Welcome to the asapm October, 2011 Newsletter!Welcome to the asapm October, 2011 Newsletter!
This 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. Plan to Attend the asapm 2012 Congress, March 5, Washington DC area
3. The World's Advanced PM Certification Experts to Meet in DC area
4. The Perfect Partnership, by Greg Geracie and David Heidt
5. 2011 25th IPMA World Congress Wrap-up and 2012 Congress Unveiling
6. Hiring for a Competitive Advantage by Deborah L. Kerr, Ph.D., and Bill Balcezak
7. The Project Management Answer Book, by Jeff Furman. Review by James R. Brady
8. Our 'Simple Seven' Keys to Establishing a Successful PMO, by Byatt, Hamilton, & Hodgkinson
9. Leading Successful PMOs, based on a new book by Peter Taylor
1. Project Managers Are Change Agents: President's Blog, by Stacy Goff
Editor's Note: We received a comment from Terry Schmidt on one of our ChangeAgents articles, The First 10% of a Project: 90% of Success. Terry, an asapm member, and a member of the Association for Strategic Planning, is also one of the authors of the Strategic Planning Body of Knowledge. In addition, he is one of the few experts in Logical Frameworks (LogFrames), an early-project analysis method. Thanks for your comment, Terry!
You are spot on about the importance of starting a project off right. You never have to recover from a strong start, but can spend way too much time stumbling from the effects of a poor start. While writing my book Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools For Leaders And Teams (Wiley, 2009), I came across 100 Informal Rules for PM’s compiled over the years by NASA PM’s. I love their Rule #15….
“A review of most failed projects indicates that the disasters were well planned to happen from the start. The seeds of problems are laid down early. Initial planning is the most vital part of a project”.
I’m sure that any experienced PM would agree. Like raising a baby or housebreaking a puppy, if you are systematic about doing it right at the beginning, the rest of the job is easier. –Terry Schmidt
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.
Project Management--Delivering The Promise
IPMA member association AIPM (Australian Institute of Project Management) has just completed a great 2011 IPMA World Congress, and our congratulations go to them for not only a great event, but for their inspired theme: Project Management—Delivering the Promise.
Let's discuss the implications of this theme. The promise of project and program management is efficient, effective and beneficial change. We as a practice or profession make that promise to four types of audiences:
Each of these audiences has different needs and different expectations. Let’s explore them, and discuss our responsibilities in delivering to their needs and expectations--our promise, as it were.
Our First Audience, Individual PM Practitioners,
expects to improve their project performance, while increasing their job satisfaction and career progression opportunities. To accomplish that, we must move beyond classroom knowledge and testing that brings only short-term results. Why is this important? Based on recent research the half-life of knowledge acquired but not applied is only two weeks. We must follow classroom training with on-the-job application of that knowledge, with four goals: Develop needed skills, improve behavioral competences, gain end-to-end project experience, and achieve measurable project performance results. More
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2. Plan To Attend the asapm 2012 Congress, March 5, Washington DC area
We are pleased to announce the 2012 asapm Congress, to be held March 5, 2102, in the Washington, DC area. Our successful IPMA Focus event in September was narrowly focused on the Automobile industry; this asapm Congress is broadly appropriate for those interested in Delivering the Promise of project and program management. This one-day event borrows the theme of the highly successful IPMA World Congress, held October 10-12. Many of the speakers, including IPMA President Roberto Mori, expounded on the Delivering the Promise theme, and we must admit, we really like both the theme, and the intentions behind it.
Call For Abstracts: Do you know (and can you convey) what it means for project and program managers to Deliver the Promise? Do you think this is important for Government? For Enterprises? For Universities? For PM practitioners? If so, then we are interested in reviewing your abstract to present for this event. We have seen many of our members and friends present, but for those we have not yet seen, we will request a short video (YouTube works fine) so we can gauge your style.
Plan to Attend: More specifics will be available soon; the venue is near one of the ubiquitous Washington DC area subway stops, and a range of hotels is nearby for those of us travelling in. The venue is also close to the DC Airport (and a shuttle ride away from Dulles Airport. We invite all asapm members and friends to plan to be with us March 5, as we discuss new insights on Delivering the Promise!
