Welcome to the asapm February 2006 email Newsletter!

This is an Opt-in Newsletter. Subscribe/unsubscribe information is at the end of this Newsletter. This Newsletter is in html, with links to the asapm website. Enjoy!

In This Issue
----------------------
 1. PrezSays: Lew Ireland writes about Leadership and Leading
 2. PMCert Status Update
 3. Ed Fern Speaks Out About Getting Value From Your Membership
 4. asapm Volunteer Opportunities
 5. asapm 2006 Elections: Committee Members, Candidates Needed
 6. Marketing Director Morgan Henrie, PhD, Writes about Supply Chain PM
 7. Dennis Ballow Sr. Writes about Globalization and Cross-Cultural PM Issues
 8. China IPMA World Congress 2006 Call For Papers Due March 6
 9. Duncan Defines Project Complexity with CIFTER
10. CompModel 3.0 PM Developmental Tool Released
11. Recommended PM Events
12. Tidbits: Millstones, Goff Does Book Review, More Youker, PMForum

======================================

1. PrezSays: Lew writes about Leadership and Leading
Leaders are self-made, not born. Leadership comes in many different styles and is measured on success in creating something of value to society. Leaders are not of a particular race, color, or creed, but surface from all segments of society.

This is the Intro to Lew's latest PrezSays. To go to Lew's latest observations, click this link.

======================================

2. PMCert Status Update
PMCert has made significant progress toward implementing the Internationally recognized Four-Level Certification program with our first Level B (Certified Senior Project Manager) certification planned for Second Quarter, 2006. Work has progressed under the leadership of Ron Waller for nearly two years and recently handed over to Bill Duncan. While Bill will serve as the Chair of PMCert, asapm's semi-autonomous certification organization, Ron will serve as PMCert's Senior First Assessor.

Bill announced a series of Level D (IPMA Level D® Certified Project Practitioner) examinations planned for Colorado Springs in May, Washington DC in July, and Seattle in October. In addition, one vendor is planning as many as a dozen Workshops, followed by PMCert-proctored IPMA Level D® Certification Exam sessions this year (note that a workshop is not required to take the exam). We suggest that you monitor the PMCert website for IPMA Level B® interviews and IPMA Level D® examination details, to be posted as the dates become firm.

PMCert is a volunteer organization that will involve individuals in documenting procedures and practices as well as examination administration. PMCert also has need for individuals in the Schema Committee to work in the development of the remaining levels in the Four-Level Certification Program. If you are involved, you will see first-hand the advancement of project management and its theory and practice.

======================================

3. Ed Fern Speaks Out About Getting Value From Your Membership
asapm Director of Education Ed Fern says... People are joining asapm in record numbers. Sadly, some of them are not renewing their membership for a second or third year. This suggests that some people are having difficulty in getting engaged and finding the value in their membership in our organization. For Project Managers, joining asapm is analogous to renting a storefront on Rodeo Drive. It is certainly the premium address and it will be passed by affluent buyers each and every day. To derive any value, however, we must open the door, walk in, and do some work.

To continue reading Ed's exhortation about volunteering, and other ways to gain value from your membership (or even your readership, for our friends who are not yet members), click here. Note too, that Ed is Sponsor of a new project that is looking for a Project Manager. The project is PMR3, or Project Management Ready Reference Resource, a database of current books and periodicals, mapped to the Elements of the National Competence Baseline.

======================================

4. asapm Volunteer Opportunities
Speaking of getting more value by providing value, our Volunteers page has seen some updates, including the successful completion of several key projects. For those who don't know, asapm labels most of our short-term groups as Projects, not committees. These Projects have Project Managers and Team Members, and serve with an asapm Board Member as Sponsor. asapm also has several ongoing Programs, for recurring efforts such as the Newsletter and Website.

Currently, we need Team Members and/or Project Managers for:
• 2006 Elections Committee, March-June
• Assistant Webmasters for Departments of the asapm site
• Competence Enabler Program Manager
• Marketing team for Media Relations Outreach
• Marketing team for University Outreach, instilling the USA NCB in curricula
• Marketing team for 4-Level-Certification candidates and Sponsors
• Membership Fulfillment team, to welcome new members and prepare packets
• PMR3, the Project Management Ready Reference Resource
• asapm Newsletter Editor

Note that many of these positions are eligible for certification renewal credits, another great reason for some of us to get involved. See the Volunteers page for more information about the opportunities available.

======================================

5. asapm 2006 Elections: Committee Members, Candidates Needed
We have a Chair for our 2006 Elections Committee, and still need several members to serve on the committee. The Elections Committee effort will require 20-30 hours of effort from March through June.

