Welcome to the asapm April, 2011 Newsletter!

This April 2011 edition of our opt-in Newsletter is from asapm, the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. We are IPMA-USA, the USA member association of the International Project Management Association. Enjoy!

In This Issue
1. Project Managers Are Change Agents: President's Message, by Stacy Goff
2. Duncan Regales Us On the WBS at PM Lessons Learned Podcast
3. Multitasking's Assault on Productivity, by Bill Balcezak, Journyx
4. Understanding Knowledge, by Dennis Milroy
5. An Articles Double-Play by Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager
6. asapm Board Member Nominations Open Until Late June
7. Project Selection Criteria: How to Play it Right, by Joni Seber
8. Updates for 25th IPMA World Congress in Australia
9. Next Generation Project Management Thinking, by Simon Harris
10. asapm Participates in NASA Knowledge Forum; Report by S. Goff
11. Another Article Double-Play by Byatt, Hamilton, & Hodgkinson
12. IPMA Awards News

1. Project Managers Are Change Agents: President's Blog, 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 posting; click the bold linked heading to see the posting.

Does Knowledge Want To Be Managed?
This posting was inspired during a trans-Atlantic air travel dialogue with a young lady whose job responsibilities include Knowledge Management in an alternative energy company. We explored, and brought together, a range of the relevant terms and disciplines involved with knowledge acquisition, assimilation, retention and application. Upon my return, and reflecting on the unresolved parts of our discussion, I scheduled an interview with Knowledge. This was more difficult than I thought, even though I had long-ago attributed traits of anthropomorphism to her. Finding Knowledge was easy. Getting dedicated time to interview her was the difficult part. Her? Of course, Knowledge is feminine in gender. Few men really understand more than Facts, the younger brother of Knowledge.

Our Interview with Knowledge
My first question was the title of this posting. She asserted that “No one ever asked me!” She expressed concerns that many of those purporting to “manage knowledge” do have some insights, but most do not understand the entire story. She pointed out that Knowledge is only one member of her large family of Intelligence, and some of her senior siblings are even less-understood than she. And, she asserted her deep concern that there are whole industries, educational systems, software support, and even certifications based on just her part of her family. While some, such as Peter Senge, come close to deep understanding, many of his followers only grasp the obvious parts. And, especially disconcerting to Knowledge was her belief that man has had few new insights about her for several thousands of years, since the illuminations in China, India, Greece and Egypt. The interview, while wide-ranging and deep in content, was a firehose blast of perspective, all absorbed in a 5 second interview. Ms. Knowledge had other pressing commitments elsewhere.

The Taxonomy of Data
The interview led me to reflect on my own journey toward Knowledge many years ago. In the late 1970s I performed presentations to various professional groups. One of my favorite presentations, especially for groups involving data and information systems, was The Taxonomy of Data. I did not invent the concept; undoubtedly I had read something in the mid ’70s that inspired me. And, I recently saw something our dear friend Max Wideman had written on the subject—but I have not been able to track it down again ... More

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2. Duncan Regales Us On the WBS at PM Lessons Learned Podcast
The website PM Lessons Learned is useful, even for those who are not just prepping for an exam-based certification. Go: www.pmlessonslearned.com/; Duncan's session on WBS is a ways down the page, or you can search for Episode 0115. The prelude content takes about the first 10%, then there is an introduction, and Duncan takes off in his inimitable style. There is a mention of the presentation slides being available, but the best way to keep up is to download them from here.

Once in the presentation, Duncan distinguishes between scope and work, with some great examples. He then continues with his typical Duncanesque style, with revelations and insights even for us old hands. Enjoy, and thank you Duncan! Note: William Duncan prefers being referred to by his last name.

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3. Multitasking's Assault on Productivity, by Bill Balcezak, Journyx
It is seemingly impossible to avoid multitasking in today’s busy world. The constant bombardment of emails, phone calls, and appointments quickly begin to pile up, so to combat this we attempt to juggle more activities at once. I instinctively answer the phone as I’m driving home from work or respond to an urgent email while I’m reading a report, but are these the best solutions to my problems?

