Welcome to the asapm April 2010 Newsletter! Welcome to the asapm April 2010 Newsletter!
This is an Opt-in Newsletter from asapm, the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. We are the USA member association of IPMA, the International Project Management Association. Enjoy!
In This Issue
1. Change Agents: President's Message, by Stacy Goff
2. aPRO Goes Live, Website Updated, Press Release Posted!
3. Nominations Sought for asapm 2010 Elections
4. S3 Management: The Stick, The Spring & The Shock Absorber, by Morgan Henrie
5. asapm 2010 Dialogue Series of Webinars: Session 1 -- Project Success
6. Simply the Best, by Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager
7. Certifications update, by Duncan: Spanning the Range, From Knowledge to Performance Competence
8. asapm Requests Your Participation in a Survey: PM in the Federal Government
9. Press Release: New Book Focuses On Project Management In Government
10. Update on ISO 21500
11. IPMA News: New Member Nations; Congress Update
1. Change Agents: President's Message, by Stacy Goff
Our Change Agents blog embraces the change that the practice of Project Management brings to the USA, and to Society. We post below a teaser from this month's blog; click the bold, italicized heading to see the whole posting.
How I Learned to Balance the Project Vital Signs
I have posited the key project factors of Time, Cost, Scope, Talent, Risk and Quality as the Project Vital Signs for nearly thirty years. I coined the phrase to evoke the signs one measures in the Emergency Room at a hospital, not just to discover if the patient was dead yet, but to determine whether he or she was improving. My rationale: Effective project managers use those factors to manage for success, not just to identify when the project failed. But I did not originally learn the importance of balancing those Vital Signs in the project world; instead, I learned it in a number of early formative experiences. This article is about one of those experiences.
Growing Up In the Cherry Capital of the World
I grew up in The Dalles, Oregon, at the time, the fresh dark red, ripe, sweet cherry-producing capital of the World. Other competitive producers included regions in Italy, California, and Michigan, but our orchards produced the most of the largest, richest-flavored cherries. They were so much in demand, that flights to Paris would next-day deliver our cherries to such noteworthy gourmet places as Fauchon. One part of our packing process was to box the cherries in elegantly foiled and lined wooden boxes, so they made a classy image in the shops. And one of the choicest Summer jobs, once I turned 18 years of age, was to be one of the workers who made those boxes.
The box-making process involved standing at a large, noisy machine, and following these steps:
Those four steps required 6-10 seconds for each box. You made 300-600 boxes per hour, and one or two people worked full-time just to supply the boards (called shook), and replenishing the nails. Because this was piecework, I was paid by the successfully completed box. In an era when minimum wage was around $1.50 per hour, I had the potential to make $18 per hour.
Understanding Performance
When I began box-making, there were legendary heroes, who were faster than anyone else. They would work 50 minutes, producing 600 boxes in the 100-110 degree Summer heat of The Dalles, take a 10 minute break, and then continue that cycle, for 8 hours straight. So I decided, in my ambitious youth, to meet and exceed their performance... more
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2. aPRO Goes Live, Website Updated, Press Release Posted!
Colorado Springs, CO – April 5, 2010. asapm Releases New Generation Standard for Organizational PM Assessment. asapm, the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management, announces the release of the asapm Performance Rated Organization (aPRO™) standard. The aPRO standard offers a new-generation, results-oriented approach, to provide a complete picture of organizational performance competence in project and program management (P/PM).
The aPRO standard was published as an exposure draft in December 2009, and received hundreds of comments from around the world. The standard and its companion Assessor Guide offer organizations a path to certification for their performance in project management. “aPRO delivers a fresh, new, perhaps even radical approach, to assessing the factors that lead to P/PM performance in organizations,” said asapm president Stacy Goff. “Organizations now have an affordable new alternative for improving their project and program management results, while also differentiating themselves through certification.”
