To be eligible to receive the PMO of the Year Award, the applicant must be the director or manager of the PMO nominated. All corporate and government PMOs are eligible for nomination. Submissions from third parties on behalf of a PMO are not eligible.
New Report Available:
IT SALARY + SKILLS PAY SURVEY for Project Management
Foote Partners LLC has announced the availability of the results of a new quarterly survey of what Project Management professionals in 64 U.S. cities are earning in base salary, cash bonus, and PM skills and certifications pay.
Contents include:
- Base salary and cash bonus
- Skills pay for project management related skills
- Detailed long-form job descriptions
- Current data collected for Octobter 1, 2006 to January 1, 2006 for 60,000 IT workers
Two reports are available, one for 40 top tier US cities and one for another 44 tier 2 US cities. In each report, Salaries & bonuses for the following PM jobs are reported:
- Web/I-net Project Manager
- Data Warehouse/BI Project Manager – Processing
- Data Warehouse/BI Project Manager – Decision Support Services
- Notes Project Manager – Server/Network
- Notes Project Manager – Client/Customer Support
- E-Commerce Project Manager/Coordinator
Pay is shown for non-certified Project Management skills, and for those with the following project management certifications: (1) Project Management Professional (PMP); (2) CompTIA Project+; and (3) IT Certified Architect (ITCA/Open Group).
Tier 1 cities include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Lower Fairfield/Westchester City (NY), Miami/South Florida, Minneapolis, New York City, Northern New Jersey, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, St. Louis, Seattle and Washington, DC. A second report of survey results from 44 other smaller US cities and metropolitan areas is also available.
Foote Partners LLC is a New Canaan, Connecticut, USA based general management consultancy and IT compensation and workforce management research firm founded in 1997. The firm’s team includes former Gartner and META Group industry analysts, McKinsey & Company and Towers Perrin consultants, and former corporate HR, IT, and business executives. For additional information, visit www.footepartners.com/index.html.
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"Podcast" Launched in Brazil to Deliver
Project Management Knowledge in an Innovative Way
Reported by PMF correspondent Alcides Santopietro
There is no doubt that new technologies help professionals from various fields in their work, facilitating the execution of tasks, communicating, promoting collaboration and much more. In a time where MP3 players are fully present in our lives, Mr. Ricardo Vargas took advantage of the “podcast” technology to deliver knowledge to the Project Management Community.
Podcasts are media files distributed over the Internet. They can contain audio and/or video and can be played directly from a computer of by a portable player, after downloading the file. Mr. Vargas, founder of Macrosolutions portal (www.marcosolutions.com.br) and member of the PMI® Board of Directors, has launched a series of podcasts named 5’’ Podcast. The series contains weekly five-minute audio files explaining concepts and teaching best practices on Project Management.
According to Mr. Vargas, 5’’ Podcast aims to “discuss in a practical and quick way the main news and subjects in the project management field.” Currently available only in Portuguese language, the audio files can be accessed through the Macrosolutions portal. The first podcasts discuss the following themes: “The profile and the roles of a Project Manager”, “Certification Dilemma”, “Scope Management” and “Portfolio Management and Trends”.
Mr. Vargas has been acting in the project management field for over 10 years. Author of eight books on the subject, he has also earned two global awards from PMI®: “Distinguished Contribution Award” and “Professional Development Product of the Year”, both in 2005. He was president of Minas Gerais, Brazil PMI® chapter, served as Component Mentor for PMI in Latin America and currently is member of PMI® Board of Directors.
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“Podcast” é Lançado para Disponibilizar Conhecimento em Gerenciamento de Projetos de uma Maneira Inovador
Reported by PMF correspondent Alcides Santopietro
Não há dúvidas de que novas tecnologias auxiliam os profissionais de diversas areas no seu trabalho, facilitando a execução de tarefas, a comunicação, promovendo colaboração e muito mais. Em um tempo em que os “MP3 players” estão totalmente presentes nas nossas vidas, Ricardo Vargas aproveitou as vantages da tecnologia “podcast” para disponibilizar conhecimento à comunidade de Gerenciamento de Projetos.
Podcasts são arquivos de mídia distribuídos na Internet. Eles podem conter áudio e/ou vídeo e podem ser vistos e escutados diretamente de um computador ou por um tocador portátil, depois de o arquivo ter sido descarregado. Ricardo Vargas, fundador do portal Macrosolutions (www.macrosolutions.com.br) e membro do" PMI® Board of Directors, lançou uma série de podcasts chamada 5’’ Podcast. A série contém arquivos de áudio semanais, com duração de cinco minutos, explicando conceitos e ensinando boas práticas sobre gerenciamento de projetos.
