Personal Perspective:
Program Management and Events of Scale
By Robert Prieto
Since early 2001, I have observed the impact of a series of high-profile events of scale. These events of scale have encompassed both man made as well as naturally occurring events and the lessons outlined below are derived from a systems perspective and are to a large degree independent of the initiating event. Much has been written about individual events, the failures and successes in being prepared, the lessons learned in the immediate aftermath and the challenges during recovery.
This paper looks more broadly, focusing on programmatic features common in our preparation and planning to resist, respond and recover from these events. Careful consideration may improve our overall infrastructure resiliency and improve outcomes in the future.
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About the Authors:
Roberto Prieto
Author
Robert Prieto is a Senior Vice President for Fluor, responsible for strategy in support of the firm’s Industrial & Infrastructure Group and its key clients. He focuses on the development and delivery of large, complex projects worldwide. Prior to joining Fluor, Bob served as chairman of Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc. He is a member of the executive committee of the National Center for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, a member of the board of directors of the Business Council on International Understanding, a member of the board of the Civil Engineering Forum for Innovation, and co-founder and member of the board of the Disaster Resource Network. He currently serves on the National Research Council’s committee framing the challenges on Critical Infrastructure Systems. Until 2006 he served as one of three U.S. presidential appointees to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and served as chairman of the Engineering and Construction Governors of The World Economic Forum and co-chair of the infrastructure task force formed after September 11th by the New York City Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the board of trustees of Polytechnic University of New York.
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Certification of PM competences in the Mediterranean area
By Gilles Caupin
Editor’s note: This paper was presented at the PM-04: 4th SCPM & 1st IPMA/MedNet Project Management Conference in the Mediterranean, 29-31 May 2008, Chios Island, Greece (http://2008.pmgreece.gr). As a Media Partner for that event, PMForum offered to republish selected papers in PM World Today. This paper is included here with the consent of the author and the permission of the Centre for Construction Innovation of the National Technical University of Athens (www.innovation.view.gr) who is the copyright holder of the conference proceedings. All conditions and disclaimers of the copyright holder pertain.
Abstract
This paper describes the elements of Project Management competences as identified by the International Project Management Association, and their usefulness in the Mediterranean Area. These 46 elements cover 3 ranges of competences (technical, behavioural, contextual), as it has been proven that knowledge and skill in application of PM processes are far from being enough to give sufficient confidence in the success of a project. The need to adapt an International Competence Baseline to fit national cultures and ways of doing business is further explained. This is even more true in the Mediterranean Area than in any other part of the globe. Formally identifying levels of competence recognises the steps a professional in project management goes through his/her career. Key components of a reliable assessment process are discussed, as well as further competence development.
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About the Author:
Gilles Caupin
Author
Gilles Caupin is former President and Chair of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). He is one of the founders and a past-President of the French project management association AFITEP, past-Chairman and Distinguished International Fellow of the International Cost Engineering Council (ICEC), past-Chair and Honorary Fellow of the International Project Management Association (IPMA), and past-Chair of the Global Project Management Forum initiative. Mr. Caupin is a Certified Cost Engineer from AFITEP (ICEC system), a lifetime member of the American Association of Cost Engineers International (AACEI), a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) (Member N° 6558), a founding member of the first PMI Chapter in France, a member of the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management (asapm), a founding member of AFITEP and SMAP in France, an Honorary Member of APOGEP (Portugal), and an honorary Fellow of PMA (India). He is presently Chair of the IPMA Certification Management Board, first assessor and international validator for several IPMA certification bodies, and has played a leadership role (as a member and chairman of the Certification Validation Management Board) in the development of the IPMA Certification System since 1994. Gilles Caupin has over 40 years of experience in projects and project management, in a variety of fields and industries. Mr. Caupin has a diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Ecole Centrale de Lille in Paris. He has owned his own consulting practice, Caupin & Associates, for many years and, although currently semi-retired, is available for short assignments. Gilles has presented papers, speeches and workshops on project management around the world for the last twenty years and is widely recognized as one of the leaders in the world of professional project management. He is a Global Advisor to PMForum and a PM Ambassador™ (http://www.pmforum.org/ambassadors/ambassadors.htm).
Gilles Caupin can be contacted at gilles-caupin@wanadoo.fr.
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Historical Events of August 1940
Churchill the Agile Project Manager - Part 23
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 skills as a PM in the summer of 1940. Part 22 looked at the historical sequence of events between June and July 1940. This article examines August 1940 for the utilization and the effectiveness of Churchill’s solution. It tries to answer the most difficult question of any project namely did it meet the project requirements and reach its goals? Did it assist in a critical situation and help the organization react to it? Did the solution (output) achieve what it was designed to do?
