Lecture by Elizabeth Harrin. 

• Question and answer session: your chance to pitch your queries to the experts.
• Refreshments and networking opportunities.
• Your chance to buy a discounted copy of Elizabeth's new book Project Management in the Real World.

The Presentation

Project management theorists would have you believe that a project has a clearly defined start, goes through a formal lifecycle and ends with a structured close down. If you've ever worked on a project, you'll know that is rarely the case. 

Project requirements are vague, the sponsor sets the end date before you know how much time the work will need or your budget gets cut halfway through. For any number of reasons, the path of a project never runs smoothly. However, as the project manager, it's your job to make sure the clients are happy, the tasks are completed on time and you don't overspend. This lecture is intended to cast some light on to the grey areas where theory and practice meet.

Using real-life examples, Elizabeth Harrin will discuss some of the top reasons projects deviate from the theory. Some of these deviations are positive interventions that, managed correctly, will help you deliver the project faster and with fewer headaches. But sometimes your project team needs a helping hand to get back on track. This lecture will look at how to handle the challenges of project management as well as the skills required to succeed in an ever-changing environment.

The Speaker

Elizabeth Harrin works for the global financial services company AXA as a senior project manager and was previously employed by American Express. She is the author of the new BCS book Project Management in the Real World.

The Event

The event will be held from 5.30 pm (for a 6.15 start) until around 8.45 pm on Monday 27 November 2006.

After the presentation, there will be a formal question and answer session, to be followed by refreshments, which will provide a more relaxed opportunity to meet the speaker and others attending the meeting. The talk and question and answer parts of the event will last for approximately 1h30.

The Venue

This meeting will be held at the BCS building in central London. The address is First Floor, The Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London WC2E 7HA.

Southampton Street runs between The Strand and Covent Garden. The entrance to The Davidson Building can be found under the clock. For further information see our London Office Map (PDF) or Multimap.com.

Booking

The price of the event is just £10 for BCS members and £15 for others. Pre-booking for this event is essential, as only 100 places will be available at the event.

Cancellation Policy
We cannot refund any cancellations received after Friday 18 November 2006. Substitutions may be made but BCS must be notified in advance.