Project Management Update
from Ireland
By Ed Naughton
Institute of Project Management of Ireland publishes 2008 survey
of Project Management Practitioners in Ireland
COMMENTARY
The past fifteen years has seen a dramatic increase in the proportion of work that is undertaken as projects rather than as repetitive operations, or ‘business as usual’. This expansion of project-based activity has not been restricted to any one market or sector, but has rather been experienced throughout the private, public and voluntary sectors. Recent trends suggest that we will have to run fast simply to stand still in the race for improved success.
Age Profile
The age profile of project managers in many industries shows many of the most experienced, expert and competent people now approaching the age of retirement, creating a large and growing gap between demand and supply of qualified project managers in the world.
The Rise of Portfolio Management
The practice of project management is changing towards the adoption of project portfolio management as it rises to meet the new challenges of a broader role nearer to the centre of the corporate spotlight than ever before.
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Ed Naughton
PM World Today Correspondent
Ed Naughton, BE, C. Eng., F.I.E.I, IPMA-a, PMP, is an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today in Dublin, Ireland. Mr. Naughton isalso the founder and Director General of the Institute of Project Management of Ireland, the leading authority on the PM profession in Ireland. Ed is a former Vice President of the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and Co-chair of IPMA’s “Nation to Nation” Project Management Forum. Ed has researched, published and presented many articles and papers on project management and is the author of the Irish Project Management Competence Baseline. During his thirty year career, Ed has worked as a project manager and/or project management consultant on a large variety of high profile domestic and international assignments. Ed Naughton is a graduate of University College Dublin (BE, civil), a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers of Ireland, a Chartered Engineer (Ireland), a Professional Engineer in Canada, and holds IPMA Level A certification. He is former editor of the quarterly international publication “Project Management Practice”. Ed lives in Dublin and can be contacted at info@projectmanagement.ie. Additional information about Ed Naughton
can be found at www.projectmanagement.ie.
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Project (Change) Management News from Germany
By Manfred Rieck
As you can read in the title already the boundary between project management and change management becomes blurred. More and more PMI chapter events in Germany aim at change management topics as this discipline appears to be the logical next step for project management and its components. The Project Manager – or as I wrote in the April news, the Swiss Army Knife Change Leader needs to train his skills in project management topics as well as change management discipline. But which skill set characterizes a Change Leader? The simple usage of project management tools in combination with a sales attitude to sell the change isn’t enough, there is – beneath others – a need for strong leadership competence to convince the affected people. The focus on these so called ‘soft factors’ needs to be known, applied, improved from the Change Leader. More on change management was discussed on the following events.
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About the Author:
Manfred Rieck
PM World Today International Correspondent
Based in Frankfurt, Germany
Mr. Manfred Rieck, PMP, is an International Correspondent for www.pmforum.org in Frankfurt, Germany. Mr. Rieck is Manager at IBM Corporation for IT-Business Development and Project Delivery in the finance, automotive and public sectors and holds an IBM Senior Project Manager certification. He was previously Program Manager in IBM’s Project Management Center of Excellence (PM/CoE) responsible for EMEA. Mr. Rieck is specialized on recovering critical complex projects in international environments and on the development and implementation of change management programs.
Manfred has a Master of Science in Computer Science from University Bonn, Germany and is enrolled in the Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program at Henley Management College, UK. His research investigates change management studies. He is also a member of the 2007 PMI® Leadership Institute Master Class. After being Vice President of the Frankfurt Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) for several years Manfred is actively engaged in the PMI® Component Mentor Program Mentor Advisory Group (CMP MAG) advising the European Component Mentors in PMI related topics to promote professional project management across Europe. Additional information about Mr. Rieck can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5.
Manfred Rieck can be contacted at Manfred.Rieck@de.ibm.com.