De acordo com Ricardo Vargas, 5’’ Podcast tem como objetivo “discutir de forma prática e rápida as principais notícias e temas da área de gerenciamento de projetos”. Atualmente disponível somente no idioma português, os arquivos de áudio podem ser acessados por meio do portal Macrosolutions. Os primeiros podcasts discutem os seguintes temas: “Perfil e Funções do Gerente de Projetos”, “Dilema da Certificação”, “Gerenciamento de Escopo” e “Gerenciamento de Portfolio e Tendências”.
Ricardo Vargas tem atuado no campo de gerenciamento de Projetos por mais de dez anos. Autor de oito livros sobre o assunto, ele também foi agraciado com dois prêmios do PMI®: “Distinguished Contribution Award” e “Professional Development Product of the Year”, ambos em 2005. Ele foi presidente da Seção de Minas Gerais do PMI®, serviou como “Component Mentor” do PMI® na América Latina e atualmente é membro do “PMI® Board of Directors”.
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New UK Project Management Market Survey Out
from Arras People
Reported by PMF correspondent Miles Shepherd
Arras People, the project management recruitment specialists, have published their second survey on the UK project management market, with a detailed study on working conditions, rewards and contractor/employee sentiment. The survey was compiled in January 2007.
According to the Arras press release, several key themes emerge from the survey:
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Project management professionals are a wide and diverse group with pay and rewards that reflect this diversity. Over 90% of the professionals who participated in the survey earn more than the national average (as defined by ASHE), many by a significant multiple.
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Project management is a fluid and changing market where people are highly mobile and able to react to the changing demands of employers. There is mobility between the Contract and Permanent employment status as professionals seek out better prospects, new challenges or the ability to change their lifestyle. Pay and benefits was the lowest scoring reason for people changing jobs!
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More and more Project professionals are gaining professional accreditation as employers demand this prior to engagement even though most Project Management professionals base their seniority on experience rather than qualifications. There would appear to be some confusion as to what or who is driving this requirement.
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Respondents feel there are too many accreditation bodies within the profession, and this in many respondents' eyes tends to undermine the value of accreditation.
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A significant number (58%) of Project Management professionals are members of recognized Professional Bodies (APM, PMI etc...). They generally see market advantage of such affiliation though satisfaction levels drop when asked about their value for money and impact on enhancing the profession.
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Contractors are generally in the older age brackets than employees, and ageism is still seen as an issue by many people, despite new legislation introduced in 2006.
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2006 was a challenging year for many professionals in the remuneration stakes, where only 38% saw an increase in their earnings. A further 15% saw a decrease in earnings and the outlook for 2007 is mixed.
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Employees and contractors have very different approaches to job seeking. The internet rules. Is it time for employers to forget the Thursday Telegraph?
John Thorpe, a director of Arras people commented "There are more and more people calling themselves project management professionals, as private and public sector organisations increasingly rely on their skills and attributes to provide a flexible and focused resource. This study provides a detailed picture of the project personnel's professional life and the key differences between contractors and employees, and between the differences in major sectors."
For the full report, go to www.arraspeople.co.uk/projectmanagementsurvey2007.html.
Arras People used independent research company Benchpoint's unique real time polling technology to question 1,225 permanent and contract Programme and Project Professionals during January 2007. The survey provides a detailed picture of project professionals' careers, qualifications, earnings and prospects, building upon the data gathered in previous surveys.
Arras People is the Project Management Recruitment Division of Arras Services Ltd. Arras People provides programme and project management professionals and professional project office support personnel across all industry sectors, for either permanent, contract or interim positions. Arras Services began trading in February 2002, and now provides its services to many of UK's leading blue chip organizations, including some of the Top 20 project management consultancies in the UK, as well as public sector (central and local government), IT, engineering, marketing and media organizations, not for profit and charities. For additional information, visit www.arraspeople.co.uk.
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Canadian Problems with Large IT Projects
Editor's note: The information in the article is based on a Canadian government report issued in November 2006. While it is now four months old, full coverage in the international press is still underway, based on the significance of the findings. A link to the report can be found at the end of this article.
The Canadian federal government still has serious difficulties managing large information technology (IT) projects, despite the existence of a framework of best practices that dates back to 1998, according to Canadian Auditor General Sheila Fraser in her report presented to the House of Commons on 28 November 2006.
