Welcome to the asapm December 2007 email Newsletter!
This is an Opt-in Newsletter from asapm, the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. We produce it in the even-numbered months: February, April, June, and so on. 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. PrezSez: Populating Your Project Management Library
2. Rome Congress Call For Papers: Abstracts Due 31 January 2008
3. Th Prls f rbtrry Prjct Cst Mngmnt, by Stacy Goff
4. IPMA Journal 2008 Subcription Period Opens
5. How Words Limit Our Thinking, by Edward J. Fern, MS, PMP
6. IIR ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts, Trip Report
7. asapm ProjectWorld Presentation Webcast Recorded, Available at Our Site
8. Updates: Archibald Survey, IPMA News, PM Blogs and Project MillStones
======================================
1.PrezSez: Populating Your Project Management Library, by Lew Ireland
About a year ago, an elderly gentleman in his early ninth decade of life shuffled to a pew in the rear of a small Baptist Church in Middle Tennessee. Gripped tightly in his right hand was a box approximately 8 by 10 by 3 inches in size and secured by duct tape. Upon closer examination, it was not a box, but the Holy Bible with its cover repaired by duct tape.
What project management literature or single book has been used to the extent that it required some form of repair? What single book in your library of project management literature has required “duct tape therapy?” Perhaps as important is what project management book provides answers to your questions and do you have an up-to-date library of essential practices of project management.
This is from the introduction to asapm President Lew Ireland's latest PrezSez. To see Lew's article, click here.
======================================
2. Rome Congress Call For Papers: Abstracts Due 31 January 2008
Since our October posting about the Rome Congress, and the Call For Papers, we have talked with more interested US-based speakers than we had in the last two Congresses combined! And you too, can prepare your abstract for submission. If you plan to speak at Roma 2008, please contact us, so we can track those who are interested! A simple reply to this emailed newsletter will accomplish that. The theme, Project Management To Run, illustrates the need for speed in a Global economy. See the 2008 Congress web page here, or the most recent downloadable brochure (2mb) from the asapm website.
| Timelines | Dates |
| • Abstracts due | January 31, 2008 |
| • Notification of acceptance | April 30, 2008 |
| • Last date for early bird registration | May 31, 2008 |
| • Submitting final paper | July 31, 2008 |
| • Final announcement with list of accepted papers | September 15, 2008 |
So mark your calendar for November 9-11 2008 in Rome, Italy, and watch the Congress website for some exciting surprise updates for Keynote Speakers (Example: Lynn Crawford has just agreed to be a Keynote Speaker; she has done more for PM Competence than any four of the rest of us) and featured Stream Speakers.
======================================
3. Th Prls f rbtrry Prjct Cst Mngmnt, by Stacy Goff
Lew feared people would think their email was garbled. The full title is: The Perils of Arbitrary Project Cost Management.
“If you can read this sign, you are following too close.” This guidance appears on the back of many commercial and personal vehicles. Ironically, the act of moving close enough to read the sign imperils both the reader and the driver of the vehicle bearing it. Similarly, you may wish to replace the practice of following project costs closely in the wrong ways with following them more wisely. The difference between following costs wisely and (for example) reducing funding in hopes of controlling cost is similar to the impact of removing the vowels from the title phrase: you may get the gist, but lose quality.
Do you manage project Cost wisely or arbitrarily? This article shares insights into more effective project Cost management, while managing the interactions between Cost and the other Elements from USA-NCB, the USA’s National Competence Baseline for PM. Click here to read this article on Managing Project Costs. By the way, our October article, What Is A PM Methodology? A Search for Efficiency, Consistency, and Performance, was re-published and featured in India's November issue of Projects & Profits.
======================================
4. IPMA Journal 2008 Subcription Period Opens
As you know, your asapm membership automatically includes an IPMA membership. This means you are eligible to subscribe to the International Journal of Project Management (IPMA Journal) at 70% off the regular subscription price ($65 vs $226).
Subscription Period Expires January 31 2008
We are now in the Annual Subscription Period for the 2008 IPMA Journal. The way this works, the publisher, Elsevier, lets us know each December what the new year's subscription rate will be. We enroll the members who wish to subscribe, and on January 31, we send a list of subscribers and your addresses. New members can subscribe when they join, and they receive the whole year's magazines, even if they join in November.
