Strategic Project Management - Important New Book
by Bob Prieto Published in US

GTRI Executive Delivers Keynote Speech at 22nd IPMA World Congress on Project Management in Rome

Reported live from the IPMA World Congress in Rome

The second day of the 22nd IPMA World Congress on Project Management in Rome, Italy on Monday 10 November 2008 began with a keynote speech by Mr. Peter Tensmeyer, Deputy Director for the Office of North and South American Threat Reduction in the GTRI program office. Kicking off the day at 9:00 a.m., Mr. Tensmeyer presented a summary of the management of one of the world’s most important security programs, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI).

The GTRI is a global program financed by the U.S. government that includes portfolios of projects in countries around the world, with a critical global mission – to protect society from the malevolent use of nuclear or radiological materials that could be used in an improvised nuclear device (IND) or radiological dispersal device (RDD), commonly referred to as a radiological “dirty bomb.” The program involves the cooperation and coordination of governmental bodies, contractors and project teams in more than 100 countries.

The formal title of Mr. Tensmeyer’s speech in Rome was “Project Management techniques applied to a worldwide challenge: Reducing the Global Threat of Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism.” Pete described the scope of the GTRI program, some of the results achieved to date, and difficulties ahead. He focused on management challenges, mentioning some of the technical and management concepts and tools being implemented on the program.

This was an exciting speech, as Mr. Tensmeyer described how modern professional project management is being used to protect society from the threat of nuclear terrorism. This was also apparently the first time that this program has been presented to the world’s project management professional community. Approximately 1,000 participants listened to Mr. Tensmeyer’s address at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Rome. At the end of his speech, Pete thanks the project management professional community for developing the concepts and approaches now being used for managing this important global program.

The local host organizations for the ROMA 2008 World Congress – Project Management to Run – are the Italian Project Management Academy and the Italian National Association of Industrial Plant Engineering (ANIMP). The President of ANIMP is Mr. Fabrizio Di Amato; the President of the Italian PM Academy is Mr. Roberto Mori; the Congress Chairman is Mr. Luigi Iperti; and the Project Manager for IPMA 2008 is Mr. PierMarco Romagnoli. For registration, schedule and other information, visit the conference website at www.ipmaroma2008.it.

Founded in 1967 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the world’s oldest project management professional organization. IPMA is an international federation of more than 45 national PM societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. IPMA’s Annual World Congress is one of the largest and most important gatherings of project management authorities and leaders each year. The president of IPMA for 2008 is Veikko ValilaM; president-elect for 2009/10 is Brigette Schaden. Additional information about IPMA is available at www.ipma.ch.

Reported live from Rome by David Pells and Nelson Soucek who were covering the IPMA world congress for PMForum, along with a number of PMForum global advisors and international correspondents.

Nation to Nation event in Rome brings PM leaders together

Reported live from IPMA World Congress in Rome

The IPMA 22nd World Congress on Project Management was held in Rome, Italy during 9-11 November 2008. A major event preceding this year’s congress was the Nation to Nation Forum (N2F), which was conducted on Sunday, November 9. This event, held for the first time in Krakow, Poland preceding last year’s IPMA World Congress, was a follow-on to the series of Global Project Management Forums (GPMF) that began in 1995 and continued through 2005.

The IPMA 22nd World Congress on Project Management was held in Rome, Italy during 9-11 November 2008. A major event preceding this year’s congress was the Nation to Nation Forum (N2F), which was conducted on Sunday, November 9. This event, held for the first time in Krakow, Poland preceding last year’s IPMA World Congress, was a follow-on to the series of Global Project Management Forums (GPMF) that began in 1995 and continued through 2005.

The 2008 IPMA N2F brought project management leaders from various countries together to discuss the future of this type of meeting; the agenda was therefore the purpose, vision, objectives, strategies and plans for future N2F meetings. The N2F in Rome was chaired by Adesh Jain (pictured at right), IPMA Chair, with the support of IPMA President Veikko Valila. Approximately 40 PM leaders participated in the Rome meeting.

After some opening remarks, the floor was opened to speeches. David Pells, Managing Editor and former chair of the GPMF meetings during 1995-199, provided some background and personal perspectives. Tom Taylor, former chair of APM in the UK, questioned the need for these sessions. Helen Cooke from the USA suggested a purpose might be to mobilize PM resources across borders. Allan Harpham of The APM Group in the UK suggested that we focus on the “big picture”, issues important to the planet. Steve Armstrong from the Open University in the UK suggested the creation of an online forum, and Andrew Lester from Bond University in Australia proposed that the participants break up into discussions groups, a suggestion that was accepted.

The second half of the three-hour meeting was spent in four discussion groups, with results presented in a plenary closing session. Some of the suggested objectives for future N2F meetings included: renaming the meeting to “One World PM Forum”; creation of an open forum for collaboration and sharing knowledge; establish a set of global speaking resources for national leaders to use for promoting project management to local industry and government leaders; and several other concepts. The results of the breakout sessions were collected on large white sheets of paper, will be documented, and will be made available at some future date, along with a list of participants.

