Bill Flanagan, MBA, PE, PMI-RMP, PMP

Title: Justified Optimism

Forty years of experience of managing projects and Project Management Offices has taught me that Project Managers and their teams are an optimistic lot. Who else would keep coming back to work unique endeavors with tight schedules, stringent budgets and limited, part time resources? This optimism often leads to the underestimated schedules, budgets and disappointed customers as described in numerous reports compiled on failed projects such as the Bull Survey, the KPMG Survey and the Chaos Report. This presentation will review the guidance that the Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) and the Project Management Institute (PMI) provide on managing uncertainties associated with projects. We’ll demonstrate the use of Barbecana’s Full Monte Risk Analysis software in developing Probability Distribution Functions through range estimating and the use of the Monte Carlo Simulation to estimate the probability of completing your project, or achieving important milestones, on time and on budget. We’ll also explore inclusion of discrete risks identified in the Qualitative Risk Analysis so that we have a complete view of what it takes to meet customer expectations. Armed with Barbecana’s Full Monte Risk Simulation a project manager will move forward with Justified Optimism in meeting customer expectations.

Bill Flanagan Bio

Bill Flanagan has been a leader of people and projects for forty years. He began his career with the United States Navy where he served as a Nuclear Submarine Engineering Officer. This was followed by twenty-six years with Progress Energy providing leadership in both line of business management positions and major nuclear plant upgrade and improvement projects. Having served Progress Energy both as a Sponsor who chartered projects and a Project Manager who planned and executed projects has provided Bill with a unique perspective on project management. Bill has held positions of Engineering Manager, Outage Manager, Operations Manager, and Plant General Manager while working for Progress Energy. Bill has also been the Project Manager for Projects such as:

• Three Mile Island Plant Upgrade Projects
• Fire Protection and Dedicated Shutdown Projects
• Electrical Distribution Safety System Functional Inspection
• Instrument Air System Upgrade
• Land Vehicle Intrusion Protection
• Harris Plant Steam Generator Replacement

Since retiring from Progress Energy in 2005, Bill has worked with Black Diamond Services, Inc as a Senior Project Management Consultant gathering lessons learned on project successes and failure around the world. Today Bill is the link in an Alliance between Black Diamond Services and Knowledge Source Inc where Project Managers, Consultants and Instructors help their customers achieve excellence in Project Management. As a Senior Instructor for Knowledge Source Inc he has taught numerous PMP Examination Prep Classes, PMI-RMP Examination Prep Classes and Risk Management Workshops. He is a past Vice-president Education for the North Carolina Chapter of the Project Management Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Management from North Carolina State University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of North Carolina and holds a Project Management Professional and a Risk Management Professional Certification with the Project Management Institute.