Editor’s Perspective on the Current Edition

Welcome to the July 2010 edition of PM World Today. Since 1998, PM World Today has provided educational and informative articles and stories about project management. As the global reach of this online publication grows, we continue to seek new authors who want to share knowledge or advance their careers. If you have project management knowledge or a story to share, please send an article or paper for publication. We are especially interested in those that contribute to solving global problems.

Each month the Editor’s Perspective on the Current Edition provides an overview of the contents of the current edition of PM World Today. This month’s edition again contains articles, news and stories from around the world, including several in Spanish. PM World Today is an educational and informative resource for PM professionals worldwide. It is also a service for PM experts, leaders and professionals who want to share knowledge, get published or gain more visibility in the PM world.

This month’s Editorial is entitled “Deepwater Horizon: Lessons from the BP Project Failure and Environmental Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico – Part I”. In (English). On April 20, 2010, when drilling at the Macondo Prospect, an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon, an ultra-deepwater semi-submersible offshore oil drilling rig owned by BP Plc, a British oil giant. The explosion was caused by a blowout, killed eleven crewmen and ignited a fireball whose flames were visible from 35 miles (56 km) away. The resulting fire could not be extinguished and, on April 22, 2010, Deepwater Horizon sank, leaving the well gushing at the sea floor and causing the largest offshore oil spill in United States history. As of the end of June 2010, oil was still gushing and spreading through the Gulf of Mexico, killing or otherwise damaging sea life, seashores and wildlife in the US states bordering the Gulf; disrupting fishing, tourism and other industries for thousands of square miles; and causing many other negative results. The affects have been widespread; many lessons have already emerged, many more will do so over coming months and years. This month’s editorial looks as this project disaster from several different angles, exploring some PM lessons and considering some broader implications. This was my chance for some early comments; now it’s your turn to weight in. Please send comments to editor@pmforum.org. (English)

Five Letters to the Editor are included this month. Russ Archibald in Mexico and Amy Dugan in Ohio wrote to comment on the June editorial about former US President Bill Clinton’s upcoming appearance at the PMI Global Congress in October. Rita Haygood in the Philippines sent a touching email regarding the recent death of her mentor in construction management, Antonio Tensingco, who was a student of the late John Fondahl at Stanford University. Isaac Narwaya in Rwanda also provided a heartfelt response to the June tribute to Rita Mulcahy. Finally, Kristi Baldwin in Pennsylvania contacted us with a question about the number of projects that any one project manager can or should handle, which we are passing on to our readers for ideas…

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