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AIPM President Issues Challenge to Australian Politicians to Deliver Better Project Management

Reported by PMF correspondent Robert Posener

 

 

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Simona Bonghez elected President of PMI Romania

Reported by PMF correspondent Florin Gheorghiu

 

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80 Volunteer Leaders in one PMI chapter! Dallas PMI Chapter Honors Volunteers at February Event

 

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The PMI Paris Chapter Board of Directors Renewed

Reported by PMF correspondent Thibaut Goupil

 

The board of Directors was elected at the PMI Paris Chapter, France on January 23rd 2007. The new board includes:

• Jean-Claude BERNARD, President of the Board – past treasurer of the chapter, he is in charge of IT subcontracts management at Schlumberger in the petrol industry;

• François DELIGNETTE, Director of Programs;

• Isabelle LEVAVASSEUR, Deputy Director of Programs;

• Jean-Christophe HAMANI, Director of Membership;

• Ludovic PILET, Director of Professional Development;

• Marc DESRUMAUX, Director of Communication – past president of the chapter;

• Olivier LACROZE, General Secretary;

• Yves CAVAREC, Treasurer.

During the Ordinary General Assembly, the new website for the chapter (beta version) www.pmi-fridf.org was also presented.

Coming events organized by the chapter will include:

• A conference on Six Sigma methodology presented by Dr. Robert Johston, Executive Director Six Sigma at IIL on February 13th;

• Les Entretiens annuels on March 28th, thought-provoking conferences and workshops about the Project Manager profession in France. Speakers from companies, universities and French agency of employment are expected.

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Le chapitre PMI de Paris Ile-de-France se renouvelle

Reported by PMF correspondent Thibaut Goupil

Jean-Claude BERNARD (source pmi-fr.org)

Une partie du bureau du chapitre PMI de Paris Ile-de-France a été élue le 23 janvier 2007. Le bureau est maintenant composé de:

• Jean-Claude BERNARD, Président du bureau – anciennement
Trésorier du chapitre, il est en charge de la gestion de la sous-traitance informatique des applications chez Schlumberger (Pétrole) ;

• François DELIGNETTE, Directeur des Programmes ;

• Isabelle LEVAVASSEUR, Suppléante du Directeur des Programmes ;

• Jean-Christophe HAMANI, Directeur des Adhérents ;

• Ludovic PILET, Directeur du Développement Professionnel ;

• Marc DESRUMAUX, Directeur de la communication – Président 2004-2006 du chapitre ;

• Olivier LACROZE, Secrétaire Général ;

• Yves CAVAREC, Trésorier.

Lors de l’Assemblée Générale Ordinaire, ont été aussi présentés le nouveau site Internet du chapitre (en version bêta) www.pmi-fridf.org ainsi que les prochains évènements organisés par le chapitre :

• Une conférence sur la méthodologie Six Sigma sera présentée le 13 février par le Dr. Robert Johston, Directeur Exécutif Six Sigma chez IIL ;

• Les Entretiens annuels se dérouleront le 28 mars sous la forme de conférences et d’ateliers sur le thème du « métier de Chef de Projet en France : bilan et perspectives ». Des intervenants du monde de l’entreprise et des grandes écoles, mais aussi des représentants des institutions françaises d’aide à l’emploi sont attendus.

 

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Day 3 at PMI Asia Pacific Hong Kong: Global Project Manager Self-Assessment . . . and other things PMs Ought to Know

Reported by PMF correspondent Carol Dekkers

Wednesday, January 31, 2007 – Hong Kong, SAR, China

Wow, it feels like we’ve been here more than a mere 2 days considering the sights, sounds, presentations, and food! What a glorious array of delicacies we enjoyed last evening at the “Taste of Hong Kong” reception! Where do I start? We were treated to items ranging from the specialty soup station (my name for it), various buffets, and scrumptious desserts (small enough to encourage multiple treats!), and then there was the Chinese future telling, character paintings, and, of course, the formidable company of PM colleagues from around the world. So, you are wondering about Day 3 – well, it was not a disappointment – in fact, the high quality stretched through the entire length of the congress. PMI Asia Pacific continues to impress – and kudos are in order to Gary Goldstein of PMI Headquarters who pulled together an impressive on-site team of locals and HQ folks. Together with the impressive presentation talent, I’m not shy to say that I will definitely be in Sydney next year!

