DMO Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Kim Gillis, is coordinating a number of initiatives to up-skill the organisation’s project managers.

Viewing project management through commercial lenses proved to be a ‘big challenge’ for Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) participants in a Complex Project Simulation Exercise conducted in Canberra last month.

The four and a half day simulation, facilitated by Boeing (USA), followed on from the international symposium for project managers and the inaugural meeting of the College of Complex Project Managers.

Forty of DMO’s most senior project managers participated in the training working on realistic scenarios, while being observed and receiving feedback from executive project managers in Boeing International and DMO.

DMO Deputy Chief Executive Officer Kim Gillis said the simulation was intended to see how project managers perform under pressure and how they make decisions and use the relevant project management tools.

‘It was developed by Boeing International and has been delivered to senior Boeing project managers internationally. It is a significant development tool and DMO is grateful to be the first external organisation to which Boeing has extended the simulation for large scale training,’ Mr Gillis said.

A few DMO project managers had previously undertaken the training, when Boeing ran the simulation in Australia for internal personnel, and recommended it highly.

Feedback from the 2007 participants was also positive, with the exercise described as a powerful experience and solid learning, with encouragement for DMO to maintain momentum with the outcomes.

The simulation participants spent the four and a half days working in project teams with a shared responsibility, and alternating as project manager. Their challenge was to deliver a specific product. They were allocated tasks for completion as a team with advice offered by a number of project management best practice experts. Participants also gathered as a group at regular intervals to be provided with key best practice information that could then be applied to their tasking. The simulation was highly interactive with participants challenged to see project management from the commercial perspective.

The exercise fits into the broader context of DMO’s commitment to up-skilling its project management staff, and in particular DMO’s Certified Practicing Project Managers One and Two. It is an example of DMO’s aim to further develop flexible learning solutions for project managers.

As a participant, DMO Director Radio Frequency System Program Office, Mr Daryl Mouser, described the simulation as very good value, with a major feature being the ability to view real time changes in data. ‘Seeing dynamic data coming and going added to the realism of the exercise,’ Mr Mouser said. ‘This is opposed to sitting in a classroom and trying to take in information.’

Exposure to best practice expert advice was another major highlight. ‘Reinforcing what we already do well was helpful while looking at the commercial aspects of project management was insightful,’ Mr Mouser said.

DMO Project Director Airborne Surveillance for Land Operations, Wing Commander Rino Carrera, said the simulation was a worthwhile exercise from an individual perspective, as it took participants through the whole project management cycle. As an exercise model, he said it achieved its objectives.

‘What stood out for me was that the simulation instilled discipline and routine for managers in the various elements of project management,’ he said.

‘I am now reviewing my project plans and value adding in the short term, while the medium term will see direct lessons learnt delivered in the project baseline,’ Wing Commander Carrera said.

Boeing USA delivers 13 simulations each year to company staff at its leadership centre.