Agile Admiral - Weekly Project Managment Newsletter

I share my passion about Project Management. 
It will come in a form of discussing Agile Project Management, Certifications, Career, Learnings, Lessons Learned and more. 
If you wanted to stay ahead of the PM game this is for You

Owner

Nokia

*Managing 3 main programs, including 14 Project Managers and 40+ projects in scope

Program Manager

*Part of Nation wide Three UK Digital Cloud Transformation. Leading VNF migrations into a new cloud. 
*Various Telecommunication Network Elements (eg HSS, DRA, STP, SMSC, VMAS, MMSC, OCS, PCRF, PDN GW, IMS, SBC, ARC, OAM, MRF, UTP, NetAct, GiLAN, EMS, Infoblox, F5, Mavenir, Affirmed) and interdependency between elements.
*Working closely with external Vendors and Third parties.
*Managing external resources and contracts.
*Senior Project Manager at Three UK Digital Cloud Transformation Program

Senior Project Manager - Growth Engine for Nokia

Providing PMP preparation training courses to Nokia PMs. Each group has 30-40 participants.

PMP Exam Preparation Trainer and Coach

*End-to-end CORE VNF validation - Interworking of IMS/Packet core/HSS VNFs and cloud platforms.
*Managing PoC's and Customer Pilot project: TMO, Orange
*Working closely with external Vendors and Third parties: Spirent, IXIA

NSW - Nokia Software

Program Manager - 5G Core Solution

Owner of the 5G E2E solution verification activities which includes full end-to-end testing(CORE-RAN-UE). Responsibilities includes product compatibility testing, overall solution behavior, test automation and release based test execution. 
*Planning of Laboratory environment(multi location), interconnectivity between sites and competence development between cross business groups. 
*Support E2E Customer Projects and Trials. Report to Senior Leadership teams and Key Stakeholders.
*Estimation, risk management, communication, managing local and remote teams.
*Working closely with external Vendors and Third parties.

Senior Project Manager - 5G E2E Solution Verification

Responsible for Nokia AirFrame Data Center Solution system testing(server/switches - Rack Mount and Open Compute). Responsible for planning, resource allocation, scheduling testing activities, monitoring and controlling progress, risk management, managing quality, reporting to Senior Leadership.
*Effort estimation and procurement of testing environments.
*Report status, approve test strategy documents and testing phases(sanity, entity, regression, robustness, performance).
*Managing scrum teams, including verification, technical support and test automation
*Manage external vendor relations. Coordinate vendor management tasks. Ensure to track, measure, report and evaluate vendor performance. Identify and implement continuously enhance efficiencies associated with vendor management.

Data Center Project Manager

ProjectCertifications.com

Providing solutions to candidates who wanted to be certified PMI CAPM/PMP/PMI-ACP.
Project management mentoring - 1 on 1 and group level.

Toastmasters International

VP of Education - Nokia Budapest Toastmaster Club

ExxonMobil

Lead and coordinate testing team(20+) to contribute software development activities to the success of a global B2B e-Commerce project for ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Company.
*Responsible for overall planning(OPEX)/execution/monitoring/reporting testing activities.
*Managing onshore and offshore teams(Global team/5 countries/3
continents) - matrix organization, multiple time zones, dynamic resources
*Manage external vendor deliverables. Troubleshoot all vendor problems and present to management as required.
*Owner of sprint, end-to-end, user acceptance, regression, compatibility, performance, load and security testing.
*Tools: expert in HP QC, HP ALM, Atlassian-JIRA, MS Project, MS Sharepoint and Office suite.

Project Manager / Project Test Lead

*Track Project Schedule, Cost, Issues and Deployment;
*Manage delivery of projects from initial concept to in-life support, as well as the go live processes;
*Coordinate Procurement process with Local Ops (LO) and vendors;
*Work with LO and Business contacts to agree deployment approach and timing
*Supervise network project resources(17+) and tasks, delegated by the PM.
*Intermediate knowledge in data networking, understanding of the following:
TCP & IP protocols, IP networking/subnetting, Routing protocols, Switching vs routing, hardware platforms, Structured cabling systems, MPLS, Voice, PBX, Bolt-on's, Cisco products - Voice Gateways

Project Manager / EAME Voice Projects

*Coordinating IT infrastructure implementation(servers and network) at 60 sites, worldwide. Managing Infrastructure design, order, rack & stack and installation of devices. Dealing with site specific issues.  
*Oversee the Infrastructure portion of the project.Collaborate planning, design, implementation and maintenance of Infrastructure hardware.
*Supervise infrastructure project resources(15+) and tasks, delegated by the PM.
*Estimates and stewards infrastructure costs, work effort, and timeline.
*Managing cost and budget.

