Volume X - Issue I - January 2008
Publishing News
AIA Introduces new Integrated Project Delivery Guide The American Institute of Architects (AIA) in conjunction with the AIA California Council has announced the availability of Integrated Project Delivery: A Guide (The Guide), a primer for working in an integrated team model that includes the owner, architect and contractor, and extends beyond the major stakeholders to also include subcontractors, engineers and major systems suppliers, among others. The Guide, which is available at no cost, provides direction on transitioning existing project delivery models to a collaborative, integrated team model. The resulting model leverages the early contribution of individual expertise and allows team members to better realize their potential. According to the AIA press release, a number of recent studies have shown increasing inefficiencies and waste in the construction industry. An Economist article from 2000 identifies 30 percent waste in the U.S. construction industry; a National Institute Standards and Technology (NIST) study from 2004 targets lack of interoperability as costing industry $15.8 billion annually; and a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics study shows construction as decreasing in productivity since 1964. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) provides an industry-wide solution. As defined by the AIA, IPD is a project delivery approach that integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a process that collaboratively harnesses the talents and insights of all participants to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication, construction, and occupancy. Developed jointly by the AIA’s Contract Documents Committee and the AIA California Council, The Guide was drafted in response to the shifting landscape of the industry. The Guide provides the industry with a model to achieve integration by detailing the principles of IPD and points of consideration necessary in setting up and integrated project, ranging from team formation and building to defining roles, responsibilities and performance metrics. It also walks the reader through project execution and culminates with the discussion of the circumstances and potential contractual arrangements between parties (e.g. Multi-Party, Design Build, Construction Manager at Risk) that can enhance or limit the level of integration that can be attained. Because the AIA believes The Guide is an integral resource for the construction industry, it is available for download at no cost at www.aia.org/ipdg. The introduction of The Guide complements the release of the 2007 AIA Contract Document Update. For 150 years, members of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people, knowledge, and tools to create better design, and through such resources and access, they help clients and communities make their visions real. www.aia.org. . What PM best practices? Why Program Management?
. The December edition of PM World Today, the monthly eJournal produced by PMForum, contains an array of new and fascinating project, program and portfolio management articles, papers and news. New this month are three opinion pieces (Viewpoints articles), three Feature Papers, six PM Tips & Techniques (advisory) articles, four book reviews and reports from international correspondents in 13 countries. December Viewpoints – Fresh Opinions & Perspectives  Morten Fangel, founder of the Danish Project Management Association and former Chair of the International Project Management Association (IPMA) has authored a Viewpoints Article on the topic of “Is Best Practice always identical with Best Project Management?” When best practices correspond with PMI’s Guide to the PMBOK ©, IPMA’s Competence Baseline, or other such ‘standards’, the question becomes quite interesting. In responding to a set of questions posed by Professor Peter Morris in the UK, Morten offers his perspective.  “Why Program Management” This is a question answered by Russell Martinelli, Manager of Program Management Methods within the Corporate Platform Office at Intel Corporation, in his Viewpoints article this month. He also discusses some important distinctions between program and project management. According to Russ, “Why do I focus on program management? Because program management is my profession... If implemented correctly, program management can become a powerful element of a company’s product, service or infrastructure delivery system.” Program management is a hot topic right now. When you read Mr. Martinelli’s article, you can see why corporations like Intel are embracing it.  Rebecca Winston, Fellow and former Chair of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), offers her opinion about the use of checklists in her Viewpoints article on the subject of “Checklist Project Management!” According to Becky, “During several postings with a variety of clients, it has come to my notice that we have a broad contingency of practitioners and those who claim to be professionals who are checklist lazy. Yes, some among us have become checklist-only project managers.” To see Becky’s real opinion and for some advice, check out her paper. Feature Papers that Challenge & Entertain
 The December PM World Today contains is an important paper by Mr. Stanislaw Gasik in Warsaw, Poland, entitled “UPMM – a Full Model for Portfolio Management.” This is serious new contribution to the literature on the topic and should be read carefully. This is Mr. Gasik’s first contribution to PM World Today, on a topic that is both timely and important in the PM world. . 
