As a part of this endevour, to highlight the importance of project
management, and recognize and encourage its adoption, PMI nominations for the PMI India Awards. Going by the response,
India has been holding the PMI India Research and Academic it’s clear that this is a highly coveted awards program in
conference over the years. The fourth and the latest edition India today. The response for technical papers from the PMI
of the conference that was held in the Indian Institute of community resulted in nearly 350 abstracts being submitted.
Technology (IIT), Delhi showed the growing interest in the
You can win passes to the national conference by taking part
subject. The conference held from 2-4 March and hosted by IIT
Delhi and the Indian Institute of Information Technology and in our Earth Day contest. Put on your thinking hat, and tell us
Management, Gwalior, had over 250 delegates from academia, about one project that you think is earth-friendly and why. Turn
students, and industry. The conference theme was ‘Accelerating to page 11 for details about the contest.
Development: Harnessing the Power of Project Management.’
In this issue of Manage India, we’re featuring the new terminal
We presented the PMI India Academic Awards during the at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai
conference to honor and recognize academicians for their that won the PMI India Project of the Year Award in the
outstanding contributions in project management education,
large category in 2016. It’s a project that shows us how the
research, training, consultancy, and advocacy. My heartiest
possibilities are infinite if we put the right project practices and
congratulations go to the five award winners. In the years to
come, I’m hoping to see more contributions from academia our determination to it.
in this field.
Warm regards,
To bring industry and academia closer, we organized a
workshop on managing mega projects in New Delhi on 1
March. Over 50 members from the academic community and
industry leaders discussed some of the common complexities
and execution challenges mega projects face in India and
across the globe, shared industry practices, and explored Raj Kalady
potential areas of research. Managing Director, PMI India

May 2017 3
PMI Research and Academic Conference

Dignitaries release the conference proceedings booklet during the inaugural session. (From left) Prof. K.C. Iyer, department of civil engineering, IIT-
Delhi; Dr. K.N. Satyanarayana, director, IIT Tirupati; Prof. Prem Vrat, former director, IIT Roorkee and pro-chancellor, The NorthCap University,
Gurugram; Raj Kalady, managing director, PMI India; and Prof. S.G. Deshmukh, director, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Indian Institute of Information
Technology and management, Gwalior.

Professors, Scholars Discuss Ways to Advance

Project Management Education
With over 250 delegates from different parts of the country, conference proceedings book was unveiled during the
senior academicians and thought leaders as speakers, and inaugural function. As many as 46 technical papers were
multiple paper presentations, the fourth PMI India Research presented over five technical sessions during the three days
and Academic Conference in Delhi set a new benchmark in of the conference. Around 55 papers were published in the
content quality and delegate experience. proceedings book.

The conference from 2-4 March was jointly hosted by

the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi and Indian PMI India Academic Awards
Institute of Information Technology & Management (IIITM),
Gwalior at the campus of the prestigious IIT Delhi. PMI India presented the Academic Awards under three
categories during the conference. The awards program honors
The conference theme was ‘Accelerating Development: academicians who have made outstanding contributions
Harnessing the Power of Project Management.’ The sessions in project management education, research, training,
focussed on fast-tracking growth and development through consultancy, and advocacy, and thereby establish project
knowledge sharing and adapting strong project practices. management education and profession in India. Nominations
Being held biennially since 2011, the earlier three conferences received under the various categories went through a review
were held at the National Institute of Construction process by a panel of eminent academicians. The recognition
Management and Research, Pune (2011); IIT Madras (2013), was in the form of a cash award and a citation. The guest of
and the National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai honor for the awards function was Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe,
(2015). chairman, All India Council for Technical Education. There
were also awards for the best technical papers presented
This year’s edition drew an overwhelming response from during the conference.
the academic community across the country. Over 250
participants including scholars, senior practitioners, paper
presenters, faculty, students, invited speakers, and guests Pre-conference Tutorials
attended the conference. The chief guest for the inaugural
session was Prof. Prem Vrat, former director, IIT Roorkee, There were three pre-conference tutorials that covered
and pro-chancellor, professor of eminence and chief topics in depth. The first was a work on customizing the
mentor, The NorthCap University, Gurugram. He shared project management curriculum for teaching in India. The
his thoughts and experiences on project management. The workshop was directed at project management teachers and

