Mar07PMO of the Year Award 2011 - Call for nominationsPosted at 06:16 in Project Management

Applications are now being accepted for the sixth annual PMO of the Year Award, cosponsored by PM Solutions and the PMO CoP. Each year, the PMO of the Year Award recognizes PMOs that introduce novel ideas, methods and processes that result in measurable improvements and project management success within their organizations. Nominations for the 2011 PMO of the Year Award must be made by the director or manager of the PMO being nominated. All corporate and government PMOs are eligible for nomination, and entering the competition requires no fee. The deadline for entries is May 31, 2011 and you can click here for Application. The winner and top three finalists will be notified in August, 2011. Winners will be awarded at the PMO CoP’s PMO Symposium on November 6-9, 2011 in Orlando, Florida USA.

Mar05The PMO Symposium Call for Papers is closedPosted at 00:05 in Project Management

The Call for Speakers for the 2011 PMO Symposium closed on the 25th of February. We received an unprecedented 121 submittals, from 106 Community Members located in 24 countries. This record-breaking response reflects the dynamism of the PMOSIG, despite the deep changes we are undergoing. The responses also clearly demonstrate the strong enthusiasm for the PMO topic and for sharing this knowledge within the PMO community.

The number of options available to us to provide thought-leading content continues to grow! There is a strong percentage of practitioner submissions from leaders actively leading PMOs within industry (nearly 50%), enabling us to continue to offer a credible, globally relevant event for our attendees. We are now starting to reivew those proposals, and also finalizing two engaging keynote presentations and four unique PMO-focused workshops that we will be announcing soon. Stay tuned!

Mar02PMI is launching an Agile CertificationPosted at 06:49 in Project Management

There are more and more practitionners investigating or applying Agile principles to their practice of project management. PMI is supporting this development with the launch of an Agile Certification. There is a growing demand from organizations and project professionals already using those techniques on the job have documented the benefits: Early and continuous customer feedback- as the customer is involved throughout development, they will end up with an end-product that they want and will use; High visibility and influence over the project progress leading to early indications of problems; and Early measurable return on investment-this allows for defined deliverables at the end of each iteration and early in the process.

Practitioners who are using Agile practices in their projects, or whose organizations are adopting Agile approaches to project management, will benefit from a standardized approach and from earning the Agile certification. Candidates will be able to submit an application for the pilot in May 2011, and pilot testing is scheduled to begin in August 2011.

Feb14Frederic, 318 connections changed jobs in 2010Posted at 06:48 in Chaos, My Work, Networking, Risk Management

Frederic, 318 connections changed jobs in 2010. Did you reconnect? is the title of an email I received yesterday from the well known business networking portal LinkedIn. I got lost for words. 21.24% of my network (on this site) changed job last year (me too). In other words, at this pace, in 4 years and 8 months ... statistically everyone I'm connected to would have transitioned...

Being optimistic by nature, I would assume that most of them made the jump by choice. But I cannot believe that, especially in the current economic context. The crisis did hit them hard. Really hard. It has completely reshuffled the cards, and I would assume that some of them now have a job they are not 100% satisfied with (it's a tough job market). One consequence of this situation is that as soon as the crisis is over, and there are better opportunities out there, they will be gone.

Now, let's assume for one second that you're a Project Manager, and that some of those guys and girls from my network are esteemed members of your project team. Let's look at the potential risk strategies available there...

• Avoidance: While this may typically be seen as the ultimate response to any particular risk, it also means losing the potential gain that goes along with that risk. Not hiring those "risky" employees, would mean not having someone doing some work for you, which is not really a practical solution.
• Reduction: This can take the form of reducing the severity (or likelihood) of a risk happening, or finding a balance between this risk and the benefit of the activity. You could look at outsourcing as a valid method of Risk Reduction in this scenario, if the outsourcer can demonstrate a higher capability at risk management than yours.
• Transfer Technically more of a Risk Sharing, this could take the form of and Insurance Policy that protects you financially from this risk (although not being able to perform a job has more than just a financial impact).
• Acceptance: If you can't do any of the above, well, you will have to accept the fact that they might just leave. Some risks just can't be avoided, reduced or transfered, in which case acceptance is a viable strategy, as long as properly documented, and a risk response accordingly formulated.

What would you do?