Photos below: Adesh Jain speaking to N2F; breakout group led by Helen Cooke, PMI Fellow from the USA; breakout group led by Gilles Caupin, former IPMA chair from France)

The local host organizations for the ROMA 2008 World Congress – Project Management to Run – are the Italian Project Management Academy and the Italian National Association of Industrial Plant Engineering (ANIMP). The President of ANIMP is Mr. Fabrizio Di Amato; the President of the Italian PM Academy is Mr. Roberto Mori; the Congress Chairman is Mr. Luigi Iperti; and the Project Manager for IPMA 2008 is Mr. PierMarco Romagnoli. For registration, schedule and other information, visit the conference website at www.ipmaroma2008.it.

Founded in 1967 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the world’s oldest project management professional organization. IPMA is an international federation of more than 45 national PM societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. IPMA’s Annual World Congress is one of the largest and most important gatherings of project management authorities and leaders each year. The president of IPMA for 2008 is Veikko ValilaM; president-elect for 2009/10 is Brigette Schaden. Additional information about IPMA is available at www.ipma.ch.

Reported live from Rome by David Pells and Nelson Soucek who were covering the IPMA world congress for PMForum, along with a number of PMForum global advisors and international correspondents.

Helen Cooke leads Project Leadership Workshop in Finland

PMI Fellow Helen Cooke was facilitator and lecturer for a Project Leadership Workshop in Finland on Monday, 17 November 2008. The workshop was organized by Projektiyhdistys, the national project management association of Finland, and immediately preceded the 2008 PM Days Project Management Symposium scheduled for 18-19 November in Espoo, Helskinki, Finland.

The workshop, entitled “Teematilaisuus: Leadership is Action not Position,” held at the Martintalon Auditorio in Vantaa, was attended by approximately 40 members and guests of Projektiyhdistys. The host of the workshop was the Pöyry, a large global network engineering company with 8,000 employees in 30 countries.

(Photo: Jyry Louhisto, General Manager of Projektiyhdistys; Jarmo Suominen, President of the Pöyry Chemical Industry Business Area; Helen Cooke and Veikko Valila, President of IPMA)

During the workshop, Helen (pictured) presented information and led the audience in discussions about the following topics; she also facilitated two panel discussions during the 3-hour workshop.

• What it takes to lead – various sources of influence and how to get them

• The art of Change and Innovation – looking at the whole organization in context and defining broad roles

• The Importance of Learning and Renewal – as the business world changes around us, how to adapt and renew oneself

• The Future is With Us Now: Trend Watching – many current trends were previously predicted. Were we listening? What is happening today that can provide insight into the future?

• The Power of Creativity – looking at the same problem or issue from different viewpoints can provide new opportunities; how do we encourage others to tap their creativity?

• How the Internet has Changed How We Work – sharing ideas before they are fully developed takes courage and process!

Helen Cooke, BA, MA, PMP and PMI Fellow, (pictured) is a project management consultant and coach based in Illinois, USA. A former executive with United Airlines, McDonald’s Corporation, Deloitte and several other US companies, Ms. Cooke has over 20 years experience in project management. She has consulted to a large range of public and private organizations worldwide in the last ten years, taught at several universities, and served on the advisory board of the Chicagoland Executive Advisory Council for the Project Management Institute (PMI). As she mentioned to workshop participants, Helen’s heritage is 100% Finnish.

The local host of the 2008 PM Days in Helsinki was the Projektiyhdistys, Project Management Association Finland, based in Espoo, Finland. Projektiyhdistys is the national membership body for Finland in the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and is the oldest and largest national PM Association in Northern Europe. The general manager of Projekiyhdistys is Jyry Louhisto, who is also the project director for the 23rd IPMA World Congress in Finland. For further information, visit www.pry.fi.

PMForum Advisors & Correspondents meet at 22nd
IPMA World Congress in Rome

Reported live from the IPMA World Congress in Rome

The 22^nd IPMA World Congress on Project Management – Project Management to Run, was held during 9-11 November at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Rome, Italy. The congress provided an opportunity for some of PMForum’s Global Advisors and International Correspondents to meet, take some photos and discuss various issues at the congress and within the PM profession.

As a Media Partner for the IPMA congress, PMForum was provided with a booth in the PM Exhibition, access to all activities and speakers, and opportunities to meet with congress organizers and IPMA leaders. PMForum executives in Rome included David Pells, President and Managing Editor, and Nelson Soucek, VP Technology, Producer and Webmaster.

PMForum Global Advisors who attended the Roma 2008 World Congress included Russell Archibald (Mexico/USA), Adesh Jain (India), Hiroshi Tanaka (Japan), Gilles Caupin (France), Morten Fangel (Denmark), Miles Shepherd (UK), and Vladimir Voropajev (Russia).

International Editorial Advisors for PMForum and PM World Today who were in Rome included Frank Anbari, PhD (USA); Rajat Basya, PhD (India); Sergey Bushuyev, PhD (Ukraine); Lynn Crawford, PhD (Australia); Roland Gareis, PhD (Austria); Brane Semolic, PhD (Slovenia); and Rodney Turner, PhD (UK).

