October 4, 2008

Dear David

I first met John Fondahl about 1978 when he visited Australia as a guest of the Project Manager's Forum (the predecessor of the Australian Institute of Project Management).

I met him a couple more times in the later 1980s, once at Stanford, and also at a couple of PMI functions in the USA. But I cannot claim to have known him well personally.

However, I can claim to be one of the first to adopt the methodology outlined in his Technical Report No.9 of November 1961. This report came our way in mid-1962, and I saw his "activity-on-node" approach as a way of overcoming the "double-dummy" problem with the arrow diagramming we had been using, as well as being much more user-friendly for our people on the job.  So, by the end of 1963 it had become the design and construction planning standard in my company, Civil & Civic Pty Limited, which became the acknowledged leader in project planning and control in the building industry in Australia.

My earliest record of it being picked up and used by others in Australia is 1967.

As for John Fondahl's influence, I believe it was huge, as it gave us what came to be known as the Precedence Diagramming Method, which was vastly superior to Arrow Diagramming, and of course eventually became the de facto standard for network scheduling.

Best regards
Alan Stretton
Sydney, Australia

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On the Subject of your October Editorial
and the Current Global Financial Crisis

12 October 2008

Dear Mr. Pells

Thank you for the opportunity to share thoughts after your article.

When I first received the October edition I had this interior push to add some points to your article after I read it. Simply because in this moment I feel more than ever the need and urgency for the USA to step ahead and to lead the way for other nations in financial distress.

The financial shock wave hit Romania as well after it went through western Europe. There were days in our life when we thought any major crisis across the ocean would not affect us in any way. Those days are gone.

It is a blend of feelings of sadness, great concern, and anger for the fact that the USA, the first democracy, has begun having such problems.  Profanes would say that years of war and exhausted budget have both brought the States to the edge of the pit.

I think the answer lies in history, in fact, it is the same spiral spinning throughout our recent history bringing us to the same point as years ago, but on a different level, I believe. It keeps happening with certain regularity.

A sentiment of emptiness and confusion is experienced by my country fellows since the first democracy starts having such financial troubles. They are used to always looking at the US for every little thing in our lives and to take USA as a global pattern: the way Americans treat the foreign policy, the way they behave in general, their economic state of health, their GDP and unemployment rate, the latest aircraft carrier and so on.

If all these models start degrading, people get confused. And in Europe we all know who waits behind the corner to take advantage of this situation.

The USA should do whatever is necessary to re-instate again the feeling that no matter what is going on, a supreme instance is out there watching.  I think your article pointed out some fundamental topics on which our daily lives are grounded: the state of democracy and that is at a crossing point.

I compiled some news about Project Management in my country but these are evidently influenced by the state of economy, and the way the optimism related to the growth is now replaced by the cold figures captured by Stock Exchanges all over the World.

I tend to believe that at least in my country the Project Management has become a tool for companies to perform operations and less a philosophy or valuable concept. Firms, companies and corporations seem all to this narrow position, from a global view, generalist specialist to a dedicated narrow individual assigned to a specific industry.

Thus there are more and more visible tendencies for companies to seek a specialized Project Manager with certain seniority and experience within a special field rather than a globally certified and recognized Project Manager. From this point onward we could speculate that Standards may be superseded by dedicated and tailor made methodologies and approaches, articulated special for a single application.

But more about these in my November Regional Report. In fact I only wanted to make you aware for the fact that your article came in at a very right moment in my opinion. If you could compile messages from other correspondents in a next Editorial, it would be fine for us living scattered around the world. To me it would be a great chance to see how others think and react in these moments.

Be sure I'd look forward reading more in the next Editorial about this topic.

Added on 26 October 2008:

I have reviewed the letter again and I think there is nothing more to be added. The growing concern that shrouded these weeks for nations and ordinary people is a living fact. Once again I strongly believe nations need a model to follow in a time of distress. And in a time of shrinkage, first to suffer are the projects: no investment, no development, no expansion, only survival.

I think that's the link with Project Management: society thinks that Project Management deals with development and advancement only.  But we all know that Project Management deals with “value added” for business in every conditions, under any circumstances.  It would be unfair for project environment to suffer as a result of local crisis, rather than to appeal to this technique for survival.

It is unclear if my thoughts are shared by other fellows; you will see the echo from around the World when other local correspondents will post their reports.  However, this Letter is only one side of particular concern in writing from a region. Again, I would be curious to find out how the others report on the current troubles.

I am looking forward to reading the Letter in PMWT and also to getting feedback from other Correspondents on how they feel about the profession during this period.

Thank you

Florin Gheorghiu
PMForum Correspondent
Bucharest, Romania

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On the Subject of Russ Archibald’s Interview
in the October Edition of PM World Today

October 27, 2008

Dear David,

Congratulations on the outstanding interview with Russ Archibald in the October edition of PM World Today, entitled “The Formation & Early Years of PMI”. 

As a long time PMI volunteer, I am grateful to Russ and to the other PMI Founders for their vision and leadership so many years ago.

At the time that PMI was formed, I was a young tot; completely oblivious to my future calling in project management. As Russ and his colleagues transformed their vision into reality, they had no idea how their efforts would one day touch the lives of thousands of people around the globe, and in particular, the profound impact they would have on the life of a young girl from the Canadian prairies.

One of my favorite PMI stories illustrates this point beautifully. In March 2002 I was attending the PMI Leadership meeting in Costa Mesa, California. I happened to sit with a woman at lunch, and she mentioned that she was attending her first PMI event. She said “I have been a project management practitioner for almost thirty five years. Until recently, I never knew that PMI existed. I am so happy to be here. At last, I have found my people!”

I couldn’t have said it more eloquently. Project management practitioners are a unique and special bunch; they are “my kind of people.”

Not only has project management provided me with a rich and rewarding career, but my affiliation with PMI has provided countless opportunities and more treasured friendships than anyone deserves.

Thank you for sharing PMI's history through this interview series. It is a fascinating and inspirational story and I look forward to part 3 with great anticipation.

Sincerely,
Debbie O'Bray
Winnipeg, Canada