Volume IX - Issue XI - November 2007
Editor's Perspective
Welcome to the November Welcome to the November edition of PM World Today. The Editor’s Perspective on the Current Issue provides a short overview of the articles and contributions included in the current edition. This edition of PM World Today again contains articles, news and papers from around the world of project management (PM), including several in both English and Spanish languages. PM World Today is an educational resource for PM professionals and an opportunity for PM experts and leaders to gain more visibility in the PM world, through publication of articles, case studies, papers and stories. This month’s Editorial is on the subject of “More Project Management Conferences: Major Trend or Market Reflection?” Autumn and Spring seem to be the seasons for PM conferences in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This year there seem to be more PM conferences than ever. Is this another major trend in the PM world or just a reflection of the growing market for project management? Please read the editorial and let us know your reaction in a Letter to the Editor. Two Letters to the Editor are included this month. Alan Harpham, CEO of The APM Group and well-known PM authority in the UK, in his email “On the subject of project management careers” responds to my August editorial on that subject. Alan agrees with some of my points and describes a route that he has found to “give back” to the profession and society. Thank you, Alan! Scot Phelps in Connecticut responded to my September editorial in “On the subject of PM for disasters”. He agrees with my assertion that more project management needs to be incorporated into emergency response and disaster relief management programs. In fact, he has already done so. Scot is an Associate Professor of Emergency Management at Southern Connecticut State University, has connections to the Disaster Recovery Institute, is a subscriber to PM World Today, and is offering to help stimulate some action. Please read his letter, then send both Scot and me an email with your thoughts on how to move things forward in this area. One Viewpoint article is included this month, contributed by Ronald Look. He discusses the challenges of implementing project management in the consulting environment. According to Mr. Look, “For the consultant project manager it’s a case of having four entities to whom you are responsible: the project, the stakeholders, consulting company management and client management. But which of these entities are similar and which ones differ between the consulting environment and the in-house non-contracting environment?” Please read his article and let us know if you agree. The Featured Interview this month is part 2 of my interview with Max Wideman, Fellow and former president and chair of PMI. A retired professional engineer and construction project manager in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Max is one of the best known project management authorities in the world and editor of his renowned PM website www.maxwideman.com. Max answered some questions about his own early background and experience in last month’s Part I. This month Max responds to questions related to the PM profession, PMI and the future. If you thought Part I of the interview with Max last month was interesting, wait until you read Part II. We want to thank Max again for taking the time to answer our questions, and for allowing PM World Today to capture some of his PM “history”. Featured Papers are serious professional contributions to the PM literature or papers of significant interest. Some are highly entertaining as well, as is the case with the two papers included this month. Mark Kozak-Holland, frequent and popular contributor to PM World Today in Canada, provides part 15 in his series on Winston Churchill, the Agile Project Manager. His paper this month is entitled “Churchill Stiffens Resolve” and discusses how Churchill took the offense with decisive action, even while facing an invasion, in the Summer of 1940. This is another interesting and entertaining lesson from history. Bas De Baar in the Netherlands is back with an interesting essay entitled “Why Agile Popped up on the Radar when it did”. Bas suggests that one “tipping point” actually occurred in 1987 with the adoption of the ISO 9001 quality standard, forcing everyone and everything towards Taylor-style scientific management. According to Bas, “Agile appeared during the mid-nineties because ISO 9001 had created a change receptive crowd. The Internet helped to spread the word quickly and provided business with incentives to be open to the suggestion.” Read his article to understand the “Agile Manifesto” and why it has gained so much momentum. Please let us know what you think. PM Tips & Techniques papers provide an opportunity for project management consultants, experts, trainers and vendors to contribute to the PM World Today eJournal, with helpful and practical suggestions. Four such advisory papers are included in this issue. John Foppe, CEO of Visionary Velocity Worldwide and a motivational consultant based in Missouri, USA, has contributed an interesting paper entitled “Why Don’t Big Visions Translate into Big Outcomes.” According to Mr. Foppe, “Shifting from a Code of Exasperation to a Code of Execution isn’t about getting people to do things differently. It’s about helping them want to be different. Visions cannot consistently translate into outcomes unless employees internalize and commit to executing outcomes.” Read his article to learn how executives and team leaders can help change the culture of an organization. This is important stuff! Mr. Foppe’s article came to us courtesy of Cheryl Bast at Trade Press