(photo: front row – Vladimir Voropajev, Russ Archibald, Adesh Jain, Hiroshi Tanaka, Sergey Bushuyev; back row – Davis Shannon, Tom Taylor, Alan Harpham, David Pells, Gilles Caupin)

PMForum International Correspondents in Rome included Carol Dekkers (USA), Ed Naughton (Ireland), Axexander Tovb (Russia), Martina Huemann (Austria), David Shannon (UK), Miles Shepherd (UK), and Renate Prantner (Austria).

Other PMForum stakeholders participating in the IPMA congress in Rome included the following participants in PMForum’s PM Ambassadors™ Speakers Bureau: Tom Taylor (UK), Mary McKinlay (UK), Alan Harpham (UK), and Helen Cooke (USA).

(Photos: Nelson Soucek, Roland Gareis & David Pells; Soucek Soucek, Morten Fangel & David Pells; Allan Harpham, David Pells & Gilles Caupin at reception)

The local hosts for the ROMA 2008 World Congress – Project Management to Run - were the Italian Project Management Academy and the Italian National Association of Industrial Plant Engineering (ANIMP). The President of ANIMP is Mr. Fabrizio Di Amato; the President of the Italian PM Academy is Mr. Roberto Mori; the Congress Chairman is Mr. Luigi Iperti; and the Project Manager for IPMA 2008 is Mr. PierMarco Romagnoli. For registration, schedule and other information, visit the conference website at www.ipmaroma2008.it.

Founded in 1967 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the world’s oldest project management professional organization. IPMA is an international federation of more than 45 national PM societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. IPMA’s Annual World Congress is one of the largest and most important gatherings of project management authorities and leaders each year. Additional information about IPMA is available at www.ipma.ch.

Additional information about PMForum can be found at www.pmforum.org.

Reported live from Rome by David Pells and Nelson Soucek who were covering the IPMA world congress for PMForum, along with a number of PMForum global advisors and international correspondents.

David Pells delivers opening keynote address at
PM Days Project Management Conference in Finland

David Pells, Managing Editor of PMForum and PM World Today, delivered the opening keynote speech at 2008 PM Days Project Management Symposium on Tuesday,18 November in Espoo, Finland. The 2008 PM Days symposium in Finland, held during 18-19 November 2008 was the annual conference of the Project Management Association of Finland - Projektiyhdistys. The title of his speech and presentation was "The Future of Project Management is...not a straight line."

According to David’s presentation, three factors must be considered when discussing the future of project management - our definition of project management, personal perspective based on PM roles and relationships to projects, and current trends.

Definitions depend to a certain extent on what business or industry we are working in, and what our roles and responsibilities related to programs and projects are. For example, one’s definitions may vary if he or she is a project team member, project manager, program manager, project sponsor, CEO, director or customer. Definitions may also vary for consultants, educators, researchers or product suppliers. That is, is PM an approach, methodology, practice, process, application, model, body of knowledge, management philosophy, career, profession, business or industry? Or is it all of the above?

After referring to some recent papers and developments, including Hiroshi Tanaka’s seven PM models (2005) and the 9 schools of PM introduced at ESC Lille’s August workshop (2008), David reviewed some recent developments and trends. He concluded that the future must include multiple old and new concepts and methods; multiple models, depending on application and sector; multiple approaches and tools for various types of programs, projects and teams; continued growth of PM as business, industry and professional career path; and the increasing importance of projects and PM in both the global economy and in society. A copy of the presentation will be available soon in the PMForum library.

David L. Pells is President of PMForum, Inc., and management editor for www.pmforum.org and the monthly PM World Today eJournal (www.pmworldtoday.net). David is an internationally recognized leader in the field of professional project management, with over thirty years’ experience in project management related activities and positions. His professional experience includes a variety of programs and projects in engineering, construction, transit, defense and high technology, and project sizes ranging from several thousand to ten billion dollars. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Project Management Institute (PMI^®) and was named a PMI Fellow in 1999.

The local host of the 2008 PM Days in Helsinki was the Projektiyhdistys, Project Management Association Finland, based in Espoo, Finland. Projektiyhdistys is the national membership body for Finland in the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and is the oldest and largest national PM Association in Northern Europe. The general manager of Projekiyhdistys is Jyry Louhisto, who is also the project director for the 23^rd IPMA World Congress in Finland. For further information, visit www.pry.fi.

New Program Management Toolkit for Software Developers Showcased
at PM Days Symposium in Finland

A new global resource for software developers and project managers now available in English from Finland was showcased at the 2008 PM Days Project Management Symposium in Espoo, Finland this month. Pekka Forselius, the lead author of Program Management Toolkit for Software and Systems Development, stood by on Tuesday, 18 November to explain the new book and CD kit. The 2008 PM Days symposium in Finland held during 18-19 November 2008 was the annual conference of the Project Management Association of Finland - Projektiyhdistys.

Program Management Toolkit for Software and Systems Development is a new book and CD kit authored and produced by Pekka Forselius, Carol Dekkers, Matti Karvinen, and Matti Kosonen. The Toolkit has been published in Finland by Talentum, the book is available worldwide through the authors.

According to Mr. Forselius, "Throughout the world, software and systems projects are becoming both more important and more complex. This book provides some scalable tools, templates, and program management techniques to help increase success on software intensive systems."

"Our toolkit provides a management framework for use by all parties involved in a software development program," he added. "In particular, the book focuses on the front-end development of project scope, and the critical issues associated with scope management over the life of a software or systems project."

