Volume IX - Issue II - February 2007
PM Profession News
PMI Global Congress 2007 - Asia Pacific:
Monday, January 29, 2007 - Hong Kong, SAR, China Today marked a record-breaking opening of the 3rd annual PMI Asia-Pacific Congress where attendance was anticipated to top 400 professionals. Following an impressive display of acrobatic prowess by a quintet of Chinese performers, PMI CEO Greg Balestrero took the stage and welcomed attendees to enjoy the sights of Hong Kong, network with PM colleagues, and learn from a global array of PM presenters. Mr. Balestrero congratulated Asia for their unsurpassed per capita level of PMPs to PMI members and recognized the Hong Kong chapter for achieving quick growth to a level surpassing 1200 members.
The consistent message for me on this first day of the congress was the importance of combining technical knowledge with cultural and people-centric soft skills. Our opening keynote speaker, Mr. Chandran Nair, founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow (www.GIFT.org), challenged project managers, particularly in Asia-Pacific, to embrace the future by exercising their influence and leadership towards good global decision making and responsible governance. After presenting ample illustrations of environmental challenges, geopolitical tensions, and economic inequality in the region that remains the home to 75% of the world’s poor, Mr. Nair then outlined how the future will impact and be impacted by project managers. He shared several key concepts shaping opportunities for project managers in Asia:
The challenge of our times centers around the human impact of our decisions on our biosphere. The division of the world’s wealth and power is shifting, however, it is a strange situation when telecommunications companies boast of cell phone penetration into areas where basic sanitation and clean water is not yet a given In conclusion, Mr. Nair emphasized his belief that good project management equals making a real difference in Asia and throughout the world. In the Teaming area of focus, speaker Arindam Das of the Indian-based InfoSys Corporation presented Leadership Challenges of Globally Distributed Heterogeneous Project Teams (GDHTs). Throughout his presentation, Mr Das explained that cultural awareness was critical to globally distributed teams that are distinguished by Location, Decision Making, and Willingness to approach management. Citing Hofstede’s Power Distance, Individual versus Collectivism, Risk, and other traits as being important, Mr. Das also emphasized the importance of soft skills, especially when projects are geographically and culturally diverse.
Rounding out the day in the Emerging Project Management Trends area of focus, two professors, Erling Andersen and Svein Jessen of the Norwegian School of Management BI presented A Quick Measure of Project Maturity. Enhancing the OPM3 definition of maturity beyond pure project management actions alone, they stated that they incorporated Programme Maturity and Portfolio Maturity and identified three dimensions on which to assess maturity: Knowledge, Attitude, and Action. As such, project maturity (and programme or portfolio maturity) could be assessed by evaluating these dimensions through a questionnaire comprised of 36 questions. Attitudes assess Uncertainty avoidance, Power distance, Soft Skills, and Cooperation. Knowledge is assessed based on Inputs, work processes and outputs. Actions were identified by four levels: operative (base level), administrative, technical, and strategic. While the professors pointed us to a website to obtain further information on discrete dimension breakdowns and evaluation results, they indicated that the value of their quick and easy approach to project maturity really lies in finding improvement opportunities quickly and easily based, on the interaction of attitudes, knowledge, and actions.
Day 2 promises to feature additional insights and emerging trends, and soft skills are sure to play a role again as we assess the impact of project management here in Asia Pacific.
NASA Project Management Challenge 2007 Conference Registration for the NASA Project Management Challenge 2007, NASA’s fourth annual project management conference, has been closed early due to over subscription.  NASA’s PM Challenge provides a platform for an examination of current trends in project management and offers a forum for knowledge sharing, exchange of lessons learned, leadership development, team building and training. The conference will be held 6-7 February 2007 at Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center in Galveston, Texas, USA, near the Johnson Space Center.  According to the conference brochure, Track Themes will include the following: • Team Building Blocks • Knowledge Works • Down to Business • Launch and Learn • Shared Voyages • Rick Management • Back to Basics • Great Ideas • Hot Topics • CSI: NASA With attendance priced at $375 per person, NASA’s PM Challenge conference may be the best bargain in the world of project management this year, as attendees get to hear from and mingle with NASA program and project managers. Last year’s conference attracted 985 attendees, 107 speakers and 45 vendor exhibitors. More participants have apparently signed up this year. The conference is sponsored by NASA's Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL) in association with The Office of the Chief Engineer (OCE) and The Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA). NASA’s project managers for this even are Dorothy Tiffany and Walt Majerowicz. Created by The National Aeronautics and Space Act in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is America’s focal point for research, development and exploration of outer space. On January 14, 2004, President George W. Bush announced A Renewed Spirit of Discovery: The President’s Vision for U.S. Space Exploration, a new directive for the USA’s space exploration program.  For nearly 50 years, NASA has been leading the world in the development and usage of advanced program and project management. With its PM Challenge conferences, NASA is now sharing those experiences and exploring new PM topics with its contractors, stakeholders and the world of project management. Additional information about NASA can be found at www.nasa.gov.