Organizations of all sizes will use the aPRO standard to differentiate themselves from their competition, and improve P/PM performance. They can benefit from the aPRO standard in two ways: They can download and use the standard for an informal self-assessment, or they can retain a Recognized Assessor (RA) for an external perspective. The use of a Recognized Assessor qualifies the organization for certification as an asapm Performance Rated Organization.
The Recognized Assessor program creates a turnkey market offering for consultancies qualified to conduct the assessments. Interested assessors participate in a formal training program offered by the aPRO team, where they learn specific methods for conducting the unique threshold performance assessment. The aPRO team anticipates that organization-internal assessors will also be interested in the training, and combinations of internal and external assessors will be yet another option. The aPRO website, at http://asapm.org/apro lists the contact information for current Recognized Assessors, and asapm plans to offer a Recognized Assessor training in June 2010. See the rest of the aPRO Go-Live Press Release.
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3. Nominations Sought for asapm 2010 Elections
The asapm Board positions that are up for election in June 2010 are Vice President and Director of Standards, and we invite you to sign up, or to nominate someone (with their permission). See the asapm website for the descriptions of the offices and the responsibilities. asapm is increasingly engaging members in the wide range of programs we are managing, and even if you are not interested in running for office, we encourage you to look at the activities of each Board Member, and volunteer to serving on each ones' committees.
To submit a nomination, either for yourself, or for another member, for the open offices, contact asapm VP Richard Toledo (Elections Committee Chair).
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4. S3 Management: The Stick, The Spring & The Shock Absorber, by Morgan Henrie
The law of conservation of energy says that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Energy can only be converted from one form to another.
This article presents a new perspective on managers’ position as the person in the middle of the organizational structure and how they respond to forces received from those above them and those below them. The article’s objective is to identify and discuss the manager’s positional aspect, or world view style, as the manager in the middle. Further, this perspective is framed within the Law of Conservation of Energy. As the lead-in states, “energy can only be converted to one form or another – it cannot be destroyed.” Managers must respond to these external energy or work forces by converting them to other forms of work. This article focuses on three principal energy conversion styles managers utilize in fulfilling their positions. The three energy conversion styles form the Stick, Spring, and Shock Absorber (S3) management perspective.
While the article can be related to the role of a project manager, this S3 perspective easily applies to all management positions, from the first line manager to the executive manager. All managerial roles in organizations include a responsibility for being the interface for those above and below them. This bi-directional role requires responses to forces from above that require some action from those below. It responds to forces from below that want/need response from those above. An essential project manager function is to transfer the energy received in appropriate amounts and timeliness to maximize the use of all energy sources. More
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5. asapm 2010 Dialogue Series of Webinars: Session 1 - Defining Project Success
asapm announces the launch of the 2010 Dialogue Series of Webinars with a discussion about Defining Project Success. What is project success to you? On time, on budget, on scope? Meeting ROI expectations? Customer satisfaction? This webinar is open to asapm members and the public, and will provide a forum for understanding project success from multiple perspectives. The 2010 Dialogue Series of Webinars offers project management practitioners and executives a forum to discuss a range of important topics. Sessions are 60 minutes, and the webinars will also be recorded and posted on the asapm website. Look for the first of the 2010 Dialogue Series of Webinars on Defining Project Success in early May.
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6. Simply the Best, by Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager
There was a very famous (at least in the UK) advertisement for a type of beer that is brewed using bottom-fermenting yeast at lower temperatures and for longer durations than those typically used to brew ales – I of course mean lager. Now, for those of you who have never seen this advertisement, then the ‘joke’ was that whilst it was not allowed to declare that the goods a company sold and promoted were the best, this Danish brewer (and their ad agency) came up with the tagline that their lager was ‘probably the best lager in the world’. Very clever – ‘probably’ the best.
Now The Lazy Project Manager received an accolade recently that, on the face of it may appear to be the exact opposite of such high praise and declaration, but which is, in my humble opinion, exactly that – high, high praise indeed. Better than even ‘probably’ the best.
With the benefit of the international success of The Lazy Project Manager book I have been extremely fortunate to secure speaking engagements in Brazil, USA, UK, Hungary, Italy and many more.