Junior Project Manager / Infrastructure Track Lead / IT Business Projects

Support the Incident Management function, including arranging update meetings, writing regular communications, organizing incident reviews and managing all actions from them to completion, all in support of the Incident Manager.
Monitor performance of the service lines and create detailed trend analysis to highlight rooms for improvement. 
Interacts with the client and provides internal escalation communications during major incidents.Ensure the customer SLA is achieved
Help the Services to create lessons learned and recommendations, use Key Performance Indicators, root Cause Analysis (RCA).

Problem and Change Management Coordinator

Club President - BEAT - Budapest ExxonMobil Associates Toastmasters club

Toastmaster International

VP of Public Relations and VP of Mentoring - BEAT - Budapest ExxonMobil Associates Toastmasters club

Mobiline Ltd

*Responsible for technical support operations in high-volume, 7 days a week environment, including supervision of 3-member technical support team. 
*Coordination of technical issues involving network, hardware, and operating systems, oversee network connectivity, implementation, integration, and troubleshooting for servers, routers, remote access. 
* Provides all supervision, training, and development for employees working directly with distributors to diagnose and resolve technical product and/or service issues. 
* Collects, analyses, and reports statistics to improve product quality and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. 
* Communicate with product development, product management, sales, operations and 
accounting to resolve issues. 
* Establishes department goals and objectives.

Technical Support Team Lead

Eurest

I was responsible for the supervision and co ordination of all staff, stock control and provide general support and assistance to management. Assist the management team in overseeing the every day operation of the outlets, as well as assisting with the training of new and existing team members. 
Duties included stock control, managing, receiving & delivering stock, fulfilling stock orders, money handling and administrating.

Restaurant Supervisor

Eurest Staff restaurant. My duties included: customer service at the café and sandwich bar, hot counter service and working on the till.
(Quality Through Hygiene and Quality Through Safety exam 2oo5)

Service Assistant

My passion is Project Management | Program Manager | 15 yrs of experience = Sharing my thoughts on LinkedIn | 8 Weeks Study Plan CAPM/PMP ⬇️ | On the mission to help 10.000 People Pass CAPM/PMP by 1st Try

Gabor has 14+ years of experience in Program/Project Management.
Worked in the Oil & Gas and Telecommunication industry. Through his experience he managed small to mid size(50 ppl) teams.
Got the exposure to deliver projects using traditional plan based and agile based approaches.
PMP certified since 2018.
In his spare time he likes to be engaged with the project management community. Author of Agile Admiral weekly project management newsletter which has 1500+ subscribers.
His weekly articles have been featured in IIL website and weekly newsletters.
Besides his 9 to 5 activities, his helping people to pass CAPM/PMP exam through his 1-on-1 tutoring service(200+ success stories since Jan 2022)

I saw a job post today that said:

“Junior Project Manager → must have 8 years of experience, a PMP certification, and proven success leading enterprise transformations.”

Let’s pause right there.

”Junior.”

8 years of experience.

Enterprise transformations.

Somewhere, an HR team sat in a meeting and said, “Yes, this sounds reasonable.”

This is the new reality on LinkedIn: every Project Manager job post reads like a wish list from someone who has never actually done the job.

They want you to be: 
→ A certified PMP. 
→ A Scrum Master. 
→ A budget analyst. 
→ A people whisperer. 
→ A part-time therapist for stressed stakeholders. 
→ And, somehow, still “junior.”

Let’s be honest the Project Management role has turned into a corporate catch-all.

Companies don’t want a manager.

They want a miracle worker who can juggle chaos with a smile and still update the Gantt chart on time.

If you’re a real PM, you know: the real skill isn’t in using Jira or managing timelines. It’s managing expectations, mostly your boss’s.

To every Project Manager reading this:
you deserve better than a “junior” title for senior-level chaos.

Stay strong. And maybe skip the job that asks for a PMP and a magic wand.

Gabor Stramb

On the mission to help 10,000 People Pass CAPM/PMP by 1st Try ⬇️ | Available for 1:1 Coaching | Best Practice Into Action

The PMP exam is called “easy.”

It’s not.

60% fail on their first try.
30% quit halfway through prep.
Only 1% pass with confidence.

The difference?

They understand the PMI mindset.

Most people study to memorize formulas and definitions.

But PMI doesn’t test what you know.
It tests how you think.

