PMFORUM Breaking News

PMForum has announced that four of its International Correspondents played key roles and were highly visible at the 3rd UT Dallas Project Management Symposium in Texas in August. Three International Correspondents - Ted Koval from Omaha, Nebraska; José Machicao from Lima, Peru; and Tom Sheives from Arlington, Texas - submitted papers for the conference and made presentations. Ann Miller, correspondent for Dallas, Texas, and PMForum's managing editor David Pells, moderated panels.

The 3rd Annual UT Dallas PM Symposium was held in the School of Management on The UT Dallas campus in Richardson, Texas during 13-14 August 2009. The event was organized by the Graduate Program in Project Management (PM) in the School of Management's Executive Education Center at UT Dallas, in partnership with the Dallas Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and PMForum. The theme for this year's symposium was "Managing in a Changing World".

Ted Koval, PMP, Business Project Manager with Mutual of Omaha and PMForum correspondent in Omaha, Nebraska, delivered a paper and presentation on the topic of "Project Management in Politics as a Future Direction" on Thursday, 13 August 2009. Ted's presentation was based on his personal experience and research related to (1) project management efficiencies and processes that might be applicable to political campaigns, and (2) what lessons project managers might learn from campaign management. To learn more about Ted Koval or to contact him about his paper, visit http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#Koval.

José Carlos Machicao Valencia, PMP, organizational consultant, lecturer at the Continental University in Lima and PMForum correspondent in Peru, presented a paper on 13 August, along with his sister Tatiana Machicao Valencia, on the topic of "Proposal of an Actions and Achievements Organizational Methodology (A2OM2) in Order to face Cultural Management Improvement Goals." Their presentation explored the need for new methodological aspects not currently satisfied by existing tools for dealing with cultural change. For more information about José or to contact him, visit http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#Machicao.

Tom Sheives, PhD, author, coach and speaker with True Solutions, Inc. and PMForum correspondent for Arlington and Fort Worth, Texas, made a presentation on 13 August entitled "Opportunity Unstuck: Create Your Right Time, Right Place, Right Opportunity". The paper and Tom's presentation explored four important principles that can enable professionals to take hold of his or her career or business and create real opportunities. To learn more about Tom Sheives or to contact him, visit http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#Sheives.

Ann Miller, adjunct professor for project management continuing education at the University of Texas at Austin, strategic consultant and PMForum correspondent in Dallas, moderated a panel discussion on 14 August on the topic of "Managing Your Career in a Changing World", which was well attended. Panelists included Frank Saladis, Wendy Overturf, Lothar Katz (all symposium presenters) and John Baley, former Dallas PMI President. To learn more about Ann Miller or to contact her, visit http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#Miller.

David Pells, PMForum's managing editor and member of the symposium management team, moderated a panel discussion on 14 August on the topic of "The Future of Project Management." Panelists included José Machicao from Lima, Peru; Veikko Välilä, IPMA Secretary General from Helsinki, Finland; and Stacy Goff, President of the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management (asapm), based in Colorado, USA. They shared answers and comments from their different professional and geographic perspectives.


The 3rd UT Dallas PM Symposium was launched on Thursday, August 13, with welcoming addresses by James Joiner, Director of the Graduate Program in Project Management at The UT Dallas and Hasan Pirkul, PhD, Dean of The UT Dallas School of Management. They were followed by two keynote speakers, retired US astronaut James Reilly, PhD, and Tom Leppert, the popular mayor of the City of Dallas. Other events on 13 August included 24 professional presentations in five streams by project management experts and professional practitioners. The first day ended with a networking reception for participants in the atrium in the School of Management.

The second day of the symposium, August 14, featured keynote speeches by Edwin Andrews, PhD, Director of Academic and Educational Programs and Services for the Project Management Institute (PMI); Mark Penny, Project Executive at Manhattan Construction, the prime contractor for the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and Veikko Välilä, Secretary General of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). The second day also included 15 professional presentations and three panel discussions. Official attendance for the two day event was around 225. To see the full symposium program, visit http://som.utdallas.edu/graduate/execed/projectMgmtProg/projSymposium/.

The Project Management Program at UT Dallas provides application-oriented education for professionals with significant project, program or general management responsibilities. Established in the Executive Education Center in The UT Dallas' School of Management, students have the option of earning a Certificate in Project Management, a Master of Science degree with an emphasis in project management, or a Master of Business Administration degree with project management emphasis.

The UT Dallas PM program, originally developed in 1997, is accredited by the Global Accreditation Center for Project Management (GAC) of Project Management Institute (PMI®) and is a PMI Registered Education Provider Program (PMI R.E.P.). The program is taught by world-class faculty with a blend of industrial project management, consulting and teaching experience. The UT Dallas PM Program is delivered both on campus and online, and attracts students from across the USA and worldwide. For more information, visit http://som.utdallas.edu/project/.

The PMI Dallas Chapter is a volunteer-based professional association dedicated to supporting the growth and development of project management practitioners, as well as building awareness of the project management discipline and its critical role in business and organization success. With more than half a million members and credential holders in over 170 countries, the Project Management Institute (PMI®) is the leading membership association for the project management profession. Founded in 1984 and with over 4,000 members, the PMI Dallas Chapter is one of the world's largest PMI components. To learn more about the PMI Dallas Chapter and its service offerings, visit www.pmidallas.org

PMForum operates www.pmforum.org, the world's oldest website devoted to professional project management and still one of the world's most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and stories by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net.