4 May 2017
 PMI Research and Academic Conference

focused on recent additions and applications of the project

Winners of PMI India management curriculum, and ways in which it can be

adapted for use by academicians in India.
Academic Awards 2017 The second tutorial was a workshop on project analytics. The
tutorial was aimed at providing an in-depth understanding
PMI India Distinguished Fellow Award (Award Value of the need, relevance, current practices, challenges,
Rs. 5 lakh) - L.S. Ganesh, professor, IIT Madras and research issues involved in effectively integrating
data analytics in the project environment. It introduced
PMI India Distinguished Scholar Award - (Award participants to the application of big data management so as
Value Rs. 3 lakh) - Dr. Devinder Kumar Banwet, to provide strategic advantages to a project manager.
vice chancellor, University of Engineering and
Management, Kolkata, & Dr. Kumar Neeraj Jha, The third tutorial was on project management simulation.
associate professor, IIT Delhi The objective of this tutorial was to expose participants to
the use of gaming tools for teaching project management.
PMI India Young Research Scholar Award - (Award The trainer presented them a project scenario; participants
Value Rs. 2 lakh) - Dr. Kanchan Joshi, assistant applied project management techniques to find a way out of
professor, NITIE, Mumbai, & Dr. Arpan Kumar Kar, the challenges and received scores on project management
assistant professor, IIT Delhi parameters to advance into the game.

PMI Event

Workshop on Mega Projects

Participants of the academia-industry workshop in New Delhi with PMI India’s Raj Kalady (extreme left), Uday Yedur (second left) and
Sunita Mohan (fifth from left)

In a first-of-its-kind event in New Delhi on 1 March, PMI Institute of Industrial Design, Mumbai, took part in it. There
India brought experts from academia and industry together were also faculty members from leading institutes such
to discuss ways to manage large projects. as the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia; The
Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada; and VU University
It was a workshop on “Managing Mega Projects Successfully”
Amsterdam, Holland.
that had over 50 members from the academic community and
industry leaders. They discussed some of the complexities In addition, there was a senior government official and
and execution challenges that such projects face in India representatives from infrastructure, real estate, construction,
and across the globe, shared project practices that have led and consulting firms. Some of the organizations that took
to positive results, and explored potential areas of research. part in it are Larsen & Toubro, GMR Group, KPMG, CH2M
Hill, Technip India, and Airports Authority of India.
Academicians from premier institutes in India such as the
Indian Institutes of Technology (Madras, Tirupati, and Based on the workshop proceedings, a white paper is being
Delhi); National Institute of Construction Management and developed to explore specific areas of research and industry-
Research, Pune; Amity University, Noida; and National academic collaborations.

May 2017 5
Conference
PMIad
- National Conf. 2017 Block your calendar Ad - Manage India ad, Size: 7.5” (W) x 9.49” (H)

ANNOUNCING #PMNC17

Block your calendar for India's most WHY ATTEND?

awaited Project Management event l Earn PDUs - Earn up to 20 Professional
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For queries, please mail to conference@pmi-india.org

HOSTED BY CO-HOSTED BY

PMI, the PMI Logo and PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE are marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.

PMI, the PMI Logo and PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE are marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.

6 May 2017
 Cover Story

Reaching for the Skies

By Panchalee Thakur

Photos courtesy: L&T

The dancing fountain outside the terminal building

L&T adopts creative methods to reduce construction time, avoid disruptions, and deliver a
green, new airport terminal in Mumbai

M
umbai, a city that has grown at an enormous pace and is counted among the top mega cities in the world, has a lot
to take pride in. And the new terminal building, popularly known as T2, of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International
Airport is one of them.
Being one of the main entry points into the country and a trade and financial hub of the country, Mumbai has been experiencing
rapid growth in air traffic. The infrastructure and facilities at the existing airport were stretched beyond its peak capacity. In
2006, the Airports Authority of India selected GVK, a leading business conglomerate in India with wide experience in airport
development, to build and manage a new airport in Mumbai. It was decided to construct a new terminal building around the
existing airport.
GVK selected Larsen and Toubro (L&T) as its engineering, procurement, and construction partner for the prestigious Mumbai
International Airport Limited (MIAL) project. In the next eight years, L&T used innovative project practices, and efficient
engineering and construction techniques to build a world-class building around a fully-functional, existing airport. In 2016,
L&T won the PMI India Project of the Year in the large category for this project.

