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Volume IX - Issue II - February 2007

 

Featured Papers

 

 

The Strategic Role of Project Management

By Don J. Wessels

 

Project management has emerged as a strong discipline practiced by highly trained, certified professionals as organizations have come to realize they cannot stay in business if they cannot manage their projects. However, many companies are still limiting the application of project management to the tactical level. Here, of course, it is vital to the very survival of the enterprise to ensure products are designed, created and delivered to internal and external customers efficiently and effectively. In addition, savvy organizations also recognize project management is a critical strategic tool. They practice project portfolio management to select, manage and support a portfolio of projects that have the best chance of moving the enterprise forward, keeping it vibrant in the marketplace and returning maximum shareholder value. As departments and divisions compete for scarce financial and human resources, strategic project portfolio management provides the rational decision framework necessary to make the right project investment decisions that enable organizations to compete and win in the global economy.

 

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About the Author:


Don J. Wessels

Don J. Wessels, PMP, is a Senior Consultant with Management Concepts, Project Management Division, headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, USA. Mr. Wessels has over 25 years experience as a Project Management consultant, trainer, and public speaker.  His areas of expertise include Engineering, Manufacturing, General Business and Information Systems and Technology (IS&IT).  His experience spans many commercial industries such as Banking, Financial, Professional Services Organizations, Pharmaceutical, Insurance, Utilities, Sales, and Government Organizations and has delivered many levels of Project Management training from entry level through advanced and Executive sessions.  He facilitates Project and Program Launches, conducts Project Management Assessments, and assists clients in establishing Project Management Methodologies and Project Management Offices.   Founded in 1973, Management Concepts is a global provider of training, consulting and publications in leadership and management development. The company is a Registered Education Provider for the Project Management Institute (PMI) and endorsed as an education provider by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). For further information, visit www.managementconcepts.com.

 

 

 

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Conquering Complexity with Program Management
(Part 2 of a Series)

By Russ Martinelli and Jim Waddell

 

Introduction

“This is exactly what we need; we’re being consumed by complexity”.  That was a comment we received from an audience member at a recent conference we were speaking at.  This person’s comment was in response to our presentation showing how program management tackles complexity by breaking a complex development effort into multiple, smaller-scale projects that are managed in a concerted and synchronous manner within a program.  He came to understand that the projects within his company have crossed the complexity threshold where conventional methods for managing a large-scale project as a single entity become ineffective.

 

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Program Management: It's About the Business! (Part 1 in the series)

 

 

About the Authors:


Russ Martinelli

Russ Martinelli is the Manager of Program Management Methods within the Corporate Platform Office at Intel Corporation, where he focuses on the definition and implementation of program management practices across Intel.  Additionally, Russ is the chairman of Intel’s global Program Management Community of Practice, an adjunct professor at the University of Phoenix, and co-founder of the Program Management Academy.  Russ has held a variety of positions at Intel and Lockheed Martin in the areas of systems engineering, general management, operations management, and project and program management. Contact Russ at:  mailto:russ.martinelli@programmanagement-academy.com



Jim Waddell

Jim Waddell is an independent consultant specializing in program management and mergers and acquisitions.  He is the former Director of Program Management for Tektronix Inc. where he established and led Tektronix’s first worldwide Program Management Office.  Additionally, Jim is an adjunct professor at the Oregon Graduate Institute, a founding member of the Program Management Forum in Portland, and the co-founder of the Program Management Academy.  Jim has held a wide range of managerial and operational roles ranging across engineering, marketing, systems and manufacturing in the high tech and energy industries. Contact Jim at:  mailto:jim.waddell@programmanagement-academy.com

 

 

 

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Churchill the Agile Project Manager (Part 8)
Out of the Jaws of Defeat

By Mark Kozak-Holland

Most people are very familiar with Winston Churchill but may not be familiar with his “agile” approach to project management, and his management skills as a PM. Part 7 looked at how the project worsened and Churchill had to make a monumental decision whether to stand and fight, or evacuate. This article looks at how the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) faced with destruction leaves Churchill no option but to evacuate, straining the Allied relationship to a breaking point.

Read complete paper in English
Read the previous paper in this series. Churchill the Project Manager (Part 7)
View the entire series at: http://www.pmforum.org/library/papers/index.htm

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    About the Author:


    Mark Kozak-Holland

    Mark Kozak-Holland’s latest book in the Lessons-From-History series is titled “Project Lessons from the Great Escape (Luft III)” http://www.mmpubs.com/catalog/lessons-from-history-c-4.html. It draws parallels from this event in World War II to today's business challenges. His previous books include “Churchill’s Adaptive Enterprise: Lessons for Business Today”, “Titanic Lessons for IT Projects”, and “Avoiding Titanic Disasters: Project Lessons for IT Executives”.  Mark is a Senior Business Architect with HP Services and regularly writes and speaks (presentations and workshops) on the subject of emerging technologies and lessons that can be learned from historical projects. He can be contacted via his Web site at www.lessons-from-history.com or via email to mark.kozak-holl@sympatico.ca.

     

     

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