→ Do you make decisions that align with the PMI mindset?
→ Do you stay calm under uncertainty and think like a leader?

That’s the PMI mindset, and it changes everything.

The exam isn’t just about managing projects.

It’s about managing yourself under pressure.

Once you start thinking like PMI, the exam stops feeling impossible.
It becomes predictable.

You don’t just pass the test.
You start acting like the kind of project manager PMI was built to certify.

Gabor Stramb, PMP

I have 12+ years of experience in IT Program/Project Management. Participated in 3 major worldwide Program/Project implementation, all with dynamic resources (20+) in multiple time zones in a matrix organization. Dealing with vendors like SAP Hybris, Oracle, DELL, Cisco, Juniper, AT&T, Orange and Deloitte Digital. Experience include infrastructure(Server, LAN, WAN, Voice solutions), eCommerce B2B software testing and AirFrame Data center solution HW testing/implementation projects.
I have been always working for big multinational companies (ExxonMobil and Nokia), so in addition to my good communication and people management skills, I have a good understanding on the corporate policies, cultural and organizational differences and I am dedicated to project management.

Emdad Hossain, PMP®

Here’s the truth about project management no one tells you early on:

Your certification might get you the job.
But these 9 skills will keep you in the room when things get tough. 👇

✅ Stakeholder alignment — You’ll learn how to get everyone moving in the same direction, not just talking in circles.

⚠️ Risk mapping — You’ll learn to see problems before they explode, not after deadlines slip.

🔗 Dependency management — You’ll learn to spot the dominoes that can bring down your project if ignored.

🚨 Effective escalation — You’ll learn how to raise issues strategically, not emotionally and actually get support.

⏳ Eisenhower matrix — You’ll learn to prioritize what matters, not drown in what’s loud.

🛤️ Critical path method — You’ll learn to protect the timeline by focusing on what truly drives delivery.

🧭 RACI framework — You’ll learn how to create clarity, not chaos, when everyone’s pointing fingers.

🔁 Retrospective facilitation — You’ll learn to turn mistakes into momentum instead of repeating them.

🌍 Influence without authority — You’ll learn how to lead without a title and earn respect in every room you enter.

For decades, we told PMs:
📌 “Stick to the plan.”
📌 “Follow the process.”
📌 “Hit the deadline.”

We trained robots. Not leaders.

But here’s the truth I teach every PM I coach:
✅ You’re not a task tracker.
✅ You’re not a meeting scheduler.
✅ You’re a project manager

Today’s most effective PMs don’t just manage scope, they manage humans in chaos. Let’s look at the shift:
🛠 1950s: Obey the plan
📄 1960s: Follow the process
📈 1980s: Hit the KPIs
⚡ 2000s: Deliver value (Agile!)
🧠 2010s: Adapt and include
🤖 2025: Lead with empathy + AI

We’ve gone from control freaks to change facilitators and some people still haven’t caught up.

💬 If you still think project management is about Gantt charts and checklists…You’ve already lost your team.

🧠 The future?PMs who coach, care, and co-create with tools AND empathy.

What do you think?
Are we managing projects or managing people?

Being a project manager does NOT mean being everyone’s everything.

Say NO if they want you to be:

❌ An Assistant
❌ A Human calendar
❌ A Firefighter

You’re not here to chase updates or extinguish fires.

You’re here to:
✅ Align goals
✅ Drive delivery
✅ Manage risk
✅ Lead with clarity

Saying no isn't rude. It’s responsible leadership. 

👉 Tag a PM who needs this reminder today.

Wissal Askri, PMP®

Everyone thinks a $10M project is just a “bigger” $1M project.

That’s a lie.

At $1M, things move fast.
→ One PM
→ One designer
→ One exec who signs off

Three people.
One direction.

At $10M, things slow down.
→ 17 stakeholders
→ 4 directors
→ 3 execs who want to “align”

Everyone’s talking.
No one’s deciding.

A $1M decision:
“Should the button be blue or green?”
PM asks the designer.
Designer picks blue.
Done.

A $10M decision:
“Should the button be blue or green?”
Marketing wants blue (brand consistency)
Sales wants green (conversion data)
Legal wants neither (accessibility)
CEO wants red (personal preference)

Now there’s a committee.
Three meetings.
User research.
A two-month delay. Same deliverable.
10x the politics. Because more money doesn’t just add scale.
It adds opinions.

→ More money = more attention
→ More visibility = more input
→ More risk = more oversight
→ More people = more coordination

The gap between a $1M and a $10M project isn’t complexity; it’s politics.