Bigger, Bolder, Better

The new terminal building has a built-up area that is four times larger than the previous terminal. A concourse now joins the
two terminals and a 3.3 km, 6-lane elevated road connects the airport with the Western Express Highway to facilitate smooth
flow of traffic to the airport. The air traffic control tower stands at a height of 83.8 meter.

May 2017 7
Cover Story

L&T reconstructed two of the existing runways to strengthen and

widen them within defined time windows so that it did not affect
the everyday operation of the airport.
Some standout features of the airport:
• Built-up area of 439,204 square meter
• 6.5 km runway, 12 km taxiway
• Capacity for 900 flights to take-off and land every day
• 1 million square meter of apron area
• Baggage handling capacity of 10,800 bags an hour
• Multi-level parking space for 5,000 cars
• 188 check-in counters Airport immigration now has 60 departure counters and 72 arrival
• 60+ departure counters counters.

• 72 arrival immigration counters

At the peak of the construction phase, the site had about 15,000 workers, 1,000 engineers, 200 sub-contractors, and 4,000
airport operational staff. The on-site design team consisted of 250 engineers and architects. Project planning involved
handling of more than 200 specialized national and international agencies.

Rising above the Constraints

The project was constructed under certain severe constraints. J. Gopalakrishnan, deputy project director - MIAL project,
L&T, explains the main challenges: “We had to double passenger capacity at India’s busiest airport by building a massive
infrastructure right in the heart of Mumbai with no extra land to expand into and no time to shut down the existing airport. It
was a highly sensitive project from a commercial, political, and security point of view. Finally, what we delivered is a world-
class product within a limited timeframe.”
The L&T team’s primary task was to plan and construct the new building by demolishing small sections of the existing
building that housed various facilities of the existing airport, without letting it affect operations. The philosophy was “get it

Shell and Core Construction IT and Telecom Mechanical, Electrical, and Airport Systems
Plumbing
17 lakh cubic meter concrete 25 airport IT systems Connected load 50 MVA Baggage handling capacity of
capacity 10,800 bags an hour
58,000 ton reinforcement 1,560 km of CAT 6 cabling 6 diesel generator sets of 3 10 baggage reclaim carousels
bars MVA capacity each

36,000 ton structural steel 333 km of optical fiber 6 chillers of 2,300 160 escalators, travellators,
cabling refrigeration ton capacity and elevators

36,000 sq. m. skylight 15,600 IT ports Sewage treatment plant 14 25 fixed link bridges
m. lt. a day capacity 52 movable aerobridges
30 free-standing mega 2,190 closed circuit cameras
columns

1.4 lakh sq. m. membrane 747 access control devices

roofing

28,000 sq. m. façade 3,500 speakers for public

address system
12,000 sq. m. cable net wall 1,026 flight information
screens
931 antennae for the mobile
network The new terminal has 160 escalators, travellators, and elevators

8 May 2017
 Cover Story

right the first time,” simply because there was neither the time for rework nor room for deviation.
The sheer scale of the project made matters complicated. The table on page 8 shows the magnitude of the project during the
construction phase.
The airport had been envisioned not just as a facility with world-class facilities and features but also as one that leaves a
pleasant, lasting impression in a visitor’s mind. During the finishing stage, the project team worked towards creating the
vision of “a thousand peacocks dancing.”
One of the biggest tasks during this stage was the erection of a glass fiber reinforced gypsum canopy for a mega roof ceiling
of over 80,000 square meter. “Every single square inch of the terminal, be it interior or exterior, had to have the touch of
perfection to not just create a landmark project but also an edifice that would be regarded as one of the world’s most stunning
airport terminals,” says CJA Davidraj, deputy project director – finishes, MIAL project, L&T.
Procurement was a complex exercise since it involved large volumes of materials that had to be of a standardized quality.
Materials were sourced from over 25 countries.
Before the launch, the project team got down to the task of testing, commissioning, successfully integrating over 75 various
systems, and carrying out 200 project operation trials.