PM Tips & Techniques – advice from PM Consultants & Executives Six advisory papers are included in the December issue, helpful and practical suggestions from project management consultants, experts, and company executives. Cheryl Strait, principal consulting manager at Robbins-Gioia, LLC, in the USA, has provided another serious and important article entitled “Enhance your eDiscovery capabilities!” Those project managers who have been involved in litigation of any kind recently will appreciate her suggestions. Curt Finch, CEO of Journyx in Austin, Texas, has contributed another interesting paper entitled “Avoiding Fake Referrals.” Curt provides some useful advice on how to more carefully qualify a vendor. Michelle LaBrosse, founder and Chief Cheetah at Cheetah Learning, has contributed an article entitled “10 Ways to Inspire Your Team”, distributed through Cheetah’s “Know How Network”. As usual, Ms. LaBrosse provides some very good advice. Tim Bergmann, Director of Education for True Solutions, Inc. in Dallas, Texas, USA has provided an article entitled “The Seven Deadly Project Sins: Part 5 - Personalization.” This is the fifth paper in a series in which he discusses problems we often create for ourselves as project managers. This article is both entertaining and thought provoking! Anders Heie, founder and CEO of KaDonk, a project management technology company based in California, has authored a paper entitled “Sharing and Collaboration – Enable your team while holding them accountable.” For those dealing with ever changing requirements and Agile PM, Mr. Heie offers some valuable advice. Rudolf Melik, CEO of Tenrox and author of the recently published book “The Rise of the Project Workforce: Managing People and Projects in a Flat World” has provided an interesting and useful article entitled “’Juggling School’ for Project Managers: Seven Reasons to Overhaul your Project Management System.” Consider his suggestions, drawn from his best selling book. Book Reviews, Regional Reports, PM News and Stories!
In addition, The December PM World Today also contains 75 news articles and stories on the following topics:
 Global in scope and content, PM World Today is now the world’s leading and most robust online eJournal. To expand your horizons, increase your PM knowledge, stay abreast of latest news, or be seriously entertained again this month, visit www.pmworldtoday.net. New Handbook of Program Management by James Brown A new project management textbook has been published by McGraw-Hill written with the rookie and seasoned veteran in mind, The Handbook of Program Management is the quintessential step by step guide to program management. While both an overview of program management and a presentation of tried and proven project management methods, The Handbook of Program Management also includes intriguing and at times surprising insider stories sure to enrich any program manager.  According to Eugene F. Kranz, Apollo 13 Flight Director, Retired Director NASA Space Operations, Author of Failure is not an Option, “Brown’s book captures the essential skills of program and project management. It serves as a ‘how to’ guide for those entering the business, as well as a refresher on the skills and attributes for those ready to take the next step. The book effectively defines the leader’s role in creating the team culture and environment for success”. Norman R. Augustine, Retired Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation, has stated, "Program management is one of the toughest jobs a person can hold … and James Brown knows Program Management. Here's a chance to learn from the scar tissue of others rather than your own." A few of the surprising truths and tips discussed in The Handbook of Program Management include:
Information about The Handbook of Program Management (ISBN: 0071494723) can be found at http://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/html/0071494723.html or http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Program-Management-James-Brown/dp/0071494723. James T. Brown, PhD, PE, PMP provides project management training and consulting for dozens of Fortune 500 companies. His experience includes sixteen years of “hands-on” executive level, project manager, and team member roles at NASA. Brown has received numerous awards for his project management contributions including the NASA Public Service Medal, and "Engineer of the Year" from the Cape Canaveral Technical Societies. He also has a patent for a project scheduling methodology. Find out more about his services at http://www.sebasolutions.com/. . New Guides from APM set out governance principles Reported by Miles Shepherd in London, UK The Association for Project Management (APM), already world leaders on governance of projects with Directing Change – a Guide to the governance of project management, have added a further dimension to this increasingly vital aspect of projects.
Co-Directing Change: A guide to the governance of multi-owned projects, is the sister guide to the successful APM publication, Directing Change. The guide follows a structured approach that enables directors to question how well its shared projects are governed and to decide where and at what level action is needed. It is founded upon twelve principles that should apply to any multi-owned project in either the public or private sectors, or indeed in Public-Private Partnerships.
These guides are available for download to APM members from www.apm.org.uk. The guide is also available from APM Publications.
 The Association for Project Management (APM) is the national body for professional project management in the United Kingdom (UK). The organization develops and promotes project management across all sectors of industry and beyond. APM's mission is: "To develop and promote the professional disciplines of project and programme management for the public benefit." At the heart of the association 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. With over 15,000 individual and 390 corporate members, APM is one of the largest organizations of its kind in Europe. For 2007 the APM chair is Mike Nichols and the president is Dr. Martin Barnes. Additional information can be found at www.apm.org.uk. . New O'Reilly book addresses How to Get Software Projects
O’Reilly Media has announced the publication of “Applied Software Project Management”, a new book by Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene. In their new book, Stellman and Greene share tools, techniques, and practical advice for getting software projects on track and keeping them there. Many organizations have problems delivering quality software that's finished on time and meets user needs. Fortunately, the root causes of these problems are few and easily understood. Solutions to the problems have been discovered, explained, and tested in thousands of software organizations around the world. For the most part, the solutions are straightforward and easy to implement. And yet, software projects continue to fail. The high incidence of failure might seem puzzling to some or even preordained, but longtime software developers Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene know that there are tried and true techniques that can help any project manager.
