Take project management to the next level thanks to our unique skills framework, skills ladder model, and methodology extracted from 46 years of in-the-trenches experience.
Tailored coaching series leveraging our unique methodology for faster skill development.
Modular training courses presented on-site or in the online form to specific groups.
A complete, procedure-based project management system built for your organisation.
High-tech industries are fiercely competitive, constantly pushing for the next groundbreaking product launch. This relentless pace places immense pressure on project managers, who must navigate complex product developments and tight deadlines.
At High-Tech Project Management, we equip project managers with the skills needed to handle the most challenging product developments and the most complex project situations. They can deal with difficult customers, and communicate with high efficiency and impact. In essence, we transform them into Super Project Managers, propelling their companies to new heights.
Over the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of knowing Paul both through Toastmasters and as a career coach. Throughout this journey, he has been far more than a mentor and one of the most genuinely supportive influences in my professional development.
Paul’s coaching style is deeply personal and transformative. His support during my transition into healthcare innovation and high-tech project management was invaluable, helping me navigate complex career decisions with clarity and confidence through practical frameworks and real-world experience.
Through Paul’s mentorship, I gained insights into rigorous project management methodologies drawn from his nearly 30 years managing complex high-tech projects. I have found Paul to be a clear thinker with strong knowledge of both the theory and application of project management, and I wholeheartedly recommend him.
Dinesh Chintapalli
Healthcare Innovation Consultant
Paul Ovington’s High-Tech Project Management workshops are valuable, well-structured, and highly relevant.
His strategic approach aligns perfectly with our focus at Escape Company. With more than 30 years of experience in high-tech project management and strategy, I find his content both thorough and refreshing.
The sessions are engaging and have started valuable discussions across the Escape team. We look forward to continuing our collaboration through future workshops.
Rolf Christensen
Project Manager at Escape Academy
At Escape Company, Paul turns intricate high-tech strategy into clear competitive moves. His energising one-day workshops equipped our partner network with tools we still use daily. We’re already booking deeper business-strategy and project-management sessions—designed and driven by Paul himself.
Michael Sandfær
Partner at Escape Company
Paul rose to the challenge of introducing project management methodology into the world of complex System-on-Chip design at both VLSI Technology and Jennic with positive results. Design engineers bought into the approach, internal management were able to monitor the business more closely and customers were delighted with the results….. an all round success.
Louis Kourra
Semiconductor Program Manager at Nokia
It has been a pleasure to work with Paul in several companies in a variety of different roles and he has always shown a very high level of knowledge and professionalism in all aspect of his work.
He has an ability to orgnize and manage projects very well, but also a deeper understanding of the technical issues and processes involved by the various groups in the development process, which is essential in managing complex System-on-Chip projects.
At NemeriX he was a real asset in ensuring that all aspects of the program were co-ordinated efficiently and he helped NemeriX to manage the development of our first 2 generations ( NX1 / NX2 ) in a more efficient manner, imparting some of the project management methodology on the design team at the same time, rather than simply managing the tasks from a top level.
Phil Young
Staff Modelling Engineer at Arm
Paul was CAD Director at EM-Marin, responsible for the engineering team that implemented the electronic design automation tools. Very detail orientated with a strong grasp of ASIC design, flows, technology management and vendor benchmarking, Paul was effective in managing this team. Paul was also responsible for purchasing and in this role interfaced with senior management, successfully transitioning the company to modern CAD tools thereby improving overall designer productivity.
Navraj Nandra
Senior Director Product Marketing Interface IP
Paul is one of the best project managers I have worked with. He has very good interpersonal skills, is diligent and methodical, all things that are required to stay on top of a project. I have worked with Paul on a number of projects and thanks to him they have always run smoothly and come in on time.
Andrew Crowe
Semiconductors Consultant and Professional
As a young entrepreneur I had the opportunity to work with Paul during the early NemeriX times. Acting as Programmes Manager Paul brought methodology into the company, helping in the development of all the processes a semiconductor company requires, from scratch. It has been a pleasure to work and learn from Paul.
Paolo Orsatti
Managing Partner at TiVenture SA
I worked with Paul Ovington when he was the Manager of ASIC Design group of Hitachi Europe(EuroDESC, later HMSE).
He was an outstanding engineer and project leader who helped me to accomplish our business missions in Europe.
He is very gentle but also a strong-willed man.
