Welcome to the asapm May, 2011 Newsletter!

This May 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. IPMA Project Excellence Award Winner Receives One Million RMB Reward
3. The Power of Projects: An Executive Read, by Lew Ireland
4. Introducing the asapm Prescribes... Series; reported by William Duncan
5. Are You A Professional? Article by asapm VP Trevor Nelson
6. IPMA Family Welcomes Three New Nations
7. Three Updates from asapm Standards
8. Young Crew Triple-Play: 2011 YC Board, YC Workshop, and YPM Award
9. Knowledge Management: New Mission for Project Managers; by Dennis Milroy
10. IPMA Festival of Knowledge Planned for Detroit, September 8 2011
11. Another Article Double-Play by Byatt, Hamilton, & Hodgkinson
12. More asapm and IPMA News, With a Congress Update

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.

Knowledge, Performance and the Opposable Thumb
Last month's article, where we interviewed Knowledge, and gained many new insights about her and her family, must have been an interesting one. It received even more "hits" than normal, and not just from spammers… The time viewers spent on the page was also higher than most, a good indicator of perceived value—or maybe they were trying to figure out that strange anthropomorphism of Knowledge. But let us tie up a few loose ends on the themes we covered, and then finish with the importance of the Opposable Thumb.

Discoveries at the NASA Knowledge Forum: I had taken a copy of last months's article along with me to the Knowledge Forum; I reported on that event in last month's asapm newsletter. I shared the article with Larry Prusak, one of the key people in Knowledge Management (KM) practice. When he got around to reading the article, he sent a polite email that suggested that the data to information to knowledge relationships are more complex than my simple assertions. I agree, and will leave it at that. After all, that was a 30+ year-old story.

At that NASA event, I figured out that there is quite some difference between my own naive interpretations, and those of a bunch of really bright people in the KM practice. And, there were some striking parallels ... More

Recycling Our Six W's For Managers In The Middle
We've used the Journalist's Six W's for over 25 years during project kick-off, to help business case analysis and bring all the stakeholders onto the same page. And recently, working with a stellar group of Managers in the Middle, those people who manage project managers and their teams, we came up with a new (for us) use of the Six W's.

Background on the Six W's: Originally established as part of our IT Methodology, THE Guide, and Co-Pilot: Small Project Guide in the mid-80's, we use the Six W's to perform opportunity analysis. We've used the right selection of the W's, in the right sequence, with many, many classes of project managers, customers, managers and team leads. The W's we use, in the only correct sequence for project delegation, are: What, Why, Who, Where, When, and How. We admit to playing loose with the W's, when people point out that How is an H, not a W. We assert that it has its W at the end because How is the last W to understand.

Some of the learning dialogue that accompanies the W's is that there may be multiple Whens:
* When does the organization need the result (the must)
* When can the team deliver it? (the can)

We assert that the competent team can always show how the can might beat the must by 25%. In fact, if they cannot perform this simple analysis, we doubt if they understand enough about the project to manage it successfully: They are not yet competent. Of course, this is just one example of a class module that, when Executives see it, they state, and then ask: "This is powerful stuff! Do our people know how to do this?" The answer is usually something like, yes, they do this in each project they begin, but you have six layers of managers between your teams and you, and part of their job is to filter out the information they think you don't need. But we may be getting ahead of ourselves. We'll come back to that thread below ... More

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2. IPMA Project Excellence Award Winner Receives One Million RMB Reward
Editor's note: Part of the benefit of asapm's recognition as IPMA-USA, in addition to your two memberships in one, is that we are among the first to see significant World news in project and program management. This article, published at the IPMA website, PMForum, and other locations, is huge news, as it establishes a new precedent for National recognition of pm achievements.

For those who think China news is irrelevant to the USA, Meg, our new asapm volunteer in Awards, points out, "behind the success of every IPMA Awards Winner is dozens to hundreds of strategic partners, contractors, sub-contractors, and suppliers. Chances are good that most or many of those are American Companies." Congratulations to our Awards Winner, and to the IPMA Project Excellence Awards team!

5 May, 2011, The Netherlands. IPMA, International Project Management Association, has been informed that, as a result of the CNOOC Group's achievement at last year's IPMA Project Excellence Awards ceremony, they have now been recognized and significantly rewarded by China's government.

