Editor's Perspective on the November 2006 PM World Today
David Pells, Managing Editor PM Forum
Welcome to the November issue of PM World Today. With this month’s issue, we continue our efforts to increase the volume and variety of content. As we continue the transformation of PM World Today into a more formal and independent e-Journal, we will continue to expand the range of professional issues and topics included each month. I hope you will continue your subscription and support, as I believe we are making a real contribution to the PM profession.
I have recently returned from attending PMI’s annual World Congress – North America, which was held in Seattle during October 21-24, 2006. This was the second international PM conference that I attended in October. In both cases, we at PMForum.org tried to “cover” the conferences as reporters, issuing daily breaking news stories to inform the rest of the world about new developments that we learned about. It was not so easy. So this month’s Editorial is entitled “Live & in Color – Is the World of PM Ready for Prime Time?” The question posed is, what more can or should PM organizations, both nonprofit and commercial, do to inform the world about modern project management? The “demand” is clearly there, so let’s get the word out.
Three Letters to the Editor are included this month. Ms.Shahieda Hendricks from Cape Town, South Africa, contacted us with a request for information about PM resources elsewhere in South Africa. Mr. John Ndubuisi in Owerri, Nigeria is also seeking global contacts for PM in his country. The email from Mr. Muhamed Abdomerovic, a Bosnian now living in the USA, is particularly interesting as he discusses the background for his book entitled “Brainstorming the Guide to the PMBOK” and how PMI refused to support it. Readers should feel free to contact these individuals with comments or suggestions.
We are happy to include four Viewpoints articles this month. Dr. David Cleland provides some personal comments on the issue of “Manager Ethics – Another Look”, as related to professional project management. Professor Roland Gareis, at the University of Vienna, shares some information about what his organization has been doing in recent years and plans for 2007 in his article “We Set the Agenda!” Paul Giammalvo in Jakarta informs us about a new PM credential in his paper entitled “Introducing the AACEi Competency-based Portfolio, Program and Project Management Credential - The C3PM”. Finally, Robert Youker provides some interesting comments about the origins of an important PM topic in his article “Where Did the Term “Stakeholder” Come From?”
Two Featured Papers are included this month. Mr. Curt Finch, CEO of Journyx, explains some things about the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) in the USA, and what defense contractors should do to comply with project cost control and reporting regulations. Mr. Terry Doerscher, Chief Solutions Architect for Planview in Austin, Texas, provides an interesting article on the subject of “The Changing Face of Today’s PMO”.
Our Case Studies this month describe applications of two of the world’s leading PM methodologies. Mr. Yuji Kishira from Japan provides an interesting discussion in “A case study of reengineering public works management at a Japanese government ministry through a “P2M” based program and project management method”. His paper also describes the usage of Critical Chain methodology, in conjunction with P2M process improvements. Mr. Richard Pharro of The APM Group in the UK, the leading implementer of PRINCE2 methodology, describes how the “UK’s Pension Protection Fund achieves P3M3 Accreditation”. These papers highlight how different PM models can be used to provide different solutions for organizations around the world.
We offer three interesting articles under PM Tips & Techniques in this issue, two on the general topic of project risk management and one on “stakeholders”. Daniel Galorath provides another interesting paper entitled “Establishing a Risk Reserve”. Mr. Sarim Khan offers some good advice in “How to Reduce Risks in Project Schedules & Portfolios.” Even the best planned projects can go awry. These two authors can help reduce the risks and impact of problems during project execution. “Making Sense of Stakeholder Mapping”, by Ruth Murray-Webster and Peter Simon of Lucidus Consulting in the UK contains an interesting model for stakeholder planning and management.
In Personal Stories, we introduce a new category of article this month – a personal story from a project manager or PM professional leader. In this month’s article "Running From Katrina" , Saralee Newell briefly describes how she and her husband escaped Hurricane Katrina one year ago, while losing their Louisiana home and possessions. We believe in the power of stories, even heart-wrenching ones like this one, and hope to include more in the future.
We include three Regional Reports this month, from Argentina, Australia and Brazil. Our international correspondent in Rosario, Argentina, Ms. Ana Maria Rodriguez, has provided a very interesting personal assessment of the impact of politics on major projects in Argentina, and perhaps throughout Latin America, especially during the run-up to elections. We have also included two other shorter reports from Argentina regarding the affect of the economy and financial ratings on projects in the Rosario area, which are also highly interesting and useful. Mr. Brian Kooyman, Chair of the Conference Organising Committee for ProMAC 2006, has provided a “Summary Report from ProMAC 2006 – SYDNEY, 27-29 September 2006”, one of the most successful PM conferences in the Asia Pacific region this year. Mr. Alcides Santopietro, our international correspondent in Brazil, also provides a final report on the major international PM conference that was held in Sao Paulo in early October. Since I was there, I can attest that it was a very interesting and successful event, but you should read the article for yourself.
The balance of this month’s PM World Today features news, announcements, information and stories that have recently been featured as breaking news articles on www.pmforum.org. We hope the inclusion of those stories is helpful.
I want to welcome Rebecca Winston, former Chair of PMI’s board of directors, who has become a Global Advisor to PMForum.org and PM World Today this month. You can see the breaking news about her under PM Community News. And congratulations to Mr. Michel Thiry, winner of PMI’s Fellow award this year, and Frank Saladis, winner of PMI’s 2006 Person of the Year Award. You can also find their stories under PM Community News.
We want to thank our sponsors this month, which include the International Project Management Association (IPMA), Method123, and iWorld Projects & Systems, Inc. Click on their banners and visit their websites for some exciting PM products, publications and services. Sponsors receive a banner ad and publicity in the PM World Today e-Journal that is emailed to over 5,000 professionals worldwide and an ad on the current issue’s home page. If your organization is interested in sponsoring an issue of PM World Today please contact editor@pmforum.org.
As you may have noticed, we are expanding the www.pmforum.org website and PM World Today. We also want continuous improvement and are interested in reader comments or suggestions. So please contact me at editor@pmforum.org, or make your comments known to the World of PM in a Letter to the Editor.
Thank you for your subscription, and for reading the articles submitted by our authors and contributors. We are excited about the future of this online publication. Please send this to a friend or sign them up for a free subscription to PM World Today. We really are “Connecting the World of Project Management.”
David L. Pells
Managing Editor
PM World Today
editor@pmforum.org
www.pmforum.org
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Editorial Policy: The PMFORUM® has no connection to any national or international project management organization nor does it reflect the policy of any project management professional or commercial organization. The PMFORUM® maintains an objective and impartial view of project management affairs. In the interests of advancing professional project management the PMFORUM® will publish contending and objective views on issues that reflect collegial differences and perspectives