According to the report, in the last three years, the Canadian federal government has approved funding of $8.7 billion for new business projects with significant use of IT. Individual departments are responsible for their projects but the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) plays a central role in ensuring that IT projects fit the government's priorities and follow sound management principles.
The audit found that only two of the seven large IT projects examined—My Account, My Business Account (Canada Revenue Agency), and 2006 Census Online (Statistics Canada)—met all the criteria for well-managed projects. Five of the projects were allowed to proceed with a business case that was incomplete or out-of-date or contained information that could not be supported. The majority of projects examined were undertaken even though departments lacked the appropriate skills and experience to manage the projects or the capacity to use the system to improve the way they deliver their programs.
"The persistence of these long-standing problems is extremely troubling, not only because they involve large public investments but also because of lost opportunities to improve business practices and services to Canadians," said Ms. Fraser.
The Auditor General was unable to determine whether the TBS followed a complete and rigorous process when it reviewed and challenged projects in departments because the government denied her access to most of the information and analysis it collects and prepares, on the grounds that it was Cabinet confidence of a type that could not be disclosed. Since the completion of the audit, the Auditor General's access to this information has been clarified by an order-in-council.
The many large information technology projects now under way across the federal government are no longer only about introducing new computer hardware, software, or systems. They are meant to help departments change the way they do business—for example, by introducing new processes and modernizing work practices.
The AG examined a sample of seven large IT projects from four perspectives:
Governance. Did the processes used by the government to approve and manage large IT projects increase the project's likelihood of success?
Business case. Did the department or agency proposing the project clearly define the business needs it expected the project to meet?
Organizational capacity. Did the department have people with the needed skills and experience to manage a large IT project and did the organization have the ability to use all of a system's capabilities to improve the way it does business?
Project management. Did the department follow accepted best practices in managing the project?
Why it's important
Few departments today can deliver their business without the support of their IT. Governments must deliver successful IT projects if they are to provide their services to the public economically, efficiently, and effectively. Large IT projects are becoming more complex than ever and often involve a growing number of players across government.
In the last three years, the Canadian federal government has approved funding of $8.7 billion dollars for new business projects with significant use of IT. Despite their importance to departments, large IT projects have had a history of overspending, delays, performance shortfalls, and abandonment after major investments. Understanding why some projects have succeeded while others have failed would better position the government to plan and manage IT projects for success, maximizing the benefits of its investment in information technology by giving departments effective tools for delivering services.
What was found
Only two of the seven projects looked at: the 2006 Census Online and My Account, My Business Account projects met all audit criteria for well-managed projects.
- Overall, the government has made limited progress since the last audit of IT projects in 1997. Although since 1998 the Treasury Board Secretariat has established a framework of best practices for managing IT projects, many of the problems cited in past reports have persisted.
- The quality of governance varied widely from project to project. In four of the seven projects governance responsibilities were not carried out adequately because key issues that impacted project performance were either not reported or not resolved.
- Five of the seven projects looked at were allowed to proceed with a business case that was incomplete, out-of-date or contained information that could not be supported.
- Four of the projects were undertaken by departments that lacked the appropriate skills and experience to manage the projects or the capacity to use the system to improve the way they deliver their programs.
- Depending on the project, the quality of project management ranged from good to seriously flawed. In two cases, poor project management led to long delays and large cost overruns.
The chapter of the AG’s report entitled "Large Information Technology Projects" is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada Web site:
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/20061103ce.html
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Government Report Criticizes Rail Project Management
in Northern Ireland
According to a story on www.4NI.co.u, a report released Thursday, 22 March, by a Northern Irish government audit office has criticised the delays and overspending in the re-laying of the Belfast to Bangor railway line. The report issued by Northern Ireland Auditor General John Dowdall revealed “serious management deficiencies” in the management of the project, which is costing £34 million – twice the budget – and running nine months late.
It also revealed the project involved massive losses at the expense of the public. The overall cost to taxpayers was said to be around £8m to £13m. The Audit Office said there were “serious deficiencies in the economic appraisal which under-estimated the costs of the project” and it was a result of “failures” in key areas.
According to the report, Translink’s lead engineering consultants did not specify the contract properly and failed to deliver track designs. The report added: “Many of the problems which arose on the project could have been avoided or their effects lessened if Translink had managed the project properly.”
Translink apparently had no procedures for project management or the management of consultants and there were shortcomings in procurement practices. The company’s documented record was also described as “the worst we have ever encountered". The report said: “Key decisions were not documented and problems were compounded by the removal and destruction of documents by the former Head of Infrastructure.” The report concluded that Translink had made progress with plans to improve project management, but implementation in some areas had been "slow”.