Professor Quin Fupei, Honorary Chairman of Project Management Research Committee (PMRC, IPMA-China), and IPMA Honorary Member, announces exhilarating news: "In the year 2010, Huizhou Oil Refining Company won the IPMA Project Excellence Award in the category Mega projects. This is not only an honor for Chinese people but also an honor for all Huizhou citizens. This year, to reward their exceptional contributions to project management, Huizhou government has awarded them 1 million Yuan as an incentive." See the News release, and the entire News Item at the IPMA website.

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3. The Power of Projects: An Executive Read, by Lew Ireland
Editor's note: Past asapm President Lew Ireland kept us informed and enlightened during his many years as President, between his books, co-authored with Professor David Cleland, his articles, and his Prez Says series. We've missed his insights, and welcome him back. Thanks Lew!

Introduction: Project Management, the management of projects, is well documented in literature through perhaps as many as half a million books and articles. The three fundamental parameters – Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance/ Quality – are addressed in various industries and approaches to managing projects as well as Risk, Communication, Human Resources, and the like. There is little characterization in literature of projects and their efficacy in pursuing the organization's business line.

A search of Amazon.com revealed only one title that came near the practice of viewing projects (rather than project management) as the value from projects. The book, Managing Projects in Organizations by J. Davidson Frame, addresses the political side of project management more than the value of projects and their overall management by executives.

To manage a project from the senior level one must understand the characteristics, both internal and external, of a project. These characteristics provide information, coupled with the business's strategic goals, for decision making. Viewing the project as the prime source of producing value and viewing project management as a separate, but important, role can offer significant benefits for the executive level management of an organization.

Senior Manager's Topics For Consideration: Viewing the project's elements as the primary consideration before selection may be more significant that the selection of the project manager – or at least helpful in selecting the project manager. Understanding the characteristics of the project work can make the selection or rejection of a project an informed process rather than "it's a good idea."

Perhaps the first consideration for selecting a project is whether it is a strategic fit within the organization. Strategic fit is when the project matches the strategic goal of the organization and is complementary of the types of project currently being performed. A project that does not have a strategic fit will perhaps struggle as an orphan in the organization's family of projects ... More

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4. Introducing the asapm Prescribes... Series; reported by William Duncan
asapm has two new product suites under development that will begin to be available within the next month. Both products have been named after generic pain relievers since they are designed to help relieve your project management pains. Both may be used for individual improvement or as preparation for certification at IPMA Level A, B, or C.

aSPIRIN. asapm’s Self Assessment (asapm Self Assessment = ASA = Acetyl Salicylic Acid = aspirin) is an easy-to-complete, online survey instrument designed to be used by individual project managers to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. The instrument uses the performance-based competency standard developed by asapm and GAPPS (the Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards) and used by asapm in its performance-based certification programs.

Intended use: Find the places you and your team can gain the most, to improve pm performance. Although the survey is designed for self-assessment, managers of project and program managers may also find it useful as an aid to their staff development needs.

Users will receive a summary report of how they rated against each performance criteria, as well as a comparison of their results to those of previous respondents.

Anonymized results may be available to qualified researchers who meet asapm’s requirements.

aSPIRIN will initially be available for Project Managers and soon thereafter for Program Managers.

PROxen. This second product is a developmental assessment of individual project managers that also uses our performance-based competency assessment approach. PROxen is essentially identical to our certification assessments except that it focuses on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of individual project managers. PROxen is designed for PMO’s and similar organizations that would like to identify where their project and program managers need to improve.

Evaluations will be conducted by a trained assessor using the same asapm Evidence Guide used for certification. Individual performance will be evaluated on a 1 to 5 scale against each of the performance criteria in the standard. Individuals and their supervisors will receive a report of how they rated against each of the performance criteria as well as specific recommendations for improvement.

The cost of PROxen will be $750 for project managers and $950 for program managers. Discounts are available for organizations wishing to assess seven or more candidates. That way, you can Prescribe your Leadership Team

How Do These Differ? Readers familiar with the asapm CompModel may wonder how these new products differ? First, they are aligned to the same Performance Competence certification criteria our assessors use for certification. Second, these will be available online, with the ability with aSPIRIN to compare your results with others. PM CompModel is primarily for use by consultants who are assessing all project stakeholders, and PM CompModel is not an online tool.

