NASA Announces new rules for Attending 2009 PM Challenge
in February - no registration fee!
According to an announcement from NASA, the NASA Office of General Counsel has determined that the 2009 PM Challenge will be an internal NASA training meeting. The PM Challenge 2009 will be held as planned, with a few minor adjustments, during February 24-25, 2009 at the Daytona Beach Hilton Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
The NASA PM Challenge 2009 will have 14 separate training tracks and general session speakers, as in the past. The NASA awards ceremony will be held on February 25 at lunch time. Since this will be a training event, NASA will pay for the facility and support, there will no longer be a registration fee. There is still a required registration process so that NASA knows and approves the attendance.
There are a few more rules changes regarding attendance at the event:
Meals - Each participant, including NASA civil servants, speakers and invited guests will pre-purchase meal tickets for lunch each day. The cost of each lunch is $10. The Hilton will sell these tickets on a website to be announced shortly. Due to the volume of people anticipated, the Hilton requires that all meal tickets be purchased by February 18, 2009. There will be no refunds, although a process will be worked out to transfer your ticket to another participant if you cancel your attendance after paying. You will not be granted access to the lunch room, the meal, the lunch speakers or the awards ceremony without buying a meal ticket. The Hilton will not sell meal tickets after February 18, 2009.
NASA Civil Servant Registration - All NASA civil servants and JPL employees will register with the PM Challenge Team, and must submit a SATERN training request to obtain your center approval to attend this training event. Please note that you are responsible for your own travel arrangements and cost, including hotel reservations.
All Other Registrations – Others will be permitted to attend this NASA event on a "space available" basis. You will be required to submit a request to attend this NASA training. This process will be defined on the PM Challenge website. Requests to attend the PM Challenge will be considered on a first come, first served basis, so applications should be submitted early. Register at http://pmchallenge.gsfc.nasa.gov/registration2009.htm
Speakers and Panelists - Speakers will be issued an invitation to participate in the PM Challenge. As in the past, your travel arrangements and cost will be your own responsibility. Additionally, you will need to purchase meal tickets if you would like to participate in the luncheon.
The annual NASA PM Challenge conference is organized by NASA’s Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL). Additional information can be found at http://pmchallenge.gsfc.nasa.gov/speaker2009.htm. The co-chairs for the NASA PM Challenge 2009 conference are Dorothy Tiffany and Walt Majerowicz.
Under NASA’s Office of the Chief Engineer, the Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL) provides leadership, advice, direction, and support for the development and learning of the NASA program/project management and engineering community. APPEL trains the technical workforce through a competency-based and experiential development process; promotes continuous learning through a blended learning model, which leverages the expertise of university and private industry partners; offers performance support to project teams through assessment, workshops, expert consulting, rapid deployment training, coaching, and mentoring; and facilitates the dissemination of lessons learned through online resources and communities of practice. The Director of APPEL is Dr. Edward Hoffman. For more information, visit http://appel.nasa.gov/.
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Back to the Basics of Risk Management at UK's International Congress for Programme & Project Management in February
Harpy Lally of Davis Langdon will lead a session on Risk Management at the upcoming International Congress for Programme and Project Management in London. The session, entitled "Back to the Basics" will aid delegates' understanding of programme and project risks, and how to deal with them.
According to Harpy (pictured left), “These days people learn about and start practicing Risk Management before fully understanding risk itself. Professional risk managers are very able to run the process but they’re not able to convey the meaning and consequence of risks to the participants in projects.”
Harpy’s session will take risk managers back to basics, highlighting to the audience instances of how they may not have thought through the risks they face everyday.
“Most people employ mitigation strategies which are either excessive or inadequate for the risks they face,” he says. “Mostly this is due to lack of understanding of the probability of certain events happening and/or a poor awareness of the severity of the impact. Wrong mitigation strategies are employed by people on a personal level for the same reasons that they are applied on projects…a lack of information leading to a lack of understanding.”