Rooted in Innovation

“Some of the operative words that describe the project are ‘planning, co-ordination, quality, execution, and timeliness.’
Managing the huge work force was like leading an army, many of who were experts in various domains, drawn from various
parts of the country and the globe,” says N. Namachivayam, head – airfield works, MIAL project, L&T.
L&T employed latest technologies, innovative construction methods, and creative project management practices to achieve
better results.
The team used “rubbilization” for apron construction, a method by which an existing panel of pavement quality concrete
was crumbled and reused as a granular sub-base. It did away with time-consuming breaking of the old pavement and
re-constructing over it.
Since there were several service lines passing through the facilities, the team conducted a clash analysis of all mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing services with the airport systems using state-of-the-art three-dimensional modelling and visualization
techniques. With this, the team identified any potential areas where these service lines could interfere with each other, and
thereby prevented disruptions.
There were over 1,500 vendors and sub-contractors from around the world working on the project, and a major challenge
was to bring them under the L&T Quality Management System (QMS). L&T created a common platform that acquainted all
the vendors of L&T’s QMS during the pre-qualification stage. Thereafter, it was monitored through system audits and process
inspections from the pre-dispatch to the commissioning stage.
L&T took up “destruction for construction,” by which 32,000 cubic meters of concrete was crushed with hydraulic concrete
crushers and reused by re-crushing 2,500 tons of reinforcement steel retrieved from demolished structures. This method
resulted in 35 percent cost saving compared to the conventional demolition method.
Since there was limited scope for rework, the team had to issue detailed method statements, followed by mock-ups and
strict adherence of the charted sequence and stage wise quality control check of execution to ensure smooth and seamless
implementation.
Since the deadlines were stringent, it was important to get the right resources at just the right time. They had to consistently
think out of the box in terms of construction sequences, erection methodology, and the equipment to be deployed.
Using a green building concept, the team designed a daylight harvesting system at the departure area on level four. A skylight
of around 36,000 square meter lets in sunlight in good measure; all electrical lights are integrated with the skylight in such
a manner that as sunlight gradually reduces in the evening, the electric lamps come on. The transition is so smooth that a
visitor will hardly notice the switch over from natural to electrical lighting.
To overcome the problem of constructing around functioning runways, L&T used quick set concrete mix. In just 3-4 hours
after this concrete is used to upgrade a runway, it was ready for aircraft movement.
“Overall, it was one of our toughest assignments but we were able to deliver a world-class facility on time. We achieved
this because of our design excellence, construction capabilities, the freedom to take calculated risks, and teamwork. We
followed project management across departments and functions such as contracts management, material management,
quality management, safety management, subcontractor management, and change management,” says Niranjan Simha,
project director, MIAL, L&T.

May 2017 9
R.E.P. Update

Practitioners Turn Actors for the Day

T
he Dramatic World of Project Management, an event
organized by project management mentor and PMI
India’s registered education provider, Dhananjay
Gokhale, took place on a larger scale as it entered its five year
this year.

success. A production by Aker Powergas Subsea Pvt. Ltd.

explored ways to overcome one’s demons to achieve success.
The themes got the audience interested in project management
Teams from different organizations presented skits concepts and PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body
around project management over two days, 4-5 March, of Knowledge (PMBOK ® Guide).
at Jyotsna Bhole Auditorium in Pune. There were seven For the first time, participants received a trophy that was
industry teams, 102 participants, around 265 attendees, 19
especially designed for the occasion. The trophy that
volunteers, three judges, two members of the jury, and two
represents ‘the hand of project management’ shows how it’s
backstage engineers.
an art of fine balancing.
The first performance by Sailpoint Technologies India Pvt.
Ltd. was on demonetization. In the next skit by Resilient
Cosmeceuticals Pvt. Ltd., the team used characters from
the Mahabharata to highlight common project challenges
in today’s times. A team from Allscripts India Pvt. Ltd.
raised the problem of insufficiently defined project scope
in their skit. Home Ministry Vs. Chicken Butter Masala
by Inautix Technologies was a humorous take on finding
resolution between warring parties. Alfa Laval India Ltd.
used film production as a lesson in project management.
KPIT Technologies Ltd. also used mythology to drive home
the importance of execution, among other aspects, as key to

10 May 2017
 Chapter News

PMI Pune-Deccan India Chapter

Annual General Meeting

PPMI Pune Deccan Chapter conducted the 2017 annual
general body meeting on 4 February. The chapter had invited
Retd. Vice Admiral Suresh Bangara and former mentor,
PMI Region 11, Tejas Sura, to speak to the members on this
occasion. Chapter president, Girish Kadam, spoke about his
journey from being a PMI volunteer to the region mentor.
During the meeting, members discussed proposed changes
to chapter bylaws and election guidelines. The board of
directors shared their vision for the coming year, provided
a recap of activities conducted till now and presented the
financial report.