How Do I Learn More? Watch the asapm website for the availability of these asapm Prescribes... offerings.

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5. Are You A Professional? Article by asapm VP Trevor Nelson; Reprinted with permission from www.projectsatwork.com
Is project management a profession? If not, should it be? And what would differentiate a professional PM from all the others managing projects? In this article, we explore what constitutes a profession, and whether project management should be considered one.

Project Management — it has been alternately described as a discipline, a career, a skillset, a subset of management, a set of processes, and a profession. But what is it really, or better yet, what should it be? In the UK, the Association of Project Management is currently pursuing Chartered status through the UK Privy Council. This is the equivalent of a license in the United States — the formal recognition of a legal profession. This has raised the long-debated question within the PM community: Is project management a profession?

Before we can answer that, we first have to discuss what a profession is. Some view a profession as something that requires both education and training; others see a profession as simply one’s chosen career, while still others use the definition of “I get paid for it, therefore I’m a professional.” ... More

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6. IPMA Family Welcomes Three New Nations
At the March, 2011 Council of Delegates meeting in Riga, Latvia, the IPMA Family added three new nations! We welcome Asociación de Project Management de Guatemala (APMG), Asociación de Dirección de Proyectos (IPMA Costa Rica), and Association for Project Management in Bosnia and Herzegovina (APMinBIH). The addition of Guatemala and Costa Rica increases IPMA in the Americas by 40%! See the details, with three separate press releases, at the IPMA website, as reported by PMForum and IPMA Correspondent Jouko Vaskimo (Finland). Thank you Jouko!

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7. Three Updates from asapm Standards

asapm represents the USA in Riga, Latvia: asapm attended in force the March 2011 Council of Delegates meeting in Riga Latvia on March 24-25, 2011. President Stacy Goff, Certification Chair Bill Duncan, and Tim Jaques travelled to Riga Latvia to participate in the Council of Delegates (CoD) session.

Delegates sat in the front row, and observers and secondary delegates sat in the second rows. Roughly 50 Member Associations around the globe participated in advancing project management practices. The two day Council session included a full agenda of presentations and voting. As mentioned above, the IPMA Council of Delegates voted in three new countries: Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Bosnia/Herzegovina.

IPMA v.4 Consensus Programme Launched: Prior to the Council meeting, a two day workshop was held to launch ICB v.4. More than fifty individuals from around the world attended the session, which focused on creating a new programme to update the ICB. The IPMA v.4 Consensus Programme recently took its first big steps forward. This programme, approved by the IPMA Council of Delegates in March 2011, will result in a new IPMA Competency Baseline (ICB) and IPMA Certification Regulation and Guidelines (ICRG). These two strategically important IPMA products will deliver refreshed content and insights into project management competency. The goal is to create high quality products that will be embraced around the world as a new standard of performance. This is a large, global programme that will require significant coordination and communication.

Bill Duncan and Tim Jaques were elected by a group of peers across IPMA to play leading roles in the program. Bill will serve in the capacity of project manager for the ICB Project. Tim will serve as the secretariat to the ICB Project. The other major project is the ICRG, being led by Leh Simonelli of Australia. At the programme level, David Hudson (Australia) is acting in the capacity of programme manager and Robbert van Alen (Netherlands) is the programme secretariat.

asapm aPRO Standard Receives Worldwide Attention: The asapm Performance Rated Organization (aPRO) standard is being translated to Spanish and French. In cooperation with Mexican and French assessors, the aPRO standard and Assessor Guide will be fully translated by native speakers over the next few months. "With the recent addition of twenty international Recognized Assessors, asapm is moving to have this important document available in a variety of languages so it may be of use to as many individuals and organizations as possible," said Tim Jaques. 

asapm will be sponsoring two US-based aPRO Recognized Assessors workshops later in 2011. Watch the asapm website, or contact our Standards organization.

