A Letter to the Editor received from Russell Archibald..
Dear Colleagues Around the World,
I invite you to join me on a project to develop a globally agreed methodology for categorizing projects that
We are just moving into the conceptual phase of our project, and our near-term objective is to recruit members of our team from as many countries as we can. Please feel free to forward this invitation to others whom you believe would be interested and qualified to join our team. I look forward to working with all of you.
Here are the current draft statements of project objectives and scope:
Statements of Project Objectives and Scope
Project Objectives
System Need: Define the need for a globally agreed system for categorizing projects of all types and sizes.
System Uses: Identify specific, practical uses of an agreed project categorization system.
Project Categorization System: To satisfy the defined needs and uses, develop appropriate systems, methodologies, and related categorization criteria that are acceptable, practical, and useful to PM practitioners, consultants, educators, software developers, and researchers in all parts of the world.
System Test Applications: Prove the validity of the resulting system by applying it in as many different settings as possible.
Continuous Improvement: Incorporate the results of both test and operational application of the system by continually improving the system methodologies and categorization criteria.
Project Scope
The Global Project Categorization System will be:
I invite you to join our international team to work on this project. After we define the project systematically and identify our team members, I expect that we can prepare a task/responsibility matrix to delineate specific responsibilities for individuals. I envision our team members will fall into one of the following general categories:
Project Gurus: Those team members who have established reputations as PM authorities through their published works and/or activities as practitioners, consultants, teachers, consultants, researchers, or leadership positions in professional PM associations. Our Project Gurus may also volunteer to take on some specific assignment but as a minimum we will expect them to keep themselves informed of our progress and results and to provide frequent advice and counsel to us regarding any and all aspects of the project, as they see fit.
Project Leaders: Those team members who are willing to take responsibility for specific elements of the project as defined in our project/work breakdown structure (major project elements, deliverables or tasks) or areas within the project (as, for example, Project Leader/Coordinator for each involved country, or for each specific language.)
Project Specialists: Those team members who are willing to work on and contribute to specific aspects of the project that require their experience and expertise (as, for example, specific project categories: new product, financial systems, IT systems, facility design/procure/construct, etc.)
What To Do If You Wish To Accept This Invitation to Join Our Team:
For more on the topic look at my presentation on the subject of Project Categorization at "Introduction to PCP - Slide Presentation". If you have the time, please read my paper titled "A Global System for Categorizing Projects: The Need for, Recommended Approach to, Practical Uses of, and Description of a Current Project to Develop the System," available there at "Introduction to PCP - Read Full Paper." These are elaborations on the presentation that I made in Budapest. Also, I just posted a short "Progress Report" in the Forum Room on the site on "General Announcements."
There are papers and presentations posted on the site that I believe will be of interest. If anyone is aware of additional writings of interest to our project please feel free to upload them to the site.
Russell
Russell D. Archibald, PMP, Fellow PMI and APM/IPMA
Consultant and Educator in Project Management
http://www.russarchibald.com