The February Congress will represent an opportunity for delegates to gain insights into the latest news regarding the update of PRINCE2; the event will feature a broad programme of speakers from both the public and private sectors. The event will also provide excellent networking opportunities during the day and evening at its Gala Dinner. The 2009 International Congress on Programme and Project Management will take place on 10-11 February 2009 at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow, UK. A full conference pass costs £550 + VAT.
For further details and to register visit www.bpugcongress.com
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Risk Management at the Olympic Delivery Authority to be discussed at February International Congress on Programme
& Project Management in UK
The Olympic Delivery Authority’s risk specialists will share their experiences with delegates at the International Congress on Programme and Project Management, set for 10-11 February 2009 in the UK. The ODA is the body responsible for delivering venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was formed in 2005 and adopted a 2:4:1 strategy – 2 years to design, 4 years to build and 1 year to test. It is currently in the ‘Big Build’ phase of the project.
David Law, Head of Risk & Audit and Chief Risk Officer, and Rob Hoccom, Head of Fraud Prevention, at ODA will position some of the risks facing both the wider Olympic Programme and the many individual projects associated with it. They will also discuss the steps being taken to strengthen fraud prevention and promote a fraud awareness culture.
“In common with all major projects, effective risk management is key to successful delivery,” David Law says. “Our session will describe the risk governance framework through which the project will be delivered, a key element of which is the ‘3 lines of defence’ under which Line management represents the first line of defence; a strong Programme Assurance Office represents the second line of defence; and Risk & Audit represents the third line of defence.”
Law and Hoccom will discuss how the ODA is managing risk and position the scale of The Olympic Park Project – which is slightly larger than Hyde Park. “There are 35 sub projects underway at the moment and landscaping the park is one of them. This means transforming a wasteland into the Olympic Park.
“We’re currently finding lots of interesting items such as hundreds of old shopping trolleys, a Second World War US Jeep and the remains of a Spitfire which is partly composed of radioactive material,” Law says.
Hoccom will also detail how fraud risk is combated on many different fronts: “Some of the potential fraud risks associated with the construction of the Olympic Park include colluding to obtain contracts in the procurement process or billing for the supply of large quantities of materials like sand, but under delivering on those supplies.”
The ODA and its sister company the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games also have to contend with the formation of new companies with London 2012 in their company name. The ODA work closely with the authorities to investigate all such companies.
The Congress will represent an opportunity for delegates to gain insights into the latest news regarding the update of PRINCE2; the event will feature a broad programme of speakers from both the public and private sectors. The event will also provide excellent networking opportunities during the day and evening at its Gala Dinner. The 2009 International Congress on Programme and Project Management will take place on 10-11 February 2009 at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow, UK. A full conference pass costs £550 + VAT. For further details and to register visit www.bpugcongress.com.
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Registration open for PMI Global Congress - Asia Pacific 2009
in Kuala Lumpur
Registration is now open for the Project Management Institute (PMI) Global Congress 2009 –Asia Pacific, which will take place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on 9-11 February 2009. In addition to being a premiere venue for project management education and networking, PMI’s Global Congress is a meeting point for experts and professionals at all levels to discuss trends in project, program and portfolio management.
As a discipline, project management helps organizations identify which projects are the most strategically important, and provides a framework to execute those projects on-time and on-budget. Organizations across the Asia Pacific are investing in large projects, such as the Kimanis-Bintulu pipeline in Malaysia, and need qualified project managers to execute these projects quickly and efficiently during this time of global financial uncertainty. PMI membership in the Asia Pacific region has grown by 11 percent in the past year and in Malaysia by nearly 25 percent.
More than 40 educational sessions and three nights of networking events will provide Global Congress attendees with opportunities to learn and refine the skills needed to guide projects to success. The breadth of topics will suit a variety of career development paths and interests.
Registration for PMI Global Congress 2009–Asia Pacific is now open. The deadline for advance registration is 23 January, after which on-site fees will apply. To register online and for more information, visit http://congresses.pmi.org/AsiaPacific2009/.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a leading advocate for the project management profession globally. Founded in 1969, PMI has more than 425,000 members and credential holders in 175 countries. PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential is recognized as the only globally transferable credential in project management. For additional information, visit www.pmi.org.
