PM World Today Viewpoints - October 2006
- The Future Ascendancy of Online Journals for Publishing PM Research
- J. Davidson Frame, PhD, PMP, PMI Fellow - Risk Management for R&D Projects? Why bother?
- Rebecca Winston, J.D, PMI Fellow - Project Management Research – Trends & Directions
- Professor Christophe N. Bredillet, PhD - Some Necessary Directions for Project Management Research
- Professor Vladimir Voropajev
Project Management Today - Viewpoint
The Future Ascendancy of Online Journals for Publishing PM Research
by By J. Davidson Frame, PhD, PMP, PMI Fellow
There is a big demand in academic circles for more vehicles where researchers can publish their findings.
I attended the PMI Academic forum in Montreal a few weeks ago and was impressed by the volume of interest in
project management research these days. I am on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Project
Management and Project Management Journal, and am a contributing editor on the IEEE Transactions of Engineerin
Management. Each of these journals gets far more submissions than they can fulfill. In Montreal, I chatted for
a while with Karlos Artto (Finland). He stepped down as editor of the annually produced project management journal
published in Finland (it had excellent articles). We talked about the need for more journals in project management.
He agrees that there is a desperate need for more publishing channels.
Read the full article:
The Future Ascendancy of Online Journals for Publishing PM Research.
J. Davidson Frame, PhD, PMP, PMI Fellow
Davidson Frame, PhD, PMP, is Academic Dean at the University of Management and Technology (UMT) in Arlington, Virginia, USA. He has been active in project management since the 1970s and has written ten books on the subject, including the business best seller, Managing Projects in Organizations (2003). Prior to joining UMT, David was a Professor of Management Science at The George Washington University (1979-1998), where he was Chairman of the Management Science Department (1988-89), and Director of the International Center for Project Management Excellence (1995-98). David has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI®) since the late 1980s. He served as PMI’s Director of Certification during 1990-96 and Director of Educational Services during 1997-98. David served on the PMI Board of Directors during those periods and again during 2000-2003. In 1993, he won PMI’s Distinguished Contribution Award, and in 1995 PMI’s Person of the Year Award. He was named a PMI Fellow in 2004. Davidson Frame has a Ph.D. and an M.A. from American University and a B.A. from the College of Wooster in the USA. David can be reached at Davidson.frame@umtweb.edu.
Project Management Today - Viewpoint
Risk Management for R&D Projects? Why bother?
- Rebecca Winston, J.D, PMI Fellow
Have you heard that project management is impossible for research and development (R&D) projects? Imagine the look received when one suggests that risk management should be done as part of the project management of an R&D project. The look is often because one has a well-qualified researcher who is being asked to add the job of doing project management. [This issue is not part of this paper, but it too can cause a problem, as project management is not a priority.]
Just planning a budget and schedule is difficult, how can one possibly do more than that with an R&D project? I mean the whole project is a risk--end of story!
The argument given for not doing risk management is often: Budgets are trimmed and schedules compressed in industry and government. Therefore, the only risk is just the potential failure of the thesis of the planned research. Well, if this is the case, one truly does need to do the risk management planning in detail sufficient enough to ensure that either the cut does not occur or if one does, it is not detrimental to the purpose and overall results of the research.
Read the full article:
Risk Management for R&D Projects? Why bother?
Rebecca Winston, J.D, PMI Fellow
Rebecca Winston, Esq. Active in PMI since 1993, Rebecca Winston helped pioneer PMI's Specific Interest Groups (SIGs), including the Project Earth and Government SIGs, the latter of which she was a founding member. She also initiated the SIGs involvement with the PMI Board of Directors, and was founder and first co-chair of Women in Project Management. Winston currently serves as a consultant to organizations such as the National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security on topics ranging from Program and Project Management to project reviews and assistance in risk management and vulnerability assessments. Rebecca served on the PMI board of directors during 1998-2002, served as Chair of the PMI board in 2002, and was elected a Fellow of PMI in 2005.”