 "Jenny and I have been talking for years about what makes projects fail, and how to change the way we build software so that our projects succeed," explains Stellman (pictured). "When we were working together, we'd spend hours trying to figure out the root causes of our problems. And then, after we moved on to different organizations, we saw the same exact problems over and over again! We talked to a lot of people, and read a lot about project management techniques and practices. We expected to just fix our own problems, but discovered that everyone seems to suffer from the same ones. Something had to be done about this, and that was the inspiration for the book."  "We know that many software projects fail, and most projects fail the same way," Greene adds. "But instead of taking that as a call to arms, a rallying cry to avoid the common pitfalls and well-understood problems, a lot of software developers and managers take comfort in the fact that they're surrounded by lots of other failing projects!" Stellman and Greene are convinced that failure is entirely avoidable. In "Applied Software Project Management" they take a practical approach, describing the specific tools, techniques, and practices needed to run a successful software project or fix an ailing one. A project manager can use the book to diagnose and fix the most serious problems that plague software projects. They also share advice on avoiding the problems that a project manager might encounter when bringing these tools into an organization. Applied Software Project Management; Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene; ISBN: 0-596-00948-8, 308 pages, $39.95 US, $55.95 CA; order@oreilly.com; 1-800-998-9938 ;1-707-827-7000 ; http://www.oreilly.com; 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. More information on the book can be found at: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/appliedprojectmgmt/reviews.html. The book's companion web site is at: http://www.stellman-greene.com/aspm/. For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and samples, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/appliedprojectmgmt/. O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly has been a chronicler and catalyst of leading-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism. Visit http://www.oreilly.com/. O'Reilly is a registered trademark of O'Reilly Media, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. . IChemE launches Standard International Forms of Contract The Institution of Chemical Engineers has launched a suite of standard forms for process plant contracts for use internationally. The International Forms of Contract have been drafted in response to the growing number of process plants that are being constructed overseas. They are based on and are a development of existing domestic IChemE contracts that were first published in 1968.
Prior to the publication of these contracts and in addition to bespoke contracts drafted for such schemes, several standard forms of contract already existed that were suitable for the design and construction of process plants overseas. These include: the FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Plant and Design-Build (Yellow Book), the ENAA Model Form International Contract for Process Plant Construction, and newly published ICC Model Turnkey Contract for Major Projects. So why the need for a new suite of contracts? IChemE's take is that process plants have particular needs and therefore require a specialist contract that is different from those other more established international turnkey contracts. Only time will tell whether the new IChemE form finds favour internationally and becomes a serious rival to the other forms. According to IChemE, the response from the industry to its consultation edition has been positive. The New International Forms of Contract were launched at a meeting in London in November. After the success of the Consultation Edition of the International Red Book two years ago, the IChemE Contracts Working Party produced three main Forms of Contract and the Subcontract. The International Red Book - Lump Sum Contracts; The International Green Book - Cost Reimbursable; The International Burgundy Book - Target Cost; and The International Yellow Book - Subcontracts were all unveiled at receptions in London and Mumbai, India simultaneously on November 23.
These International first editions use clear English and are presented with all specific references to UK law removed. The conditions of contract follow the pattern set in the International Red Book Consultation Edition of having General Conditions complimented by Particular Conditions, and maintain the tradition of extensive guidance notes to both the schedules and the clauses. Speaking at the London launch, IChemE Contracts Working Party Chairman, Gordon Bateman, said the new editions were a natural step forward: "We are operating in an international market place and to maintain our role in the development of successful contracts there is a clear need to think and act globally." Guest speaker at the London launch was Mr VS Peter, Deputy General Manager, Hydrocarbons, at Larsen and Toubro Ltd, whilst over 4000 miles away in Mumbai, President of Shell Global Solutions and Past-President of IChemE, Greg Lewin spoke at a joint event between IChemE and the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers. Greg explained how the new contracts were an excellent example of how the profession can work together for mutual benefit: The launch in India coincided with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between IChemE and the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE). The MOU offers a framework for partnership between the two professional communities, and for encouraging Indian chemical engineers to gain Chartered Chemical Engineer status.
IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineers) is the hub for chemical, biochemical and process engineering professionals worldwide. The Institution is at the heart of the process community, promoting competence and a commitment to best practice, advancing the discipline for the benefit of society, encouraging young people in science and engineering and supporting the professional development of its members. Founded in 1922 as a professional institution for chemical and process engineers, IChemE has grown to its current status of a 27,000 international membership across more than 113 countries. IChemE is based in the UK, with regional offices in Melbourne, Australia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For more information, visit http://cms.icheme.org/. New Swedish report on Public Private Partnership VTI, the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, has published a report that explores experiences and research results from public-private partnership projects that have been implemented in Europe and in other parts of the world. The new report, entitled Public Private Partnership in public transport infrastructure: State of the Art, was prepared by Jan-Eric Nilsson and Roger Pyddoke. The report was sponsored by the Swedish Parliament’s Standing Committee on Transport. The purpose of the study was to learn and share experiences on public private partnership (PPP) projects in the transport sector elsewhere in Europe and overseas prior to governmental decisions on this approach in Sweden. Some main points from the summary:
To see the report, visit: Editor’s note: Unfortunately, only the summary is in English, with the full report published in the Swedish language. Translation of this report into English would seem like a useful project for a graduate student or organization. If such an English version becomes available, please let us know so that we can publicize access. News of this report was provided by Max Wideman in Vancouver, to whom we are grateful. PM Story Tellers invited! Personal Stories from around the world Every project manager or project management professional has at least one good personal story to tell. Some stories are about projects; others about career challenges and changes. Others may be about personal triumphs or frustrations. Throughout the history of mankind story telling has been one of the most powerful means for sharing knowledge and information, for teaching and learning,. In an effort to expand the use of story telling by and among the global community of project managers, PMForum has introduced a “Personal Stories” section to the monthly PM World Today eJournal (www.pmworldtoday.net), beginning with the January 2008 edition.
According to Managing Editor David Pells, “I have always found the personal stories of colleagues to be fascinating, and often very entertaining. They are certainly educational, as stories usually include personal experiences dealing with project or career related challenges. As I have gotten older, I have found myself telling more stories as a way to share information or to describe personal experiences.” Stories also bring a more personal perspective and touch to the discussion of just about any topic, including project management. It can be interesting and even comforting to learn how others have dealt with project or professional issues, career challenges, personal problems, opportunities or even other people. Personal stories can be about fascinating projects, experiences related to project management, or experiences by project managers outside of PM. Stories can also be fiction, or fiction based on real life experiences. As PM continues to expand globally, and as multi-national and multi-cultural project teams become more common, personal stories might also be a good tool for improving interpersonal relations, team work and efficiency. If you are an executive, project manager or PM professional with a good story to tell, consider publication of your story in PM World Today. Stories of interest to a global audience are especially invited. You don’t need to be an expert writer, just have an interesting story to share. Interested PM story tellers should contact editor@pmforum.org for more information, or just email the story! And just like all works submitted to PMForum, authors retain the copyrights. "Editor's note: While PMForum does not plan to dictate or overly control the content of personal stories, we reserve the right to publish personal stories based on appropriateness and relevance of the subject to our readership. Stories containing inappropriate cultural, racial, personal or political content will not be accepted. Wideman PM Website updates announced for January 2008 Max Wideman has announced the latest updates to his popular project management website. According to the email from Max this month, here are the items that Max discusses or has added to his website this month..  In Papers, Max continues with Part 5 of his Ten Steps to Project Portfolio Management by providing tips on Steps 5 to 7 including Prioritizing the Work, Balancing and Optimizing the Portfolio, and Authorizing the Work. Max’s Guest this month is Robert (Bob) Youker, who returns with a masterly description based on his 35 years experience of The Job of the Project Manager, including on-the-job tasks; a list of duties or Terms of Reference; and a Project Charter defining his or her organizational relationships. In Musings Max takes a contrary view of a piece criticizing Oil Industry Leadership and the Price of Gas. Have you ever wondered how to deal with a dysfunctional team, or whether shared leadership was a good idea? Is your view of organizational politics positive? Check out the following new Issacons*:
New forms :
The following Issacons* have been updated:
*"Issacons" stands for "Issues and Considerations" that are presented in bullet form for quick and easy reference by project managers. Have you seen Max’s book Do you have a project management question? Max Wideman is one of the world’s best-known project management authorities. An engineer and professional project manager, his experience includes systems, social and environmental projects, as well as design and engineering projects. He is a Fellow of the Project Management Institute, of which he is past president and chairman and for which he led the development of the 1987 version of the Project Management Body of Knowledge. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK), the Engineering Institute of Canada, and the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering. His personal web site at www.maxwideman.com is a source of superior project management knowledge and information. It is free to the public. Max Wideman is also a global advisor to PMForum; additional information about Max can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/advisors.htm
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