Project Management Symposium

Rajaram Rao being felicitated during the Udaan inauguration program
The chapter conducted a symposium on big data analytics
and its adoption for next generation products and services Udaan 2017
on 25 March. After a welcome address by chapter vice
president, Shyam Bhavsar, several speakers took the dais. Udaan 2017, an inter-college project competition, was hosted
by the Institute of Industrial and Computer Management and
Patanjali Somayaji, co-founder and COO, Walnut, spoke Research (IICMR), Nigdi, Pune, in association with Pune
on the four ‘Vs’ of big data – velocity, variety, volume, chapter.
and veracity. Highlighting the role of big data in personal
finance, he said consumers can track their spending through The theme for Udaan 2017 was ‘Ignite, Inspire, Connect, Merge
a personal finance management mobile app that securely to Reach New Heights.’ Students took part in two competitions
analyzes SMSs sent by banks for credit card and debit card – Excellors, internship projects for undergraduate and
transactions. postgraduate students, and E-Vyapar, projects using digital
technology for innovative business ideas.
In the next keynote, Prashant Pansare, managing director,
Inteliment Technologies, spoke about the science and art of Rajaram Rao, chapter vice president, was the chief guest at
big data analytics for project professionals. He said that in the event and was felicitated by Dr. Abhay Kulkarni, director,
this ‘digital steroids age,’ technology and network are the IICMR. Mr. Rajaram spoke about excellence for project
new oxygen for people. He discussed the role of big data and management. Chapter president Girish Kadam spoke on
‘data in motion’ in product and project forecasting in key ‘Evolve to Excel through Project Management’. Chapter board
industries. members and volunteers who judged the competitions were
Girish Kelkar, Shyam Bhavsar, Makarand Hardas, Shantanu
M Taher Borsadwala, senior vice president, fintech, data Bhamre, Jay Dholkia, Vinay Kalhotra, Sudhir Hasanmis, and
governance and data management, iNautix Technologies, Pradnya Paithankar.
delivered an ‘elevator pitch’ on data analytics. He explained
the four stages of data analytics – descriptive, diagnostic, Webinar with Project Winner
predictive, and prescriptive. In the second ‘elevator pitch,’
Mayur Umbarkar, director – analytics, KloudData Inc., PMI’s Project of the Year Award recognizes large and complex
talked about competitive advantages of big data analytics in projects (budgets of US$100 million or more) that deliver
healthcare. superior performance of project management practices. The
winner of the latest award is U.S. Department of Energy’s
Rajnesh Kumar, vice president, operations and general
National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) project. PMI
manager, India operations, Entercoms, Inc., shared case
Pune-Deccan India chapter provided a unique opportunity
studies from aviation, oil, and high tech industries that show
to PMI members to interact with the management team of
how big data analytics is bringing down the cost of services
NSLS-II. The interaction gave chapter members a strong
and products and making them better and faster.
understanding of some of the project management practices
Kiran Rajeshirke, delivery manager, Teradata Corporation, the winning team adopted.
talked about challenges in big data implementations in terms
The 10-year, US$ 912 million NSLS-II project has resulted in
of business understanding, architecture, and deployment
the creation of the world’s most powerful photon microscope.
options.
The microscope creates X-rays that allow scientists to see
Mr. Rajeshirke, Mr. Borsadwala, Mr. Umbarkar, and Mr. how materials in systems — such as batteries or fuel cells
Kumar also took part in a panel discussion on “Data analytics — behave at the nano-level, while operating in real-world
– The disruption in the making.” conditions.

May 2017 11
Chapter News

The interaction was in the form of a webinar that was delivered body meeting in February.
by Erik D Johnson, PMP, deputy director, construction, energy
Through Karma Points, volunteers can earn points based on
sciences directorate, NSLS-II, at the Brookhaven National
their contributions under three categories – membership,
Laboratory. He was most recently the deputy project director
volunteering, and personal development.
of the successfully concluded NSLS-II construction project,
and is responsible for the oversight of construction activities Volunteers submit their claims on Karma Points through an
at the Brookhaven National Laboratory Energy Sciences online application form for volunteer activities under any of
Directorate - NSLS-II. the above categories. Their claims will be validated by the
board member managing that portfolio. Based on the Karma
Karma Points Program Points collected, volunteers will earn badges.