Pekka Forselius is a business partner, CEO and project management consultant at 4SUM Partners Oy in Helsinki. He is a researcher and developer of project management methods and concepts, and a research associate at INSEAD since 1996 and at the University of Brunel since 2003. His research specialty is organizational learning, in particular corporate memory and benchmarking. He was at the PM Days Symposium to present his new book, meet with colleagues and listen to several major presentations.

Information about the Toolkit can be found at www.4sumpartners.com or by contacting Mr. Forselius at pekka.forselius@4sumpartners.com.

The local host of the 2008 PM Days in Helsinki was the Projektiyhdistys, Project Management Association Finland, based in Espoo, Finland. Projektiyhdistys is the national membership body for Finland in the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and is the oldest and largest national PM Association in Northern Europe. For further information, visit www.pry.fi.

IPMA Research Award Presented to Anbari & Kwak of The George Washington University at World Congress in Rome

Professors Frank Anbari and Young Kwak of The George Washington University in Washington, DC, USA, have won IPMA's 2008 project management research award. The award was presented at the 22^nd IPMA World Congress on Project Management in Rome, Italy on Tuesday afternoon, November 11, 2008. Young Hoon Kwak, Frank T. Anbari, and their team at The George Washington University's School of Business were honoured for their research on the Impact on Project Management of Allied Disciplines.

The goal of their research, which was partially funded by a grant from the Project Management Institute (PMI), was to identify the impact on project management of allied management disciplines and explore innovative project management theories, new trends, and challenges. The research explored the full range of technical and organizational dynamics of project management, contributing new insights to project management theory and practice. This should help achieve organizational and strategic goals of the project management community.

(photo: Professors Anbari & Kwak at left on stage in Rome to receive their awards, along with members of the IPMA Research Board and Martina Huemann, IPMA Research Awards Committee Chair at the microphone.)

According to the information provided to PMForum, there has been a long debate within the management academic community as to whether “project management” is a practice or an academic discipline. In the engineering world where the tools and techniques of project management have been applied and implemented successfully, the answer to this question is yes, it is an academic discipline. The civil engineering field has construction engineering and management disciplines where students learn and implement planning, managing, and controlling engineering construction projects. The industrial engineering field applies quantitative methods to manufacturing systems analysis and production planning and scheduling to achieve effective productivity.

However, when it comes to the business and management field, business scholars appear puzzled and unconvinced of the notion that project management is an academic discipline. The origin, history, and evolution of project management and its academic background, foundations, and underlying theory have been debated and studied only to a limited extent from the management field’s academic perspective and supporting literatures are greatly lacking. There has been some studies among project management researchers to identify and rethink project management (Winter & Smith, 2006), but the results were conceptual in nature, and the research did not transfer the message outside of the project management field to the broader management academic audience.

The study by Anbari and Kwak (pictured at left) investigated project management research from the perspective of its relationship to allied disciplines in the management field. By exploring, identifying and classifying top management journal articles related to project management research in its allied disciplines, the origin, evolution and trends of project management research in the management field were revealed. This study specifically investigated project management research in allied disciplines from the management academy’s perspective by not observing project management research trends from the perspective of the project management community.

The goal of this research was to better understand project management from the perspective of the management world and the trends of specific disciplines and to provide compelling arguments that project management is a legitimate academic discipline. More information about this study can be found at http://home.gwu.edu/~kwak and http://home.gwu.edu/~anbarif.

Frank T. Anbari (PhD Project Management and Quality Enhancement, MBA, MS Engineering, PMP^®, PE, and ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt) is a faculty member and past Director of the Project Management Program at The George Washington University (GW). He taught in the graduate programs at Drexel University, Penn State University, and the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Anbari gained extensive industrial experience serving in leadership positions at the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), Day and Zimmermann, and American Water Works Service Company. He developed and taught seminars in project management, quality management, and Six Sigma method, for public sector and private industry organizations globally.

Dr. Anbari serves as co-Editor of Project and Program Management Abstracting Journal, Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN) and as member of the Editorial Boards of Project Management Journal, International Journal of Project Management, and International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. He served as the first Chair, Project Management Academic Committee at GW, as Vice President–Education and Certification, College of Performance Management, Project Management Institute (PMI^®), and as examiner (1993–1995) and alumni examiner (1999–2000) for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He is also an International Editorial Advisor to PMForum and the eJournal PM World Today.

Dr. Anbari conducts rigorous research, presents widely, and publishes extensively on significant, timely topics in project management, quality enhancement, technology management, and Six Sigma method. Results of his research appeared in over 90 papers, book chapters, books, conference proceedings, and case studies, and are further highlighted by over 80 successful presentations at prestigious conferences.
Dr. Anbari can be reached at anbarif@gwu.edu.

Young Hoon KWAK, Ph.D. is a faculty member of the project management program at The George Washington University’s School of Business (GWSB) in Washington, D.C. He earned his B.S. from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, and M.S. and Ph.D. in Engineering and Project Management from the University of California at Berkeley. He was a visiting engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taught at the Florida International University in Miami before joining GWSB. Dr. Kwak currently is a specialty editor (associate editor) for case studies section of the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (ASCE) and serves on the editorial board for International Journal of Project Management (Elsevier), Project Management Journal (Wiley), and Journal of Management in Engineering (ASCE). He is an elected member of the construction research council of American Society of Civil Engineers and a three-time recipient of the Project Management Institute’s research grant and IBM’s research grant.

