On the Subject of Mr. Kumar’s Quicksand Article
2 August, 2007
It’s really important what Mr Kumar said about the ISO certification, it’s important because it’s the opinion of a “customer” and as ISO 9000:2000 practitioners we must hear the voice of our customers.
But what I think is that the problem is the same as in other professional practices, also in PM, the problem is “arrogance”. The consultants must have a humble attitude in order to gain the respect of the customer, and then try to perform his job according the real needs of the customer and not according his own agenda or viewpoint.
Best regards
Manuel Benítez Codas
Director de Consultoría
BCA - Benítez Codas & Asociados
Auditores, Asesores y Consultores de empresas Firma paraguaya establecida en 1956.
Corresponsal de la asociación Suiza
KPMG International
On the Subject of the August Editorial:
The Seven Natural Phases of a PM Career
4 August, 2007
Dear David,
Congratulations on the August issue of PM World Today -- a tremendous amount of interesting and useful information!
Your editorial, "The Seven Natural Phases of a PM Career," is excellent. I would just like to emphasize, as you point out, that while the first 4 phases are rather sequential, phases 5, 6 and 7 can all start just about any time after phase 4, and can all be overlapping.
I hope your editorial will inspire more -- and younger -- practitioners to write about their own experiences and knowledge gained, and share their insights with the rest of us. We always need a new perspective on things we think we understand well. There are plenty of ways to "get published" these days, including PM World Today, PM Forum, and other PM e-zines.
Keep up the great work on-line you are doing.
Russ Archibald
PhD (Hon), MSc, PMP, Fellow PMI and APM/IPMA, PMI member No. 6
Consultant and Educator in Project Management
http://www.russarchibald.com
On the Subject of Advisory Panels for Project Management
5 August, 2007
Hi David,
I agree that your concept of 'Advisory Panels' for Project Management is not only a concept whose time has come but somewhat overdue. But better late than never!
I think your 'mega' threshold is too high. I suggest any project over $250-300 million needs both an Advisory Panel and sub-panels on pre-construction schedule framework preparation and Project Controls. Mega projects are rarely solo efforts.
Prime candidates would certainly be IBRD/WB & IDB, EU/EBRD/EIB, and US State Dept OBO/Oversea Buildings office who build the embassies + and while not many in the $250 million plus range, they are very high profile projects that demonstrate American construction 'know-how' to the rest of the world. Another in your neighborhood would be TxDOT as they have a large program and an Advisory Panel would certainly pay off for them. So there is a need at the 'corporate' level too.
Visitors/advisers always see things that those who live or work there don't see. Maybe it is because they are too busy with the trees to see the forest and/or the train wreck heading their way.
Ignorance is bliss only up to a point.
Best Personnel Regards,
Earl Glenwright
Sofia, Bulgaria
On the Subject of the New College of
Complex Project Management
5 August, 2007
Dear Editor:
The Ultimate Project Management Skill
On the Subject of the New College of Complex Project Management, Patrick Weaver, Melbourne, Australia, writes 7/15/07: "The so called College of Complex Project Management and the examples used in their so called competency standard suggest the organisation is being established as an exclusive club for a few players in the major projects arena with a particular focus on defence industries."
A study of this competency standard is instructive. Someone has done a lot of work here, to assemble an erudite tract that itself is highly complex. But within it there are two lines that are perhaps the most instructive:
The first, on page 31, under "Definitions", it states categorically of a "System" that "A collection of parts that do not connect is not a system. It's a heap."
The second comes under the heading of "Special Attributes - that distinguish outstanding individuals". Under "Ability to Influence" the very last of all attributes, on page 122, is: "Keeps the project funded".
When you have multiple government bureaucracies with large amounts of money to spend and staffed by large populations of very opinionated people, the level of project complexity can well be overwhelming and difficult to imagine. The trick, as exposed by the College's "Competency Standard for Complex Project Managers" is obviously to be able to take a whole heap of parts and collect it into a system. That takes courage and tenacity and, yes, leadership.
Never mind whether the resulting system is capable of producing an outcome that is useful, far more vital, in the opinion of the Fellows of the College who make the assessment, is whether you have the ability to keep the project funded.
Perhaps that is the ultimate skill that more of us should try to learn.
R. Max Wideman
Vancouver, BC, Canada
max_wideman@sfu.ca
On the Subject of the the August Article
on Project Complexity Model
7 August, 2007
Dear Editor,
I was sorely disappointed by this article. It is not up to your standards.
First, the entire model is relevant only to software development projects, and primarily to application software developed in an IT environment. That limitation should have been disclosed immediately in the first paragraph if not in the title of the article itself.
Second, the article deals primarily with technical complexity while ignoring management complexity, which should be of equal or greater concern to a project management audience.
Bill Duncan
Lexington, Massachusetts, USA
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