Interview with VS Srividhya – 2nd runner up in Best of the Best PML 2007

VS Srividhya PMP, a long-standing member of this community, has recently been awarded 2nd runner up in the BEST of BEST PML 2007 Awards at the Annual International Project Management Leadership Conference (PML 2007), in Delhi: February 13 – 14, ’07

1. VS Srividhya  please tell us about your background.

I earned my Masters degree in Computer Applications from Madras University and am a certified PMP from the Project Management Institute. I live in the coastal city of Chennai in South India. Chennai is called the “Detroit of India” because of the various auto-makers located here.

I work as a Project Manager at Infosys Technologies Limited. (NASDAQ:INFY).  I have rich experience in managing software projects for marquee clients in leading software companies. I also have experience in pre-sales activities and test management, at locations in Europe and  the US.  I have published several knowledge assets  in the knowledge repository of Infosys. Some of my tips on Project Management were recently published in PM Crash Course by Rita Mulcahy (thanks to PMHUB.net).

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2. What was the topic of your paper?

My friend Ananth Subramanian and I wrote an article on 360 Degree Risk Management Model – A Model to Rate, Innovate and Exploit Opportunities. I handled a couple of risky situations and learned how to not only lower the negative effects of such occurrences, but to also utilize them to try new things.

The fight-or-flight behaviour of most managers in crisis intrigues me; so I decided to research this topic, as well as provide a perspective based on my own experiences.

Here is an abstract of the paper:
360 Degree RISK Management Model – A New Model to Rate,
Mitigate and Exploit Opportunities
VS Srividhya, Ananth Subramanian

“This paper presents a sophisticated approach to a fundamental issue – risk. By addressing both the negative and positive aspects of risk and presenting the management of risk in a way that is firmly tied to the basic improvement process, this paper offers a way to minimize the threat of failure while exploiting the opportunity to achieve success. Much of the effort we spend in software development is aimed at managing risk – so it is important to have a solid understanding of what it is and ways to effectively manage it.”

“The whole point of undertaking a project is to achieve or establish something new, to venture, to take chances, to risk.” There are several risks in the software industry due to technology, people, process and environment. Current models of risk management do not exploit the multiple dimensions of risk. More often than not, project managers and hence organizations view risks as threats and devise means to avoid them instead of planning responses effectively. If the risks lead to software failure then they most certainly would imply a business failure. By creatively mitigating/managing project risks there is immense potential to improve customer satisfaction and increase delivery efficiency. Risks provide opportunities for innovation. Software project managers and organizations who identify risks earlier and mitigate them creatively and those who see opportunities in risks not only deliver projects successfully but also add value to the client – which is very essential for differentiating from competition. This paper is focused on enabling project managers to

(1) Identify and Mitigate the negative consequences of risk consciously, effectively and periodically

(2) Exploit the opportunities provided by risk to embark on new missions, improve processes and

(3) Utilize the learning of handling and dealing risks to enhance the capability of managers

4. What is PML?

The Annual International Project Management Leadership Conference (PML 2007) is a unique forum for exchanging, learning, and accelerating implementation of best practices in the domain of Project Management. This year the one in India was held at the prestigious Hotel Crowne Plaza in New Delhi on February 13 and 14.

The conference focuses on Project Management Tools, Techniques and Best Practices for achieving leadership. The purpose of this conference is to promote the best practices in Project Management and bring together the best of leading organizations on one platform.

5. What is your point of view on the PML event?

The audience included CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, CTOs, Project Managers, Advisors, Consultants, Educators and all members of professional services organization involved with project management. It hosted some very eminent speakers from India & overseas, best practices and presentations from several high maturity organizations.

The winners of the Best of the Best Award at the PML 2007 Conference stand to make a name for themselves at the Best of the Best Awards organized by QAI USA in Orlando. The winners of the Best of the Best Awards at the Project Management Leadership Conference 2007 [PML 2007], are given an opportunity to participate in the Best of the Best Awards of QAI USA.

In my opinion, it gave an excellent forum for mind and knowledge share on topics related to Project Management, an opportunity to learn from the best practices in the industry and gurus, a chance to network with peers from other organizations. There was also a glittering awards ceremony with an excellent dance show and candle-light dinner. So, it was a chance for us geeks to let our hair down and enjoy.

6. Any comments on your paper selection as 2nd runner up in Best of the Best?

The Best of the Best Papers was judged by chief panelist, Richard Zultner, who is a Senior Consultant with Cutter Consortium’s Agile Software Development & Project Management Practice. He is the founder and director of the QFD Institute, which is dedicated to the advancement of Quality Function Deployment (QFD).

The award was presented to us for developing a sophisticated model to take a holistic approach to risk management – to mitigate the negative consequences and to exploit the opportunities in risk.

We gave a new meaning to the word RISK – Rate, Innovate and Share Knowledge. We also recommended a new framework for dealing with risk at an enterprise level in the IT industry akin to the ones in finance and legal domains rather than a silo-based approach.

The paper has been published in the conference CD and abstracts were presented in the conference booklet to all the delegates. A US based university has requested for the paper to be presented in its academic journal.

7. What were the selection criteria?

The Big Picture, Quality of Content, Functionality, Usage and Results.

8. What are your plans for 2007?

I have just started testing the waters of Portfolio Management standards. In the future, I would also like to plunge in to the water of Program management both experientially and theoretically.

Another plan is to buy my first car this year, too! God save the folks on Chennai roads 

8. Any final message for the PMHUB Community?

A year ago I was just a quiet PM working in a remote corner of this planet. I joined this group to learn from others and also get professionally certified. I got much more than this. This community opened a wide new world for me – an opportunity to present my views either through responses to queries from folks all across the globe, voluntary work or participation in contests.
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