Dr. Kwak has over 70 scholarly publications in the area of Strategic Issues in Project Management, Project Risk Management, Project Control, Performance Improvement, and Engineering, Construction, and Infrastructure Management. For more information, visit his website at http://home.gwu.edu/~kwak or contact him at kwak@gwu.edu.

The local hosts for the ROMA 2008 World Congress – Project Management to Run - are the Italian Project Management Academy and the Italian National Association of Industrial Plant Engineering (ANIMP). The President of ANIMP is Mr. Fabrizio Di Amato; the President of the Italian PM Academy is Mr. Roberto Mori; the Congress Chairman is Mr. Luigi Iperti; and the Project Manager for IPMA 2008 is Mr. PierMarco Romagnoli. For registration, schedule and other information, visit the conference website at www.ipmaroma2008.it.

Founded in 1967 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the world’s oldest project management professional organization. IPMA is an international federation of more than 45 national PM societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. IPMA’s Annual World Congress is one of the largest and most important gatherings of project management authorities and leaders each year. The president of IPMA for 2008 is Veikko Valila; president-elect for 2009/10 is Brigette Schaden. Additional information about IPMA is available at www.ipma.ch.

Reported by David Pells and Nelson Soucek who were covering the 22nd IPMA World Congress in Rome for PMForum and PM World Today.

Top APM Honour for Peter Morris

Reported by Miles Shepherd in the UK

The Association for Project Management (APM) have awarded their prestigious Sir Monty Finniston Award to Professor Peter Morris. The award, for lifetime achievement, was made at APM's glittering Awards Dinner held at London's Brewery on 29 October 2008.

Dr Martin Barnes, APM President, described Prof Morris as “One of the ‘fathers’ of project management research in the UK” whose seminal work includes the development of APM’s influential Body of Knowledge (BoK).

Prof Morris recognised that a firm theoretical base was needed to give the idea credibility and to ensure the academic credentials of what might otherwise be dismissed as a simple practitioner tool. He was the main driver of the original BoK and was the director for the two research projects that reviewed and updated the original work. Dr Barnes also noted that he and Prof Morris had undertaken the first PhDs in project management in UK.

Peter’s career has comprised a mixture of executive appointments, consulting, and academic work over the past 40 years. Currently chair of Construction and Project Management in the School of Construction and Project Management at University College London (UCL), he was previously Professor of Engineering Project Management at UMIST during which time he was also Director of the Centre for Research in the Management of Projects (CRMP). He continues as a Visiting Professor at UMIST and as Director of CRMP.

Prof Morris has led a highly distinguished research career; during his time as Fellow and Executive Director with the Major Projects Association, he undertook seminal research into the success and failure of projects and has written several academic papers on the subject. His academic research has covered a wide range of issues, including strategy, design management, knowledge management, and procurement with firms such as AMEC, Balfour Beatty, Ove Arup, WSAtkins, and Skanska, as well as BP, BNFL, and Pfizer.

Apart from research and teaching, Prof Morris leads an active consulting life as Executive Director of INDECO, a leading management consultancy specialising in the management of projects. A Vice President of the Association for Project Management and past Chairman (1992 - 96), he sits on several government panels connected with project management and construction. Previously he was a director of Bovis Ltd., and worked with the consultants Arthur D.Little Inc. and Booz Allen Hamilton, as well as with Sir Robert McAlpline & Sons Ltd

Professor Morris is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building, and a Fellow of the Association for Project Management. He was previously Chairman of the Association for Project Management. He is also currently a Global Advisor for PMForum.

Throughout his long and varied career, Prof Morris has sought to understand the concepts behind what should be leading practices in project management. He has an abiding interest is what constitutes the discipline of managing projects and has shown in my research and his publications (The Anatomy of Major Projects, John Wiley, 1987; The Management of Projects, Thomas Telford, 1984; The Wiley Guide to Managing Projects, 2005) that managing the front-end of projects is key to their success; that managing them in relation to their context (environment) is also important, as is managing the technical and commercial issues; and that above all, projects begin and end with people.

The Association for Project Management (APM) is the UK’s national body for professional project management. With over 16,500 individual and 500 corporate members throughout the UK and abroad, APM is one of the largest organisations of its kind in Europe. The organisation develops and promotes project management across all sectors of industry and beyond. APM's published mission is: "To develop and promote the professional disciplines of project and programme management for the public benefit." APM is the UK member of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). With headquarters in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, APM has twelve regional branches throughout the UK and one in Hong Kong. Additional information can be found at www.apm.org.uk.

High-Profile Finance 'hawk' (and Recent Institute Keynote Speaker)
to lead cull of Public Spending in Ireland

Reported by Ed Naughton in Dublin

LEADING academic and financial commentator Colm McCarthy is to head up a new body aimed at curbing government spending. Colm was last week's keynote speaker at the Institute of Project Management's annual Graduate of the year awards. When introducing him, Ed Naughton, the Institute's Director General said:

"I am delighted that Colm is speaking this year. It is my personal belief that project management is a very significant contributor to productivity and national competitiveness. There are quite a number of economic commentators in the market-place - some impartial, some biased – who have a very strong influence on the mindset of the public whether it’s “Joe the Plumber or Paddy the Plasterer". Projects account for at least 20% of the world’s value generation. In essence, the percentage is considerably greater as the 20% relates primarily to capital projects.