According to the Translink website, Translink is the brand name of the integrated public transport operation of Citybus, NI Railways, and Ulsterbus. The organisation is now one of the largest companies in Northern Ireland with approximately 3,500 employees and a turnover in excess of £100m. Over 75 million passenger journeys are made on Translink services each year.
According to Wikipedia, Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a public corporation of Northern Ireland charged to oversee the provision of public transport in the country. NITHCo was established in 1967 to take over the railway and bus services of the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA), namely Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) and Ulsterbus. In 1996 the Translink organization was created to integrate the services of the Ulster Transport Authority as well as Citybus Limited (Belfast only - successor to the Belfast Corporation Transport Department).
Sources:
www.4ni.co.uk/northern_ireland_news.asp?id=60422.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translink_(Northern_Ireland)
http://www.translink.co.uk/
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Alcatel-Lucent wins US $6 Billion Network Expansion
Contract from Verizon Wireless
According to a press release issued by Verizon on 26 March, this will be the industry's largest wireless contract helping support Verizon Wireless grow its successful portfolio of multimedia and data services. The three-year agreement announced by Verizon Wireless and Alcatel-Lucent is worth an expected US$6 billion for Alcatel-Lucent to supply a wide variety of network equipment, software and services supporting Verizon Wireless' ongoing network expansion and continuous improvements.
With this agreement Alcatel-Lucent continues to be Verizon Wireless' primary network infrastructure supplier and will continue to help grow Verizon Wireless' existing portfolio of multimedia and data services. The equipment, software and services from Alcatel-Lucent will make it possible for Verizon Wireless to further increase the coverage and capacity of its wide-area BroadbandAccess data network based on CDMA2000(R) 1xEV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) technology. Verizon will plans to introduce new A-IMS services including Voice over IP (VoIP), push-to-x, mobile video telephony and more by deploying various components of Alcatel-Lucent's IMS solution. The deployment also will accommodate the Verizon Wireless approach to multi-vendor interoperability of these systems.
The agreement also calls for Alcatel-Lucent to enhance Verizon Wireless' existing CDMA2000 1X network.
Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will provide infrastructure solutions spanning its entire portfolio to transition Verizon Wireless to an all-IP network. Verizon Wireless' CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. A network will be expanded and enabled to support services such as VoIP with Quality of Service (QoS) through software upgrades. Selected IMS services will be enabled through the addition of Alcatel-Lucent's IMS platforms with the A-IMS compliant Application Manager and Services Data Manager functions. Existing Alcatel-Lucent-supplied packet switches will be upgraded to support IP soft handoff and Transcoder Free Operation, and the Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router will also provide IP routing and Ethernet aggregation.
Verizon Wireless will also use a wide range of products from Alcatel- Lucent's optical and wireless transmission products, including MDR 8000 digital microwave radios. The Alcatel-Lucent optical networking products will include the optical cross-connects LambdaUnite and 1671 Service Connect (SC), and the Metropolis DMX product family, which will provide an end-to-end solution for bandwidth management and mobility traffic backhaul.
Alcatel-Lucent is also providing comprehensive end-to-end network support services, ranging from network integration to installation, repair and maintenance services. It seems highly likely that Alcatel Lucent will be employing a few more project managers and project management professionals over the next three years.
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Primavera Pertmaster Makes Series of Presentations
in Brazil to Demonstrate what Risk Management Means
in Real-life
Reported by PMF correspondent Alcides Santopietro
After the recent acquisition of Pertmaster, Ltd., a company owning a cutting-edge Risk Management software, by Primavera Systems, Inc., a leading Project Management solutions company, in December 2006, the new company brought to Brazil a series of presentations not only to demonstrate its Risk Management software, but also to explain how to manage project risks in a real environment, according to the most up-to-date concepts on the topic.
The events, held in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, were sponsored by Verano Sistemas Ltda., the Brazilian company that represents the PertMaster Project Analytics in Latin America.
In São Paulo, on March 27th, after a brief introduction by Mr. Sergio Szpeiter, CEO of Verano, Mr. Dan Patterson, Director, Sales & Marketing for Primavera Pertmaster demonstrated, in conjunction with Mr. Alex Lemuz, its Sales Executive, how people misuse Risk Management concepts while managing their projects.
They have explained that risk events are different from estimate uncertainties, convincing the 200 attendees in São Paulo that when a person estimates a task duration to be 8 days-10 days-30 days as, respectively, the optimistic, most likely and pessimistic estimates, in fact, what the person means is that the task can be completed after a range from, say, eight to twelve days (that’s estimate uncertainty) and that, if one or two special events occur (risk events), then there will be an extra delay that may keep the task uncompleted until the thirtieth day. That brings us a complete different mind set to deal with the risks in a project.