Mounting evidence suggests that multitasking is the enemy of productivity. Though it may lead us to think that we’re being more productive, we’re in fact thwarting performance ability and significantly lowering quality of work along the way. While we can all recognize how multitasking affects the texting driver, the negative impact of multitasking in the workplace is not as immediately apparent.

A 2010 study in the journal Science tackled this issue by examining just how the human brain handles multiple simultaneous activities. Research suggests that when a person performs a single task, the goal-oriented areas of both frontal lobes work to engage the task together. When an additional task is added, the two lobes divide responsibility and each hemisphere focuses on its own objective. While our two lobes can work collaboratively to accomplish an independent task, they must divide to accomplish anything more fragmented ... More

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4. Understanding Knowledge, by Dennis Milroy
Inspired by the current ChangeAgent blog posting, asapm Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Milroy weighs in on Knowledge: Dennis is retired Military, and works in Academia, so he has a broad perspective on the subject of knowledge--and intelligence.

• Knowledge is the sum of all things learned.
• When you are born you have no knowledge.
• Intelligence allows you to learn and gain knowledge.
• There are two kinds of knowledge: Tacit and Explicit.
• Knowledge is required to convert Data into Information.
• Knowledge is power.
• A teacher’s job is to transfer knowledge to the students.
• Professors are required to create and share their knowledge but are protected by tenure.
• Instructors do not have tenure and are very reluctant to share knowledge unless protected by a Professor.
• It requires a great deal of trust for people to be willing to share their knowledge.
• It takes a great deal of knowledge to gain wisdom.

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5. An Articles Double-Play by Peter Taylor, the Lazy Project Manager
We welcome Peter back with two new articles. But before we introduce them, we have a public service announcement from him.
The History of Lazy (and other stories): After the success of The Lazy Blogger at the end of 2010 – a self-published book in aid of charity – I felt, with the terrible news from Japan, that I could use the same model and produce another ebook in aid of yet another urgent and excellent cause. And that is what I have done with The History of Lazy. So if you buy The History of Lazy you will get a 17,500 word ebook that I am guaranteeing will have some typos and logical errors but that I also hope will:
a) provide you with some interest, guidance and enjoyment and
b) will provide some small assistance to the massive recovery projects underway in Japan right now.

Thank you for your generosity -- all proceeds will go (minus the small PayPal fee) to the Japanese Red Cross appeal. Buy the book now! And tell your friends about the book as well please, so that we can deliver a good sum of money to the charity.

Green Bean PM
How should new project managers learn from the 'Old beans'? When my kids were young they loved to play one particular game at the annual birthday parties. This game involved 'Beans' – all of the kids standing ready and waiting for instructions and then the cry would go up of 'Beans' and the game would begin. 'Runner beans' as a call would mean that everyone had to run on the spot. 'Jumping beans' meant, naturally, a lot of jumping up and down in one place. 'French beans' meant a chorus of 'Ooh la la's' and waving of arms in a posh French way. And 'Baked beans' meant ... well you know kids so I am sure that you can work that one out for yourself. It goes without saying this is the one 'Bean' that they loved the most ... More

What’s In a Name?
“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” --William Shakespeare, from Romeo and Juliet. Or to put it another way:“Hi! My name is... (what?) My name is... (who?). My name is... Slim Shady. Hi! My name is... (huh?) My name is... (what?). My name is... Slim Shady” Eminem (Marshall Mathers).” I do like to have a good contrast in life and that was certainly one of the extreme ones. But the point is that we all use tags, nicknames, brands, titles, whatever you would like to call them. Some, such as Slim Shady aka Eminem aka Marshall Mathers aka ... more than most perhaps, but we use them all the time ... More

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6. asapm Board Member Nominations Open Until Late June
Are you interested in advancing the practice of project and program management in the USA? One way to get engaged is to take a big step forward, and run for office as one of the asapm Board of Directors.