Unfortunately and inexplicably, project management is not on the radar of these economists. A definite lacuna of understanding needs to be bridged. If such influential commentators could be bought into and promote the benefits of project management, then it would vastly improve the chances of organizations embracing, valuing and utilizing the discipline.”

(photo: Ed Naughton and Colm McCarthy, courtesy of Institute of Project Management)

The Expert Group was set to be formally established on November 24 at a Cabinet meeting. Also likely to join is former governor of the Central Bank,
Maurice O'Connell. Mr McCarthy and his colleagues will be tasked with identifying targets for public purse savings -- an undertaking which didn't prove at all difficult for him as a commentator. His group will examine spending and staffing across the public sector.

A spokesman for the Department of Finance said that the group would be charged with "a serious examination of public expenditure, both in terms of numbers and programme".

An economics lecturer at UCD since 2005, Mr McCarthy is best known for expressing his direct and uncompromising views on radio and TV. Mr McCarthy, formerly of economic consultants Davy Kelleher McCarthy -- which he helped set up -- has wide experience of government and worked with several departments. He has an accountancy background, and also has experience in private sector. He was involved in the Expenditure Review Group established in 1987 by the government of Charles Haughey and Finance Minister Ray MacSharry. He also worked in the Central Bank, and at the ESRI (Economic and Social Research Institute).

Ireland’s prime minister Brian Cowen is likely to pass the new group the report of a task force on public service reform. Current finance minister Mr Lenihan said the essential issue facing the Government was the need to reduce a huge overhang in public expenditure, adding: "We can't continue to borrow for day to day purposes."

Professor Dean Kashiwagi to keynote Fifth International Conference on Construction in the 21st Century in Istanbul

Professor Dean Kashiwagi of Arizona State University (ASU), USA will deliver a keynote speech at the 5^th International Conference on Construction in the 21^st Century, to be held in Istanbul, Turkey during 20-22 May 2009. He will also present a six hour education/training session at the conclusion of the conference on May 23, 2009. Professor Kashiwagi will speak on the topic of "The Next Generation Project Management and Risk Management Model."

Some of the promoted highlights of Dr. Kashiwagi's presentation in Istanbul include the latest in U.S. project management (PM) practices, new risk management model that eliminates 98% of unforeseen risk; how to shift the paradigm; implementation of a new PM model; how to change the environment from reactive to proactive PM; new PM model case studies: IT, food services, construction, professional services, and ship building; effective PM project measurements; project management that leads to high value, low cost, maximized vendor profit; and how to build a research program interface with testing and funding.

Best value PIPS is a future generation PM model that a project manager uses like “night vision” goggles to see in the dark, minimizing risk that you could not ordinarily see. It is a high tech aid to PMs that can increase performance to 98% and minimize risk to less than 2%. The technology utilizes a structure using the concepts of lean, supply chain management, minimization of transaction costs, continuous improvement, performance measurements, preplanning, and risk minimization. The approach is being tried in the US at all different levels in and outside of construction with amazing results. The latest projects include two Corps of Engineers construction projects with a combined value of $80M, an outsourcing IT networking project at Arizona State University valued at $65M, efforts with a shipbuilder and contractors in the Netherlands and a design/construction project in Botswana. Other projects coming on line include a health services contract, furniture contracts, and delivery of design/consulting services.

Those who were fortunate to hear Prof Kashiwagi at CITC IV in Australia and the PM-04 conference at Chios, Greece, saw one of the more dynamic presentations in the construction research arena. Professor Paris Pantouvakis, the organizer of the highly successful PM-04 conference stated that “Professor Kashiwagi was the best keynote speaker. Half of the attendees loved him, and half wanted to know why he was allowed to speak.” His presentation stirred a lot of interest and discussion.

Prof Kashiwagi brings innovation that is rare in the construction industry as he proposes logical concepts that are counter to current industry practices. Prof Kashiwagi is a Fulbright scholar, and has been tasked with bringing the new construction management technology to the University of Botswana.

At the conference in Istanbul, Prof Kashiwagi will describe theory, the best value PIPS delivery system, the new PM model, a new risk model and the latest case study results from the US, Netherlands, and Botswana. He will also reveal how to bring the change in both government and private sector, using the latest test results from construction, shipbuilding, and IT networking case studies. Registered attendees for the education/training course can receive materials in advance, to allow more Q&A and “hands on” exercises. Researchers will learn how to create the industry/academic research interfaces that assist in bringing about these dynamic changes. Don’t let the opportunity pass by to see this dynamic and life-changing presentation.

