Welcome to the asapm March, 2012 Newsletter!Welcome to the asapm March, 2012 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: Guest Post by Glenn WIlliams
2. asapm-Sponsored Event: Resource Planning Summit, April 15-17. Baltimore, MD
3. Attend Our March 29 asapm + IPMA Webinar on the Roles of Project and Product Managers
4. Leadership Versus Management, by Robert Youker
5. asapm March PPM Symposium: A Success Story
6. Crash Course: Five Ways to Optimize Your Projects and Resources ASAP, by Curt Finch
7. Successful Project Management, 3rd Edition; Book Review by James R. Brady, PhD
8. More @ IPMA Events, Young Crew Highlights, IPMA Newsletter
9. Business Benefits Realisation – The Unfortunate Truth, by Wilkins, Byatt, Hamilton, & Hodgkinson
10. Featuring Tim Herd in Our Series on Leadership
1. Project Managers Are Change Agents: Guest Author Glenn WIlliams
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 heading to see the posting.
A Nuclear Challenge; Guest Post by Glenn Williams
We spotted this article at a popular website, TheStreet.com. It is not accessible to most, because it is part of a paid subscription service, RealMoney. Because we liked it so much, we sought, and received permission to reprint the article, with credit. Why were we so impressed with this analysis by author Glenn Williams?
First, we have experience in Program and Project Management (PPM) in the Nuclear industry, and we continue to follow it. Second, although the article is a financial analysis, it demonstrates great insights, in estimating, in research, and analysis, in a complex subject. Third, Mr. Williams demonstrates the type of professional PPM competence that every Executive should be able to depend upon for advice in strategic decisions. Thank you Glenn, for being such a great example!
And Now, the Article
With license in hand, Southern (SO) is ready to build the [USA] nation’s first generation-III nuclear power plant. While this does not signal any nuclear renaissance, it does provide the nation with badly needed generation. The challenge will be for Southern to build Plant Vogtle’s additions on time and on schedule.
The reality is that cost and schedule will be difficult to achieve. In fact, the probability that Southern’s two 1,154-megawatt units will be operating by 2016/2017 and will have a final cost of $14 billion is about zero. Of course, the best available estimate is being used to forecast the project’s outcome. History has taught us 110 times before, however, that utility estimates for nuclear power plants include dozens of assumptions.
If one of those assumptions is wrong, the estimate is wrong. Remember, the Vogtle project is an attempt to build a first-of-its-kind nuclear power plant. The question is how far off are Southern’s estimates? The answer is nobody knows. And, if anyone claims they know, they’re lying to you ... More
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2. asapm-Sponsored Event: Resource Planning Summit, April 15-17. Baltimore, MD
Summit organizer Dick Rutledge reminds us to catch this great Panel Discussion, Show Me the Money! Significant Financial and Operational Results from Resource Planning. Panel members include Coleman Grimmett, Medtronic; Thomas Hughes, SVP Emulex-fmr; and Meg Smith, VP R&D, Stryker Orthopaedics. Few PM/PPM or consulting conferences can report such stunning financial and operational results as this interactive panel will deliver. Panelists include a VP R&D, a PMO head for Resource Planning, and an SVP Product Development. They will report on the significant business and operational results achieved through new and innovative resource planning processes and products at Medtronic, Emulex and Stryker, while attendees will be able to question the panelists closely---or just say WOW or Gee Whiz!
asapm will be presenting and staffing a booth at this April's Summit. asapm President Stacy Goff will share insights for more effective project information flow, rapid decision-making, and optimizing PM performance. Resource Planning Summit 2012 will be one of the best USA PM events of the year. And because managing beneficial change works better with a team, this year Rutledge has changed the pricing model: When you register at the regular rate, you can also bring a second member of your organization. We understand that with this model, the seats are filling fast! See the Resource Planning Summit registration page for details. And, watch the Resource Planning Summit LinkedIn page for session highlights and ongoing commentary.
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3. Attend Our March 29 asapm + IPMA Webinar on the Roles of Project and Product Managers
Note: This is a reminder; we broadcast this special event earlier this week. Do you know the best ways for Project Managers and Product Managers to improve their interactions in dcveloping new products? Have you seen cases where the two disciplines work together well? Have you seen cases where they do not?