Kazuhiko Eguchi
Professor at Aichi Institute of Technology
I had the privilege to work together with Paul when he was the project manager for a complex ASIC development project planned to use in our smartphones. As customer, I was very pleased with the overall project management. Paul always acted in a professional manner and had an ability to provide comprehensive progress and status reporting. Paul was very supportive and easy to cooperate with, and as customer, I was convinced that the project was managed in the best way.
Peter Wickström
Manager
Paul has helped me to look at my business from a strategic view, check whether I am on the right lines and work out where I want to go with the business. He has made some good suggestions of ways that I could develop areas of the business. Paul took the time to experience my offering so that he could really understand what I do and what I could offer my customers. For me, this was crucial for him to be able to make appropriate suggestions – but something that others have failed to do.
Mary Thomas
Marketing Manager
I had the pleasure of working together with Paul at Hitachi for more than 10 years.He set up the first ASIC design facility for Hitachi in Europe and was instrumental in winning many design projects and creating a significant revenue stream for the company.
It is no surprise to me that Paul has been so successful managing large scale technically complex projects and establishing professional Project Management Programmes in several major companies.
They will have benefited from his clear thinking and foresight.
I have no hesitation in recommending him to any prospective employer
or customer requiring his special brand of consulting services.
Mike Foss
Manager
Paul is an experienced leader who is dedicated to the success of his endeavours as well as of those around him. He has an extraordinary ability of leading, engaging and influencing his team – qualities I witnessed whilst working with him during his tenure as the Toastmasters Area 7 Governor. As a speaker, Paul has a persuasive and entertaining style. His speeches are enriched with in-depth research and innovative delivery approaches, making them appealing to a wide variety of audiences.
Mohamed Kharbat
Infrastructure Finance at J.P. Morgan
46+ Years of Experience
Paul Ovington was among the first in the UK to earn an MSc in Microelectronics. In 1981, he founded a UK design center for California Devices, Inc., and in 1984, established Hitachi’s European ASIC operation, growing it over a decade. He then held a senior role at EM Microelectronics and developed router technology for Telebit Communications in Denmark.
Returning to the UK, Paul joined VLSI Technology, Inc. as a Project Manager for ARM-based System-on-Chip solutions for Ericsson Mobile Phones. By 2000, he was one of the UK’s highest-paid program managers, known for his expertise in project management and product development methodologies. In 2002, he founded Oxford Management Solutions Ltd to help high-tech companies master project management.
With a 46-year career, Paul has managed projects for the first Bluetooth solution, internet-enabled smartphone, and lowest power GPS solution. He has worked globally and speaks Danish, German, French, and Russian. Outside engineering, Paul is a Black Belt in Karate, a former President of Oxford Speakers Club, and a Certified World Class Speaking Coach. Today, he educates and coaches high-tech project managers and business leaders.
Semiconductor · fabless
months to full compliance
How Jennic created the world speed record for full Bluetooth compliance
Sixty companies were racing a 900-page specification. Jennic got there in five months against industry average of twenty-four.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
workshops in 12 months
Strengthening project leadership and client value at Escape Company
70 senior project professionals wanted more than standard training. Five workshops in twelve months built shared tools for complex, high-stakes client work.
In complex high-tech organisations, delivery can gradually become dependent on individual experience, workarounds and pressure. Because projects still get delivered, the weaknesses in the system are easy to accept as normal.
A PM System Transformation replaces that with a structured, hierarchical approach that integrates project and product development, captures best practice and keeps improving from project to project.
Six questions will show whether your system is still improving, or whether delivery now depends too heavily on experience, workarounds and pressure.
How much does an overrun cost a high-tech company? On a single project it can be $1m, $10m or sometimes $100m. Yet the figure that
Smiths Detection was a classical defence company working in the field of chemical agent detection systems. In many ways their products were the most advanced
People often ask me does your methodology work? The resounding answer is, Yes. Based on decades of experience and deep insight into methodology, I can
Introduction: Why Reviews Matter More Than Ever In high-tech industries, development speed and product quality are often seen as a trade-off. Many leaders assume that
1. The Challenge We have a progressive group of over 80 project managers who are freelance professionals. The associate is run by the Escape Company,
High-tech project managers rarely suffer from a shortage of activity. The calendar is full, the inbox is noisy, the team is waiting for decisions, and
If your team is strong, does your PM system still matter?
It's easy to assume it doesn't. Good people will always find a way.
They often do. But having project managers is not the same as having a PM system.