Professor Dean Kashiwagi is the Director of the Performance Based Studies Research Group (PBSRG) at ASU. PBSRG is the worldwide leader in improving project performance and efficiency. Kashiwagi has developed a “hands off” approach to managing contractors or vendors. He is the author of the Information Measurement Theory and the best value Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS.) The technology has been tested over 500 times totaling $1.135 Billion ($683M in construction projects and $451 in non-construction projects) with a 98% success rate since 1994. Kashiwagi is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award in which he will take the technology this coming Fall to the University of Botswana in Africa. He was also very well received at the 2008 Mediterranean PMA conference at Chios Island. Kashiwagi also presented his work at the 2007 CITC-IV in Australia.

Organizers of the 5^th International Conference on Construction in the 21^st Century are the Division of Construction Management & Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey; and the Department of Construction Management, College of Engineering & Computing, Florida International University (FIU), Miami, Florida, U.S.A. For information or to register for the conference, please visit http://www.fiu.edu/~citc/program.htm. Those interested in registering for the six hour education/training session on May 23^rd, at the conference site, should contact Sylvia Romero, ASU-PBSRG, (Ph: +1-480-965-1252) at Sylvia.Romero@asu.edu prior to January 20, 2009, and register at pbsrg.com.

Tom Sheives, PhD named International Correspondent for PMForum
and PM World Today in North Texas

Tom Sheives, PhD, PMP has become an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today in North Texas, USA. Tom is also the Owner and Principal consultant for Better Project Results, Inc. a Texas-based project management consultancy. Tom is a senior project manager and experienced project management consultant and educator. One of his most recent engagements has been project management training for project managers and staff on the Panama Canal Expansion Program, one of the largest infrastructure projects in the world and now well underway in the country of Panama in Central America.

Tom Sheives is a project consultant and coach with his company Better Project Results, Inc. His mission is “Making Project Teams and Management Teams Successful”. Tom has helped organizations worldwide achieve better team results, working with companies such as Microsoft, the Panama Canal Authority, Texas Instruments, Lockheed Martin and others. While the mechanics in project management and certification can be readily taught, Tom’s primary focus is on the reprogramming of individual and team behaviors to help them become championship teams.

Tom has written and delivered training programs for High Performing Teams, Leadership, Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, Fundamentals and Advanced Topics in Project Management, and has delivered a widely acclaimed project management simulation program. A notable recent assignment was with the faculty of The University of Texas at Dallas, where he delivered 56 days of project management training to 175 executives of the Panama Canal Authority, helping prepare them for the current $5.25 billion expansion program.

As a graduate of Coach University, he is also trained to deliver High Performing Project Team Workshops, Project Team Assessments, Leadership Practices Inventory – 360o, the Winslow Dynamics Profile (Behavioral) Assessment, and the Personal Coaching Styles Inventory. Tom is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, Texas A&M University, Baylor University and Coach U, all in the USA. He is on the board of the Fort Worth Chapter of PMI and is assisting the PMI Panama Chapter with their 1st International PM Symposium scheduled for March 2009. Tom is also a member of the IEEE. His company is a Registered Education Provider for the Project Management Institute (PMI).

According to Wikipedia, the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The metropolitan area is further divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of this region informally refer to the region as the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex, or simply The Metroplex. North Texas is also a commonly-used term. According to 2006 estimates, the metropolitan area had a population of 6 million. The DFW area is the largest metropolitan area in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States. The cities of Arlington and Fort Worth (in photo below) provide the Western anchor for the DFW Metroplex.

According to Wikipedia, Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas in the DFW metropolitan area. According to a U.S Census Bureau release, as of July 1, 2007 Arlington has an estimated population of 371,038. Arlington is the 7th largest city in Texas and the 50th largest city in the United States. Located approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of downtown Fort Worth and 20 miles (32 km) west of downtown Dallas, Arlington is home to the Texas Rangers' Ballpark in Arlington and the theme parks Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor. The Dallas Cowboys' new stadium is under construction in Arlington. Arlington is home to The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), the third largest institution of the University of Texas System, with a current enrollment of approximately 25,000 students. Arlington is also the home of a major General Motors assembly plant and a number or aerospace and defense companies. Tom Sheives lives in Arlington.

Also according to Wikipedia, Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventeenth-largest city in the USA. Established in 1849 and a cultural gateway into the American West, Fort Worth covers nearly 300 square miles (780 km2) in Tarrant and Denton counties. Fort Worth has a population of 702,850 and is the location of several major American companies, including Acme Brick, Alcon, American Airlines, AmeriCredit, AMR Corporation, Bell Helicopter Textron, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., Carter & Burgess, Crescent Real Estate Equities Company, Freese and Nichols, Justin Boot, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, RadioShack, Pier 1 Imports, and XTO Energy. The Texas farming and ranching industry is based in Fort Worth, along with the large Lockheed Martin aerospace plant.

According to the Dallas Business Journal's 2006 Book of Lists, American Airlines is the largest employer in the Metroplex. Several major defense manufacturers, including Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopter Textron, and Raytheon, maintain significant operations in the Metroplex. The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is the largest airport in the state of Texas. The airport is located between Dallas and Fort Worth. American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, has its headquarters near the DFW Airport.

Texas is a state of the USA located in the country's Southern and Southwestern regions. With an area of 678,051 km² (261,797 square miles) and a population of 23.5 million in 254 counties, the state is second-largest in both area and population. About half the state's population resides in either the Dallas–Fort Worth or Houston metropolitan areas.

