Welcome to the asapm September-October 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
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1. PrezSays: Training for Life Skills
2. Press Release: IPMA Level-D Training and Exam In Chicago
3. ProjectSummit & BusinessAnalystWorld in Boston Oct 30-Nov 2, Chicago November 13-16
4. ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts in Orlando November 6-9!
5. Killing White Elephants Early: A Trip Report by Robert Youker
6. Stephen Lynn's PM Methodologies and Strategic Execution Survey Results Released
7. James R. Brady Book Review: Managing Projects: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges
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1. PrezSays: Training for Life Skills
Education and training are often interchanged as synonymous words that mean the same. It is often confusing to mix up the two. Education is typically that knowledge acquired through a formal school environment to give a person an understanding of a subject or subjects. Education does not provide the hands-on skills to accomplish tasks.
Training, on the other hand, is a mixture of knowledge and skills. Vendors provide training in different subjects for the purpose of changing behavior – which may be adding to the skill sets or replacing existing skill sets for a specific purpose. Training is typically limited in scope and close ended. Effective training, therefore, should provide individuals or teams new knowledge and skills to enhance their capabilities.
Competence Enabler JC Consultancy has been working with asapm to prepare individuals for the Level D – Certified Project Practitioner examination. The primary audience has been architects and engineers – those individuals who often work on projects, but are educated in the physical sciences of their respective professions. These individuals are required to work on projects and contribute to the success of project without the benefit of formal training in project management. The training provided by JC Consultancy gives these individuals the knowledge and skills to better perform in projects, whether as a project manager or a member of the project team.
This is the introduction to asapm President Lew Ireland's latest PrezSays. To see the whole article, click here.
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2. Press Release: IPMA Level-D Training and Exam In Chicago
The breaking news below went out last week, to alert everyone to this important event; if you could not make it to Chicago on this short notice, we are working with JC Consultancy to offer additional training and IPMA Level D certification exam sessions, later this year and early next year -- editor.
3 October, 2006: The American Society for the Advancement of Project Management (asapm), announced today that the organization's first USA Public Training and Exam for the prestigious IPMA Level D, asapm Certified Project Practitioner, will be held October 12-14, 2006 followed with the Level D Exam on the 15th, in Chicago, IL.
JC Consultancy, the organization providing the training, is part of asapm's Competence Enabler program. According to their Competence Enabler posting, they are expert Project Managers keenly interested in raising the profile of Project Management, and ensuring that it is recognised as a profession in its own right. They are providers of the IPMA level D certification course worldwide from the US and Caribbean, to Hong Kong, and New Zealand. For an example of one of their offerings see the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) website.
The IPMA Level D Exam
The exam has two parts: a one-hour, 100-question, multiple-choice test and a three-hour essay test. Those who have independently prepared can sit for the exam without participating in the training. The exam will be on Sunday, October 15.
For more information, see this link at the asapm website.
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3. ProjectSummit & BusinessAnalystWorld in Boston Oct 30-Nov 2, Chicago November 13-16
The Boston Project Summit & BusinessAnalystWorld, to be held at the Boston Marriott Hotel in Burlington, promises to be the best PM event in the NorthEast. Plus, you'll get to hear our own Bill Duncan speak about Assessing Project Managers. You can bet he'll put the Competence theme to work in that presentation. With the combined audience of Project Managers and Business Analysts, the only thing you'll miss is the turning of the leaves (they've turned). To go directly to the conference website, go www.projectsummit.com/bos/. asapm members receive a discount off the registration price (excludes group and corporate pricing and can not be applied with any other discount). Be sure to use or mention the asapm source code: ASAPM to receive your discount.
If Chicago is your venue, look to November 13-16. The Chicago ProjectSummit & BusinessAnalystWorld event will be close to O'Hare airport, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Rosemount., IL. Obtain details from www.projectsummit.com/chi. Once again, asapm members receive a discount off the registration price (excludes group and corporate pricing and can not be applied with any other discount). Be sure to use or mention the asapm source code: ASAPM to receive your discount.Read what event Manager Adam Kahn says about this event:
We believe that Project Managers and Business Analysts need quality education delivered by industry professionals, with true, real life stories of lessons learned from local organizations. Project Managers and Business Analysts are also looking for an opportunity to meet and network with their peers. AND, they need this delivered in their back yard - no travel requirements, no accommodation costs and never too far away from those mission critical projects.
