COVER STORY
Strategic Project Management : Integration Problems and Best Practices
-- VV Pozniakov
In real life, the Project Management is divided into Strategic Project Management and Operational
Project Management which are carried out by different groups of managers. Strategic Project
Management, generally, is the responsibility of senior managers though sometimes members of executive board,
or those at lower level might share responsibility. Operational Project Management is the domain of a
project manager. Unfortunately, the integration problems within this area, both practical and methodological
in character, still exist and are rather sharp. The article discusses the above points as well as some best
practices to overcome the problems under consideration.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
PERSPECTIVE
Project Management in Times of Crisis
-- Sreejith Kesavan
"Crisis" and "Recession" are the prominent buzzwords echoing nowadays in business houses around
the globe! Setting aside the ongoing debates as to whether the media coverage or `hype' on recession
really represents the actual scenario or not and accepting the fact there is a serious mess-up happening around
us, let us review the effects of recession on projects around the globe and project management. The first question
to be asked in this context is whether project management in crisis is different from the project management
during boom or under normal circumstances. Another question worth asking is whether any specific `crisis oriented'
PM philosophy or tools are to be used (or is it available?) for this phase in global economy. This article attempts
to review the concerns and effects of global financial crisis on the project management profession.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
RISK MANAGEMENT
Reducing Risks in Contractors' Management
-- Andre Augusto Choma
Hiring contractors in construction projects can significantly increase the execution risks, if necessary
measures are not taken by the project management team. Instead of transferring the contract risks to the
contractors, in practice, the construction company ultimately ends up assuming new responsibilities and risks that are
not always evident. This article presents some actions that project managers should take to avoid or reduce
the risk exposure in construction projects.
© 2008 Andre Augusto Choma. Originally published as a part of 2008 PMI Global Congress Proceedings - Denver,
Colorado, USA. Reprinted with Permission.
PROJECT TOOLS
Orthogonality in Maturity Models: A Case in the Project Management Domain
-- Luigi Buglione
Since the initial Crosby's idea in 1979, plenty of Maturity Models (MM) have been created and applied
in several application domains, most of them being in the Software and Systems Engineering domains.
After analyzing those models deeply, moving from their Process Reference Models (PRM), it is possible to
observe an orthogonality between horizontal and vertical MM. This article proposes a way to combine different
MM from both "directions" with the aim of improving its Quality Management System (QMS) and
achieving higher capability levels within a process improvement path, in this case from a Project Management perspective.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
PROJECT TOOLS
The TCPI Indicator: Transforming Project Performance
-- Walt Lipke
The TCPI Indicator (To Complete Performance Index) from Earned Value Management describes
the performance efficiency required to achieve a cost objective. This article discusses the common use of the
index, examining and confirming the underlying basis. Beyond its usual application, the TCPI indicator has a
significant role in transforming project performance to effect a project recovery. This virtually unknown aspect
is discussed and illustrated. A discussion of the TSPI (To Complete Schedule Performance Index) from
Earned Schedule is also included to describe the parallelism between cost and schedule analysis.
© 2009 Walt Lipke. All Rights Reserved.
PROJECT COMMUNICATION
Intra-Organizational Project Communication : Challenges Galore
-- Morgan Henrie and Annie McIntyre
Communication is an essential component of risk management. A solid communication system is
required before any project can be successful as communication failures can cascade through the project aspect
resulting in associated negative outcomes. Each project requires a solid communication system to maintain the
critical aspects of a good project business model and manage its risks.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
PROJECT ENVIRONMENT
The Executive Imperative: Creating Excellence in People, Process and Environment
-- Randall L Englund
In order to optimize business outcomes, an executive imperative is to focus on creating excellence in
people, processes and the working environment. Experiences reveal that these efforts reap tremendous benefits
and enable executives and their organizations to achieve desired objectives.
© 2009 Randall L Englund. All Rights Reserved.
PMspeak
Project managers need to take a global view of their projects, rather than looking at each
in isolation.
Carl Pritchard,
Principal and Founder,
Pritchard Management Associates, Maryland, USA.
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