Here are the capsule comments from my Day 3:

Professional development 01: Global Project Manager Self-assessment by Roger Beatty, PhD, PMP, USA.

Building on the theme of multi-cultural, geographically dispersed, and globally diverse project teams, Roger examined what it takes to make it in this emerging PM world. Using examples gleaned from his own overseas trips, Roger shared stories of how “Global Resource” is emerging as a new term not yet in widespread western usage. In India, in particular, the CXO’s (Chief Project Officer) biggest challenge is often in resource staffing, that is keeping and retaining qualified workers. The difficulty, he explained, is most critical in India where trained professionals are mobile increasingly realize their value as “global resources”. Roger reinforced the increasing importance of people skills – especially as the people / process / technology triangle becomes even more diverse. PM’s in the global economy need to have respect and patience above all, but also need to recognize the following:

• Multilingual translators are becoming more necessary

• The need for multicultural sensitivity

• There is no substitute for first-hand, international travel experiences

• Flexibility to manage in unexpected situations

• Local teams may not need all of these special skills

• Training needs and delivery can be diverse across various cultures

• Anticipate language barriers, even when everyone speaks “English” (due to the inherent differences of American versus British versus other English)

A discussion followed about Roger’s “Global Project Manager Self-Assessment Tool”, a questionnaire of approximately 20 yes/no questions that could be scored and weighted using his scale. Scores below 75 on the 250 scale rated one as a novice project manager in need of more global knowledge, while scores above 200 indicated truly global project managers. If one wants to become a global PM, Roger advocates the following steps: 1.Perform the self assessment; 2. Participate personally in the global community; and 3. Then plan for long term participation. Roger’s closing paragraph of his assessment summed it all up: “The joy is in the journey. The first step sometimes takes a leap of faith, but every step will increase your confidence as a global project manager.”

Advanced project management 07: Linking PMI’s Standards to Project Governance by Patrick Weaver, Australia

Patrick Weaver has done a lot of thinking about project governance and the inherent challenges it poses to our industry. He has also done research not only with PMI’s standards and their applicability to project governance, but also in the PM industry as a whole. What Patrick has discovered is that there are gaps in the current thinking and PMI standards around project governance particularly in light of the fact that the UK APM (association for project management) has produced a booklet specifically addressing governance and project management entitled “GoPM” (available for free from the website: www.apm.org.uk. Click on Publishing, then Governance, to download a copy). Patrick presented his conclusions in terms of existing challenges between the PMI standards and project governance in terms of 1. Key gaps:

• Defining the role of a ‘governance board’

• Defining linkages between governance and delivery standards

• Defining the role of ‘critical success factors’ and gateways in approving and canceling projects

• Recognizing the critical role of the ‘sponsor’

And 2. Key development needs:

• Developing or adopting a GoPM equivalent

• Recognizing and defining the critical role of an effective PMO, including systems, tools and the integrity of communications

• Defining the different calculations of risk, contingency, and risk tolerance at the project, program, portfolio and organizational levels.
Patrick Weaver left us with challenges and opportunities to excel in this area of increasing global importance.

Encore Presentation Session

My presentation was selected as one of the “encores”, I was both pleased at that fact, as well as challenged because of my inability to witness further presentations at the same time I was presenting.

It was a rewarding experience to again be a presenter at the PMI Asia Pacific congress, as well as an attendee and a first time correspondent reporting for PMForum. Hong Kong was a gracious and international host and I thank all of those who I met who made my stay memorable. Until next year in Sydney, I’ll be holding dear the friendships I made and renewed and the sights and wonders of Hong Kong. PMI Asia Pacific just keeps getting better and better, and I for one, am eagerly anticipating Sydney, Australia in 2008!

 

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Strategic Plans for the Real World? Communication through Conflict from an Asian Perspective!

Reported by PMF correspondent Carol Dekkers

Tuesday, January 30, 2007 – Hong Kong, SAR, China: Last night’s opening reception foreshadowed a great second day of congress presentations. There’s only one problem here at day 2 of the PMI Asia Pacific congress, (aside from the temptation to take a harbor cruise in the gorgeous weather), it is that there are too many good presentations. Having attended several that I thought noteworthy (and further outlined below) by the end of the day, I then heard about others I regretted not attending. Alas, PMI has alleviated some of this angst by repeating the top five congress presentations at the end of the final day as “encore presentations” so perhaps I’d be seeing those after all. (Side note: If anyone has figured out how to simultaneously attend multiple full presentations at a conference, without cloning oneself, please email me details.)