Mr. Patterson and Mr. Lemuz challenged the audience to answer the following question: “If all task durations of a given project are set to a probabilistic distribution where they all vary from -5% to +5% of the nominal (most likely) duration, what is the probability that the project will finish on time or earlier?” After the first – and wrong – provided answer of fifty percent, the Pertmaster software was used to simulate the situation that, after 1,000 iterations, showed that the probability would be 16% only.
Mr. Dan Patterson (Primavera Pertmaster), Mr. Sergio Szpeiter (Verano Sistemas) and Mr. Alex Lemuz (Primavera Pertmaster)
According to the presenters, project managers must understand how to use the risk management concepts correctly and how to get the best benefits from using an appropriate tool to ease the decision making process. “Sometimes the impact of a given risk is lower than the cost of taking contingency actions to mitigate it, so it is better not to take any action,” says Mr. Patterson.
More information about Primavera Pertmaster can be found at www.pertmaster.com.
More information about Verano Sistemas, Inc. can be found at www.verano.com.br.
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Primavera Pertmaster Realiza Série de Eventos no Brazil para Demonstrar o que Significa Gestão de Riscos na Vida Real
Reportado por PMF correspondent Alcides Santopietro
Após a recente aquisição da Pertmaster, Ltd., empresa proprietária de um sofisticado software de gerenciamento de riscos em projetos, pela Primavera Systems, Inc., líder global em soluções de gerenciamento de projetos, em Dezembro de 2006, a nova empresa trouxe ao Brasil uma série de apresentações não apenas para demonstrar seu software de Gerenciamento de Projetos, mas também para explicar como gerenciar riscos em um ambiente real, seguindo os mais atuais conceitos sobre o assunto.
Os eventos, que aconteceram em São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro e Salvador, foram patrocinados pela Verano Sistemas Ltda., empresa brasileira que representa o software PertMaster Project Analytics na América Latina.
Em São Paulo, em 27 de Março, após uma breve introdução feita por Sergio Szpeiter, CEO da Verano, Dan Patterson, Diretor de Marketing e Vendas da Primavera Pertmaster demonstrou, juntamente com Alex Lemuz, executivo de vendas desta empresa, como as pessoas utilizam erradamente conceitos de gerenciamento de riscos ao gerirem seus projetos.
Eles explicaram que eventos de risco são diferentes de incertezas de estimativa, convencendo os 200 participantes em São Paulo que quando uma pessoa estima a duração de uma atividade sendo 8 dias – 10 dias – 30 dias, respectivamente como sendo as estimativas otimista, mais provável e pessimista, na verdade, o que esta pessoa quer dizer é que a atividade pode ser completada após uma faixa de, digamos, oito a doze dias (isso representa a incerteza da estimativa) e que, se um ou dois eventos ocorrem (eventos de risco), aí sim haverá um atraso adicional que pode manter a atividade incompleta até o trigésimo dia. Isso nos traz uma forma completamente nova de pensar sobre como lidar com os riscos em um projeto.
Dan Patterson e Alex Lemuz desafiaram a audiência a responder à sequinte questão: “se todas as durações das atividades de um dado projeto são definidas para terem uma distribuição probabilística que varia de -5% a +5% do valor nominal (mais provável), qual é a probabilidade de que o projeto termine na data prevista ou antes dela?” Após a primeira – e errada – resposta dada, que foi cinquenta por cento, o software Pertmaster foi usado para similar a situação que, após 1.000 iterações, mostrou que tal probabilidade seria de apenas 16%.
Mr. Dan Patterson (Primavera Pertmaster), Mr. Sergio Szpeiter (Verano Sistemas) and Mr. Alex Lemuz (Primavera Pertmaster)
De acordo com os apresentadores, os gerentes de projeto devem entender como usar os conceitos de gerenciamento de risco corretamente e como obter os melhores benefícios usando ferramentas apropriadas para facilitar o processo de tomada de decisão. “Às vezes o impacto de um dado risco é menor do que o custo de tomar uma ação de contingência para mitigá-lo, então é melhor não tomar nenhuma ação”, explica Dan Patterson.
Mais informações sobre a Primavera Pertmaster podem ser encontradas no web site: www.pertmaster.com.
Mais informações sobre a Verano podem ser encontradas no web site: www.verano.com.br.
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