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8. Young Crew Triple Play: 2011 YC Board, YC Workshop, and YPM Award

Introducing IPMA's 2011-12 Young Crew Board: Finally getting the chance to meet face-to-face, IPMA's Young Crew Board has assigned their areas of responsibility for their two-year term. Watch for some great new programs, and a special unveiling, coming soon. See the details in this Breaking News item.

2011 IPMA Young Crew Workshop at the World Congress: This year's Young Crew 2011 Workshop is a little different -- it is a game, a competition. Aimed at project management practitioners under 35 from all industries, it will provide you the opportunity to really apply your project management skills. At the same time, you will develop your project management ‘soft skills’, including leadership, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, influencing and organisational and time management skills.

You will also have opportunity to connect with like-minded people in similar stages of their careers as well as be exposed to experienced project management practitioners. Join us from 8 – 9 October in Brisbane, Australia, by registering at www.ipma2011.com/young-crew

IPMA Young Crew Invites Nominations for the 2011 Young Project Manager Award:  “The IPMA Young Project Manager Award continues to be the only global award of its kind that acknowledges the talent of project managers who are in the beginning stages of their project management careers, “ says Jhaymee S. Wilson, Programme Manager for the award. “This year’s award will be very competitive, and we are excited to demonstrate our commitment to future project leaders.” See the News Release! Sign up by June 17!

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9. Knowledge Management: New Mission for Project Managers; by Dennis Milroy
Knowledge Management is a new mission for the Project Manager. The project manager has to capture and distribute knowledge to be successful. You need all the knowledge you can get to successfully predict the future, wisdom, which is the job of planning for the project manager. Collecting the knowledge so that it can be used for competitive advantage can make the difference between success and failure. With that in mind you now have to educate all those around you.

Do not let a person do what a computer can do. It is faster and cheaper than the person. Instead find out what the computer cannot do and have people learn how to do that. One thing a computer, or any technology, cannot do is to figure out what knowledge is. Only a person will know what knowledge is. It is hard to find the limits of what technology can do and how to make people more effective. It changes every day. A person can embed and distribute knowledge better with technology. The best tool I have found to find knowledge is a good search engine. The best way to distribute knowledge is with a checklist.

Knowledge management tools are useless without the right environment. Sharing knowledge requires a lot of trust. These days if you give your knowledge away you become replaceable. Knowledge management is all about building the right environment first and then have the tools ready to collect and distribute it. It is common for people to watch out for themselves and job security must be maintained. Trust no one. Companies like GE, P&G, Wal-Mart, and Intel have had incredible success in building the environment to get people to share knowledge. We can learn from what those companies have done.

It is very rare to find the trust needed to share knowledge. The academic world has dealt with the problem of knowledge sharing. It is called tenure. The most successful military unit is one that has the most people qualified to do each other's job, the best person might not be around when you need them. Successful Project Management requires the right knowledge to be in the right place at the right time. Please email Dennis and give him your opinion--and then, watch for his next article.

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10. IPMA Festival of Knowledge Planned for Detroit, September 8, 2011
IPMA's Festival of Knowledge has a long history of stellar sessions around the World. Originally named IPMA Expert Seminar, and established by IPMA Research Management Board chair Brane Semolic (Slovenia) in the early 1990s, the event name was recently changed to Festival of Knowledge, to avoid confusion with the Swiss Expert Seminar. Regardless of the name, the formula remains the same: Pick an interesting and timely advanced topic, invite industry experts to speak and serve on panels, and assure a high level of information sharing between participants. These sessions tend to attract senior PM practitioners, Engineers, and corporate Executives, a bit different than most PM-related conferences in the USA.

In an event organized by Dr. Thomas Baumann, long-time automobile industry expert and member of the board of Trustees for German Project Management Society (IPMA-Germany), the Detroit Festival of Knowledge is sponsored by IPMA's Research Management Board, and supported by asapm. RMB has recently held successful Festivals of Knowledge in China, South Africa, and Denmark. IPMA's Research Management Board will also hold an international board meeting in conjunction with the event, so participants will have the opportunity to mingle and speak with IPMA's research leaders.