In the recently-completed global Study of Product Team Performance, 2012, only 12% of organizations report that their product development projects are completed on time, on scope, and on budget. Come join us on Thursday, March 29th to learn how your organization can become more successful in bringing together project managers and product managers to deliver products to your market.
asapm hosts this session with Greg Geracie, President of Actuation Consulting, adjunct professor at DePaul University, and author of the global best seller Take Charge Product Management. Greg will examine key factors that improve or impede product team performance. Greg will share a range of findings from the 2012 study, conducted by Actuation Consulting and Enterprise Agility. He will disclose key insights based on responses from project managers, product managers, program managers, business analysts, and other members of core product development teams.
Webinar Details
To Register: Email your name and time zone or country to events@ipma.ch. You will receive a confirmation, instructions for connection to this event, and a reminder several hours before the event start time.
Note: For those who cannot attend, this webinar will be recorded, and made available to IPMA (and asapm) members.
This year's Study of Product Team Performance was sponsored by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and asapm: IPMA-USA; and by the International Association of Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM), IIBA Chicagoland, Diversified Communications, and Accept Software.
For a little insight into the appeal of our presenter, see the reviews of his book at Amazon.com.
See you online!
-- Stacy Goff, asapm President, IPMA VP of Marketing and Events.
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4. Leadership Versus Management, by Robert Youker, asapm Fellow
The general literature on leadership is very confusing. There are over 250 different definitions of leadership in the literature! Many of these definitions are not operational in that they don't provide guides to action. What specifically does a leader do? There is confusion over how leadership contrasts with the words "management" and "authority." Educational institutions like the Harvard Business School say their mission is to train leaders, but every professor has his or her own definition of leadership. We need a definition that tells people exactly what they need to do to provide leadership to a group.
Among social scientists, there is a good deal of consensus over the definition of leadership. The basic reference on the subject is Ralph M. Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership.1 The consensus definitions from that work are as follows: ... More
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5. asapm March PPM Symposium: A Success Story
asapm's Project and Program Management Symposium Delivered the Promise! We did so thanks to our host, Argosy Univeristy, our speakers, members and friends. Especially helpful and interesting for all participants was the opportunity to mingle and network with IPMA thought leaders from around the World. The speaker sessions were excellent, based on surveys returned so far. If you have not yet completed your survey, please do so.
We especially enjoyed meeting asapm members we have communicated with both recently, and for years. For example, we very much appreciate Dr. James Brady, who for years has been producing insightful book reviews for asapm. We enjoyed the interaction between speaker and new asapm Fellow Robert Youker and Terry Schmidt. Robert (Bob) is a global expert on the use of LogFrame (Logical Frameworks) for Government; Terry is a global expert on commercial use of the tool. They carried on a great exchange during Robert's session. Lawrence Suda is a long-time member and key practice contributor that we had not had the opportunity to meet. Our own Edward Logan, co-founder of asapm Young Crew, and IPMA's International Young Project Manager of the year for two years, beginning in 2008.
Thanks to our Delivering the Promise event Project Manager Tim Jaques, our other members of the asapm Board, including Brent Hansen; William Duncan; and Dennis Milroy, who arranged for the unique speaker gifts, of hand-crafted Countdown Clocks. We think Dennis set the time on all the clocks for the next asapm PPM Symposium, planned for Salt Lake City, Utah, May 13-14, 2013. Which reminds us: You should set your countdown clock for that date too!
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6. Crash Course: Five Ways to Optimize Your Projects and Resources ASAP, by Curt Finch
Quick, tell me about your employees: What are they doing? How long do they spend doing it? What should their top priorities be? Now tell me about your projects: Are they on time? Within budget? How many projects were profitable this year, last year, over the last five years? Perhaps you think these questions are unreasonable and maybe they are. But we live in an unreasonable world where every advantage should be realized. Because the truth is, while you may not be able to answer these questions easily, a large majority of your competitors can. Guess who holds the cards when it comes to executing complex, buzz-worthy projects?
Luckily, there are ways to quickly gain this knowledge. In fact, some excellent programs exist today that could provide all the information necessary to answer the above questions in one dashboard. Further, it is not at all difficult to implement a system in your company that will allow you to reap the benefits of well-tracked projects and resources.