You can hire excellent project managers and still have unpredictable delivery.
A good project manager brings experience, judgement, and know-how.
A strong project management system takes that knowledge, captures the best practices behind it, structures them, and makes them repeatable across projects, so delivery does not depend too heavily on memory and individual effort.
So here is the question I would put to any leadership team:
How much has your project management system improved in the last three months?
If the honest answer is “not at all,” there is a good chance your delivery capability has plateaued.
It does not matter how strong the team is if people are continually compensating for a static system through pressure and individual effort.
After 47+ years in high-tech project management, I keep arriving at the same conclusion:
A PM system is a strategic asset.
More than 50% of high-tech project risks can be eliminated by the process itself.
And a good system should not remain unchanged for years.
It should capture lessons learned, absorb better ways of working, and improve from project to project.
A dynamic PM system gets better.
A static one simply ages.
So perhaps the better question is:
Is your PM system improving, or is your team carrying it?
👉 If you would like to talk about where your system stands, get in touch: https://high-techprojectmanagement.com/contact-us/
#ProjectManagement #HighTech #Leadership #StrategicThinking
In the second half of 2018, I took a six-month project management contract with u-blox in Berlin.
They had not released a new product for at least four years.
Two products were now in development, but they were struggling to get them into production.
What made the situation particularly interesting was the engineering team.
The talent was some of the highest I had worked with in my career.
So that raised an obvious question:
If the engineering capability was this strong, why were the products still struggling to reach production?
Part of the answer became clear when I looked at the product strategy.
On the main product, Product Management had defined 8 variants, all being pursued simultaneously.
The reasoning was sales-driven.
More variants meant more potential customers and more sales.
But the engineering reality told a different story.
The Work Breakdown Structure and total effort had not been properly assessed, and the team was drowning in development tasks.
There was a disconnect between sales ambition and product producibility.
So the first major strategic action was product rationalisation.
Reduce 8 variants to 2.
We chose the two with the largest sales potential and focused solely on them.
It was not an easy decision to get agreed.
The discussion was heated, and some education and persuasion were needed.
But once the decision was made, the effect was significant.
The engineering team gained better focus.
Productivity improved.
And there was also a psychological boost for a team that had been dealing with considerable overload.
Most importantly, getting into production became feasible.
That experience reinforced an important point.
When a highly capable engineering team is struggling, the answer is not always to push them harder.
Sometimes the problem sits further upstream.
➤ The scope is too broad.
➤ Too much is being pursued simultaneously.
➤ And the engineering effort is being spread across more work than the development programme can realistically support.
At u-blox, reducing 8 variants to 2 was one of the strategic changes that helped us get two new products into production.
👉 If your engineering team is overloaded, is the problem really capability, or is the organisation simply trying to develop too much at once?
You can read the full u-blox story here: https://high-techprojectmanagement.com/case-studies/ublox/
#StrategicThinking #ProjectManagement #Innovation #HighTech #Leadership
When I started working with Smart Fibres, they had 20 developers, four project managers, some very advanced technology, and a business under considerable pressure.
They were delivering complex engineering projects to multiple customers, but struggling with cashflow, and their processes had not kept pace with the company’s growth.
The technology was strong.
The delivery system needed to catch up.
The CEO recognised this early.
There was also a longer-term objective: Smart Fibres wanted to be acquired.
For that to happen, good technology was not enough. They needed to demonstrate that they could deliver projects reliably.
I initially took responsibility for their development projects while learning how their existing product development, financial, and quality systems worked.
That gave me the information I needed to build the PM system around the real problems the company was experiencing.
Over 3.5 months, I built a complete hierarchical PM system in two phases.
The new system introduced:
➡️ Hierarchical procedures with clear guidance
➡️ Integrated project and product development lifecycles
➡️ Checklists, templates, guidelines, and risk registers
➡️ A classification system for projects to enable a tailored approach
➡️ Continuous improvement through lessons learned
➡️ Different levels of rigour for different project sizes and risks
➡️ Better project diagnostics and more complete cost estimation
Importantly, Smart Fibres continued delivering throughout the entire overhaul.
The result was much greater clarity and consistency across product development.
The company survived, thrived, and was ultimately acquired by Halliburton.
I believe the operational discipline and new delivery model played a role.
An acquiring company wants to see more than technology. It wants evidence that delivery is predictable, processes are sustainable, and the organisation can operate without depending on individual heroics.