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Project Management News from Nigeria
By O. Chima Okereke, PhD
Project Management Failures due to Underdeveloped
Project Management Practice
Introduction
Last month, we discussed the apparent failure of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP); an ambitious and worthwhile programme initiated by the Obasanjo administration to enhance the national electric power supply base with an investment of about $10 billion. We reported that there was a public hearing by a committee set up by the Nigerian House of Representatives to investigate the programme. The major remit of the committee was to discover why the investment has yielded nothing. We had promised to conclude the report this month. However, our study of project management in the country reveals that the NIPP experience is not an isolated case. It is a feature, and indeed the fate, of most projects conducted without close supervision in our country. Our observation is that project management in Nigeria, especially as practised in the public sector, is underdeveloped. There is a palpable absence of the practice of modern structured project management. We shall underline this assertion as we examine two failing projects, starting with the NIPP.
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O. Chima Okereke, PhD
PM World Today Correspondent
Dr. O. Chima Okereke, Ph.D. is an International Correspondent for www.pmforum.org in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Dr. Okereke is also Managing Director of Total Technology Consultants, Ltd., based in the UK. A registered engineer in Nigeria, Dr. Okereke has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Lagos, and a Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Bradford. Chima is also sponsor and president of the potential chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) in Port Harcourt.
Additional information about Dr. Okereke can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5.
Chima can be contacted at OkerekeOC@aol.com.
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Project Management
News from Spain
Reported by Alfonso Bucero, PMP
Project Management. An Agreement of Confidence
It is a clear and evident fact that the “Project Management discipline” implementation in the Anglo-Xason countries, translated to Spanish as “Dirección integrada de proyectos” in the Construction industry, has been growing up during the last years. And that implies that people are talking more and more about its advantages and disadvantages becoming more popular in Spain.
Regarding the Project Management Services scope, it is told that not all provided services to be delivered are homogeneous, and every customer is introducing some changes according to their organization; that creates some confusion. That’s true, although it is happening in other countries too which have more experience using this management system. This fact must not be an obstacle regarding its application, but the opposite; because that flexibility in the service content is a positive point to the organizational structure optimization of a property developer fact, depending on the needs and criteria from each property. What is essential is to establish immediately a responsibility assignment matrix, its hierarchical dependencies and communication protocols among them, in order to avoid uncoordinated situations.
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Alfonso Bucero
PM World Today Correspondent
Mr. Alfonso Bucero, PMP, is an International Correspondent for PMForum.org in Madrid, Spain. Mr. Bucero is also founder and Managing Partner of BUCERO PM Consulting. He previously managed the office in Spain for the International Institute for Learning (IIL) for two years, and was a Senior Project Manager at Hewlett-Packard Spain (Madrid Office) for thirteen years. Alfonso is an active member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), of the ALI (Asociación de Licenciados, Ingenieros y Doctores en Informática), and of the Spanish Project Management Association, AEIPRO (afíliate member asociación of the International Project Management Association, IPMA). Alfonso was the founder, sponsor and President of the PMI Barcelona, Spain Chapter until April 2005, and he is an IPMA Assessor. He belongs to the LIAG (Leadership Institute Advisory Group) of PMI. Alfonso has a Computer Science Engineering degree from Universidad Politécnica in Madrid, and is now studying for his Ph.D. in “Project Management”. He has 28 years of practical experience and has managed and consulted on projects in different countries throughout Europe. Mr. Bucero can be contacted at alfonso.bucero@abucero.com.
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Project Management Update from Greece
By Theofanis Giotis
Greek Project Management Standard available
for public comment
Last August, Mr. Christos Folias from the Greek Ministry of Economics has signed an agreement with Mr. Nikolaos Simferis, CEO of ELOT (the Greek ISO member) for the development of a new Greek Project Management Standard. Under this agreement, ELOT, until the end of 2008 should develop the Greek Project Management Standard.
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Theofanis C. Giotis
PM World Today International Correspondent
Theofanis C. Giotis, MSc, MCT, PMP is an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today in Greece. Mr. Giotis is also CEO of ITEC Total Solutions SA, an Information Technology Solutions company, and managing director for ITEC Training Services SA, anIT, Project Management and Management Training company. Mr. Giotis has an MS degree inOperations Research from the University of Lancaster (UK) and a BA in Economics from the University of Athens, Greece. Theofanis has 20 years’ experience in Management, Finance, IT, Security and PM. He is a co-founder & current president of the PMI® Greece Chapter and a member of the Greek Computer Society, Greek Operations Research Society, Hellenic Management Association, and several other Greek and international professional organizations. Additional information about Theofanis Giotis can be found at: http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#Giotis. Theofanis lives in Athens and can be contacted at Theofanis.Giotis@ITEC.edu or Theofanis.Giotis@PMI-GREECE.org.