The agenda for the September 8 event is nearing completion, and the theme is PM 2025--How to Get There. Topics on the agenda blend current Automobile Industry issues, together with the important role of projects and programs in the industry, and internationally. Even the name of the event is in discussion, as today's leading PM practitioners accept the value of knowledge, but are embracing PM Competence. Details will appear on the asapm website as they are resolved; meanwhile, if you care about advancing project and program management in the USA, especially in the automotive industry and its massive supply chain, mark your calendar for Detroit, September 8.

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11. Another Article Double-Play by Byatt, Hamilton, & Hodgkinson
Risk Management – the PM's Best Friend
Here's a question for you to quickly consider: Effective risk management underpins a successful project – true or false? Was "true" your first reaction? We believe that you're right. All three of us are strong believers in the positive value of a well-managed and controlled approach to project risks. An Internet search for "images of risk management" will return many illustrations of dice being rolled. If it is done well, risk management measures the uncertainty involved when you "roll the dice" during your project, and allows the Project Manager to obtain a consensus on how to best handle risks and unexpected events on the project.

This article does not cover in detail the processes necessary for effective project risk management. A large amount of material and advice exists on the subject. Rather, we put forward just a few "pointers to consider" for your project – whether it is already underway or getting ready to start ... More

Project Management for the Small Business
If you walk into the offices of many small businesses, you are likely to see notes sticking either on or in close proximity to the desks of the people employed there. Such "reminder notes" are usually serving as prompts and/or notifications for projects or other operational work on which they are working. In the case of small businesses, the project plan may be held in a file; sometimes, it may only exist in the mind of management. With the low-cost tools available today for small-scale project management, and the value of project management being increasingly recognized by many in the government and in corporate sectors, why do some small businesses choose not to take advantage of formal project management techniques and tools? ... More

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12. More asapm News and IPMA World Congress Update

More asapm News, by Marketing Director Morgan Henrie
asapm is expanding our means of reaching those interested in advancing project management excellence and interacting with others of like mind. Currently asapm uses several communication outlets to convey what is happening and encourage member dialogue. One method is this newsletter where we keep you updated on what is happening, provide interesting short articles and links to local, national and international events. Our website, http://asapm.org/,  is another avenue where we provide timely articles, links to what is happening around the project management global world, and links to standards, training and certification.

We also leverage interaction through the social media forum, LinkedIn. As you may know and as described on Wikipedia, LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. It currently has over 100 million members. asapm leverages this social media outlet to stimulate dialogue between our Linkedin contacts. You can join us at the asapm LinkedIn Discussions site.

Our newest foray into the social media communication is an in-development asapm Facebook account. Our new Facebook account will provide another communication medium for members to interact through discussions around project management. Facebook will also allow us to distribute timely information on what is happening in the world of asapm, IPMA and project management in general. 

Look for asapm Facebook to arrive shortly. Become engaged and help others by sharing your insights, knowledge and asking questions.

IPMA World Congress Update: We have two updates on the Congress; first, we are informed that the Call For Papers has been incredibly successful, with far more papers submitted than we have planned for. As a result, Congress Chair David Hudson says that the organizers will add more tracks to the Congress. The second update involves concerns the storms and floods in North East Australia. As the article below verifies, Brisbane Is Open For Business!

Brisbane Tells the World it’s Open for Business
Brisbane’s Together Brisbane campaign, recently launched by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, has already been effective in telling the world that it is open for business after January’s devastating flood, with people from across the globe logging on to a new website asking national and international communities to “come together” and return to a rejuvenated and recovering Brisbane.

Based around a cover version of the popular song Come Together, the campaign aims to entice Australian and international visitors back to Brisbane.“Brisbane is open for business. The problem is people overseas and in other states still think Queensland is a disaster zone because they keep seeing replays of the devastation caused by the January flood,” Cr Quirk said.

“We need to let the world know that Brisbane is open for business and that our local companies are waiting with open doors to start doing business with them again. Cr Quirk said the song Come Together had been chosen to showcase the incredible community spirit shown by local residents and businesses during the flood recovery.“It’s no secret that Brisbane was open for business quickly thanks to the amazing efforts of the thousands of volunteers and organisations that have turned out to help friends and strangers get back on their feet over the last three months,” Cr Quirk said.

“This strong sense of community spirit is a great selling point for Brisbane nationally and internationally – it shows we’re an easy and friendly place to do business that is able to overcome major business obstacles like a flood.

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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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