1

Adopting latest

advances in

the field of Creative

Thinking

for effective Project

Management

10 – 12 September 2015 PMI Conference - Bangalore

2Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

Agenda

Why Creative Thinking?

Systems

Thinking Design

ThinkingLateral

Thinking

Case In Point

Recommendations

01

02

03

04

3

Why Creative Thinking…

Limitations of Logic

Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

All challenges cannot be

solved using existing

Project Management

practices!!

Kurt Gödel Alan Turing

4Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

Why Creative Thinking…

Survey

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00%

Very Important

Important

Not Important

Importance of Creative Thinking in ProjectsSignificance ?

100%

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00%

Largely Support

Support to some extend

Do not support at all

Current support for Creative Thinking in Projects

Support Available?

67%

Adoption?

10%

Significant

Support Available, yet

PMs see challenges in adoption

5

Creative Thinking

Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

Systems Thinking Lateral Thinking Design Thinking

View "problems"

as part of an

overall system

Solving

problems

through an

indirect

approach

Power of

analysis and

imagination

6Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

Which technique to use when?

Systems Thinking Lateral Thinking Design Thinking

Involves people,

process and

technology.

Traditional

thinking

provides limited

solutions.

People centric

problem.

Many unknowns.

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Let us Decode…

Put on Your Thinking Hats

Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

Increase

efficiency of

loyalty program

• The client has Casino and Resorts line of business (LOB)

• Both LOBs have separate customer loyalty programs.

• No benefits from further enhancement (traditional

process) to individual IT applications

Decrease

program

schedule

slippage

• Continuous slippage to the program schedule as

individual projects under it were getting delayed.

• Not sure if it’s a people, process or application issue.

Risk

management

process

• Need for process re-imagination

• Enhance user experience

• Strengthening of mitigation with prescriptive risk

management

LATERAL THINKING

SYSTEMS THINKING

DESIGN THINKING

8Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

Case in point – Lateral Thinking

INCREASE

EFFICIENCY

OF LOYALTY

PROGRAM

1Single Customer

View

2Single Loyalty

Program

Lateral

Thinking

Free

AssociationReversal Laterization

9

Case in point – Systems Thinking

Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

Initial

Hypothesis

Actual Problem

Incorrect

Estimation

Template

Decrease

program schedule

slippageFinal Solution

Different

Values

Different

Methodology

No standardized

Tool

Single estimation

tool

Standardized

estimation technique

10Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

Case in Point - Design Thinking

Re-imagination of Risk process

Collaboration

Excellence

Crowd sourcing

communication

Analytical

Excellence

Internal data

repository

External data

repository

Social

Mobility

Analytics

Collaboration

Empowerment

Past Learnings

11Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

12Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

13Adopting Latest Advances in The Field Of Creative Thinking for Effective Project Management

Thank You

Debabrata PrusethRamanand Garimella Pooja Subramanian

Enterprise Architecture

and IT Strategy

Consultant

Global Delivery Head -

Program Management

debabrata.yes@

gmail.com

g_ramanand@

yahoo.com

Banking and Financial

Services Consultant

pooja.subramanian@

iiml.org

TCS TCS TCS

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References

1. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/goedel-incompleteness/

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halting_problem

3. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150525-whats-the-prime-of-your-life

4. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/seeing-what-others-

dont/201506/the-insight-stance

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking

7. https://www.creativityatwork.com/design-thinking-strategy-for-innovation/

8. http://www.innovationmanagement.se/imtool-articles/4-key-questions-

that-drive-the-design-thinking-process/

9. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/opinion/brooks-the-planning-

fallacy.html