1. Know Where Your People Are… And Where They Should Be ... More
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7. Successful Project Management, 3rd Edition; Book Review by James R. Brady, PhD
Target Audience: The author is a consultant on "programme management" in Great Britain. His book is "...aimed at managers who are concerned about getting better results from projects in their organizations and project managers who have already found themselves responsible for one or more projects." (Page 1) While the primary audience seems to be Project Managers, Mr. Young also stresses that successful project management depends upon the active and positive involvement of non-project managers and staff at all levels of the organization (e.g., "project sponsors", functional department heads, and top level general managers). The author then further broadens his approach to “project management” by indicating that senior executives in pursuit of broad or “strategic” organizational innovations should copy project management methods to be successful:
“Since projects are about change---creating something or a state we need but do not have, then it seems the natural management process to adopt.” (Page 15) ... More
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8. More @ IPMA Events, Young Crew Highlights, IPMA Newsletter
Reminder: Call for Papers for 26th IPMA World Congress, October 2012 in Crete, Greece
The call for papers has been announced for the 26th IPMA World Congress on Project Management, with the theme „Integrating Project Management Standards", that will be held on the Mediterranean Island of Crete, Greece during 29-31 October 2012. Project management researchers, professors, students and teachers, as well as executives, practicing professionals and professional leaders are now invited to submit abstracts for scientific papers, professional presentations, panel discussons, workshops and special sessions for the Congress.
Spring Issue of IPMA Young Crew Newsletter Available
IPMA Young Crew now has a newsletter, and the Spring Issue is now available. It includes commentary about Latin America initiatives, Young Crew humor, an announcement about the Young Crew Workshop at the huge Panama conference in April, and the PM4ALL Porto event, planned for November 8-10, in Porto, Portugal... and much more! Young Project Manager 2011 Celebrated: We continue to highlight the achievements of 2011 Young Project Manager winner Alexandre Rech, from Brazil, the press release about his achievement explains the process. Congratulations Alexandre!
IPMA 1st Quarter Newsletter Posted
The First Quarter IPMA newsletter features the PM Austria Project Manager of the Year, highlights the Intercultural Management Competence Advanced Course (already completed), a major Conference by our great friends in Hungary, a scholarly update by our cousins PMAC in Canada, and a special report on a great Young Crew CreACTivity Workshop in Vienna.
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9. Business Benefits Realisation – The Unfortunate Truth, by Wilkins, Byatt, Hamilton, & Hodgkinson
Business Benefits Realisation for programs and projects should be tackled very early in their lifecycle. A concerted effort towards the management of business benefits realisation is key to the success of programs and projects.
The Current Scenario Business Perspective
Business benefits realisation (BBR) is a process which is sometimes practiced, and often hypothesised about. However, the unfortunate truth is that more often than not, the business case proposition is not analysed post-program or project to verify whether the benefits are being realised – and what happens if they are not.
Project Management Perspective
The traditional role of the Program or Project Manager (PM) is to deliver an outcome of some sort. The PM is typically not tasked with identifying benefits, nor do they remain active in the program/project when the time arrives to harvest those benefits. The responsibility of “harvesting the benefits” is passed back to the business or, if pertinent, back to the program of which the project was a part.
It is imperative for the PM to be cognizant of the benefits their project has set out to gain, and, as such, all advanced PMs should be acutely aware of the benefits’ lifecycle and to know their role in that lifecycle ... More
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10. Featuring Tim Herd in Our Series on Leadership
Now that most organizations and PM practitioners have figured out that the so-called "Soft Side" is key to project success, what are we doing about it? In addition to practicing those skills, we have an author, Tim Herd, who will share a regular series on Leadership. We are publishing two of his articles per month, until we catch up with his current series.
Visionary Leadership and re-creation
There are quite a number of ways to summit scenic Pike's Peak in Colorado. You can hike to the 14,110-foot crest on the 13-mile Barr Trail winding upward from Manitou Springs. You can white-knuckle a car along the hairpin curves, long steep drop-offs, and no guard rails of the highway to the rocky top, or ride the Cog Railway up 25 percent slopes in style. You could ascend in a hot air balloon or be lifted via helicopter. You could even parachute down to the pinnacle from an overflying airliner. But there's no avoiding its height: To reach the summit, you must climb, one way or the other... More
"Those People"
I do believe in spooks! I do! I do! I do! So exclaimed the Cowardly Lion in the Land of Oz: When confronted by a personal threat, he simply gave over to his fears and allowed their power to rule him.
Tsk. Poor guy. That was before he discovered he already had all the courage he needed. And though the threats to his personhood did in fact exist, their impacts were based more on perception than reality.
Kind of like cliques. Without doubting their existence, I don't believe in cliques, thereby denying their influence over me.
Despite being the crushers of self-esteem you thought you had left behind in junior high school, they've followed you to the workplace, the volunteer committee, the professional organization, and the civic club. Their existence is confirmed by the outsider, and reinforced by the in-crowd. ... More
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