Feb06Still alive...Posted at 06:53 in Personal

Wow ... 1 post per month in 2010, and nothing since ... too long. When I look back, this is probably my worst blogging performance ever since I started this blog. However, I have a boatload of plausible excuses, my year 2010 has been pretty rich in events, particularly the second half. Since I joined ADAC in July, I have been extremely busy at work. I have had some pretty decent achievements (have even been voted "man of the year"" by my peers, which was really moving), and I also faced some new challenges on the contracting and sourcing side of things, which all in all is interesting, since I haven't been overly exposed to those aspects of Project Management in the past. On the PMI front, I also had my share of sweat, and the groundwork for our 2011 Symposium in Orlando has started. The good thing is there will be more (challenges, and hopefully ... achievements) in 2011, and I promise I'll be more active on this blog to share those.

Nov17The PMOSIG Program Management Office HandbookPosted at 19:13 in Project Management

The PMOSIG is pleased to announce the publication of the PMOSIG Program Management Office Handbook. The PMOSIG is the first Project Management Institute component to publish a handbook in its respective area of expertise. Containing contributions from over 20 PMO practitioners and thought leaders, the handbook is a "must have" reference whether you're starting a PMO or maturing an existing PMO. Be among the first to get this comprehensive guide to the PMO!

Key features of the PMOSIG Program Management Office Handbook include:

• Discusses the various types of PMOs and illustrates the valuable roles they play
• Provides practical strategies, methods, insights, case studies, and though-leadership to serve the needs of government organizations and private sector enterprises of any size
• Presents best practices for successfully aligning PMOs to business strategies and objectives, and for delivering planned benefits
• Supplies project, program, and portfolio PMO practitioners with numerous proven tools, policies, procedures, standards, and processes for successfully developing, managing, and sustaining PMOs and for expanding their scope of services

Special Introductory Offer for PMOSIG Members: As a PMOSIG member, you can be among the first to receive the PMOSIG Program Management Office Handbook! The Handbook retails for $69.95 (USD), but as a special offer for PMOSIG members, we are offering the handbook for direct purchase for only $33.95 (USD) plus shipping and handling, over 50% off the retail price!

To order, simply click the link below. Your order will be securely processed! And, all of the proceeds from this special sale are returned directly to the PMOSIG, allowing the SIG to continue to pursue its mission to be the leading professional community for PMO practitioners! Visit the link below to order now! Order The Handbook!

Oct02The World Needs You to Teach Project ManagementPosted at 07:28 in EM Strasbourg, Project Management

The world is currently spending 20% of its GDP ($12 trillion) on projects, and organizations that range from global businesses to governments and NGOs have identified project management and skilled project managers as the key to their success. The demand for project professionals is staggering, with more than 1 million projected new jobs needing to be filled each year until 2020. This is being raised as an issue by such organizations as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Parliament. According to Gartner, not only is project management the number one hiring priority of select companies surveyed, it also is the most frequently reported as "difficult to hire". To add to the problem, a large percentage (perhaps as high as 30%) of the project management workforce will be retiring in the next 10 years. Since the demand by far exceeds supply, it has precipitated a global education crisis that, if uncorrected, will put $4.5 trillion of the global GDP at risk by 2016. The PMI has developed a special program to help Companies, Schools and Universities to teach Project Management, so please, relay this information to your network, the situation is critical.

Sep22The will to powerPosted at 19:52 in Leadership

I recently read a great article on why some people have power over companies and others don't. Climbing up the ladder has become increasingly difficult and structures and hierarchies have become more complicated in companies. Management gurus are surprisingly disappointing on the subject of "how you get access to power and how you keep hold of it once you have it" despite it being of overwhelming importance to their clients. There are however some businesspeople providing hints on the paths to power, that are outlined in the article.

Why some people have power, and why others don't? There is a general misconception that if you excel at your job, there is a direct correlation with the reward (and hence the power you get out of it), and news are full of counter-examples. CEO's who lead their companies to bankruptcy seldomly loose their job (or are gently pushed aside with a ginormous cash incentive until they are appointed somewhere else), while perfectly successful leaders in the senior management layer often get routinely cleaned out when new CEOs take over). The (sad) reality is that there are plenty of things that matter more than competence. In fact, there are three things that matter more than anything else:

• Turn yourself into a supplicant: ask for help and master the art of flattery (experiments conducted to discover at which point flattery became ineffective demonstrated that there was none);
• Turn yourself into a node: master your ability to network by starting an organization or forging a link between separate parts of a company;
• Be loyal: this is probably the most important and admirable quality you can have (a Booz study demonstrated that 80% of CEO appointments go to insiders, who last almost two years longer in their jobs than outsiders, on average).

