PMFORUM Breaking News

Reported by Rob Posener from the UK

The APM 2007 Project Management Conference opened in London on Tuesday, 30 October, with plenary speeches and discussion of “national issues” in the UK. The 2007 APM national conference - The Business of Projects – is being held at The Brewery Conference Centre in London during 30-31 October 2007. The first such event for the association in its 35-year history (with an anniversary this month), the 2007 conference is focused on project management “issues of national importance” in the UK. Approximately 200 delegates attended the opening session on Tuesday morning.

Martin Barnes, PhD, current APM President, provided the opening welcome and address. Martin was a founding member of the Association, and is an honorary fellow and past chairman. According to Dr. Barnes, “project management is the fastest growing profession that the UK has ever seen. The achievement of business objectives/strategy needs project management to deliver the strategy and governance is responsible for ensuring that a project can deliver without getting entangled in the rest of the enterprise.”

Terry Cooke-Davies, PhD, Conference Chair, followed Dr. Barnes with a second opening speech and an overview of the conference objectives and programme. Winner of APM’s 2006 prestigious Sir Monty Finniston Award for lifetime achievement, Dr Terry Cooke-Davies is executive chairman of Human Systems and a pioneering practitioner well known for his efforts in integrating project management into mainstream management techniques.

Terry then chaired the general plenary session that also included Tom Taylor, Tony Teague, Peter Harpum, Mary McKinlay, and David Shannon. As “Subject Champions”, they positioned the five strategic areas of the conference: the business of projects, the project management skills gap, governance, mega projects and sustainability.

The two day conference is formatted to include the plenary session, three main tracks of presentations and discussions each day, and a closing plenary. During the afternoon of day one and most of day two, the following project management topics of national interest in the UK are to be discussed:

• The Business of Projects


• Governance


• The Project Management Skills Gap


• Learning from Mega Projects


• Project Management in a Sustainable Society

The APM is to be congratulated on organising such a well-run conference. The topics are well-researched, the presenters are first class, the exhibition area is well laid out, the conference venue is exemplary, the food and beverages were good and the delegate’s pack was first-rate. The presentations have generated many good questions, observations and discussions.

The innovative use of advanced voting technology has allowed presenters to obtain instant feedback from the delegates. The layout of the rooms into round tables seating 6, has assisted in stimulating discussion among delegates. The innovative implementation of a conference web site that will be available for 6 months after the conference is both a novel idea and a great boon to being able to continue discussions on the topics, well after the conference has finished.

For more information, visit www.apm.org.uk/conference.asp.

The Association for Project Management (APM) is the national body for professional project management in the United Kingdom (UK). With over 15,000 individual and 390 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 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. Additional information can be found at www.apm.org.uk.

Robert Posener International Correspondent Australia Mr. Robert Posener is an International Correspondent for www.pmforum.org in Sydney, Australia. Mr. Posener is also founder and Managing Director of PMComplete Pty Ltd, a project management professional services company in Australia. For the last 30 years, Robert has managed projects for computer hardware, software and technology companies in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Hong Kong and USA. Rob can be reached at robert.posener@pmcomplete.com.au. More information about Robert Posener can be found at www.pmforum.org/pm forum team/index.htm#Posener.