If you are not familiar with it, IPMA Journal is a juried Project Management magazine, published 8 times a year, with some very interesting articles. It is especially useful for those who are involved with Universities, plus those PM Practitioners who wish to stay on the leading edge of the practice. You should review the samples online to see how useful it would be for you.
The Journal section of the asapm website has instructions for the steps you take to see samples of the IPMA Journal. It walks you through several different ways to find it on the Elsevier website. The site also points you to the Journal Order Form, and offers multiple alternative ways to pay. If you have any questions, please contact us.
======================================
5. How Words Limit Our Thinking, by Edward J. Fern, MS, PMP
A few years ago, my older son said, “Dad, it isn’t enough to think outside the box. We must learn to live outside the box.”
Our preconceived notions about the meanings of words can limit our ability to understand changes taking place every day. “Organization” for example, is defined in asapm and IPMA documentation as “permanent organization.” Whom among you will wager that the Detroit Automobile Industry will survive another twenty years? Ten? Five?
At the end of 1998, Compaq was the largest and most profitable PC maker in the world. In March of 2003 (51 months later) Compaq became a wholly owned division of HP. My resume is filled with corporations that I’ve survived, and I’m beginning to suspect that even I am not permanent. There are no permanent organizations.
Productivity is another word in transition. In the era of mass production, productivity is measured in units of satisfactory output. In an era when many/most customers demand customized outputs, what exactly is the point of measuring anything other than satisfied customers? Once Burger King started making noise about “have it your way,” only the suicidal would choose not to follow. Yes, the Detroit Automobile Industry is suicidal.
Which brings into question the definitions of a whole host of words, i.e., quality, excellence, practices, project management … Click here to read Ed's whole article.
======================================
6. IIR ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts, Trip Report
asapm helped promote the ProjectWorld & the World Congress of Business Analysts sessions again this year, As a result of our participation, members received an admission discount. And, we spoke in several sessions to publicize our progress in advancing the practice of Project Management.
This ProjectWorld event was the best one yet. The keynote speakers were relevant, articulate and interesting, the individual Track sessions were well-coordinated and useful, and the entire conference was well-managed. The venue, the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, was excellent.
In addition to the featured asapm presentation Tracking Project Performance to Maximize Business Value (see below), Ed Fern also spoke to his popular Six Steps to the Future theme (still one of the most-popular asapm downloads). He also served as Track Chair for "The People Side". As a result of our combined efforts, asapm received great exposure at this event.
We understand the Europe ProjectWorld in Barcelona, Spain, was also very good; we helped promote that ProjectWorld as well, and IPMA Chair Adesh Jain offered one of the keynotes.
ProjectWorld and the World Congress of Business Analysts happens several times each year, with Regional events and a major event: if there is one near you in 2008, you should plan on attending!
======================================
7. asapm ProjectWorld Presentation Webcast Recorded, Available at Our Site.
asapm's featured presentation was in the Core Competencies track (an increasingly popular subject today). Tracking Project Performance to Maximize Business Value exposed attendees to the role of PM Competence, and specifically applied the National Competence Baseline, in assuring that projects achieve their intended business value.
A condensed version of the presentation is available, in two formats:
If you download the webcast, also download the Periodic Table of the Project Management Competence Elements, a visual used for reference during the presentation.
This ProjectWorld session was very well-received by the attendees, with great interaction, and we hope you enjoy this condensed version too!
======================================
8. Updates: Archibald Survey, IPMA News, PM Blogs and Project MillStones
Reminder
Don't forget to respond to the Archibald Survey on Program/Project Manager Progression to Senior Executives; we publicized this last newsletter, and the ending date is coming very soon, December 15. Go: the asapm website.
IPMA News
The latest IPMA Quarterly Newsletter 2/3 (2mb) and PM Practice Magazine Q3 (3.5mb) are available on the asapm website.
PM-Related Blogs
See Jack Dahlgren's Blog. We're trying to coax Jack into speaking at the IPMA World Congress in Rome, November 2008.
See Brian Kennemer's Blog, projectified. Brian Kennemer endlessly obsesses about Project Server so that you don't have to.
Newest Entry in the asapm Project Millstones Area
This humor and entertainment section is consistently one of the most-visited parts of the asapm website. The most-recent post: Abbot and Costello Updated. On the Millstones page, scroll down below the Yeti and Penguin (it is still on top because of its hit rate). If you haven't had a chuckle lately, see the other Millstones posts, too.
======================================
SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
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 80918
asapm: American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. We are a non-profit organization, staffed 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 Member Services