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3. PM Certification Experts to Meet in Washington, DC area
What are many of the world's leading PM Certification Experts doing March 2-4 2012 in Washington, DC? They are meeting to share their insights and perspectives on how to improve IPMA's Four-Level-Certification program which is offered in the USA by asapm. IPMA, the International Project Management Association, offers globally respected certifications based on ICB®, the IPMA Competence Baseline.
Levels A, B and C are the only global PM certifications that are role-based and that require evidence of actual, on-the-job performance evaluated by professional assessors.
The current competence baseline, ICB3 was introduced in 2006. This meeting is the next step in creating ICB4. The Program Management team includes members from Australia, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the USA, while the overall program includes certification experts from IPMA's more than 50 member countries.
If you would like to be involved in this exciting project, contact the ICB4 Project Manager, Bill Duncan. Many of these experts will be presenting at the asapm Congress mentioned in item 2 above. Plan now to attend our March 5 Congress and come hear the newest insights from the world's advanced PM certification experts!
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4. The Perfect Partnership, by Greg Geracie and David Heidt
Editor's Note: Several asapm members are involved in the development of a new body of knowledge. No, not another project management bok, but one for Product Management. Some Project Managers don't understand the role and distinctive contribution of Product Management. This article begins to clarify the role, by showing the healthy interaction between Product Managers and Business Analysts. This bringing-together of key disciplines is the start of several articles that help to illustrate the appropriate role of Product Managers in the universe of societal change. Thank you Greg and David!
Companies often struggle to maintain a good balance between their market activities and their product development efforts. The fact is – most new products are not ready for prime time. This circumstance leads to products that deliver less value than anticipated or fail altogether. This inability of organizations to effectively bring products to market often creates a significant drag on companies’ ability to innovate and compete in today’s rapidly changing marketplaces.
There are a significant number of reasons why it’s so challenging to effectively bring products to market. Some are external, such as changing market conditions or shifting customer needs. However, many problems result from internal challenges such as overstretched contributors, the wrong mix of skills, poorly understood processes, and misalignment between the core team members in the value creation process.
Professions such as business analysis and project management have boundaries and roles that are well understood. Both have their bodies of knowledge, process groups, and foundational knowledge areas. In contrast and ironically, the product management profession spans 70 years but has yet to fully codify its body of knowledge. The resulting lack of clarity on the responsibilities and boundaries of a product manager often contributes to many of the internal inefficiencies and missed opportunities we see within today’s organizations ... More
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5. 2011 25th IPMA World Congress Wrap-up and 2012 Congress Unveiling
The 2011 IPMA World Congress, held in Brisbane, Australia October 9-12, organized by IPMA Member Association AIPM (Australia Institute of Project Management) certainly did deliver on their promise! This is one of the best Congresses yet! While we can't fully transmit the depth of content and the breadth of participant engagement, we can certainly show you some of the highlights. First, see the opening write-up by PMForum and IPMA correspondent Jouko Vaskimo. More reports will appear on the PMForum site as we receive permission of those who are photographed, part of Australia's privacy rules.
Next, see the report, on the IPMA website, of the results for the 2011 IPMA International Project Excellence Awards. We honor and congratulate all the finalists and Award Winners! Note that although the USA does not yet offer the IPMA Awards program, two US companies were among the IPMA Awards Winners, GE and UPS. Congratulations! The 2012 Awards applications will open soon after the beginning of next year.
Professor Lynn Crawford was honored with the IPMA Research Achievement Award. Professor Crawford was a busy person at the Congress, as she was also recognized as an IPMA Honorary Member, together with Miles Shepherd and Gilles Caupin. Honorary Membership in IPMA is granted to those who have made significant contributions to the practice of Project and Program Management, and in the case of these three, the recognition is very well deserved. Congratulations to all!
Les Squires has posted two groups of photos for the Gala Awards Dinner. See Part 1, with the dinner and Australian Awards, and Part 2, with International Awards and the post-dinner excitement. More news postings about the IPMA World Congress will appear at the PMForum.org website as they are approved, again thanks to Jouko Vaskimo.
To end the 2011 Congress, John-Paris Pantouvakis, Chair of the 2012 IPMA World Congress in Greece, announced the October 29-31, 2012 event, to be held in Crete. The theme, Integrating Project Management Standards, will help celebrate the introduction of ISO 21500, the new Project Management standard, that IPMA has been working on for the last four years. Start planning now to attend the next IPMA World Congress!
