PMFORUM Breaking News

Reported by Ann R. Miller and David Pells in Dallas

Miles Shepherd, Chairman of the Executive Board of the International Project Management Association (IPMA) delivered a closing keynote speech at the 4th Annual UT Dallas Project Management Symposium on 13 August 2010 in Richardson, Texas. The symposium, with the theme "Business Sustainability through Project Management, was held during 12-13 August 2010 in the School of Management building on the UT Dallas campus. The 4th UT Dallas Project Management Symposium 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.

Miles Shepherd, who is also the current Chair of the International Standards Organization (ISO) committee that is developing the new ISO 21.500 Project Management Standard, spoke on the topic of "Standards in Project Management - a Brake on Practice or an Accelerator?"


According to Miles, "Standards mean many things to many people but for project managers, they can mean a rigid set of rules to follow as well as a stifling bureaucracy to maintain. Some see standards as a reason for the existence of Project Management Offices with little better to do than police paperwork that adds little to the practice or the art of project management. Others see standards as fundamental building block for the profession, enabling a career structure to be defined by setting out the roles and responsibilities of practitioners. Still others see standards as useful tools to help keep everyone on the same page".

"There is much work going on in national and international bodies responsible for developing standards that affect the project manager in potentially wide variety of ways," Miles stated.

Mr. Shepherd made the case for standards in project management. He described the rationale behind the development of standards at various levels and relates these to professional development. Using the example ISO 21,500 'Guidelines for Project Management' as a case study, the development process was explained and progress from the recent meeting in Rio de Janiero was presented. It also addresses some of the issues raised by the development process while explaining the role of individuals, corporations and professional societies both nationally and internationally.

Miles brought laughter from the crowd of some 200 attendees when he said, "In the UK, we have carefully developed standards for various products and services, for example, in glassware. We certainly wouldn't want any of you to get any less than a full pint of beer when you order a pint of beer on your next trip to Britain."

Miles Shepherd has been involved with project management in one form or another for more than 30 years, and has led a variety of projects in UK, Eastern Europe and Russia. After a full career with the British Army, where he held a number of technical and project related posts, he joined AEA Technology in 1994. His later work centred on the development of project management techniques used to decommission nuclear reactors in UK and Eastern Europe. Miles works with Government agencies, universities, the media and professional societies to improve understanding of project management. Mr. Shepherd has held significant posts with the Association for Project Management (Vice President, and past Chairman) and the International Project Management Association (Past President and Chairman).

Other events on 13 August included a morning keynote presentation on the Trinity River Corridor Project by Dallas City Councilman David Neumann; 15 professional presentations over five streams by 18 project management experts and professional practitioners; three panel discussions on the topics of "The Future of Project Management", "Project Management in City Government" and "Career Transitions in Project Management"; and a second closing keynote presentation by Steven Fahrenkrog, PMI Vice President for Regional Development. The day ended with drawings for door prizes. Official attendance at the symposium was approximately 260. To see the full 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 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 first 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.

PMForum is a Media Partner for this event. To see more news coverage, please visit http://www.pmforum.org/events/2010/4thUTDalas-Symposium2010.html