Services. Tim Bergmann, Director of Education for True Solutions, Inc. in Dallas, Texas, USA has provided an article entitled “The Seven Deadly Project Sins: Project Lust.” This is the fourth paper in a series in which he discusses problems we often create for ourselves as project managers. According to Mr. Bergmann, “In this narrative, I will continue to focus on some of the “soft-elements” of the project, some temptations that the project manager needs to be on the lookout for in order to foster success on the project.” This article is both entertaining and thought provoking – and educational! We hope you agree. Michelle LaBrosse, founder and Chief Cheetah at Cheetah Learning, has contributed an article entitled “Growing your business with project management”, distributed through Cheetah’s “Know How Network”. According to Ms. LaBrosse, “If you think Project Management is only for the big guys, think again.Project Management is a powerful business tool for businesses of any size. And as any small business person will tell you, effectiveness and efficiency is never about size. It’s about working smart.” As usual, Ms. LaBrosse provides some very good advice. Cheryl Strait, principal consulting manager at Robbins-Gioia, LLC, in the USA, has provided a serious and important article entitled “Are your projects ready for eDiscovery?” According to Ms. Strait, “In December 2006, updated Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were published with directions on how electronically stored information should be handled as part of the discovery process within federal courts. Most companies aren't prepared for this type of discovery process. Project managers need to be aware of potential discovery requirements and ensure that project records are being handled in accordance with sound records management practices.” Those project managers who have been involved in litigation of any kind recently will appreciate the value of her suggestions. Those who have not should read the article to reduce some risks that you might not even be aware of. Three Book Reviews are included in this edition. These book reviews are provided through a cooperative program between PMForum and the University of Texas at Dallas. (PMForum provides the books, graduate students receive the books at no cost based on a commitment to provide a review; we publish the book reviews in PM World Today.) This month René Le Bel has provided a review of Project Management: Knowledge for a successful career, a 2006 book authored by Bruno Jenny and published by VDF Hochschulverlag in Switzerland. Michael A. Martinez has provided a review of the 2007 book The Art of Installation and The Science of Implementation, authored by Thomas F. Shubnell and published by LULU Press, Inc. (USA). Andrea Nicholas has reviewed The Handbook of Project Management Revised 2nd Edition, a 2007 book by Trevor L. Young and published by Kogan Page Limited in the USA. Le Bel, Martinez and Nicholas are working professionals and enrolled in the Graduate Program in Project Management at the University of Texas at Dallas. Regional Reports is the section of PM World Today where reports from our International Correspondents around the world are collected and published each month. These may be surveys of local PM activities and events, discussions of local conditions that affect projects and PM, or personal reflections based on their own experiences or activities. In this way, we try to provide a snapshot and multi-cultural flavor of project management around the world. For us at PMForum and PM World Today, this is one of the most interesting aspects of our monthly production process, to learn what is happening and what is reported by these active and motivated PM professionals. We hope you also find this section interesting and educational. Eight reports are included this month from correspondents in Argentina, Austria, India, Nigeria, Romania, Spain, the UAE and the USA (New York). Ana Maria Rodriguez in Rosario, Argentina, has provided a report in the form of a short interview with Mr. Gray Childs, Sales Manager for Primavera in Latin America. Based on answers to Ana Maria’s questions, it appears that Primavera is finally devoting more serious attention and resources to Argentina and other Latin American markets. Read this interview to see what Primavera is up to. Both English and Spanish language versions of her report are included. Renate Prantner in Vienna, Austria, has provided a report based on their model at PROJEKTMANAGEMENT GROUP at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Their Maturity Model visualises Austria as a project-oriented Nation, which includes dimensions for PM-related Education, Research and Marketing on a national level. Renate reports on PM Education, PM Research, PM Marketing and PM Events this month, including major events planned by the Austrian Project Management Association and the PMI Austria Chapter. Raju Rao in Chennai, India, has provided a report entitled “Cost Engineering – awareness is slowly building up.” According to Raju, “In India professional bodies like AACE and the practice of cost engineering are slowly finding acceptance in industries.” He also discusses a recent awareness seminar that he hosted in Chennai on 25th Oct 2007 as Chair of the South India Section of AACE International. He shares some of the “take away” lessons from that event. O. Chima Okereke, PhD, International Correspondent for Nigeria, has provided another monthly report on “Current developments affecting project management in Nigeria”. Chima discusses two significant industrial developments in Nigeria, “Nollywood” and “Tinapa”. According to Chima, “Nollywood”, the Nigerian budding film industry, is a widely acclaimed success. Its success