Saïd Business School at Oxford launches
IT Project Management Website
Reported by Miles Shepherd in Salisbury, UK
A new project management website devoted to IT projects has been launched by the Said Business School at the University of Oxford in the UK. The website was created by Dr. Chris Sauer, Fellow in Information Management at Saïd Business School and Drs. Blaize Horner Reich and Andrew Gemino at Simon Fraser University in Canada. The website features the latest results of academic research aimed at helping IT project managers understand the contributing factors affecting IT project performance.
According to their announcement, "It's no secret that information technology (IT) projects have a high risk of failure. Now, however, project managers can improve their chances of success by visiting a new website designed to make the most recent academic research in project management immediately practicable. At PM Perspectives, project managers will discover the latest insights, techniques and trends in project management in a range of articles developed from research in the field."
According to Dr Sauer (pictured): "IT project managers face volatile working conditions that constantly demand new competencies. In our experience they are keen to learn about the latest developments in the field, but this has not always been easy to do. We have developed a website which helps practitioners keep up to date with significant developments arising from research in IT project management."
"The site includes our own research group's findings as well as the work of researchers in the US, Australia and Continental Europe," he added. "Our intention is to help managers access the latest thinking in the field which they can directly apply in their roles. We also want to create a community of IT project managers through the site and we are keen to encourage a two way conversation so we can also learn from their experiences."
Research published on PM Perspectives is primarily conducted by the site creators, but also includes research from collaborators at universities around the world. Funded by the Canadian government, the site aims to engage with project managers in order to contribute to, and shape, the researchers’ future projects. The site also serves as a forum where project and programme professionals around the world can read the articles and submit their own views and experiences. The articles can also be used as resource material to support group discussions or education sessions.
'After five years of research into project management practices, including five multinational studies, hundreds of surveys and many interviews with senior IT project managers, we felt it was time to share our results with project management professionals,' says Dr. Reich.'We believe it's the only website in the world to directly connect project management practitioners and academic researchers. There’s nothing for sale on the site and no consultants looking for business. There are just ideas to help improve the success rate of IT projects.'
Visit PM Perspectives at http://www.pmperspectives.org/.
Established in 1996, the Saïd Business School is one of Europe’s youngest and most entrepreneurial business schools with a reputation for innovative business education. The School has an established reputation for research in a wide range of areas, including finance and accounting, organisational analysis, international management, strategy and operations management. The school is dedicated to developing a new generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs and conducting research not only into the nature of business, but the connections between business and the wider world. The University of Oxford has ranked top for business studies in The Times annual report in six of the last seven years. For more information, see
www.sbs.ox.ac.uk.
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APM announces survey on global economy
Reported by Miles Shepherd in Salisbury, UK
The Association for Project Management (APM) in the UK has launched a survey on the global economy and its impact on project and programme management. According to the APM’s website:
"The global economy touches all area of business and society. The growing interrelationships between countries and continents are changing the way we work and the work we do. With the onset of a global economic downturn Project is looking to assess the impact that globalisation and the recession is having on the project management industry."
Project managers worldwide are invited to participate; if interested visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=szo1U1Cun6q_2bLrVFkCQFxA_3d_3d.
If you would like to contribute an opinion piece on this subject, please contact Project’s editor James Simons at james@impact-now.co.uk
The Association for Project Management (APM) is the UK's national body for professional project management. With over 16,500 individual and 500 corporate members, APM is one of the largest organisations of its kind in Europe. The organisation 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." 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 at www.apm.org.uk.
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