The work doesn’t get 10x harder.
The coordination does.

whats the difference between 1M and 10M

7 Hard Truths I Wish I Knew About Project Management Sooner

Let’s be honest no certification or training fully prepares you for the real challenges of leading projects.

It took me years in the field (and a few grey hairs) to learn these hard truths the hard way:

🔧 Projects don’t fail because of tools. They fail because of silence, misalignment, or unclear expectations.

🧠 What goes unsaid breaks things. Assumptions are your biggest risk.

👥 Most issues aren’t “project” issues. They’re people issues: communication, trust, ego, priorities.

🧩 Perfect plans don’t exist. Nobody reads your 30-slide Gantt chart anyway. Stay flexible.

🫶 You are not the project therapist. Listen, yes. Absorb dysfunction? No.

🧭 Scope creep is a leadership problem, not just a PM problem. If no one’s saying “no,” things spiral. Fast.

🎯 You’re not there to make everyone happy. You’re there to move things forward. Clarity > consensus.

If you’re early in your PM journey, save this post. If you’re experienced, what’s your hard-earned truth? Let’s swap lessons.

👋 I’m Gabor Stramb, I help professionals pass the PMP/CAPM exam and lead projects with confidence. 
Follow for more real talk on project leadership and exam prep.

Ed Edoghogho Enabulele BSc. MBA MBCS

The difference between chaos and control? 

One simple tool: the Risk Matrix. 📊
Project managers don’t fear uncertainty; we manage it.

Here’s the secret weapon: Likelihood x Severity = RISK SCORE

Example: Very High Likelihood (5) × Moderate Severity (3) = High Risk (15)

🛑 Now, why does this matter? 
Because without a Risk Matrix, you're basically skydiving without a parachute. Here's what this tool unlocks for you:

✅ Early Warning System – Catch threats before they explode into problems.
✅ Prioritization – Focus your team where it truly matters.
✅ Smarter Resource Allocation – Don't throw money at what won't move the needle.
✅ Clearer Communication – Get everyone from interns to executives on the same page.
✅ Confident Decision-Making – Trade gut feelings for informed strategies.
✅ Continuous Improvement – Track, learn, adapt, repeat.

📌 Whether you're managing a 5-person project or a global rollout, the Risk Matrix isn't optional, it’s essential.

Use it. Master it. Watch your project execution level up.

Sai Srinivas YBN, PMP®, PSM®

What happens when a Project Manager, a Program Manager, and a PMO decide to have dinner together?

Let’s just say… no one eats on time.

The Project Manager shows up early, already tracking action items in Notion.

→ “I’ve scoped the menu, defined deliverables, and assigned owners for appetizers.”

The Program Manager walks in carrying a slide deck titled “Strategic Alignment: The Dinner Initiative.”

→ “Before we order, we need to clarify how this dinner supports our long-term goals.” Then the PMO shows up with a clipboard in hand.

→ “Hold on, has anyone submitted the dinner budget for approval? Also, where’s the risk register?”

Twenty minutes in, they’re still debating dependencies between the main course and dessert.

By the time consensus is reached, the waiter has gone home.

But don’t worry. There’s a follow-up meeting scheduled for next Thursday to “revisit lessons learned.”

If you’ve ever worked in project management, you know this dinner.

You’ve been to this dinner. You might even still be in it.

Suguneswari Thambymuthu

Looking forward to seeing you guys on the upcoming IPM Day :-)

View company: International Institute for Learning

Get ready to elevate your project management game at #IPMDay2025!

The Project, Program, and Portfolio Development Learning Track this year dives deep into real-world challenges and cutting-edge strategies that will shape the future of delivery and leadership in every organization.

Hear from powerhouse speakers leading transformation in project excellence including Gabor Stramb, Natalie Berkiw-Scenna, PMP, Markus Kopko ✨, Al Zeitoun, Dusan Stamenkovic, PMP®, ITIL®, Dr. Leon Herszon, Sarbaja Adhikari, CSM, MS, and Blanka Pillár.

📅 Live Event: November 6, 2025
 📺 Streaming Access: Through February 8, 2026
 🎓 Earn up to 26 PDUs and 2 free on-demand courses!

Let’s shape the future of project management—together. 

Register at https://lnkd.in/gXhKNb4Q

#ProjectManagement #ProgramManagement #PortfolioManagement #AgileLeadership #AIinProjects #PMO #Transformation #ProfessionalDevelopment #ContinuousLearning #IIL #IPMDay2025

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