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6. Hiring for a Competitive Advantage by Deborah L. Kerr, Ph.D., and Bill Balcezak
Successful hiring is one of the key factors to operational success for large and small businesses alike. Executives should approach the hiring process as a means to both improve their existing workforce and to secure a candidate who will add long-term value to the organization. If approached merely as a step toward replacing a lost asset, the hiring process will squander considerable resources and forfeit significant opportunity value from a potential personnel improvement. The mission is obvious, yet, according to business owners, finding the right employees can be an elusive aspiration in a drawn-out process.
The results of the hiring search can be crucial for the future of small businesses and a poor decision can easily cost any organization well into the six figures. Every new hiring opportunity has the potential to advance a business's interests or set them back significantly, and should be approached using the same level of data, knowledge, and preparation required for any critical business decision.
The “people decision making” process, however, is littered with intangibles. Nation-wide unemployment continues to hover around 9%, but we have yet to experience the expected talent surplus from this prolonged recession. Instead, talent managers continue to struggle to fill leadership roles and key positions with the people who are right for their organizations. Avoiding this quandary is paramount to every business's success. To do that, organizations must adopt hiring methods that increase the chances of securing productive and “profitable” hires ... More7. The Project Management Answer Book, by Jeff Furman. Review by James R. Brady
Mr. Furman has had extensive experience as an IT project manager, consultant, and PM trainer. He currently specializes in teaching classes to help people prepare for the Project Management Institute's certification examination. His goal in this book is to provide an experience-based reference on common project management questions to assist both PM tyros and more experienced hands. The initial chapters are thus sequenced to help the reader understand the usual PM processes (planning, contracting, executing, monitoring, procurement, risk management, evaluation, etc).
Other chapters cover more general management or leadership issues facing many project managers (e.g., communications, ethics, and team-building). The final chapter is entitled: "How to become PMP® Certified" and provides 30 pages of advice on passing the certification tests. A few tidbits of information are included on other certifying organizations, but I found no mention of asapm or the International Project Management Association. Two appendices to the book provide additional information related to the PMI® examination. A third appendix passes on some professional networking tips for Project Managers ... More
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8. Our 'Simple Seven' Keys to Establishing a Successful PMO, by Byatt, Hamilton & Hodgkinson
Much has been written about how best to establish a PMO. There are many elements to take into account, and this article seeks only to provide what we believe are a few “pointers” to consider.
For purposes of this article, we’ll assume that we are in a situation in which we (or you) work for an organisation with no existing type of PMO. It is important to fully understand the ‘Driver’ for introducing a ‘PMO’ of any type. When we say “of any type”, we mean – what type of PMO are we talking about? What does the “P” stand for in this abbreviation for a Management Office? A PMO can serve to control governance for projects, it may oversee a program of work, or it can operate at an Enterprise level and therefore be more strategic. In one way or another, all PMOs are ‘Governing Bodies’. The questions you need to ask are:
Before embarking on a plan to introduce a PMO, you may have discussions with key stakeholders, perhaps conduct a survey, and/or hire an Organizational Development consultant to conduct an independent assessment. The bottom line is similar to the way a talent agent spots a future star performer or a coach, the next top-rated athlete. In addition to talent and ability, the organization needs to have the drive to introduce the type of PMO that you feel will provide the greatest benefit. If, after reviewing the proposal, you feel that key stakeholder support and/or your capacity to introduce a PMO is not yet in place, it is better to stop and continue to focus on managing programs and projects well ... More
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9. Leading Successful PMOs, based on a new book by Peter Taylor
The purpose of the PMO: The Project Management Office (PMO) in a business or professional enterprise is the department or group that defines and maintains the standards of process, generally related to project management, within the organization.
• The PMO strives to introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects.
• The PMO aims to reduce project risk through common practice and quality assurance.
• The PMO links business strategy to project based execution of that strategy.
In a recent survey 'The State of the PMO 2010 ' research showed that 84% of companies now have a PMO (Project Management Office) in some form to support their project based activity. According to Gartner Industry Research, 'building a Project Management Office (PMO) is a timely competitive tactic' -- Further, they believe that "organizations, who establish standards for project management, including a PMO with suitable governance, will experience half the major project cost overruns, delays, and cancellations of those that fail to do so".
What is a PMO?
Which leaves the PMO; and which you can think of as doing all the above but with the right team (the right things, in the right way, in the right order) ... More
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