Speaking of the Elections Committee, we also need candidates for these offices; each term is for 3 years:
• President
• Education

Bill Duncan resigned as Director of Standards to assume the role of PMCert Chair, and the asapm Board will appoint a member to complete Bill's term, through June 2007. Contact us if you are interested in serving. By the way, some people are timid about becoming an asapm Board Member. A great way to "try it on" is to work on one of the projects in the areas in which you have interest. Then you are ready to step up to one of the asapm Leadership roles.

You can view the responsibilities of each asapm office from this page.

======================================

6. Marketing Director Morgan Henrie, PhD, Writes about Supply Chain PM
asapm Director of Marketing Morgan Henrie has completed his PhD; congratulations Morgan! And, in his spare time, Morgan had the time to publish again. This time, it is an article on Project Management Supply-Chain Challenges. Here's from the article intro:

Essential to project success is the timely, accurate, and cost effective delivery of materials, supplies, and equipment. Unless project resources arrive when and where required, achieving project success is difficult to achieve. As an example, it has been reported that hurricane Katrina emergency response suffered from a lack of required resources at the needed locations at appropriate times to a point that the mayor of Kenner, LA was famously quoted, "The Red Cross and FEMA need to take a Masters class in logistics and mobilization from Wall-Mart”.

To read Morgan's article (in pdf format), click here. Because Morgan enjoys presenting in International Symposia and Congresses, watch for him speaking on this subject at an appropriate venue.

======================================

7. Dennis Ballow Sr. Writes about Globalization and Cross-Cultural PM Issues
Dennis Ballow Sr. is an experienced Pacific Rim Project Manager, and has also volunteered to help with PMCert. With a wide range of experiences in IT and engagement management methodology projects on multiple continents, he distills the differences between typical American perspectives, Asian perspectives, and the implications for those who wish to succeed in cross-cultural projects and programs. Dennis has recently left big-business employment, and started his consulting firm, Project Management Knowledge Transfer, Inc. Here's from Dennis's intro:

With hot topics like globalization and cross-cultural opportunities in the Asia Pacific rim, one might think it would be easy to research the implications of cross cultural issues. Rather, what the writer found was a significant discussion all around the periphery but little in-depth analysis. Discussion prevailed on the socio-economic and technological ramifications. Others resources focused on the language issues but little work was intuitively available on the subtleties of cross cultural issues one may encounter.

======================================

8. China IPMA World Congress 2006 Call For Papers, Extended to May 8
The 20th IPMA World Congress will be held in Shanghai, China 15-17 October, 2006, and the Call For Papers deadline is May 8. asapm and the USA had a great turnout at the last two World Congresses, in Budapest and India, and we urge you to consider presenting a paper or attending. See the Congress website here, and the details for the call for papers here. We will post more information about this exciting Congress as we receive it.

======================================

9. Duncan Defines Project Complexity with CIFTER
This article about CIFTER is part of project closure for asapm Director of Standards Bill Duncan. Duncan has spent the last four years working to improve the consistency, traceability and credibility of true competence-based PM certifications. In his last act as Director of Standards before assuming the role of PMCert Chair, he has submitted for participant approval (and asapm has approved it) the final draft Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards--GAPPS document (available in the Members-Only section. After participant final approval GAPPS will be available worldwide).

GAPPS contributors include representives from several nations, the world's leading professional PM societies, and key companies, all working cooperatively together to improve the verifiable Performance competence and capability of Project Manager certificants.

The CIFTER article deals with a crucial issue in determining certificant level: that of Project Complexity. Without an agreement about the complexity of the project, it is difficult to evaluate performance competence. This is especially important to asapm in helping candidates differentiate between certification levels IPMA-B and IPMA-C.

Read Duncan's Sifting With the CIFTER article here.

======================================

10. CompModel 3.0 PM Developmental Tool Released
"Are You Experienced?" It was a Jimi Hendrix song of the late 60's. We're not quite sure what he was talking about then, but today, we are positive the question is essential for Project Managers.

As many enterprises are finding it to be a competitive advantage to improve the skills, competence and performance of their Project Managers and stakeholders, we still encounter a few that that invest their PM training funds in programs that have no impact on either project success or Project Manager Competence.The result: "project managers" who have never managed a project to successful closure. They may not even be able to tell you how to do so. What you really need is competent Project Managers who can cite their successes, and explain why they are successful.

Release 2.0 of the asapm PM Competence Model has been one of our most popular downloads. Now we have released an update, that ties to our now-completed USA National Competence Baseline (NCB) for Project Managers. The new PM CompModel release maps stakeholder competence criteria to the elements of the USA NCB. It covers the range of positions in our 4-Level Competence-based certification program, plus Project Sponsors, Resource Managers, and Project or Program Office consultants. Now you can use PM CompModel to find and correct "Your Weakest Links".

In the interests of more effective PM Competence development, we offer free licenses for the lite version of CompModel 3.0, available to asapm members and website guests. Because PM CompModel is a tool for personal, team and organizational competence assessement and development, an increasing number of asapm members and savvy vendors are integrating CompModel and the USA National Competence Baseline into their instructional and consulting offerings. To find out more about PM CompModel and get your download, click here. Members can download the SixPack version from the Members Only page.