In its constant effort towards community engagement, The Karma leader boards will be displayed every month and
the chapter has come up with yet another initiative - the quarter in various chapter communications. Members can
volunteer development program Karma Points. The Karma also redeem Karma Points against chapter merchandise or
Points program was announced during the annual general any paid event or activity.

PMI Kerala Chapter

The theme of the conference is “Project Management –
Leadership and Agility, The Success Enablers!” The call for
technical papers, in line with the theme of the conference,
will be sent shortly.

Session on Project Schedule Management

The chapter organized a two-hour knowledge sharing session
on “Agility in Managing the Project Schedule Best Practices”
on 25 March in Thiruvananthapuram. The keynote speaker,
Anilkumar Pandala, vice president, IL&FS, is the man behind
the Thiruvananthapuram Road development project and the
greenfield international stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
This professional development event was well attended by
over 30 participants from different industries.
Mr. Pandala spoke about agility in infrastructure projects
citing examples from his own projects. After this knowledge
Project managers at the session on managing agility in project schedule sharing session, chapter members attended a networking tea
break, followed by the chapter’s annual general body meeting.
PMI-ACP Preparatory Program
(Chapter news is contributed by Ashutosh Nadkarni, PMP
PMI Kerala Chapter conducted for the first time a program and Akhila Gowri Shankar, PMP)
to help aspirants of the PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner
(PMI-ACP)® certification. It was a 21-hour instructor-
led training held over three days from 10-12 February in
Thiruvananthapuram.
As PMI-ACP® is one of the new credentials offered by PMI,
nine professionals working in the agile project management
environment took the training. It provided participants
a detailed understanding of agile project management
practices along with relevant case studies to get a glimpse of
the application of these practices at the work place.

Waves 2017 in June

PMI Kerala Chapter has been organizing an annual project
management conference in the state that alternates between
Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi each year. Registrations for
the chapter’s seventh conference – Waves 2017 – will start
soon. This year it will be held at Al Saj Convention Center,
Thiruvananthapuram on 10 June 2017 (Saturday).

12 May 2017
 Champion Update

Champions Conduct Awareness Building Sessions

West Region The session was focused on providing hands on experience
and covering practical scenarios and usage of MSP 2016 for
PMI India Senior Champion Kiran Rajeshirke was a speaker beginners and advanced users. Some of the advance topics
and panel member at a symposium organized by PMI Pune- were custom reporting on schedule tracking, variances,
Deccan India Chapter on 25 March. The topic, big data percentage complete, physical percentage completion of
analytics and its adoption for next-gen products and services, work, and weightages. Mr. Singh also gave an introductory
brought together the project management community from talk on Enterprise Project Management System.
every industry segments and their ecosystems.
South Region

PMI India Champion Ravindra Kulkarni conducted an

awareness building session on roles and responsibility
matrix, “Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed
(RACI),” titled “RACI - Myths and Facts,” at GlobalEdge
Software, Bangalore for business heads and executives of
various enabling functions. There were over 40 participants.
The session was coordinated by PMI India Champion
Raghavendra Guruprasad and Ramya HS, from the quality
department of GlobalEdge Software Ltd. The participants
are now keen on completing the RACI matrix for various
enabling functions identified in the next three months.

PMI India Champions at a panel discussion during a symposium on data

analytics in Pune

North Region

PMI India Champion Kamaljeet Singh ran an awareness

building program for senior executives of Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation (ONGC).
The session was attended by around 25 senior officers from
ONGC with over 15 years of experience in executing complex
projects and managing the same across various locations. The
entire program was modularized and planned considering Participants at a training program on RACI held at GlobalEdge Software,
the audience experience level on Microsoft Project (MSP) Bangalore
2016.

PM Day at Cisco

For the first time, Cisco Systems celebrated PM Day on 23

March at its Bangalore campus. Behind the success of the
event was the work put in by several PMI India Champions.
On this occasion, Cisco kicked off an employee resource
organization, called PM Connect, which is chartered to
engage Cisco’s project management community in India.
The first phase of PM Day was a poster session and it was
open to all. PMI India participated in it and allocated three
booths covering aspirants, practitioners, and leaders in
project management.
The second phase was an “invitation only” event which
was attended by more than 300 project managers and Cisco
PMI India Champion Kamaljeet Singh (in the foreground) at an awareness India senior leadership team, including Cisco India site lead
program at ONGC and senior vice president, VC Gopalratnam, who was the