DYNAMICS 2007 Turkish National Project Management  The Eighth National Turkish Project Management Congress, DYNAMICS 2007, will be held April 13 - 14, 2007 at the Kadir Has University, overlooking the fabled Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. Organized jointly by PMI Turkey and IPYD ( The Istanbul Project Management Society ). This annual event has been held since 1999, and is being planned and executed as an event-management project, using PMI standards. The organizers have established the goal of making this annual congress a regional event. In moving toward this goal, keynote speakers, presenters and attendees are being invited from the USA, Europe, and the Middle East. Many PMI leaders have been invited to participate in the past, and this year 4 keynote speakers are being invited from the USA, the European countries, and Australia. The two-day program will include keynote addresses, presentations from leading project-driven organization representatives in the public, private and academic sectors, a cocktail party, pm software demonstrations and a closing panel discussion. The flier will soon be sent to all parties that express interest. Inquiries can be sent to : Natali Toma. Project Sponsor at ntoma@ica.com.tr or Ahmet N. Taspinar, Project Manager at mbpnet@hotmail.com.
New Board of Directors at the PMI Lima Peru Chapter Reported by Jose Machicao in Lima, Peru  On December 14th 2006, the new Board of Directors for the Period 2007-2008, at the PMI Lima Peru Chapter, were elected. The official results proclaimed the list “PMI New Generation” as winners, counting 49 from the 95 votes issued. The newly elected board included: Victor Anyosa, PMP, The success of the elections process was mainly due to the President of the Electoral Committee’s excellent management, Miss Alida Anicama.
Nueva Junta Directiva en el Capítulo de Lima Perú  El día 14 de diciembre del 2006 fue elegida la nueva junta directiva del Capítulo de Lima Perú del PMI®, para el periodo 2007-2008. Los resultados oficiales dieron como ganadores a la lista llamada “Nueva Generación PMI”, con 49 votos sobre un total de 95. Los cargos elegidos fueron, como El éxito en las elecciones se debió en gran medida a la excelente gestión de Alida Anicama, Presidenta del Comité Electoral.
 The Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) has launched a contest for the design of the C3PM (Certified Project, Program, and Portfolio Manager) marketing image.
Winning designer will receive a 5 Days/4 Nights travel package for one (1) person to the AACE 2007 Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. This package will include one (1) economy-class round trip airline ticket originating and ending in the major international airport closest to winner, 4 nights lodging at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, and one (1) registration to the AACE 2007 Annual Meeting. The winning prize is estimated at US$3200! Deadline to enter is March 30, 2007. The contest is being sponsored by the following organizations: PT. Mitratata Citragraha, McDonough Bolyard Peck, and AACE International. For additional information, visit http://www.aacei.org/certification/C3PM/C3PM_contest.shtml. Since 1956, AACE International has been a leading-edge professional society for cost estimators, cost engineers, schedulers, project managers, and project control specialists. With more than 5,500 members worldwide, AACE International serves the entire spectrum of cost management professionals. AACE International is industry independent, and has members in 78 countries and 71 local sections. Member benefits include the Cost Engineering Journal, education, online bookstore, library, online information, executive recruiting and employment, professional development, certification, networking, money savings, annual meetings, and recognition. More information can be found at www.aacei.org.
The Dallas Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) held its annual Vendor Showcase 2007 on Thursday evening, 11 January and the event drew approximately 500 attendees. Suppliers and vendors of project management related products and services showcased their offerings at booths and tables spread around the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Addison, Texas, USA.
 Members of the Dallas chapter attended at no cost, with advance registration. This is the chapter’s most popular and most highly attended event each year, and this year’s Vendor Showcase was no exception. The free PDUs, food, and door prizes attracted another big crowd.