.======================================

11. Recommended PM Events
If you have interest in effective Program and Project Management, this is a list of events that you need to know about.

a. Slovenia, 23-26 April, 2006. Click this linked pdf for a reminder of the forthcoming ICEC-IPMA World Congress on Cost Engineering, Project Management and Quantity Surveying & Global Project Management Congress to be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Or, you can go directly to the event's website: http://www.icec-ipma2006.org. It looks like asapm will be well-represented at this Congress, and we hope for a trip report from Edward Logan and Bob Youker..

b. Houston, TX, 22-25 May, 2006. See website; the ProjectRisk Symposium 2006, features:
• Two Cross Industry Pre-Conference Assemblies
• Design A Custom Project Management Tool Box
• The Latest Theories on Decision Making And Risk Psychology
• Additional Industry Specific Tracks To Customize The Experience to Your Exact Needs

c. Arlington, VA, June 19 - 22, 2006. ProjectSummit and Business Analyst World, at the Hilton Arlington. Project practitioners and business analysts need quality education delivered by industry professionals, true, real life stories of lessons learned from local organizations and an opportunity to meet and network with their peers.  AND, they need all of this delivered in their back yard - no travel requirements, no accommodation costs and never too far away from those mission critical projects. See the conference website for more details, and watch the asapm Events page for member and friends discounts.

d. Vienna, Austria: 22 -23 June, 2006. The PM Days´06 Conference will feature Speakers from well-known national and international organizations and universities. They will deliver presentations, case studies, workshops, panel discussions and round tables about this year’s topic “PROJECTS & MANAGEMENT PARADIGMS” Sign up for the PM Days Newsletter or download the cool brochure here.

e. Beverly Hills, CA, 25-27 June 2006. Gartner Project & Portfolio Management; Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. IT Executives join PPM Technology and Service Providers, Gartner Analysts and their peers to examine PPM market trends, hold in-depth business discussions, and evaluate the latest products and services for strategic project and portfolio management. IPMA is a Global Event partner for this event, and qualified executives receive free admission. See the event website for details.

.======================================

12. Tidbits: Millstones, Goff Does Book Review, More Youker, PMForum
Once again Project Millstones, our humor page, is one of the top spots on the asapm website. Yeti and Penguin has had so much action recently, and with new records, that we've moved it back to the top. And, you can see why Quantas is one of the few airlines that has avoid a major accident (we think)—effective communication between Pilots and Ground Staff.

asapm Vice President 2001-2007 Stacy Goff posted his review of a great book, Churchill's Adaptive Enterprise, Lessons for Business Today, by Mark Kozak-Holland. The subtle PM analogy, Prime Minister as Program Manager, together with a fascinating blend of retrospective and perspective makes this book appealing and revealing to both our historic interests and our current-day challenges. Mark Kozak-Holland guides us through his comprehensive and historic case study as we learn the lessons of the past, so we may not be doomed to repeat them.

asapm Co-founder and favorite Bob Youker has discovered yet another treasure: Lucidus Consulting has produced an article, Making Sense of Stakeholder Mapping, that is great. Bob has has also posted more of his World Bank PM Curriculum in the Members Only area, and we are developing a cross-reference between this series of workshops and the USA National Competence Baseline.

And our latest visit to PMForum found enough really great stuff to make this copy of your newsletter late. In addition to the Churchill book we reviewed above, author Mark Kozak-Holland begins a series, Churchill, The PM, that looks to be as great as his Gantthead series on Titanic (may require a log-in). Of course, you should still buy his Churchill book. Mark spins an intriguing story; we wish he'd write for asapm, too....

Finally, PMForum President and Managing Editor Hugh Woodward has found another jewel, in Rob Zanfardino. We really liked "What Do You Do Around Here", and his latest post, "A Genie in a Bottle, the Three Wishes in Project Management", is just as relevant, and as good. Thanks Rob! Do a PMForum.org search on Rob's last name to find a wealth of articles by Rob; now do we feel really dumb, because we've missed them!

======================================

SUBSCRIBING/UNSUBSCRIBING
This is the asapm semi-monthly newsletter. You received this email because you are a member of asapm, a friend of asapm, or because someone has forwarded this to you.To subscribe, send email to us and put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

To unsubscribe send email to us and put UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. To Unsubscribe by mail: asapm, 6547 N. Academy Blvd. #404, Colorado Springs, CO 80918asapm: American Society for the Advancement of Project Management.

We are a non-profit organization, staffed solely with volunteers who are dedicated to improving the practice of Project Management.asapm is a registered trademark, and PMCert is a service mark of the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management.

__________________________

Stacy Goff, PMP
asapm Vice President 2001-2007