Texas is internationally known for its energy and aeronautics industries, and for the ship channel at the Port of Houston—the largest in the U.S. in international commerce and the sixth-largest port in the world. The state is home to numerous Fortune 500 companies and has the second-largest economy in the United States. In 2005, Texas had a gross state product of $989 billion, the second highest in the U.S. after California, after recently surpassing New York state. Gross state product per capita as of 2005 was $42,975. Texas leads the nation in number of beef, which usually exceed 16 million head. Cotton is the leading crop and the state's second-most-valuable farm product. Texas also leads in national production of grain sorghum, watermelons, cabbages, and spinach. Wheat, corn, and other grains are also important.

The United States of America (USA) is is a country in North America that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and shares land borders with Canada and Mexico and a sea border with Russia and The Bahamas. The United States is a federal republic, with its capital in Washington, D.C. The USA has been an independent and self governed democracy since 1776. American military, economic, cultural, and political influence increased throughout the 20th century.

According to Wikipedia, the USA has over 3.7 million square miles (over 9.5 million km2) and is the fourth largest country in the world by total area. It is the world's third most populous country with just over 300 million citizens.

With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $12 trillion, the USA has the largest economiy in the world. The USA’s median household income of $43,318 is 8th highest. The largest sector in the United States economy is services, which employs roughly three quarters of the work force. The United States has vast economic, political, and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a subject of great interest and discussion around the world. Most countries have embassies in Washington, D.C., and many have consulates around the country. (More information about the Arlington/Ft. Worth area, the State of Texas and the USA can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org).

Tom Sheives resides in Arlington, Texas, USA and can be contacted at tom@BetterProjectResults.com. We at PMForum want to welcome Tom to the PMForum Global Correspondents Network.

PMForum’s global network of International Correspondents provides news and information from around the world of project management. PMForum now has advisors and correspondents in over 40 countries. More information about this program can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5.

Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world’s first website devoted to professional project management and is one of the world’s most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum is a company formed to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net.

The IT Measurement Compendium - major new book for IT Project Managers
by Bundschuh & Dekkers now Available Worldwide

The IT Measurement Compendium: Estimating and Benchmarking Success with Functional Size Measurement, is an important new book for software and IT project managers and organizations just published by Springer. Authored by Carol Dekkers, well known American software metrics guru, and Manfred Bundschuh, the German benchmarking expert, the book represents a significant effort at documenting some of the most important assumptions and bases for estimating software development projects in the world.

According to the book's publisher, "The first step towards success in a software project is to ensure a professional setup. This includes a metrics-based formal estimation process to ensure a solid foundation for project planning. Accurate estimates require quantitative measurements, ideally tool based. In addition, software project managers must also monitor and update these estimates during the project's lifecycle to control progress and assess possible risks. Based on their many years of practical experience as software managers and consultants, Manfred Bundschuh and Carol Dekkers present a framework of value to anyone involved with software project management."

The authors present all five ISO/IEC-acknowledged Functional Sizing Methods, with variants, experiences, counting rules and case studies, and they use numerous practical examples to show how to use functional size measurement to produce realistic estimates. Written in a practical style, including checklists, templates, and hands-on advice, and backed up with many pointers to both national and international metrics and standards organizations, this book should be a good companion for any busy software project manager or quality assurance manager.

Some of the features of the new book include:

• Explains ISO/IEC standards specific to software measurement and Functional Size Measurement

• Details the five most popular and ISO/IEC accepted Functional Size

• Measurement standards including IFPUG, COSMIC, FiSMA, Mark II and NESMA

• Presents various other software sizing methods including case points, object points and academic approaches

• Complete with many real-world examples and hands-on checklists

• Based on the authors’ many years of experience

• Provides many pointers to Internet resources and international metrics organizations

PMForum caught up with Carol at the 22^nd IPMA World Congress in Rome where we discussed the new book. According to Carol, "We are really proud of this new book, which took a long time to prepare. We're also proud of it, since we think it will be enormously useful for software and systems development professionals who must struggle with the difficult task of estimating both software requirements as well as resources and costs. The IT Measurement Compendium should make those tasks much easier."

(photo: Nelson Soucek & David Pells of PMForum; PMForum’s UK advisor and correspondent Miles Shepherd holding a copy of The IT Measurement Compendium; Carol Dekkers; and Pekka Forselius who is holding a copy of the Program Management Toolkit for Software and Systems Development, another new book co-authored by himself, Carol Dekkers, Matti Karvinen and Matti Kosonen and published in Finland.)

The IT Measurement Compendium, by Carol Dekkers & Manfred , published by Spring, 2008. XXXVI, 644 p. 134 illus. Hardcover, ISBN 978-3-540-68187-8, Priced at 64,95 €, US$99.00, SFr. 108.00, or UK £51.99. For more information or to purchase, visit on http://springer.com/978-3-540-68187-8 or contact dekkers@qualityplustech.com.

Editor’s note: Carol Dekkers is an International Correspondent for PMForum based in Florida. We want to congratulate her on this simultaneous publication of The IT Measurement Compendium and the Program Management Toolkit for Software and Systems Development, important new tools for helping with the critical scope planning process on software development projects. If you’re working on software or IT programs or projects, we encourage you to buy these books.