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Read the previous paper in this series. Churchill the Project Manager (Part 22)
View the entire series at: http://www.pmforum.org/library/papers/index.htm
About the Author:
Mark Kozak-Holland
Author
  
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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Requirements for assessing the managerial capability
of organizations implementing projects of public interest –
the Greek Standard ELOT-1429
By P. Fitsilis, K. Kirytopoulos, V. Leopoulos, J.P. Pantouvakis & I. Saridakis
(Hellenic Organization for Standardization (ELOT) Specialist Group 1
for the development of the Greek PM Standard for the Quality Assurance
of NSDP projects of the period 2007-2013)
Editor’s note: This paper was presented at the PM-04: 4th SCPM & 1st IPMA/MedNet Project Management Conference in the Mediterranean, 29-31 May 2008, Chios Island, Greece (http://2008.pmgreece.gr). As a Media Partner for that event, PMForum offered to republish selected papers in PM World Today. This paper is included here with the consent of the author and the permission of the Centre for Construction Innovation of the National Technical University of Athens (www.innovation.view.gr) who is the copyright holder of the conference proceedings. All conditions and disclaimers of the copyright holder pertain.
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to present briefly the ELOT-1429 standard, which defines a System for Managerial Capability (SMC) for organizations implementing projects of public interest. The standard specifies a set of requirements that have to be fulfilled by relevant organizations in order to increase their project management capability. The implementation of the proposed SMC is expected to improve both organization’s efficiency and performance in implementing projects. In addition, the SMC may be used for the evaluation of the organization’s managerial capability.
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About the Authors:
Panos Fitsilis, PhD
Co-Author
Panos Fitsilis, Ph.D. is Professor at TEI Larissa and Head of the Project Management department. He is also Director of “Software Applications” division at Centre for Technological Research of Thessalia.
Professor Fitsilis has extensive experience in managing large IT projects for organisations of the private and public sector. He is the author of three books and of many articles published on prestigious scientific journals. His research interest includes project management methodologies, project software management, software development methodologies and business information systems.
K. Kirytopoulos, PhD
Co-Author
Konstantinos A. Kirytopoulos holds a PhD on Project Risk Management attained at the National Technical University of Athens (2003) and a Mechanical Engineering Diploma (Bachelor plus MSc equivalent) attained at the same University (1999). He is working as an Assistant Professor at the Financial and Management Engineering Department at the University of the Aegean (Greece). His main research interests include but are not limited to Project Management, Risk Management, Investment Analysis and Entrepreneurship. More information about his current activities can be found at http://www.kirytopoulos.eu.
V. Leopoulos, PhD
Co-Author
Associate Professor Vrassidas Leopoulos is a member of the Industrial Management and Operational Research section of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). He has been active for several years as a professional production engineer in both industrial and consulting firms. He studied Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at NTUA (1980) and followed post-graduate studies in Paris Ecole des Mines, Ensae, Universite Paris IX (Dauphine). He holds a PhD (1985) in Petri Nets Simulation Technique earned from the aforementioned University. Apart from Petri nets he teaches quality management and project management at the NTUA, along with risk management, which is currently his major scientific concern.
John-Paris Pantouvakis, PhD
Co-Author
John-Paris Pantouvakis, PhD, is a tenured Assistant Professor of Construction Management in the Department of Construction Engineering and Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering, at the National University of Athens. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and at the Hellenic Open University. Professor Pantouvakis holds a PhD in Computer Science and an M.Sc. degree in Information Technology from the University of Nottingham, UK, and a degree in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens. More information and contact details are available at his website at http://paris.pantouvakis.gr
I. Saridakis, MEng
Co-Author
Ioannis Saridakis, M.Eng. is a Chemical Engineer and Head of the Chemistry and Chemical Department at the Hellenic Organization for Standardization (ELOT).
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Enhancing Vocational Language Skills and Working Culture Awareness of European Construction Professionals
By The EVLAC GROUP
E. Oral, P.M. Rogerson-Revell, J.P. Pantouvakis, M. Maier, M. Oral,
Arzu kılıç,
G. Mıstıkoglu, E. Erdiş & O. Mıstıkoglu
Editor’s note: : This paper was presented at the PM-04: 4th SCPM & 1st IPMA/MedNet Project Management Conference in the Mediterranean, 29-31 May 2008, Chios Island, Greece (http://2008.pmgreece.gr). As a Media Partner for that event, PMForum offered to republish selected papers in PM World Today. This paper is included here with the consent of the author and the permission of the Centre for Construction Innovation of the National Technical University of Athens (www.innovation.view.gr) who is the copyright holder of the conference proceedings. All conditions and disclaimers of the copyright holder pertain.
Abstract
The inability to operate effectively in markets with different working cultures/ practicesand languages has been an important barrier to the mobility of construction industry professionals. There has beenan increasing necessity to improve communication skills of construction professionals by vocational and professional training programmes which enhance the linguistic and cultural knowledge of the graduates and/or professionals. The outcomes of LANCAMproject (Languages for Contract Administration and Management in Construction) fulfilled these requirements for teaching and learning in English, German and Spanish with the construction related content. The aim of the current project (EVLAC) has been to adopt the methodology and the results of LANCAM projectto Turkish, Austrian, Greek and English cases.The tangible outcomes will be language training materials based around specific scenarios which typify the key stages in the implementation of a construction project and will incorporate a range of authentic input and that can be reached via internet and digital media. The intangible outcomes will be enhancement of vocational language skills and working culture awareness in European construction industry and improvement of mobility of the construction labour force. The aim of this paper is to report on the initial findings of the project together with the findings of the LANCAM project.
