Samah Hallgren is one of ESSIQ’s skilled project managers, and outside her engineering role, she is a keen photographer and artist. She has a master’s degree in data science and previously worked as a Product Launch Manager at Sony Mobile, before joining ESSIQ as a consultant in project management. Industry experience has enabled Samah to become skilled in improving business operations by developing innovative solutions, reducing costs, and setting up processes and technology to be able to deliver on time. She has had several contracts through ESSIQ, and this is her current one: project manager at Volvo Car Corporation.

Challenge
The contract at Volvo Car Corporation is challenging but exciting. The project Samah is managing concerns ensuring the next generation’s connectivity is delivered according to the network infrastructure from the global cellphone operators for Europe, North America and the rest of the world.

The primary challenge experienced by Samah is poor communication from other parts of the organization, not least when the project content is changed, which means that the impact on budget and deadline is not communicated. The organization’s abilities in this area also could have been improved; something that Samah sees as a huge development opportunity, and which would have good effects on processes and results. Part of Samah’s challenge is, in other words, anchoring knowledge within the organization, and also achieving milestones by the designated deadline.

Implementation
The scope and objectives were defined early on in the project, so as to coordinate all the parties within the organization as efficiently as possible. Different documents are produced during the life cycle of the project, such as project plans, communication plans, risk logs, resource plans and status reports, ensuring that qualitative documentation is maintained. The documents are continuously updated throughout the project and are a main focus throughout Samah’s project management.

The project manager role requires Samah to place importance on proactively managing project risks and problems and minimizing their impact on the project. Being able to coordinate her work with other project managers, program heads and other internal involved parties is also a key part of Samah’s role, which means that she has to be communicative, structured and sympathetic.

Results
The aim of the project is to ensure that the Mobile Network Operators’ integration project is delivered according to the architecture’s design and plan, through communicating clear requirements and handling the project plan accordingly. The contract is well underway, so a summary of Samah’s input, and what lessons she has learned from it, will have to wait until the project is complete. With her high level of skills and communicative abilities, there was no doubt that Samah would deliver the highest quality project management, and ESSIQ is proud that she is part of our team.

• Samah Hallgren

  Project manager