David Cotgreave
Written Articles
he Procurement Act 2023 came into law on 24 February 2025, promising:
“a simpler and more flexible, commercial system that better meets our country’s needs”
To “open up public procurement to new entrants such as small businesses and social enterprises so that they can compete for and win more public contracts”
“embed transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle so that the spending of taxpayers’ money can be properly scrutinised.”
In this blog we take the pulse of The Procurement Act and ask if the benefits promised are being delivered.
Over three quarters (77%) of project professionals say business acumen improves strategic decision making, yet less than a fifth (18%) are highly proficient in it.
That gap is costing organisations more than they realise. Especially in I.T. projects, where the line between delivery and business value is thinner than ever.
Risk management in IT projects has often been considered a defensive discipline, intended to catch issues before they “snowball” into full blown disaster!
Given the current economic climate, where businesses are measuring the ROI on everything, at Stoneseed we’ve applied a growth mindset to risk management and identified that, with proactive risk management, you can unlock real, measurable financial value.
When it comes to finding the perfect workplace, independent employee reviews tell the real story. According to anonymous reviews on Glassdoor – a platform where companies cannot alter or remove employee feedback – Stoneseed’s story is overwhelmingly positive, with an exceptional 4.8 out of 5 stars rating and an impressive 94% of employees recommending the company to friends.
These unfiltered insights from real employees provide an authentic view of what it’s truly like to work at Stoneseed.
Completing an IT project and releasing it into service is always an extremely exciting and satisfying moment and delivering it within a pre-determined timeframe and budget certainly ramps up the joy … but also the pressure!
When your confidence in going live is shaken by bugs or issues, and your stakeholders are breathing down your neck, what do you do?
When PM friend Fiona found herself in this exact position recently, she gained a valuable insight, not from an experienced colleague, or a trusted IT Advisory partner. Fiona’s mentor was her teenage son!
Straight Talk on Project Management is Stoneseed’s eBook, your go-to resource for practical, no-nonsense project and programme management anecdotes and advice!
It’s perfect summer holiday reading!!
At Stoneseed, we write at least 48 blogs a year covering everything from agile transformations to stakeholder engagement, always with our trademark passion and a light-hearted touch that gives you a fresh perspective on project management. The hope is that they’re never too technical, sales-pitchy or high-brow – we’ll save that for when we work together on your project!
AI continues to shape conversations across IT project management, increasingly augmenting and assisting project delivery.
PMs and BAs etc who have successfully integrated AI into their work now tell me it feels less like a tool and more like a colleague!
Interesting!
The other day I read a very funny article which defined the “human personalities” of various AI engines – as if the AI’s were real people.
This got us thinking: could the way these AIs handle information “mirror” how our Business Analysts, Project Managers, PMO analysts, and Change Managers tackle their roles? Also, what could we learn by mapping these AI traits to the roles that drive successful projects at Stoneseed?
IT Project Management can be a bit like a theme park of rollercoaster rides – thrilling at first, but quickly full of twists, sudden drops, unexpected loops, and that one terrifying moment when you realise the track ahead looks … er … unfinished.
One minute you’re cruising through planning, and the next you’re free-falling through shifting priorities, budget changes, or surprise stakeholder input. That’s why you need someone riding beside you—steady, experienced, and holding your hand.
Have you just had your budgets for the next financial year? Are you expected to deliver more with less money? What better time to make your operation as efficient as possible?!
A Spring Clean for IT Project Management is a great way to refresh processes, improve efficiency, and reduce risks.
According to Multicosts of Multitasking by Kevin P Madore and Anthony D Wagner: “We have a hard time multitasking because of the ways that our building blocks of attention and executive control inherently work. To this end, when we attempt to multitask, we are usually switching between one task and another. The human brain has evolved to single task.”