Now as part of this process you can get such speaking bookings typically in two ways. Someone finds you or has seen you speak, and contacts you to request your time; or you submit, through some form of paper submission, an offer to speak at a future event. For example this is how the Congress system works – you submit an outline presentation and, if they like the sound of it (and you) they request a full paper and presentation, etc. Many events use such a mechanism. More
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7. Certifications update, by Duncan: Spanning the Range, From Knowledge to Performance Competence
Getting an Early Start
A third cohort of students from the Monterey (CA) Institute of International Studies have begun preparations to sit for the IPMA Level-D® exam offered by asapm. They will be taking advantage of our custom exam site option in order to sit for the exam on a day that is convenient for them. The students chose IPMA-D for both its international recognition as well as for its cost-effectiveness.
Applied Project Management
If you think installing thin-film solar panels on your garage roof is a challenge, try building a plant to manufacture them! One major piece of equipment weighs some 30 tons. Another piece requires a dust-free "clean room." The design has to be flexible enough to handle a tripling of capacity. Most of the major equipment is manufactured outside the country, so import licenses can be a real challenge. Your engineering team includes people from 4-6 different countries with an equal number of native languages. Most of them are contractors, so you have little direct authority. Now, just for fun, try doing it in rural India ...
Jeff Silva, PMO Manager for the SunFab Solar Group of Applied Materials in Santa Clara, CA, thought it might be nice to know if his project managers were up to the task. He also thought that SunFab's clients might like to know that his PMs were competent before they committed a few billion dollars to a turnkey plant. So Bill Duncan, Nigel Blampied, and Lew Ireland trooped out to Santa Clara and spent three full days interviewing several Senior PMs for IPMA Level B®, and some newcomers for IPMA Level C®.
How did it go? We'll have the results next month!
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8. asapm Requests Your Participation in a Survey: PM in the Federal Government
asapm's Federal Government PM Research Survey Needs Your Input:
Calling all Federal Project and Program Managers! asapm needs your assistance completing a survey on project and program manager certification. This anonymous survey will assist the research team in developing a greater understanding about the FAC-P/PM certification, and federal government project and program management.
If you work in the Federal government, work as a contractor to the federal government, or are managed by a federal government project, we ask you to complete the 15 minute survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/59BH87N. The survey will close on April 30, 2010.
This research is being conducted as a joint effort between asapm (the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management) and the IBM Center for the Business of Government. The results will be presented in an IBM Center for the Business of Government publication later in 2010.
The information that you provide for this research will be treated confidentially, and all raw data will be kept in a secure file by the research team. Results of the research will be reported as aggregate summary data only and not individually identifiable data will be presented.
Thank you in advance for your invaluable responses to this survey! We appreciate and value your input and experience. If you have any questions, contact our team at: ResearchPM@gmail.com.
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9. Press Release: New Book Focuses On Project Management In Government
Management Concepts, Vienna, VA, announced last month the publication of Achieving Project Management Success in the Federal Government, by Jonathan Weinstein and Timothy Jaques, both asapm members. Tim is also asapm Director of Standards.
This new book of project management best practices is based on research and interviews conducted by the authors with officials in a variety of government entities and involved in a wide range of projects.
Although project management is not new to the federal government, the discipline has taken on renewed importance in the face of the ever-increasing size, complexity, and number of mission-critical projects being undertaken by every branch and agency. The authors’ clear and insightful coverage of a selection of successful projects and the reasons for that success offer valuable guidance to all those in government related project management.
The authors, Jonathan Weinstein and Timothy Jaques, are founding partners of Line of Sight (www.Line-of-Sight.com), a program management, process design, and organizational change management services organization. Each has written extensively on project management and organizational change... See the whole press release here. Congratulation Jon and Tim!
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10. Update on ISO 21500
The Committee Draft for ISO 21500, "Project Management — a guide for project management," has been circulating since January. asapm was given a copy and submitted comments ... 117 comments! ... of which roughly half were accepted. More might have been accepted except that the ANSI review team marked any comments that did not include specific language "not actionable." We'll know better next time.