Let’s take a look at some highlights from day 2:

Advanced Project Management 07: Conflict in the Project Environment by David Guan, of Huawei Technologies of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Aside from the ongoing emphasis on the importance of soft skills at the congress (see article from Day 1), David identified four major causes of conflict on a project: team environment, cultural differences, project priorities (especially conflicting ones), and individual personalities. In the cultural differences area, his treatise was unique – David identified particulars about how certain cultural differences can lead to people becoming personally offended, which leads typically to conflict. Among these were the well-known language and gender treatments between cultures, but David went on to note that innocuous things such as voice tone and pitch, food preferences (such as preference or disdain for eating particular animal products), and the observance of specific cultural festivals, could quickly escalate conflicts – especially if combined with cultural ignorance. Having traveled in well over 30 countries and spoken in half that many, I thought that I was somewhat culturally aware, but these points struck home as it became clear how even the most innocent team meeting where food might be involved could flare tempers at an instant (this was my interpretation, not something that David said).

David then illustrated through his own experiences how certain other Asian cultures are more difficult to work with than others – shattering another mistaken belief of mine that all Far East cultures worked together seamlessly. Rounding out the presentation with specifics from three countries where he had lived and worked, David proved that he truly knew that of which he spoke. Citing the famous ABBA song of years past “Knowing me, knowing you, uh huh” David taught us that learning about our team members is key to successful conflict resolution. This is especially true for multi-cultural teams, no matter where we call home.

General Business Skills 02: Align Project Management with Organizational Strategy by Jennifer Tharp, of Tharp Consulting, California, USA.

Jennifer presented a down to earth look at how even the best strategic planning can fail unless the vision is matched with an equal dose of execution. Unlike projects where performance is tracked and evaluated along the way, strategies often encounter a disconnect with execution, and no one notices because there is no performance tracking. In addition, Jennifer noted that it is important when you do start to align with the execution that you notice if and when the strategy is failing. One way to do this is to review for termination any project that doesn’t realistically map to the strategy. Jennifer identified why it is important to compete on strategy instead of based on operational effectiveness. The latter competes based on unique activities (which can set your company well apart from your competitors) while the former competes by doing the exact same activities as your competitors but beating them on price or time. Her research bears out that there are many more successful companies today who chose to compete based on strategy.

One of the most interesting aspects of Jennifer’s presentation was her assessment of a corporate strategy as being “the hypothesis” to be tested. Then, she continued, a project is really an experiment to test the hypothesis, project management is the execution of the controlled experiment, and metrics are the resultant data used to prove or disprove the hypothesis based on measured results. One proven way to link strategy with its execution is to use the balanced scorecard which Jennifer easily explained with helpful diagrams and examples.

Finishing with the following short list to improve successful strategy and execution linkages, Jennifer taught us all about the importance of making strategies work in the real world:

• First, identify all the projects in your portfolio and attempt to link each of them to your strategy

• Prioritize this list

• Ensure that the strategic objectives are covered by the high priority items

• Identify gaps between project and strategies (and potentially create new projects to fill them)

• Review for termination any project that don’t map to your strategies, and

• Prioritize the remaining projects.

Advanced project management 11: Increase ICT Project Success with Concrete Scope Management by Carol Dekkers, Quality Plus Technologies, Inc. of Florida, USA, and Pekka Forselius, Software Technology Transfer Finland from Helsinki, Finland.

Information and communications technology (ICT) projects can be a definitively different sort of animal professed the presenters. While these “software” engineering projects are often compared to true engineering or constructions projects, software is by nature, intangible, and issues especially with its requirements and scope can wreak havoc with even the most seasoned of project managers. Carol and Pekka introduced a new concept of ICT project scope management that has been successfully applied in both Australia and Finland. Called SouthernSCOPE by its originators in the Victorian Government of Australia, and NorthernSCOPE by the Finnish Software Measurement Association (FiSMA), the core concepts involve the use of functional size measurement, unit pricing, requirements baselining and managing to scope. The Victorian government results quoted a remarkable decrease in the unit costs of software delivered using SouthernSCOPE, along with a mere 10% overall cost overrun on projects where the concepts were rigorously applied. NorthernSCOPE added several features to the SouthernSCOPE concepts, most notably that of splitting a software development “program” into one or more sub-project types before performing any functional size measurement or costing equations. (Note that the majority of projects coined “ICT projects” by the customer or acquire community, are actually programs consisting of several independent projects within them.)

