• Discover the Five Critical First Steps in Recovering Troubled Projects
• Project Success and Project Management Capabilities in Asia Pacific

• PMI Board of Directors Election Reminder
• PMI Global Congress 2007—North America, 6–9 October
• PMI New Zealand National Conference, 17–19 October
• PMI Western Australia Chapter to Bridge the Gap, 31 October – 2 November

• PMI Taipei, Taiwan Chapter Launches Traditional Chinese PMBOK^® Guide

• New PMI.org Gives You Increased Personalisation and Added Member Benefits

Discover the Five Critical First Steps in Recovering Troubled Projects

Wisdom from PMI Global Congress 2007—Asia Pacific

J. LeRoy Ward's, MS, MSTM, PMP, PgMP, presentation on Five Critical First Steps in Recovering Troubled Projects struck a chord with the congress attendees, who learned how to get a troubled project back on track.

Projects are troubled when the objectives are not met. A troubled project can be stressful and the steps to recovery may be complex and highly demanding. Stakeholders will demand immediate findings, corrective actions and results.

As failed projects cost time, money and one's reputation, project managers must be able to assess the project promptly and thoroughly and determine the changes required to stop the troubled project from worsening. They must also look to improve performance.

These five steps to project recovery provide independent recovery project managers or internal project managers with immediate structure and improvements

Step 1—Define the charter. During recovery, the project manager and the project team must agree and commit to the project charter. A charter defines the objectives and scope of the project. The project charter is crucial as it steers the direction of the entire recovery effort.

Step 2—Develop the assessment. An assessment plan must be prepared quickly and accurately to achieve the charter's objectives. This is achieved by analysing project data and preparing for interviews with stakeholders. 

Step 3—Conduct the assessment. Implement the assessment plan with a stakeholders' meeting to identify threats, challenges and opportunities, and to review the charter.

Step 4—Develop the recovery plan. Once the assessment process is completed, develop a recovery project plan and assemble a team to conduct the recovery. The plan will require tight control and a high frequency of reporting.

Step 5—Conduct the recovery. Ensure that the team morale is high so that the recovery plan can be implemented successfully. Monitor the project closely. When the project is back on track, reduce monitoring and conduct exit reviews with all stakeholders.

Find out more about the five steps above in the full paper.

J.LeRoy Ward, MS, MSTM, PMP, PgMP is the executive vice president of ESI International and is responsible for its worldwide training programmes and partnerships. He has authored several articles and publications including Project Management Terms: A Working Glossary, PMP Challenge and ProjectFRAMEWORK: A Project Management Maturity Model.

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Project Success and Project Management Capabilities in Asia Pacific

Approximately 800 project managers from New Zealand, Australia, India, China and Japan participated in a multinational survey on project success and project management capabilities in the Asia Pacific region.

This research, based on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)—Third Edition, was conducted by the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and led by Ofer Zwikael, PhD, PMP, senior lecturer at the Victoria Management School. The findings are as follows.

Figure 1: Project schedule and cost overruns in different countries

Projects in Japan and New Zealand have relatively small deviations from schedule and cost targets. All countries experienced higher cost overruns than schedule overruns.

Figure 2: Project performances and customer satisfaction in different countries

Project performance in Japan is the lowest among all countries. One of the reasons may be that projects are completed on time; hence there is not enough time for all project objectives to be achieved. This contributes to low customer satisfaction. In China, both customer satisfaction and project performance are relatively higher than in other countries.

An analysis for this occurrence can be found in Zwikael, O., Shimizu, K. and Globerson, S. (2005). Cultural Differences in Project Management Processes: A Field Study. International Journal of Project Management , 23(6), 454-462.

Figure 3: Project management capabilities have been measured by two major project management areas; project planning and top management support.

Project managers from Australia and India have the best project management capabilities.

Figure 4: Project planning capabilities among different countries

Project managers from Australia best follow planning guidelines and requirements in the PMBOK^® Guide.

Figure 5: Top management support capabilities among different countries

Organisations in India provide the best top management support to their project managers. The support includes project management procedures, tools, software packages and project management office support.

Project managers from Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore also took part in this survey, however the number of observations was too low to analyse.

A detailed analysis of these results will be presented in the PMI New Zealand National Conference, 17–19 October.

For further details and queries, please e-mail Dr. Zwikael or call +64-4-4635143.

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PMI Board of Directors Election Reminder

The annual PMI Board of Directors election opened on 6 August and will run through 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4) Monday, 24 September . Please submit your vote and let your voice be heard.

If you did not receive a ballot, please contact Paul Nentwig of Intelliscan, Inc.