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Project Management News
from South Africa
By Jaycee Krüger
News from PM Professional Organizations
PMSA (Project Management South Africa) News
It is the 10th year of Project Management Institute South Africa (PMSA), since its formation as an association for Project Managers in South Africa. The PMSA Board decided to award certificates to all current members who have been with the Institute for those 10 years with a special presentation at the Gala Dinner event at PMSA’s Conference in May 2008. The PMSA Board will be inviting the original PMSA Board Members to this event in recognition of their foresight.
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Jaycee Krüger
PM World Today Correspondent
Jaycee Krüger, PMP, PrTechEng, is an International Correspondent for PMForum and PM World Today in South Africa. He is also the Managing Director of the CMSS, trading as Construction Management Support Services. He has over 29 years of experience in project environments with increasing responsibility, on power, industrial and mining projects, including shutdowns and projects in remote locations. A Civil Engineer by training, Jaycee is active in the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International (AACE), Project Management Institute (PMI), Project Management South Africa (PMSA), and the South African Institute of Civil Engineering (SAICE). Jaycee is based in Heidelberg, Gauteng, Johannesburg region, and can be reached at jckruger@greybeards.co.za. For additional information about Jaycee Krüger, visit http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5.
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Perspectives of the PMI in Ecuador - Interviews with Enrique Cappella, PMI Regional Mentor for North Latin America
By Irwin J. Franco, PMP
Enrique Cappella, PMP ®, PMI Regional Mentor for North Latin America, recently visited Ecuador for a conference organized by the Project Management Association of Ecuador. We took advantage of this visit to talk with him about his vision of the region and the expectations of the PMI in Ecuador.
PMWT: What is your role in the PMI?
E.C.: PMI have an organization by regions. One of these regions is North Latin America, which included Ecuador. For each region there is a role that is known as Regional Mentor.
In my role as Regional Mentor, I must ensure community development in different countries, and be the link between communities and PMI. For this year I have a work plan with each one of the Chapters of the countries that already are formed, and with the countries that are in process of formation.
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Irwin J. Franco, PMP
PM World Today Correspondent
Irwin José Franco is a Project Manager at Image Tech, a leading web and multimedia solutions company based in Guayaquil - Ecuador. José has a B.A. in Visual Communications from Universidad San Francisco de Quito - Ecuador, and a Master degree in Project Management from Universidad La Salle, Madrid - Spain. He has more than 8 years of experience managing technological projects in the private sector. At the moment, he is working in the creation of the PMI Ecuador Chapter, and his main objective is to promote Project Management profession in his country. Additional information about José can be found at his blog: www.elcafedejoe.com or can be contacted at irwinfranco@yahoo.es .
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Project Management News
from Turkey
By Ahmet Taspinar
DYNAMICS 2008 - the Turkish Project Management Forum
DYNAMICS 2008 took place at THE MARMARA Hotel in Istanbul on April 4 - 5. Over 300 people attended the event, with 14 sessions and 26 presenters addressing various project performance issues. The PMI College of Performance Management was represented by Wayne Abba, a keynote speaker, Lauren Bone and Neil Albert, all three addressing various earned value applications. Wayne has become a regular and very popular speaker at these annual congresses, and everyone in attendance expressed their wish to see all three colleagues, joined by more C of PM speakers in future years.
The exit surveys revealed high levels of satisfaction, and wishes for more hands-on, real life stories of what happened in the US, Europe and Australia. There were some eye-opening presentations, notably from Nicola Crawford of Australia and UK, and from the American-educated young CEO of a leading Commercial Real Estate developer, who made a very simple, clear, but instructive case for what to watch out for in selecting outsourcing partners.