That is why a good PM system (Organisational Delivery Model) can become much more than an internal improvement.
It can become part of the value of the business itself.
👉 If you’re interested in how Smart Fibres built a complete PM system in 3.5 months and strengthened its delivery capability, you can explore the full article here: https://high-techprojectmanagement.com/case-studies/smart-fibres/
#StrategicThinking #ProjectManagement #Innovation #HighTech #Leadership
"We're too busy delivering to stop and improve."
This is what most high-tech companies say.
And here is what 47 years of building PM systems has taught me:
The companies that say they cannot afford to stop are the ones paying the highest cost to continue.
The fires your team is fighting this quarter? Most of them were caused by the same process gaps that existed last quarter. And the quarter before that.
Every week you delay, your team deals with the same issues a proper system would have prevented.
More than 50% of high-tech project risks can be eliminated by the process itself – not by hiring better people or working longer hours.
But most leaders do not realise that a project management system overhaul does not require you to stop delivering.
→ It runs in the background, parallel to your daily operations
→ The done-for-you model means your team reviews and approves – nothing more
→ You keep shipping whilst the new system is being built around you
I have done this several times with high-tech companies. Not one of them stopped delivering to get it done.
The real risk is not pausing. The real risk is never starting.
👉 If your team is too stretched to improve but too frustrated to carry on as-is, here is where to start: https://high-techprojectmanagement.com/pm-system-transformation/
#StrategicThinking #ProjectManagement #Innovation #HighTech #Leadership
No system.
No framework.
Blank sheet of paper.
And still, they got it right.
So how?
When I first walked into NemeriX, a Swiss fabless semiconductor start-up aiming to develop its first GPS chip family, they had 10 developers, one programme manager, strong technical ambition, and no project management system whatsoever.
No lifecycle documents.
No written procedures.
No templates.
No formal risk process.
And because they were venture-backed, the challenge went well beyond engineering.
They needed a clear project plan.
A development roadmap.
A strong business case.
A view of cash-in and cash-out over the next 24 months.
The management team recognised something important very early:
Informal coordination would only take them so far. The ability to scale requires process. The ability to deliver on-time and consistently is crucial for a new start-up.
So rather than waiting until the company became larger and more complex, they agreed to build the PM system early.
My role was to design a complete but proportionate system around the way NemeriX actually needed to operate.
That meant:
➡️ A structured project lifecycle
➡️ Integrated product development and project management
➡️ Marketing built directly into the lifecycle
➡️ Risk management through process
➡️ Checklists, guidelines, and templates to make good practice repeatable
The initial lifecycle took 8 days to develop, including reviews with engineering, marketing, and management.
Then came the real test.
NemeriX went on to develop its first GPS chip family, including what became the lowest-power GPS chipset in the world when released.
That experience reinforced something I have seen repeatedly since.
Small high-tech companies do not need less structure and system because they are small.
They need the right amount of structure early, before growth turns informality into chaos.
👉 If you’re interested in how NemeriX built a PM system from zero and used it to support its first GPS chip family, you can explore the full article here: https://high-techprojectmanagement.com/case-studies/nemerix-project-management-system/
#StrategicThinking #ProjectManagement #Innovation #HighTech #Leadership
One of the easiest objections to organisational improvement is:
“We are too busy delivering.”
Smiths Detection had every reason to say that.
They had around 140 developers working across several engineering and scientific disciplines, and their existing product development system was extensive but dated.
The system was strong on product development documentation, but comparatively light on project management.
So the transformation started with people as individual performers.
The first group of 10 senior staff received five days of applied high-tech project management training.
That programme was then delivered to another 40 senior staff across five further training groups over the next three months.
Six groups in total.
And this was not generic PM theory.
The training was adapted specifically to Smiths Detection’s own defence product lifecycle, covering areas such as:
➡️ Why projects are often badly set up
➡️ The strategic business importance of projects
➡️ Gaps between business stakeholders, PMs, and engineers
➡️ The importance of effective project lifecycles
➡️ Common project failure mechanisms
➡️ The difference between pure methodology and applied project management
➡️ Crucial requirements for each phase of a project lifecyle
That training created the first shift in thinking, especially critical thinking skills.
Later, the organisation went further and accepted the design of an optimised Project Management System in just 4.5 months, while continuing product delivery.
That is the important lesson.
Improvement does not have to wait for a quiet period. Quiet periods rarely come in high-tech companies.