Historical databases of completed projects such as that owned by the not-for-profit International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG) provide comparative productivity data using functional size, business sector, platform, and development language as a base, which can then be used to provide a unit price on which to base procurement and sourcing decisions. To properly perform these new activities, both Australia and Finland introduced the role of a professional scope manager who typically is not part of either the customer (acquirer) or vendor (supplier of software) project teams. Used primarily to facilitate and increase the success of public sector tendered ICT development projects, the role of scope manager marries that of a business analyst, measurement practitioner, and objective customer and supplier advocate together, to provide the project with solid stewardship.

In fact, a scope manager could be a project manager, or more suitably, become a project manager’s best friend. It is hard to argue with success and the Victorian Government’s charts tell the story: SouthernSCOPE results in more projects finishing on time, on budget, and with happier customers. As NorthernSCOPE customers begin to reap their own benefits, perhaps we, too, should begin to embrace these tried and true concepts for better ICT project success. (Side note: the presenters stopped off after the congress in Tokyo, Japan to confer with members of the Japanese Function Point Users Group who are targeting to launch EasternSCOPE in the coming months based on the success of the other SCOPE initiatives.)

I’m ready for Day 3! With so many good presentations to live up to from Days 1 and 2, presentations on day 3 already have a tough act to follow. Stay tuned for more coverage from Hong Kong and PMI’s Asia Pacific conference 2007.

 

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Rapid expansion of Project Management in Greece

Reported by PMF correspondent Theofanis C. Giotis

 

In the year 2000, Project Management was in a very premature state in Greece. The Project Management Institute (PMI®) and the International Project Management Association (IPMA) were not yet present in Greece. Very few people were using “Project Manager” on their business cards. Project Management training did not exist. No universities were offering Project Management degrees. No magazine or newspaper was hosting opinions or articles on Project Management.

But things have changed drastically since then. Both PMI and IMPA are present in Greece. One university is offering an undergraduate degree in Project Management and two universities are offering postgraduate studies in Project Management. The first Project Management congress was organized on the 21st of November 2006 by the Greek PMI Chapter with 320 attendees. At least 3 Greek professional magazines have monthly of biweekly columns on Project Management. Two Greek newspapers are hosting articles on Project Management on a regular basis.

Greek Project Management Institute

Greek Project Management Institute’s (PMI-GREECE) major focus is “Making Project Management Indispensable for Business Results in Greece”. Membership in the Greek PMI chapter has increased by 578% since January 2005 (in January 2005, there were 43 members in the potential chapter and by the end of December 2007 the Greek PMI Chapter had 278 members).

After 3 yeas of continuing efforts, the formation of the Greek PMI Chapter was a big success. The formation of PMI-GREECE took place on June the 8th 2006 in Athens, Greece. During this general assembly of the members of the Greek PMI Chapter, about 130 members were present. Greek PMI Chapter members had been doubled in the first week of June 2006 (from 117 to 209).

Certified Project Management Professionals’ (PMPs) expanded rapidly also. In the year January 2000, there were only 5 PMPs in Greece. Today there are now 123 certified PMPs in Greece.

How membership in Greek PMI Chapter was increased!

(The author’s experience)

The Greek PMI Chapter Steering Committee had a long road to travel using what Hannibal 247–183 B.C. said: "We will either find a way, or make one!” So, we did. Although there weren’t many certified PMPs in Greece, people doing project management knew that PMP® was «a gold certification».

So, all members of the Steering Committee of the Greek PMI Chapter used all available communication methods to lead people to join PMI and the Greek PMI Chapter. I personally, on every e-mail message I was sending, I was promoting PMI® at the end of the mail message. On every discussion I had, I was trying to find a way to talk about successful projects (deliver on-time, on-budget and on-specs) in order to explain what is professional project management, what is PMI® and what is PMP®. On my suit I always was having pinned the gold PMP® pin – people were asking about it and I had the opportunity to explain the whole story. On every presentation or public speech I was giving, I always was saying something about project management and PMI®. “I used PMP® as THE vehicle to lead people to join PMI® and the Greek PMI Chapter!”

 

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