Project Management Today - Viewpoint
Project Management Research – Trends & Directions
- Professor Christophe N. Bredillet, PhD
Editor’s note: This article is based on Professor Bredillet’s response to five questions posed by the managing editor of PM World Today on the topic of project management (PM) research. Professor Bredillet took time out of his busy schedule at ESC Lille to provide the following comments on this important subject.
PMF: What are some trends in project management research that you have noticed in your programs and conferences in the last two years?
Bredillet: According to the last research conferences I have attended I can summarize the trends as:
- Theory of PM (including integration of complexity science, and social science). In short it is about moving away from/or beyond linear thinking and positivist approach to a more "constructivist" approach (co construction of the reality, adaptation, contextualisation). The traditional economics models are not working anymore as the underlying assumptions have changed; this includes understanding the underlying theoretical assumptions and cultural environment of standards development.
- The link of strategy/mission implementation/value creation, portfolio/programme mgt, project management, and operations.
- Governance and Finance: especially in the area of Major Projects and Capital Investment. This include Funding structures (beyond PPP/PFI, real options...), Governance approaches, Quality Assurance reviews at Front-End.
- Performance & Risk Management in relation with Contract Management.
Read the full article:
Project Management Research – Trends & Directions
Professor Christophe N. Bredillet, PhD
Professor Christophe N. Bredillet, PhD in Project Management, MBA, Dr.Sc., MSc Eng EC Lille, Certificated Program Director IPMA Level A, CMP, CCE, has 18 years of experience in project and program management with several industries (banking, sporting goods and IT). For the past 10 years, he has been the program director of the MS, MBA and Doctorate in Project & Program Management at ISGI-Groupe ESC Lille. He is a Steering Committee member of the Global Project Management Forum, of the Global Working Group Standards for IPMA and of the international non-aligned "think tank" group named OLCI.
He is a member of the Board of Directors and Regional Manager, North of France, for AFITEP (the francophone PM association) and Director of the Certifications for this association. He is a founder and President of the PMI Chapter "Hauts-de-France".
Project Management Today - Viewpoint
Some Necessary Directions for Project Management Research
- Professor Vladimir Voropajev
International research efforts for project management should address the following topics, in my opinion. These are important subjects, from our perspective in Russia, and where more robust models and cases should be developed.
- Development of complex systems approaches and expansion of the discipline of program, portfolio, and project management (PPPM), including creation of new formal complex systems (focused on computer), models and methodologies, focusing for practical use.
- Classification and categorization of projects and elements of PPPM with definition of specificity of methods and technologies for management of basic kinds (categories) of projects.
Read the full article:
Some Necessary Directions for Project Management Research
Professor Vladimir Voropajev, Ph.D
Professor Vladimir Voropajev, PhD. is President and Chairman of the Board of the Russian Association of Project Management, SOVNET. Dr. Voropajev is professor of Project Management at the State University of Management, Moscow, Russia. He is also Head of the Program and Project Management Faculty for the Russian State Academy’s Program for Professional Retraining and Professional Skill Development for Executives and Specialists in Investment Fields. He is a full member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences on Information Science and Cybernetics, and of the International Academy of Investments and Economy in Construction. From 1991 to 2001, he was Vice-president and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Project Management Association (IPMA), the global federation of national PM associations based in Zurich, Switzerland. He is an honorary Fellow of the Indian Project Management Association and a past member of the Global Project Management Forum Steering Committee. During his 40 years of engineering, scientific, teaching and consulting activities, he has published over 250 scientific research works including 7 monographs and 5 textbooks about the organization and planning of construction, information systems, and project management. Vladimir serves on the editorial boards of several international project management journals, is a frequent participant in PM conferences worldwide, and provides ongoing counsel and support to PM professional leaders in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Yugoslavia and other countries. Professor Voropajev can be reached at voropaev@sovnet.ru
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