PMFORUM Breaking News

The project management team for the 22nd IPMA World Congress on Project Management - ROMA 2008 Project Management to Run - have announced some very interesting paper presentations for the November World Congress. The IPMA 22^nd World Congress on Project Management will be held in Rome, Italy during 9-11 November 2008. According to the "ROMA 2008 - Project Management to Run" project team, with keynote speeches and 10 streams of presentations over three days, as many as 250 presentations on important project management topics can be anticipated. www.ipmaroma2008.it

Some early announcements of fascinating paper presentations to occur in Rome in November include the following:

US Presidential Helicopter Program, by Massimo Biggi, Agusta Eestland, Italy – How an Italian enterprise won the contract to build the helicopter for the President of the United States. Many challenges have been met by the Agusta Westland Team in executing the new Presidential Helicopters Program to satisfy the US DoD’s EVMS requirements. This presentation will explore the lessons learned in applying a full blown EVMS requirement in developing and implementing an EVMS design to be fully compliant with ANSI/EIA 748-A. The effort culminated with an officially Certified EVM System under 748-A in October 2007.

Complex or Complicated? By Peter Fielder, BAE Systems, UK – The issue of Complexity has become a hot issue in Project Management in the past two years. It promoted much debate at the 2007 IPMA Congress, both inside and outside the auditorium. There is little doubt that Projects are becoming more Complicated, but are they becoming more Complex? Peter Fielder, BAE Systems Business Improvement Director, will discuss what makes a Project Complex, drawing from his extensive career in the Defence Industry and his role as Business Improvement Director and Chairperson of the BAE Systems Project Management Council. Peter will also consider the capabilities required of the Manager of a Complex Project, and how they might differ from those required of the Manager of a more conventional Project.

Project Management and the Celtic Tiger - How Ireland was transformed from a peasant society to a high technology economy, by Donncha Kavanagh, University College Cork, Ireland, and Ed Naughton, The Institute of Project Management, Ireland. The Celtic Tiger is a term popularly used to describe the transformation of the Irish economy since 1990. There is no consensus as to why the Celtic Tiger occurred, but the following are usually identified as important reasons: low corporate taxation, significant and long-term investment in education, the development of an advanced free-market economy, low-cost labour (at least initially), and EU investment This study explores the hypothesis that, in contrast to the accepted wisdom, micro practices of work and management, and project management practices specifically, are an (overlooked) reason for the Celtic Tiger.

These and more than 240 other papers on various aspects of technical, social and commercial projects will be presented in ten different streams and a poster session. Over thirty Ministries, Universities and other leading Organizations operating in various technological fields are giving their patronage and sponsoring the event. Over 1,000 delegates are expected for the Congress, with a further 5,000 attendees visiting the exhibition.

Rome's splendid conference centre, the Palazzo dei Congressi, with its comprehensive facilities, will host the Congress. Covering over 4,000 square metres of space, the exhibition to accompany the congress will be the must-attend event for the global project management industry.

The magnificent historical city of Rome with its unrivalled monuments and wonderful food will ensure you have a stay to remember. Participants will have enjoy special Social Events, including a Gala Dinner and Concert at the Parco della Musica, the outstanding musical complex designed by the worldly famous Architect Renzo Piano. For registration, schedule and other information, visit the conference website at www.ipmaroma2008.it.

The local hosts for the ROMA 2008 World Congress are the Italian Project Management Academy and the Italian National Association of Industrial Plant Engineering (ANIMP). The President of ANIMP is Fabrizio Di Amato; the President of the Italian PM Academy is Roberto Mori; the Congress Chairman is Luigi Iperti; and the Project Manager for IPMA 2008 is PierMarco Romagnoli.

Founded in 1967 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is is an international federation of more than 40 national PM societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Local societies serve each country in its national language. IPMA provides an umbrella organization at the international level. IPMA’s internationally acclaimed 4 Level PM Certification Programme continues to grow worldwide. The IPMA annually presents awards to teams that achieve great feats in project management. IPMA maintains its continuous presence in the global PM arena through regular International Symposia, Expert Seminars and its Annual World Congress. The president of IPMA for 2008 is Veikko Valila. Additional information is available at www.ipma.ch.