The asapm Board positions that are up for election in 2011 are Secretary-Treasurer, Director of Marketing, and Director of Member Services. Click the links for those roles to see the responsibilities of each position. Each year, approximately one-third of the asapm offices open for nominations. We are also soliciting volunteers to serve on the 2011 asapm Elections Committee, working with asapm Vice President Trevor Nelson. For more information, or to find out about nominating yourself or someone else (with their permission), please contact Trevor.

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7. Project Selection Criteria: How to Play it Right, by Joni Seber
In a perfect world, every organization would find time to approach project selection in an objective, methodical way, using the right criteria and tools. In the real world, project selection is often carried out in a more-or-less intuitive way even though the benefits of systematized, criteria based project selection can mark the difference between organization success or failure.

A strategic approach to project selection yields better results for organizations by minimizing risk and maximizing the potential upside. With finite resources and infinite project possibilities, project selection could be the most important step in the project cycle. New projects are a response to threats or opportunities and that choosing the best possible response, from a complex web of possibilities, is often beyond the capacity of the human brain. Any more than six variables causes information overload and confused decision making.

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8. Call for Papers Extended for 25th IPMA World Congress in Australia
The April 1 Call for Papers for the 25th IPMA World Congress in Brisbane, Australia next year appears to have been extended. That means that if you procrastinated, as we did, you still have time to submit your Academic abstract and paper, or your Industry abstract (no paper required). See the Speaker's Zone at the Congress website.

For those planning to attend the Congress, now is the "Window of Opportunity" for purchasing your ticket. As reported by Stacy Goff in an IPMA Family blog posting, ticket prices (for example) from Denver, Colorado to Sydney, Australia, have dropped from USD $1600 in October 2010, when he began watching them, to $1236 in late March. The "sweet spot," or best time to buy International tickets is usually six months before travel, so from here, the prices will only go up. Buy your airfare now!

The 25th IPMA World Congress on Project Management, with the theme "Project Management -- Delivering the Promise", will be held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia during 9-12 October 2011. For information or registration, visit www.ipma2011.com.au.

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9. Next Generation Project Management Thinking, by Simon Harris
I like old books of science. I find the way they discuss and explain topics with a world-view that is not of today fascinating. As our thinking grows so the vocabulary and models shift to resolve old uncertainties and present more capable approaches. Enduring truths continue to shine through, albeit in unfamiliar terms.

Roll-on the day when people realise that what has been written so far about project management has a vocabulary and models that must be set aside! Essential truths will be re-described in terms that support better thinking and better delivery of benefits. While first generation project management thinking has improved the state of the art, we can do better. Indeed, given the current status as largely a black-art, we must do much better.

"The realization of benefits on time, within predetermined cost and of the requisite standard and quality, is less frequent than it should be." BS 6079:2010 Pt-1 Project management– Principles and guidelines for the management of projects. Sadly BS 6079 itself is a victim of the mindset, models and vocabulary that limits achievement and will need to be retired.

Accepting New Thinking: Fresh thinking is hard to accept. The world is not flat and the sun is not in orbit of the earth nor are we in orbit of the guidance of OGC, PMI^®, APM or BS 6079. When thoughts are right then fresh thinking equips those of us who are embracing it with advantage. Isochron®'s Dimension Four® (D4) is fresh thinking that experience is showing to be right ... More

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10. asapm Participates in NASA Knowledge Forum; Report by S. Goff
Organized by NASA's Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL), and co-hosted by MWH Global, an Environmental Engineering Consulting firm, this month's NASA Knowledge Forum in Colorado was an eye-opener. The packed-agenda meeting of the nation's Knowledge and Learning experts included many of those who founded and shaped the Knowledge Management (KM) discipline, and many others who carry the torch forward. Clearly, this forum had some of the "smartest people in one room," and this viewer was uncharacteristically quiet.