According to one vendor, overheard by PMForum.org, “This is awesome! There are a lot of people here; it was definitely worth coming up from Austin tonight.” 30 vendors participated this year, including: 6D Tech Inc.; CertTest Training; Crosswind PM Training; Deltek; Det Norske Veritas; Distance Learning Center; Doulos PM Training; Encentis Technologies, Inc.; Global Knowledge; Innovative Management Solutions, Inc.; International Institute for Learning, Inc.; iRise; JADCore, LLC; Journyx; Management Concepts; Microsoft; MKS Software Inc.; National Corporate Housing; Perot Systems; Planview; Richland College; RMC Project Management; True Solutions Inc.; University of Texas at Dallas; University of Dallas; Velociteach; and Watermark Learning, Inc. Door Prizes were provided as an additional incentive for attendance, and exhibitors also offered drawings to attract booth visitation. Each vendor had a drawing for software, training, books or other prizes. Halfway through the evening, one of the chapter officers stood on a table with a microphone near each vendor’s table while the drawings occurred and winners were announced. It was a pretty festive occasion. This year the chapter also gave away three Grand Prizes: (1) a berth on the 2007 PMI Clearlake Galveston Chapter’s Seminar-at-Sea cruise; (2) one free attendance at the PMI Global Congress North America 2007; and (3) one free attendance for the PMI Dallas 2007 Professional Development Day.  According to Dwaraka Iyengar, Dallas Chapter president, “This is a good event for the chapter every year. Attendance was lower than we expected tonight, so maybe we should consider holding it in February. But our chapter team did a good job again, and everyone here tonight seems to be enjoying it, especially the vendors. So we’re happy!”  The Dallas Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) is one of the oldest and, with over 3,600 members, one of the largest chapters of PMI in the world. Monthly dinner meetings feature a wide variety of project management experts and topics, and typically attract over 200 attendees. The chapter sponsors workshops, PMP development opportunities, an annual Vendor exhibition, a school outreach program, corporate interaction and other activities. The president of the Dallas Chapter in 2007 is Mr. Dwaraka Iyengar. The Dallas Chapter fully supports the PMI objective of “Making Project Management Indispensable to Business Results”. For more information, visit http://www.pmidallas.org/index.phtml.
Reported by Alcides Santopietro in São Paulo, Brazil  Utilizing an innovative and rich layout, PMI Brasilia Federal District Chapter, PMI-DF, located in the capital of Brazil, launched today its first Newsletter, named “PMInforma”. It was immediately distributed to more than 2,400 subscribers. The pleasant reading experience that the professional and enjoyable layout brings to the reader is not the only positive point of the Newsletter: according to Mr. José Cláudio Siqueira, Newsletter Editor, “The initiative The cover article discourses about the use of Brazil’s official electronic voting systems to assist the election session that happened in December, 2006 and that defined the new Fiscal Board for the Chapter. The newsletter also presents some other relevant topics to the community:
 Mr. José Cláudio Siqueira, editorPMI-DF, the PMI chapter located in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, was founded in 1999 and formalized in 2000. Currently with 231 members, the chapter has been contributing intensively for the evolution of the profession in the country.
The first issue of PMInforma, in the Portuguese language, can be found at http://www.pmidf.org/site/download.asp?arquivo=11_1_2007_21633.pdf&path=arquivo. With nearly 220,000 members in over 150 countries, PMI is the world’s largest and best-known project management professional society. PMI is engaged in advocacy for the PM profession, setting standards, conducting research and providing access to a wide variety of information and resources. PMI also promotes career and professional development and offers certification, networking and community involvement opportunities. PMI was founded in the USA in 1969, but is now a global organization with members, chapters and offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.pmidf.org.
Reported by Miles Shepherd in London More award categories, more entrants, more sponsors and wide-ranging winners emphasise the continuing success of the Association for Project Management’s (APM’s) awards for excellence in project management. This was the comment of Marketing Director Scott Walkinshaw speaking at London’s Grosvenor Hotel. APM made seven awards, including their Lifetime Achievement Award, the Sir Monty Finniston Cup, at a glittering dinner in London at the end of October.
