091626 PMI Carolina Metro Meeting - Title: The Hidden Patterns That Make Projects Feel Messy

Speaker Bio: Brandi Laufer is a project management coach and former aerospace program leader who helps project managers make sense of messy projects. Drawing on more than 17 years of experience leading complex technical programs in the aerospace and defense industry, Brandi has seen firsthand that many project challenges are not caused by a lack of effort, tools, or training. More often, they stem from hidden assumptions, unclear expectations, competing priorities, and teams operating from different versions of the same story. Through her writing, coaching, and speaking, Brandi helps project managers recognize the patterns underneath project confusion so they can create clarity, make better decisions, and lead with greater confidence. Her approach is grounded in real-world project experience, shaped by a career that began in the Army and continued through years of leading complex programs where clarity mattered as much as execution. Learning Objectives: Recognize the early warning signs that a project is becoming unclear or misaligned. Identify common patterns that create confusion, rework, and stakeholder frustration. Understand where clarity breaks down and how to respond before confusion turns into project friction. Develop a structured approach for evaluating project situations before jumping to solutions.