May 2017 13
Champion Update

were Dr. Kamala Sharma and Ravindra Kulkarni. Another

Champion, Bhaskar Nagaraja from Intel, provided initial
guidance and shared good practices on PM Day.
The event core team comprised of Abhishek Sharma, Gitika
Sinha, Sudarshan Baily from services; Sukeerth S P from
IT; George Parampil from engineering; Hari Pandey and
Prasad N. from supply chain; Vinod Kumar Krishna from
global project management office; and Simhadri Rama Rao
from HR. The core team that represented all business units
began by making a list of stakeholders and directors to engage
for the event. They met the Cisco India leadership team
including Mr. Gopalratnam, and enlisted his support as the
The engrossed audience at the “invitations only” event on PM Day at
executive sponsor.
Cisco in Bangalore

executive sponsor of the event.

Following a welcome address by PMI India Champion
Abhishek Sharma, Mr. Gopalratnam delivered his keynote.
PMI India Champion Gitika Sinha gave an introduction to
PM Connect. Then there was a panel discussion by directors
of IT, engineering, services, supply chain, and HR. Senior
PMI India Champion and member, Champion Advisory
Committee, Prasann Patil from Dell EMC spoke on “Project
management in a growth environment.”
Shine Sahadevan from PMI India led the PM Poster session.
PMI India Champions who volunteered for the poster session The team of PMI India Champions and Cisco core team behind PM Day

SHORT TAKES A column that gives you an opportunity to share your ideas with the community. Take
(May Contest) part in the contest and win PMI goodies.

Terms & Conditions

Q. PMI’s Pulse of the Profession® 2017
makes benefits realization a factor to • The contest is open to PMI members and PMI credential
holders in India only.
measure project success. Mention
• Each contestant can send only one entry for each contest.
one impediment you face in
• The closing date to send your entry is 20 May 2017.
measuring intended • No responsibilities will be taken for entries not received.
project benefits. • The Manage India editorial team reserves the exclusive right
to make the final decision on the winner.
Put your thoughts down in less than 150 words and we will • The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and
publish the best answer in the next issue of Manage India. The
photograph by PMI India in PMI publication material.
winner will also get goodies from PMI.
• The winner will be notified through the email address
Click here to go to contest page.
provided at the time of entry submission.

Congrats Jayashree Nagaraj

Below is the winning response for last issue’s Short Takes. them a preview of the prioritization, dependencies, stake holder
management, and risks to consider to ensure a successful party.
Q. What are some simple ways to inculcate project For example, how many kids can I accommodate at the venue
management as a life skill in children? (prioritization)? How far in advance should we plan to tell the
invitees about the party to give them sufficient notice? What are
A. Children are excited about their birthday party, play dates, the ages of the kids coming so we can plan an adequate number of
and their summer vacation, and these are excellent opportunities games (stakeholder management)? Is followup required to ensure
to inculcate some planning skills in them. the food and cake arrive on time? (risk management). How do we get
Getting their help to plan their party or that of a sibling can give the kids engaged in the party when they arrive? (stakeholder buy in).

14 May 2017
 Announcement: Contest Winners

Congratulations, Venkatramvasi Mohanvasi, PMP!

The Project Management Fun-Das submitted by Mr. Mohanvasi is the winning cartoon
of PM Fun-Das Contest – II.
Mr. Mohanvasi calls himself a fun-loving, Chennai-based PMP trainer and a fan of PM
Fun-Das.

The Winning Cartoon

Project Management Fun-DasTM. A comic strip that is released every Wednesday giving you your mid-week dose of laughter.
As a project professional managing crisis situations every day, you are sure to enjoy the humor!
Like, Comment, Share #PMFUNDAS on
#PMFUNDAS also available on pmi.org.in Add humor. Spread Smiles. Click here.

I Love PMI Because…

Congratulations, Vrushank Buch, project manager, L&T - Vadodara
for winning our I Love PMI Because … contest
“PMI makes me feel proud of my profession because PMI is in the forefront of advancing the
project management profession. Being in the profession, it is indeed a privilege to be a part of the activities happening at
PMI. I look forward to seeing my fellow professionals at the PMI National Conference in Chennai in September.”

Block your calendar for Project Management National Conference in Chennai, 15-17 September 2017.

May 2017 15
PMI Organization Centre Pvt. Ltd.
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16 May 2017