 Brian Willis Award Winner Katie Spencer of the Department for Constitutional Affairs with ITN’s Nick OwenAccording to APM’s chairman Tom Taylor “Project management has been the fastest developing profession for some years, with added impetus due to the London 2012 Olympic Games and widespread adoption of project management disciplines in the public sector. Around 90% of our members’ projects come in on time and budget and APM leads the way in recognising, rewarding and celebrating their successes. Thousands of people still don’t recognise that what they do is manage projects – we hope these awards will help change that. The UK Government’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) sponsored the first Programme of the Year Award, reinforcing the commitment of both organisations to demonstrating the close links between project and programme management while at the same time highlighting the differences. In addition to sponsoring the Programme of the Year, OGC were also sponsors for the Awards Celebration. OGC Chief Executive John Oughton said “OGC is proud to be associated with the APM awards and in particular to sponsor the inaugural 'Programme of the Year' award. Good skilled project and programme management is essential. These skills are crucial to the successful delivery of the Government's plans and therefore to the improvement in public services. "Everyone thinks that Government is poor at delivering major programmes and projects. But it is no coincidence that the National Audit Office will shortly be publishing a report on 'Successful IT Projects in Government' And it is not a slim volume; the NAO was spoilt for choice when they were selecting the case studies. But unfortunately in this country we tend not to celebrate the successful projects but always to concentrate on those which go badly. We need to celebrate the successes more. For example, the new pensions payment arrangements, which have seen 12 and a half million paper transactions costing £1.50 each replaced by direct payments into bank accounts costing just a few pence. But you won't hear about that in the media, because it's a success story! And good PPM skills will be essential for all major projects up to, and including the London Olympics in 2012.”  APM celebrated some these and other successes. Awards covering technical categories went to the following: • Project Manager of the Year - Sponsored by Corporate Project Solutions • Project of the Year - Sponsored by Siemens • Young Project Manager of the Year – Sponsored by PM Professional Learning • Enterprise Project of the Year - Sponsored by Project magazine • Community Project of the Year Finalists - Sponsored by Tribal TGC • Overseas Project of the Year - Sponsored by Microsoft Academic Awards - for academic achievement in project management and sponsored by BAe Systems, went to: Herbert Walton Award - Geoffrey Trimble Award - Brian Willis Award - The glittering ceremony was compeered by ITN’s Nick Owen and attended by a sell out audience. Full details of all the winners as well as runners up may be found at www.apm.org.uk/2006awardwinners.asp. The Association for Project Management (APM) is the UK’s national body for professional project management. With over 15,000 individual and 390 corporate members throughout the UK and abroad, APM is one of the largest organizations of its kind in Europe. The organization develops and promotes project management across all sectors of industry and beyond. APM's published mission is: "To develop and promote the professional disciplines of project and programme management for the public benefit." At the heart of APM is the APM Body of Knowledge; containing fifty-two knowledge areas required to manage any successful project. APM promotes the use of the APM Body of Knowledge through qualifications, accredited training, research, publications and events. APM is the UK member of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). With headquarters in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, APM has twelve regional branches throughout the UK and one in Hong Kong. Additional information can be found at www.apm.org.uk.
Reported by Miles Shepherd in London Veikko Välilä, Chairman of the Finnish Project Management Association (www.pry.fi) has been elected to serve as President of the International Project Management Association (IPMA) for 2007 – 2008. Elected by the Council of Delegates at their Zagreb meeting in September, Välilä took up his new post on January 1 having previously served as Vice President with responsibilities covering membership, and Standards.  IPMA President Veikko Välilä Välilä has a broad project background gained initially in Research and Development in the tomography field. Subsequently, he was joint founder of tomography specialist company Soredex Oy (Orion), before joining Kone Corporation. He has acted as a specialist in risk management, with considerable experience in Industrial Insurance and as Technical Manager & Underwriter (Risk Management, Claims and Underwriting) at Lloyd’s of London. Probably of more significance to IPMA, he worked for the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Scientific and Industrial Commissioner of Finland for China and South-East Asia (based in Hong Kong),. His diplomatic background, especially in SE Asia, will no doubt assist IPMA in their quest to expand on the Pacific Rim. Long-standing members, India and China, form a strong base from which to work and the resurgence of interest in Philippines and Indonesia as well as New Zealand and Australia also looks set to increase their membership. Out-going President Adesh Jain (India) and Chairman Miles Shepherd took part in AIPM’s September’s ProMAC conference in Sydney, with Jain giving a keynote speech featuring his vision for the emerging strength of the region and Shepherd supporting as Stream Chair. During his time with Kone Corporation, New President Välilä was also responsible for Marketing and Project Management in North and Central America, another advantage in IPMA’s strategic planning. Veikko Välilä joined Marsh Oy, one of MMC Marsh & McLennan Companies, where he is Group Leader, Specialty Services handling risk management and insurance consulting services in connection with major projects such as power generation, pulp & paper and infrastructure. For further details about the International Project Management Association, see www.IPMA.ch.
|
PM World Today™ is a trademark of pmforum.org, Inc.
PMWT™ is a trademark of pmforum.org, Inc.
The information on this web site was checked for accuracy and authenticity when last updated. If there is any accidental infringement of copyright, the publisher of this site apologize for their actions, and would like to be notified. In addition, the publisher of this site cannot bear responsibility for the actions or the results of action of individuals or companies arising from use of information and advice contained within it.
PM World Today Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions.
© Copyright 2007 PM World Today