has some object lessons for project and operations management in Nigeria. The establishment of Tinapa, with international commercial significance, is a major project recently completed by the Government of the Cross River State of Nigeria. This report will touch on the commercial importance and potential for national economic development of these two subjects.” Florin Gheorghiu in Romania has provided an interesting report on a big PM event in Bucharest, October the 17th, 2007 when the PMI Romania Chapter organized its 5th anniversary from inception and 2nd Congress. Approximately 50 professionals met with speakers from Hungary, Lebanon, Portugal and Romania to exchange lessons learned and to propel the PM profession forwards in Romania. According to Florin, “Definitely October is a busy month for us down here that work and sense the phenomenon in project management. Far from being bored or letting events pass away unobserved, these are the actions we would like to see more often arranged in the City and why not in the country as well?” Alfonso Bucero in Madrid reports on his recent participation at the 7th International Project Management Seminario in Sao Paulo, Brazil, one of the largest project management events each year in South America. Alfonso also reports about the Spanish project management association (AEDIP) being recently incorporated as a new member of the CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Business Association). This is an important move towards broader recognition for project management in the Spanish business community. Alfonso’s report is also provided in both Spanish and English. Mounir Ajam in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has provided another short but interesting report on the booming construction sector in Dubai, with Burj Dubai now laying claim to world’s tallest building. According to Mounir, “While we are on the subject of big buildings; recently Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, one of the richest men in the world, announced awarding Bechtel International the job of managing the construction of the Mile High structure.” Each of these monster projects brings associated infrastructure projects, economic development and employment. It’s another interesting report from one of the most dynamic regions in the world. Lawrence (Larry) Suda, International Correspondent in New York, has provided an interesting report on a major program underway at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. Entitled “When You Think of New York….Think Technology and Science Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) Project”, Larry’s report features some history, science and actual project management. According to Larry, “Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers.” Here is a short story about one of Brookhaven’s big projects. The balance of this month’s PM World Today features calls for papers, announcements of future events, news, information and stories related to people, projects and project management. Please review the articles on Future PM Events and PM Community News where people are featured. We hope the inclusion of all of these stories is both interesting and informative. I want to welcome our newest Global Advisor, Ms. Debbie O’Bray, former chair of the board of directors of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba Province, Canada. A long time PMI leader and still active as Secretary of the PMI Education Foundation, Debbie remains involved in the areas of professional ethics and research. She is well known and highly respected throughout the world among professional leaders and we are pleased to welcome her to our team of global advisors. We also extend a warm welcome to Ammar Mango who has joined our Global Correspondents Network this month as an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today in Jordan. Ammar is also the CEO of Method Corporation, an Amman-based project management consulting, product and services company with primary offices in Jordan and clients throughout the Middle East. Ammar holds a bachelor’s degree from Jordan University and a Master's Degree in Construction Engineering and Management from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. He was a founder and is currently an active member of the PMI Jordanian Chapter. We look forward to Ammar’s articles and reports about project management in Jordan. Their addition continues our process of diversification and globalization, two important trends that will strengthen our ability to inform, educate and connect the world of PM. Please read the articles announcing their participation in the PM Community News section of this edition. We want to thank our sponsors this month, which include the IPMA, Journyx, Keller Graduate School of Management, The Graduate Program in Project Management at the University of Texas at Dallas, and Threon Group. Please click on their logos and visit their websites for some leading PM products, publications and services. Sponsors receive visibility and publicity in the PM World Today e-Journal that is emailed to thousands of PM practitioners and professionals worldwide, and on the PM World Today home page at www.pmworldtoday.net. If your organization is interested in sponsoring an issue of PM World Today please contact me at editor@pmforum.org. Thank you for your subscription, and for reading the articles submitted by our authors and correspondents. We are excited about the future of this online publication and the world of project management. Please send this to a friend or colleague. Free subscriptions are available at http://www.pmworldtoday.net/subscribe/subscribe.htm.
Good luck with your projects!
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