Sadly, if all the above pays off, you're still not saved, and you get to keep power. Remember the old saying - power corrupts - and the key to keeping power is to understand its corrupting effects: cultivate a savant combination of paranoia and humility. Understand how much others want you out, and never forget your own replaceability. Also, know when to quit. Instead of crashing and burning, if you jump before being pushed, there is a good chance of leaping to another throne.

You can read the full article found on The Economist the Schumpeter's Notebook.

Sep11IBM Wins PMO of the Year AwardPosted at 09:36 in My Work, Project Management

The Project Management Institute's Program Management Office Specific Interest Group and PM Solutions have selected IBM's Project Management Center of Excellence as the 2010 PMO of the Year. The annual award specifically recognizes the IBM group for "creating global project management standards and enterprise-wide consistency among its 26,000 project managers worldwide; establishing a dedicated project management knowledge repository and communications network; increasing project accountability; improving time-to-market by 65 percent; and decreasing the number of troubled projects by 25 percent."

Nearly 10'000 IBM employees have obtained the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential since 1996. This was when the company launched an initiative to ensure a consistent enterprise approach to Project Management and better meet customer needs. The effort to become more projec-focused included the development of the Project Management Center of Excellence. More than 10 years later, full support from the top of the company has never wavered, and the five fundamental steps for every project advocated for by the Center of Excellence have never changed. IBM also created a worldwide Project Management method, based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), and has nurtured a Project Management community to help employees find mentors, network, develop relationships, and share knowledge and intellectual capital.

IBM's Center of Excellence was selected from a field of more than 40 applicants from nearly every continent and including state and federal agencies, major nonprofit organizations and Fortune 1000 companies, and will be presented the PMO of the year award during the PMO Symposium 2010 on the 9th of November, in Dallas, Tx.

Download the PMO of the Year 2010 eBook for more information.

Sep10Adam’s Equity TheoryPosted at 23:31 in Leadership, Project Management

In 1963, the workplace and behavioral psychologist John Stacey Adams put forward a job motivation explaining relational satisfaction in terms of perceptions of fair/unfair distributions of resources within interpersonal relationships. The structure of equity in the workplace is based on the ratio of inputs (typically effort, loyalty, hard work, commitment, skill, ability, adaptability, flexibility, tolerance, determination, heart and soul, enthusiasm, trust in our boss and superiors, support of colleagues and subordinates, personal sacrifice, etc.) to outcomes (typically all financial rewards - pay, salary, expenses, perks, benefits, pension arrangements, bonus and commission - plus intangibles - recognition, reputation, praise and thanks, interest, responsibility, stimulus, travel, training, development, sense of achievement and advancement, promotion, etc.).

The Equity Theory does not assess effort and reward, but goes beyond by adding a crucial perspective of comparison with referent others: It is not so much that we need to feel that there is a fair balance between inputs and outcomes, but we do measure it by comparing our own balance or ratio with the ratio enjoyed or endured by “referents” and this comparison heavily impacts our motivation level.

When we feel fairly or advantageously treated we are more likely to be motivated; and when we feel unfairly treated we are highly prone to feelings of disaffection and demotivation. The way that we measure this sense of fairness is at the heart of Equity Theory. In practice this helps to explain why we are so strongly affected by the situations, views and gossip of colleagues, friends, partners etc., in establishing their own personal sense of fairness or equity in their work situations.

There are a couple of very strong impacts of the Equity Theory on people management: We measure the totals of our inputs and outcomes, and we ascribe personal values to those; Staff perceptions of inputs and outcomes of themselves and others may be incorrect, and perceptions need to be managed effectively; if we believe we are over-compensated we may increase our effort, or we may internalize a sense of superiority and actually decrease our efforts. As you can see, there is no easy way to make use of the Equity Theory for a manager, and its complexities are numerous.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_theory
• http://www.businessballs.com/adamsequitytheory.htm