Beginning with a kick-off by APPEL Director Ed Hoffman, and a bit of background on this NASA Knowledge Forum series, we then enjoyed an informative welcome by MWH Global CEO and Chairman, Bob Uhler. He chronicled his firm's journey into knowledge re-use as they experienced rapid growth in the first years after their founding. Because KM practitioners love stories, he told some excellent stories about the unique opportunities for re-use and redistribution of consulting efforts.

A highlight of the day was a panel session with Larry Prusak and Don Cohen as moderators, and Richard McDermott, Joe Horvath, and Nancy Dixon as panelists. The wit, stories and insights of the moderators and panelists were stellar, and we look forward to reviewing the recorded video. Larry and Nancy were among the first to publish on KM in its early days; and, separately from the panel session, in a demonstration of his grasp of the subject, Larry opined that the bank crises of the last several years show that "knowledge is not enough." Just having "the smartest guys in the room," a reference to the demand for talent on Wall Street, clearly failed the industry, the nation, and the economy.

In one of the final sessions, groups worked in a series of five steps to answer questions about the future of KM and Learning, including how to overcome challenges ranging from the perception that these disciplines merely add work, are not rewarded, and are not linked to organizational strategy. The prioritized results demonstrate that this group is not just interested in capturing knowledge, but instead, in harnessing it, to improve organizational performance--which aligns this NASA Knowledge Forum perfectly with asapm's goals, efforts, and achievements. Thank you to NASA APPEL and MWH Global! We will post the whitepaper proceedings at the asapm Members Only area when we receive them.

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11. Another Article Double-Play by Byatt, Hamilton, & Hodgkinson
Which Came First – The Process Or The Tool?
There are many aspects involved in successful project and program management: hard work, experience, good teamwork, solid processes and work practices, having good tools with which to work, adopting and displaying the right behaviours…the list could go on. This article focuses on two aspects of project/program management – the processes and the tools we use as program and project managers – and asks: What comes first – the process or the tool? ... More

We do not seek to discuss the merits of different project management tools and techniques, nor will we examine the differences between program and project management; rather, we put forward what we hope are thought-provoking points for you to consider.

The PM Survival Toolkit
Close your eyes and picture this. You have been set a challenge to trek through one of the great deserts of the globe, perhaps the Great Sandy Desert of Australia, the Mohave of North America, or the Sahara of Africa. As you prepare for your challenge, you calculate the distance, temperatures, walking speed, amounts of water to take and other critical factors that will undoubtedly influence and determine the success or failure of your challenge.

You also begin to assess the skills required; survival skills, endurance, how to identify poisonous creatures, and the like. In your planning for this feat of endurance, you must prudently consider every detail and balance the risks and rewards associated with the items you pack for the trip. Due to the limits on the tools and rations you can select, only essential, value-added items will be taken. Several items are sure to make it into your pack: a knife, a map, a GPS, a compass and water to name a few ... More

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12. IPMA Awards News
We post the invitation for applications for the IPMA International Project Excellence Award 2011. While it may be late for you to consider your projects for this year's event, now might be a good time to consider applying for next year. The Project Excellence Award, with its Gala Dinner, is always one of the highlights of every IPMA World Congress. If you are interested in participating in IPMA Awards, please contact Stacy.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the IPMA Award Management Board I would like to invite your organization (company or government agency) to apply for the IPMA International Project Excellence Award 2011.

The IPMA International Project Excellence Award supports professional project management in achieving high performance in projects and identifies projects as examples of excellent project management.

Please see this link to the official invitation letter; our Moving Winners Forward brochure, has information about the award, showcasing winners, and explains the Project Excellence Model. And, for you who know you are winners, see the 2011 Awards application form. This year's application deadline is 15 April 2011.

Pass on your own experience on Project Management.  Gain the prestige. Learn the Project Excellence Model. Apply for the award 2011 and meet with the best Project Managers at the IPMA World Congress in Brisbane! For further information, please visit www.ipma.ch/awards or, email the Award Office.

With best regards,
Ms. Ewa Bednarczyk
IPMA Award Office Manager

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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 Competence in Project and Program Management. asapm is a registered trademark of the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. See our past newsletters at our website.

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