In complex high-tech environments, the better approach is often to improve while delivering, using a structured and phased method that does not stop the work already in motion.
👉 If you’re interested in how Smiths Detection improved PM capability and built a stronger delivery system, you can explore the full article here: https://high-techprojectmanagement.com/high-tech-project-management-system-smiths-detection/
#StrategicThinking #ProjectManagement #Innovation #HighTech #Leadership
There is only a single word difference between those two terms, but their capability difference can be dramatic. Get in touch with us, tell us more about your situation, and discover the pathway towards transforming your project management capability to a world class level.
A strong team cannot fix a weak system
From 8 variants to 2: the strategic decision that unlocked production
The PM system that made a start-up acquisition-ready
Too Busy Delivering to Improve
From zero process to a thriving GPS chip company
How Smiths Detection rolled-out a new PM system, without pausing delivery
The Jennic Benchmark: 5 Months vs 24
Constructive debate: the hidden engine of workshop learning
Why case studies beat theory in advanced PM training
SCARL: the framework that turns project stories into applied learning
The strong economic case for faster PM capability building
Why application is where real PM learning begins
Can you compress 25 years of PM learning into 2-3 years?
High-tech know-how is gold - but only if it can be transferred
200 light bulb moments: what real project experience teaches that training often misses
The 25-year learning curve high-tech PMs cannot afford
Pricing depends on the structure of the programme, the level of tailoring required, delivery format (online or face-to-face), duration, and group size. The training is high value at moderate cost. Every training is designed for quick ROI and offers an excellent entry point for high-tech project managers and companies. The ballpark is between $150 and $250 per attendee, per day. It depends on location and circumstances. Getting started is free, whether it be companies or individuals.
No – the training and coaching is suitable for most high-tech companies developing new products and systems! Engineering disciplines particularly relevant include silicon chip, electronics, embedded software, applications software, mechanical design, IT, PLM and CAE and complex systems.
Currently, our training is focused exclusively on high-tech businesses. This is our niche, based on decades of experience. It’s built around the unique challenges and scenarios they face, so it’s not designed for companies outside this sector.
Currently, we offer a free 2-hour training session (on-site or via webinar) for project managers. This session is designed to deliver quick wins in managing high-tech projects more efficiently. Get in touch with us and claim it for your business! It’s a steal!
The training is designed for groups of 4 to 12 project managers, which from our experience is the most effective group size. This allows everyone to contribute, ask questions, share ideas, and progress together.
Yes. Upon completion of the training, you will receive a certificate as proof of participation. This certification can be added to your CV or professional portfolio to showcase your commitment to continuous learning and improvement.
Yes, we can deliver both training and coaching sessions either onsite or offsite, depending on your needs. We are based in the UK and can conduct onsite sessions within the region. For clients located elsewhere, online or hybrid formats can be arranged through direct coordination for sessions less than one day.
The training is generally designed for teams of at least four participants to ensure maximum engagement and effectiveness. However, our coaching sessions are primarily one-on-one and fully tailored to your individual goals and development needs.
We take over where conventional training leaves off. The training is:
The main differentiator is that it is applied, rather than pure project management. Applied methodology is more powerful and effective than pure project management.
Electronics, Embedded Software, IC/ASIC, Advanced IC Package Design, Applications Software, CAD/CAE, Mechanical Design, PLM, IT, Complex Systems – over the full project lifecycle, from concept to production or deployment.
Consumer Electronics, Mobile, Datacoms, Telecoms, Defence, Space, Marine, Oil & Gas, Microelectrons, Mult-Media, HPC, Cloud Hardware, Trading Systems, IT, Hearing Aids, Automotive, Telecoms, Datacoms. The methodology is tried and tested in those industry sectors.
Well over 20, serving as a contract Project or Program Manager.
he training comes in two mainstream categories:
The expands into 13 subject areas or pathways.
Training per subject can be 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours or 1 day. The training elements can be combined in any configuration to give longer training courses. How do I determine what I need? Try our Acceleration Day, covering 8 individual skill areas. Alternatively, to accelerate and improve project management at the organisational level, try our Quantum Leap Capability Day. Your investment is just $2,500 per group of attendees, irrespective of the group size. Don’t forget our offer of an introductory 1 – 2 hour session free of charge.
A Super Project Manager isn’t just any project manager—they’re the driving force behind high-tech innovation. They navigate complex projects, tackle tough challenges, and lead with precision and impact.
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