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About the Authors:
Emel Oral, PhD
Co-Author
Emellaptali Oral, PhD is Associate Professor in the Civil Engineering Department at Çukurova Universityin Turkey. Professor Oral has a PhD (1996) and MSc (1992) in Construction Management from University of Glamorgan and the University of Bath in the UK, respectively, and an undergraduate degree (1991) in Civil Engineering from MiddleEast Technical University. She is a former research Fellow at the Centre of Research for the Built Environment at the University of Glamorgan. She is the author of many papers in refereed journals and conferences, and an active researcher in the construction management field.
Pamela Rogerson- Revell
Co-Author
Pamela Mary Rogerson-Revell, PhD, is lecturer and co-ordinator of Distance MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, CELTAL in the School of Education at the University of Leicester, UK. Professor Rogerson-Revell has a PhD from the University of Birmingham (1998), MA in Linguistics and Language Teaching from the University of York (1981) and a BA (Hons) in Social Science from Middlesex University (1974) in the UK. She is the co-author of four books and the author of many academic and professional articles on linguistics and language in the international business environment. She is the former project officer for the EU’s Leonardo Project LANCOM (Languages for Contract Administration and Management in Construction) and former Deputy Academic Manager for the EU’s ADAPT Project, Language and Culture for Business (LCB), at the University of Luton.
John-Paris Pantouvakis, PhD
Co-Author
John-Paris Pantouvakis, PhD, is a tenured Assistant Professor of Construction Management in the Department of Construction Engineering and Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering, at the National University of Athens. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and at the Hellenic Open University. Professor Pantouvakis holds a PhD in Computer Science and an M.Sc. degree in Information Technology from the University of Nottingham, UK, and a degree in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens. More information and contact details are available at his website at http://paris.pantouvakis.gr
Martin Maier, PhD
Co-Author
Dr. Martin Maier is a philologist and currently working as a consultant in Innsbruck, Austria. He has been working on various EU funded projects. He received his PhD from the University of Innsbruck in 2004. Dr. Maier can be contracted at Martin Maier: martin.maier@hafelekar.at.
Mustafa Oral, PhD
Co-Author
Mustafa Oral, PhD is Assistant Professor in Computer Engineering Department at Çukurova University in Turkey. Professor Oral has a Doctorate of Philosophy (1998) in Computer Studies from the University of Glamorgan in the UK and a BS in Electronics and Communications from Yildiz Technical University in Turkey (1990). He is former Head of the Computer Department and former Deputy Dean of the Engineering and Architectural Faculty at Mustafy Kemal University. He is the author or co-author of more than 20 papers published in refereed international journals and conference proceedings and has presented papers at a number of international scientific meetings and conferences. Mustafa can be contacted at : moral@cu.edu.tr
Arzu Kiliç, MSc
Co-Author
Arzu Kiliç is a Lecturer in the Vocational School of Antakya at Mustafa Kemal University in Turkey. She holds a MSc in Production Management and Marketing (1999) from Mustafa Kemal University and a BSc in Business and Management (1993) from Anadolu University in Turkey. Ms. Kiliç is involved in teaching and research in business and management, marketing, and physical distribution and logistics. She has presented papers at national conferences in Turkey, and at the First Tourism Congress of Mediterranean in April 2002. Arzu can be contacted at ak¹l¹c72@yahoo.com.
Gülgün Mistikoğlu, PhD
Co-Author
Gülgün Mistikoğlu, PhD is Assistant Professor at Mustafa Kemal Univerity in Turkey. Professor Gülgün has a PhD (2001) and MSc (1987) in Civil Engineering from Cukorova University and a BSc (1983) in Civil Engineering from Istanbul Technical University in Turkey. She has been Head of the Technical Programs Department at Mustafa Kemal University since 2002. Professor Gülgün’s research projects have included Competitive Analysis of the Turkish Brick Industry (2003); Benchmarking Management Techniques: A Case Study of Turkish Insulation Companies (2005); and Analysis and Neural Network Modeling of Manhour and Labour Productivity for Construction Work (2006-08). She has authored or co-authored 11 papers for international journals, conferences and scientific meetings. Gülgün can be contacted at gmistik@hotmail.com.
Ercan Erdis, PhD
Co-Author
Ercan Erdis, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Mustafa Kemal University in Turkey. He has a PhD (2004) in Civil Engineering from Cukorova University, and MSc (2001) and BSc (1998) in Civil Engineering from Mustafa Kemal University in Turkey. Professor Erdis is engaged in teaching and research related to construction management, crisis management and total quality management. He is the author or co-author of 12 papers published in international journals, conferences, books and scientific meetings. Ercan can be contacted at e_erdis@hotmail.com.
Osman Mistikoğlu
Co-Author
Osman M¹st¹koğlu is an architect and businessman. He runs his own business since 1985. His company, OMZE, specialises in civil engineering, building, isolation and agriculture.
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