This event is your opportunity to gain the critical education, best practices, and the networking you need to support your project requirements and your team. We are dedicated to supporting the regional community of project professionals by providing real world case studies, essential tools and techniques, and cutting edge industry developments to allow you to successfully complete projects on-time and on-budget in alignment with corporate strategy.
Raffle For Free 2-day Chicago ProjectSummit Symposium Pass
We will raffle off one pass for an asapm member who can use it. If you are interested in a free pass for the 2-day ProjectSummit Symposium in Chicago, IL (Arlington), November 13-14, send email to us, with PSBAW in the subject. You have just 3 weeks to sign up: On October 31sth we'll draw from the entries we receive, notify you, and announce the winner.
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4. ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts in Orlando November 6-9!
Don’t miss the annual ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts USA event, November 6-9, 2006 in Orlando, FL. Join over 1,000 of your industry peers as you learn how to combine the Benefits of Project Management with the Strategic Value of Business Analysis showcased by Real World Practitioners. Please visit www.projectworld.com & www.bawusa.com for more information and mention Priority Code: XM1820ASAE for your asapm discount. Here's a bit of the background at the ProjectWorld website:
With more than 100 speakers, 20 targeted workshops, 3 leading edge forums, 10 break-out tracks for project managers and the business analyst…there is no event like it. Orlando! Its not only THE project management and business analysis destination…but it's the top attraction destination in the U.S! Top-Notch Experts! Our Speakers took the time to interview and share their best practices with you. Find out what they had to say by clicking here and by joining us in Orlando this November!
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5. Killing White Elephants Early: A Trip Report by Robert Youker
The Norwegian Ministry of Finance sponsored a Symposium on "Front End Management of Projects" jointly with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Concept Program in Trondheim September 7 to 10. The Ministry has been concerned with how to kill bad projects early and has instituted two front end quality reviews, QA1 and QA2 before project approval. The Concept Program click for link is financed by the Ministry to support their quality assurance efforts called Quality at Entry.
The first speaker, Jeffrey Pinto, as did other speakers presented data from Boston's Big Dig. He introduced the concept of "normalization of deviance" where the unexpected becomes tacitly accepted as the norm and 200% over runs in time and cost can be considered "normal". He also presented the idea of "optimism bias" among project planners to insure approval of questionable projects. Political factors often support project development and lead to "escalation of commitment". Political issues can not be solved by technical methods and require political solutions. How can we be "rational" in an irrational world? Finally he presented functionality and stakeholder satisfaction as more important than cost and schedule. People will put up with a lot if it works!
The QA program of the Ministry of Finance uses outside consultants to review projects before Parliamentary approval (QA1) and before final design (QA2). They are trying to get an "honest" look at all the forecasts and proposals and avoid white elephants.
Knut Samset, Director of the Concept Research Program at NTNU uses a "hierarchy of objectives" tool to try to change the culture in the Ministries and to obtain "honest" estimates. Getting things right at the front end is much more important than good project management of a badly designed project! The key idea I took away was that you must use political methods to kill political projects.
Ed. Note: No animals were harmed in this conference. Thanks Bob, for the report!.
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6. Stephen Lynn's PM Methodologies and Strategic Execution Survey Results Released
asapm members participated in a survey that Doctoral candidate Stephen Lynn (at Kennedy Western University.) produced this Spring, and the summary Survey Results are in. We see some things that we expected, and some surprises; among other things, there is still a lot of opportunity out there for competent PM training and service organizations. As well, the Survey Comments from respondents are interesting. We can't wait to see Stephen's analysis of the results! To contact Stephen, email: slynn0829@yahoo.com.
Thanks Stephen!
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7. James R. Brady Book Review: Managing Projects: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges
Target Audience: This book is one of the HBS “Harvest Business Essentials” series, so it is intended to provide a basic overview of the Project Management field. It is appropriate for (1) familiarizing new project staff with the PM field or (2) providing experienced managers with a review of some current trends and issues. I bought it for the second reason and found it to be an excellent reference on basic approaches and ideas for improving PM practice.
Overview: This general survey of PM is well-organized and easy to read. Each chapter contains both beginning and ending summaries of the main points. There is enough depth to provide a general understanding of the role of techniques (such as Gantt or PERT/CPM charts), but not so much detail that you get bogged down. There are three appendices with short forms for helping to: define the project, prepare a Work Breakdown Structure, and prepare a progress report. There is also a short glossary of PM terms.
For more on Jim's review (four stars, even!), click here. Thanks Jim!
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Stacy Goff, PMP
asapm Vice President 2001-2007