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Breaking News in the Project Management World
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
David Pells delivers opening keynote address at PM Days Project Management Conference in Finland
David Pells, Managing Editor of PMForum and PM World Today, delivered the opening keynote speech at 2008 PM Days Project Management Symposium on Tuesday,18 November in Espoo, Finland. The 2008 PM Days symposium in Finland, held during 18-19 November 2008 was the annual conference of the Project Management Association of Finland - Projektiyhdistys. The title of his speech and presentation was "The Future of Project Management is...not a straight line."
According to David’s presentation, three factors must be considered when discussing the future of project management - our definition of project management, personal perspective based on PM roles and relationships to projects, and current trends.
Definitions depend to a certain extent on what business or industry we are working in, and what our roles and responsibilities related to programs and projects are. For example, one’s definitions may vary if he or she is a project team member, project manager, program manager, project sponsor, CEO, director or customer. Definitions may also vary for consultants, educators, researchers or product suppliers. That is, is PM an approach, methodology, practice, process, application, model, body of knowledge, management philosophy, career, profession, business or industry? Or is it all of the above?
After referring to some recent papers and developments, including Hiroshi Tanaka’s seven PM models (2005) and the 9 schools of PM introduced at ESC Lille’s August workshop (2008), David reviewed some recent developments and trends. He concluded that the future must include multiple old and new concepts and methods; multiple models, depending on application and sector; multiple approaches and tools for various types of programs, projects and teams; continued growth of PM as business, industry and professional career path; and the increasing importance of projects and PM in both the global economy and in society. A copy of the presentation will be available soon in the PMForum library.
David L. Pells is President of PMForum, Inc., and management editor for www.pmforum.org and the monthly PM World Today eJournal (www.pmworldtoday.net). David is an internationally recognized leader in the field of professional project management, with over thirty years’ experience in project management related activities and positions. His professional experience includes a variety of programs and projects in engineering, construction, transit, defense and high technology, and project sizes ranging from several thousand to ten billion dollars. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and was named a PMI Fellow in 1999.
The local host of the 2008 PM Days in Helsinki was the Projektiyhdistys, Project Management Association Finland, based in Espoo, Finland. Projektiyhdistys is the national membership body for Finland in the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and is the oldest and largest national PM Association in Northern Europe. The general manager of Projekiyhdistys is Jyry Louhisto, who is also the project director for the 23rd IPMA World Congress in Finland. For further information, visit www.pry.fi.
Definitions depend to a certain extent on what business or industry we are working in, and what our roles and responsibilities related to programs and projects are. For example, one’s definitions may vary if he or she is a project team member, project manager, program manager, project sponsor, CEO, director or customer. Definitions may also vary for consultants, educators, researchers or product suppliers. That is, is PM an approach, methodology, practice, process, application, model, body of knowledge, management philosophy, career, profession, business or industry? Or is it all of the above?
After referring to some recent papers and developments, including Hiroshi Tanaka’s seven PM models (2005) and the 9 schools of PM introduced at ESC Lille’s August workshop (2008), David reviewed some recent developments and trends. He concluded that the future must include multiple old and new concepts and methods; multiple models, depending on application and sector; multiple approaches and tools for various types of programs, projects and teams; continued growth of PM as business, industry and professional career path; and the increasing importance of projects and PM in both the global economy and in society. A copy of the presentation will be available soon in the PMForum library.
The local host of the 2008 PM Days in Helsinki was the Projektiyhdistys, Project Management Association Finland, based in Espoo, Finland. Projektiyhdistys is the national membership body for Finland in the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and is the oldest and largest national PM Association in Northern Europe. The general manager of Projekiyhdistys is Jyry Louhisto, who is also the project director for the 23rd IPMA World Congress in Finland. For further information, visit www.pry.fi.