If you need to verify your PMI Member ID number, please contact customercare@ pmi.org.

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Business Guru Robert K. Cooper to Present Keynote Speech in Atlanta

This year's PMI Global Congress 2007—North America will feature Robert K. Cooper, named "the ultimate business guru for the new millennium" by USA Today. Mr. Cooper is an acclaimed educator on how exceptional leaders and teams liberate untapped capacities and excel under pressure. He has done pioneering work on how the brain works and will offer concrete ways to simplify effort and improve leadership performance.

Every year, PMI's four global congresses draw project management professionals from around the world to connect with industry experts, learn new approaches and technologies, and earn Professional Development Units (PDUs) toward maintaining PMI credentials.

A first time attendee's orientation will be available for those who are new to the congress. An exhibition hall is set up for social networking and product demonstrations.

The congress will take place on 6–9 October in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Registration is now open.

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Lights! Camera! Action!

The PMI New Zealand National Conference 2007 will be held on 17–19 October at Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand. About 350 delegates are expected to attend this established premier event.

The conference theme, Lights! Camera! Action!, is inspired by the magic of movie making and how moving pictures can transform the way we think and communicate and inspire us to greater achievements.

The conference showcases the best in current project management thinking and practice. The keynote address, Sun Tzu's Art of War for Project Management, will be delivered by Chin-Ning Chu, internationally renowned speaker, business strategist and best selling author.

There are 32 presentations across four concurrent streams that reflect movie themes including documentary, adventure, art house and romance. The exciting line-up includes pre-conference learning seminars, site visits, "Making Movie Magic" welcome function, "Stars in your Eyes" conference dinner and the Risk Management Special Interest Group breakfast session.

Visit the conference website for details. Online registration is now open.

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PMI Western Australia Chapter to Bridge the Gap, 31 October–2 November

PMI Western Australia Chapter presents the premier project management education event – PM Ed 07, on Wednesday, 31 October to Thursday, 1 November. You can earn up to 14 Professional Development Units (PDUs) over this two day event towards maintaining your PMI credential.

You should also plan to attend the inaugural PMI WA Conference 2007, Vision to Reality – Bridging the Gap, on Friday, 2 November. This event aims to connect corporate strategies and visions to the reality of projects that is envisioned through project, programme and portfolio management. 

PMI Board of Directors, Iain Fraser, Fellow PMINZ, PMP, together with leading industry speakers, will discuss how efficient project, programme and portfolio management will bridge the gap from vision to reality.

Be there, at the gala dinner where we will celebrate the best in project management — 2007 Australian Project Manager of the Year Award.

Be part of this non-stop three day celebration of project management. Visit the chapter website for registration details.

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PMI Taipei, Taiwan Chapter Launches Traditional Chinese PMBOK^® Guide

PMI Taipei, Taiwan Chapter held a book launch for the traditional Chinese A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) —Third Edition, with a networking event on 25 July for the chapter members and Registered Education Providers (R.E.P.s).

150 attendees and R.E.P.s attended this networking event

This translated book will enable project managers to better understand the PMBOK^® Guide in their native tongue. The editors/translators Barry Hsiung, PhD, PMP, PMI Taipei, Taiwan Chapter president and Hsing Tung Chou, PhD and, translator Paquita Chang, PMP, had a successful signing session.

Seated from left: Dr. Barry Hsiung, PMP and Dr. HT Chou at the traditional Chinese PMBOK® Guide signing session.

Dr. Hsiung ended the event with a beneficial and interactive presentation on The Power and Politics in Your Project. During the presentation, he shared how to identify the stakeholders in the projects and emphasised that there will always be issues that are caused by power and/or politics among stakeholders.

"A project manager must know how to identify the communication barriers and have the communication skills to resolve conflicts. Having the right soft skills will enable one to survive in a complicated and political environment," said Dr. Hsiung.

Queenie Lu, PMP
Chapter Secretary General
PMI Taipei, Taiwan Chapter

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New PMI.org Gives You Increased Personalisation and Added Member Benefits

PMI has launched the new PMI.org — a response to member needs and a commitment to serving the global project management community.

As a PMI member, here's more of what you can expect on the all new premier project management portal.

• Enjoy single sign in. The new site collects and processes data from across many PMI related sites at once to allow you to more easily access your membership and certification information.
  
  
• Find premium content right on each page. No need to logon to a separate section.

• Access an extensive amount of project management resources, including the library of PMI global standards.
  
  
• Browse your order history and purchase new items more quickly when you shop and return to the Marketplace.

Visit PMI.org now to learn more about its many new sections and feature.

Take this opportunity to update your contact info so that you will continue to receive your PMI publications and communications on time, hassle free.

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