If the full ISO Committee accepts all of our accepted recommendations, the document will be improved. But even with those changes, the document may do more harm than good since the ANSI review team rejected several key comments related to recognition of the vital role that project life-cycles play in effective project management. Some of our "rejected" comments addressed things in the draft standard that are just plain wrong.
Keep your fingers crossed that the representatives of the other national standards group will see that the final document is something that the PM community can be proud of!
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11. IPMA News: New Member Nations; Canada Webinar; Congress Update
New IPMA Member Nations
At the IPMA Council of Delegates meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, two new nations joined the IPMA Family.
The nations of Peru and Mexico prepared compelling presentations about their strengths, their plans, and their dreams. Now we all want to visit them both! One of the strengths of the IPMA Family approach is that IPMA is a federation of nations, with each Member Nation representing their local interests, while leveraging the strengths of the IPMA 4-L-C, Four-Level Competence-based certification. Welcome, Mexico and Peru, to the IPMA Family!
Canada Celebrates First Year With IPMA Family; Offers Webinar
Speaking of Member Associations, it was just one year ago that Canada joined the IPMA Family. Our Canadian organization is PMAC-AGPC (Project Management Association of Canada / Association de gestion de projet du Canada). This has been a long-term initiative for asapm, as we supported our Canadian members in their quest for their own organization, then supported their entry into the IPMA Family. IPMA Chair Miles Shepherd and asapm President Stacy Goff offer congratulations to PMAC-AGPC on the front page of their website. Congratulations on your anniversary, Oh Canada!
Webinar on The History of PM: Among the strengths of PMAC-AGPC is their people. Kevin Aguanno and Mark Kosak-Holland are working together on another webinar, and as participants in their last effort, we look forward to this one too! You can see more about it and register on the front page of the group's website, but here is a teaser:
The Pyramid of Giza, the Colosseum, and the Transcontinental Railroad are all great historical projects from the past four millennia. When we look back we tend to look at these as great architectural or engineering works. Project management tends to be overlooked, and yet the core principles were used extensively in these projects.
This webinar takes a hard look at the history of project management, how it evolved, and presents some quite remarkable results. Namely, that project management did not just appear in the last 100 years but has been in steady evolution over at least the past 4,500 years.
There is a $9.95 fee for this event. It is open to both PMAC members and non-members alike, and 100% of all registration fees go to the association. The webinar is on April 22nd, 2010 from Noon to 1:30pm Eastern time.
24th IPMA World Congress, Istanbul 2010:
Call for Papers; Important Dates Reminder
Planning continues for the November 1-3 2010 IPMA World Congress, in Istanbul. The IPMA Council of Delegates participants viewed the latest version of the promotional video in late March, and were duly impressed; see what you think! The second release of the Congress Brochure is also available, showing the timing of all the key events, the Streams (or Tracks) of the Congress, and most importantly, the evening events that are a unique part of the IPMA Family.
There are a handful of important dates for those who intend to present papers (which several of us, including Stacy, will be doing). There will be two types of papers, Scientific (or Research), and Practical. The USA will be well represented at this World Congress: For example, an asapm member will be a keynote speaker. Our USA friends Frank Anbari and Ed Hoffman are reviewers of the Scientific papers. asapm members Miles Shepherd and Stacy Goff are on the International Practical Presentations Committee.
Here are the dates to note:
Abstract Submission Deadline: 30 May 2010
Final Paper Submission Deadline: 30 July 2010
Final Announcement With List of Accepted Papers: 15 August 2010
Registration of persons submitting papers Deadline: 15 September 2010
Congress Dates: 1-3 November 2010
See you in Istanbul!
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asapm, IPMA-USA, is the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. We are a not-for-profit organization, staffed with volunteers who are dedicated to improving Performance Competent in Project and Program Management. asapm is a registered trademark of the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management.
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