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The PMI logo is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
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Big event in Middle East - Arabian World Construction Summit
in Abu Dhabi set for February 2009
Reported by Mounir Ajam in UAE
The Arabian World Construction Summit (AWCS), one of the largest conferences and trade shows for the construction industry in the Middle East, will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during 9-11 February 2009. Approximately 700 industry executives and guests are expected at this event, which will be at the beautiful Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Some of the summary highlights of the conference include:
Pre-Summit Workshop on Sunday, 8 February on "Project Partnering in the Arabian Gulf - Bridging old divides for predictability, productivity and profitability", to be presented by TROWERS & HAMLINS.
Monday 9 February (Day One) - Achieving Business Sustainability - the first day of the AWCS will focus on the central theme of achieving business sustainability. The afternoon of day one will showcase Middle East projects selected for their uniqueness. Two interest groups will be featured.
Tuesday 10 February (Day Two) – Succeeding in a Challenging Market – the second day of the AWCS will explore ways of turning a challenging market into a profitable one. The afternoon will continue the format of the first day and present projects from the Middle East, Levant and North American regions, as well as featuring two interest groups.
Wednesday 11 February (Day Three) - Meeting the Material Demand - The third morning of the summit is dedicated to the issue that utmost affects and shapes the construction industry: shortages, uneven supply and the rising cost of building materials. The afternoon will feature a site visit to Al Raha Beach - one of the most prestigious UAE based projects. For more information, visit the summit website at http://www.arabianconstructionsummit.com/.
AWCS is organized by MEED, Middle East Business Intelligence, internationally recognised for providing essential business intelligence for anyone doing business in, or with, the Middle East and North Africa. With journalists and contacts across the entire Middle East and North Africa region, MEED provides reliable, up-to-date business news, analysis and data in both print and online. MEED attracts customers from across 78 countries worldwide. Visit http://www.meed.com/.
MEED Events provide delegates with the very latest business sensitive information. Over the past 10 years, MEED has organised events attended by senior government officials and thousands of international business people. The MEED conference series is aimed at companies active or seeking business in the markets of the Middle East. For more information visit http://www.meed.com/events/index.html.
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PMI Dallas 2009 Project Management Vendor Showcase
set for 5 February
The PMI Dallas Chapter will hold its annual "Project Management Vendor Showcase" on February 5, 2009. The PMI Dallas Chapter Vendor Showcase provides opportunities for suppliers of project management products and services to gain one-on-one time with project management professionals in the Dallas Area. Project management practitioners and leaders will find opportunities to see the latest project management technologies, including the leading PM software systems and tools.
The 2009 PMI Dallas Vendor Showcase takes place on Thursday, February 5, 2009 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm, at the Crown Plaza Hotel at 14315 Midway Road in Addison, Texas.
According to the PMI Dallas announcement, this event is by far the most popular event of the year for the chapter. PMI Dallas chapter members attended free, while PM product and service suppliers pay reasonable prices for exhibition space. Usually with more than twenty participating vendors, and a generous buffet dinner, attendance can exceed 400 participants.
Although free to PMI Dallas Chapter members, registration is still required. For more information, visit http://www.pmidallas.org/index.phtml?menu=s-cb-evt&evtCode=105&evtDate=2009-02-05
Project management companies interested in promoting or demonstrating products, services or technologies should visit http://vendorshowcase2009.eventbrite.com/
The PMI Dallas Chapter is a volunteer-based professional association dedicated to supporting the growth and development of project management practitioners, as well as building awareness of the project management discipline and its critical role in business and organization success. With more than 270,000 members in over 170 countries, the Project Management Institute (PMI®) is the world’s largest membership association for project management. Founded in 1984 and with over 4,000 members, the PMI Dallas Chapter is one of the world’s largest PMI components. To learn more about the PMI Dallas Chapter and its service offerings, visit
www.pmidallas.org
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