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About the Author:
Ahmet N. Taspinar
International Correspondent Turkey
Based in Istanbul
  
Ahmet N. Taspinar, MBA, PMP, REP is an International Correspondent for PMForum.org for Turkey. Mr. Taspinar holds an MS degree in Civil Engineering from Harvard University and a MBA degree from Northeastern University in the United States. Ahmet has 40 years of experience in petrochemical and energy projects, and in management information systems development. A member of the Project Management Institute (PMI ®) since 1977, Ahmet is a former President of the Northern California PMI Chapter and a founding member of the PMI Istanbul Chapter. Additional information about Ahmet can be found at (http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5).
He can be contacted at mbpnet@hotmail.com
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Project Landscape: A Collaboration Project and
An example
of Right-Brain Project Management
By Quang Ton, CABM, CISM, PMP
What is it? Project Landscape (PL) is a project initiated by the Tulsa & Oklahoma Chapter of Project Management Institute (PMI) to facilitate the collaboration between the PMI’s Region 6 Chapters in delivering monthly publications with high quality contents and graphics.
PL started its pilot phase in November 2007 and after 2 months, the PMI Houston Chapter came on board to publish the collaborative edition in January 2008 and the email distribution has increased almost 9 times since the pilot phase and shortly after that, the PMI Austin Chapter joined.
The intent of the edition is not to replace or enter in competition with the standard PMI Global publications but rather an approach to reach local PMI members out with regional news.
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Quang Ton
PM World Today Correspondent
Quang Ton, CABM, CISM, PMP, is an international correspondent for PMForum based in the Houston metropolitan area of South Texas, USA. He is also the Service Manager for Schlumberger Oilfield Services, the leading oilfield services provider, trusted to deliver superior results and improved E&P performance for oil and gas companies around the world. Through well site operations and in research and engineering facilities, the organization is working to develop products, services and solutions that optimize customer performance in a safe and environmentally sound manner. He has been working on global projects and program to secure information and offer physically security solutions, implementation and integration for the enterprise of 70,000+ employees located world-wide, his main focuses are in service quality, business processes and operational excellence. He holds a Masters degree in Computer Engineering from the Université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC) in France as well as a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from the Institut Universitaire de Technologie de Créteil (IUT) in France and he has also acquired several credentials such as Certified Associate Business Manager (CABM), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Foundation Level in Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). Quang has been active in leadership positions with the Project Management Institute (PMI®) (VP Communications) and Schlumberger Limited (Eureka SIG Leader in Process Management). Quang lives in Houston, Texas, USA and can be contacted at pmi.qton@yahoo.com.
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Prizes and Prices in Perú
By José Carlos Machicao
The Prizes
On April 3rd, the well known rating agency Fitch Ratings granted to Peru the first step of the “investment grade” recognizing the stability of the financial national indicators. Also the JP Morgan country risk index decreased from 1,97 down to 1,87 this month. Both indexes are enormously positive for the growing rhythm of Peruvian economy and probably the reason to have a Seminar on Sustainability in Peru, organized by The Economist in Lima.
The prices
But, as usually, some barriers are blocking the possibility to say that everything is perfect. Inflation is growing dangerously, especially when referred to food prices. Even when this might be a problem reflected from the global economy, this situation still has local factors to be improved.
Jose Machicao
PM World Today Correspondent
Jose Machicao, PMP, is an International Correspondent for PMForum.org in Lima, Peru. Mr. Machicao is also an Organizational Project Management consultant, working in the public and private sectors in Peru. Mr. Machicao has a Masters Degree in Energy from the University of Cardiff, Wales, UK, and a Mechanical Engineering degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. He is a member of the Colegio de Ingenieros (Peruvian Association of Professional Engineers), the World Energy Council, the Association of Energy Engineers, and the Project Management Institute (PMI®). He is currently Education Director for the PMI GovSIG®. Additional information about Jose Machicao can be seen at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5. Jose Machicao can be contacted at jcmachicao@gmail.com, and http://blog.pucp.edu.pe/jcmachicao.
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