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Category Archives: Project Management Conferences

PGCS 2019 Wrap

Posted on September 4, 2019 by | Leave a comment
PGCS Delegates networking

The last major deliverable from Project Governance & Controls Symposium held in Canberra last month is complete! A core objective of PGCS is to make useful information available to the project management profession – our library is open to you and anyone you know who has an interest in project governance, management and controls. To support this aim, all of the available presentations (a few are not available for sharing) from the 2019 PGCS have now been uploaded to the PGCS on-line library.The quickest way to find a paper from this year’s symposium is at:
https://www.pgcs.org.au/library/2019/.

While on the page, you can explore presentations and resources from the last 7 years a well. If you want more information on a specific subject, all available papers grouped into categories are available at:
https://www.pgcs.org.au/library/library/

As good project managers, our 2020 Symposium is already being developed, if you have ideas to contribute or simply want to be kept up to date register your interest at: https://consec.eventsair.com/pgcs-2020/registration-of-interest/Site/Register

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PGCS 2019 voted the best ever!!

Posted on August 25, 2019 by | 1 comment

The Project Governance & Controls Symposium held in Canberra last week saw 200+ people enjoy: 2 international keynote plenary presentations, 5 Australian keynote plenary presentations, 27 stream presentations spread across 5 streams, and 2 panel sessions; making PGCS 2019 one of the busiest and best symposiums ever! 

One highlight from the 2 days was the opening address, and presentation of the Walt Lipke award, by the Hon. Andrew Gee MP, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister.  This year’s award recipient was Professor Shankar Sankaran from UTS.

Our international speakers then conducted two outstandingMaster Classes on day 3: A Practical Guide to Implementing Complex SystemsGovernance Concepts on Projects, and Integrating Systems Engineering andProject Management. The Match Made in Heaven Which Increases the Probability ofProject Success.

We are now working on uploading all of the presentations and workshop notes to the PGCS website – project managers are good at multi-tasking and time management, but no-one can be in five rooms at the same time……  These papers will also form part of the PGCS library and can be accessed by anyone interested in improving their project management knowledge. Planning for PGCS 2020 is already underway, the Symposium will be on the 18th and 19th August 2020, followed by Masterclasses on the 20th.  

For updates see: https://www.pgcsymposium.org.au

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Project Governance & Controls Symposium – 20-21st August, Canberra

Posted on July 25, 2019 by | Leave a comment

I’m looking forward to chairing this years symposium. The PGCS program is locked and loaded! We have a full program of speakers locked down, and the program is loaded with talented and interesting presentations.

Our opening keynote speaker will be Assistant Minister Andrew Gee, focusing on the massive investment the Government is making in infrastructure, and the importance of our focus, governance and controls, in achieving value for money.

Contestability is another important subject, and key to Federal Government procurement. If you are interested in understanding how Defence manages this process, you can’t afford to miss the presentation by Ciril Karo, head of the Contestability Division. Ciril will talk about the genesis of the contestability function, how defence approach it, and tie contestability into the Capability Life Cycle model defence use.

These are just the tip of the iceberg – for the full program see: https://www.pgcsymposium.org.au/program.html

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New Articles posted to the Web #68

Posted on June 16, 2019 by | 2 comments

We have been busy beavers updating the PM Knowledge Index on our website with White Papers and Articles.   Some of the more interesting uploaded during the last couple of weeks include:

And we continue to tweet a free PMI style of exam question every day for PMP, CAPM, and PMI-SP candidates: See today’s question and then click through for the answer and the Q&As from last week.

You are welcome to download and use the information under our Creative Commons licence

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Posted in Project Controls, Project Management Conferences

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Two exceptional workshops at PGCS 2017 – 1st May

Posted on April 20, 2017 by | Leave a comment

PGCS 2017 is offering workshops by Dr. Lynda Bourne and Dr. Keith Joiner in Canberra on Monday 1st May. Both offer a unique international viewpoint on very different aspects of project management.

My (Lynda’s) workshop ‘Leading Successful Teams’ focuses on collaborative teams which are key to success in any business activity. The most effective teams consist of individuals who can work independently on their own tasks, but also recognise the need to work collaboratively with other team members toward the activity’s goal and the organization’s success.

The leader of the team contributes significantly to team success through inspiring all team members to work together to achieve this goal, but must also intervene to reduce conflict and to motivate team members to continue to work collaboratively.

This session will focus on the needs of first-time team managers and will consist some theory, and a little practice, on the following topics:

–  Motivation

–  Delegation

–  Giving feedback

–  Resolving conflict.

This full day workshop is based on my Master’s course I’ve been running at EAN University in South America for the last 5 years and offers exceptional value at $450 (catering and GST included)

Keith’s workshop ‘methods for test design and analysis prescribed in U.S. Industry & Defence’ will introduce and illustrate the new methods in test design and analysis are, and how they are used to:

– screen for significant design factors;

– model design factors;

– screen for operational factors;

– model operational factors; and

– where equipment is taken off-the-shelf, improve the efficiency of validating performance.

Participants will use an instructional toy system and study several example uses to reinforce how the methods work.

This half day workshop is great value at $330 (Afternoon tea and GST included)

Both workshops offer exceptional value and are open to everyone – you do not need to attend the PGCS symposium to enjoy these process…… For more information and bookings see:  http://www.pgcs.org.au/program/workshops/

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Two ‘Not-to-be missed’ Conferences in May

Posted on April 20, 2017 by | Leave a comment

The PGCS program for 2017 is now complete and offers two overseas speakers as well as Professor Peter Shergold – author of the landmark project management report to government “Learning From Failure”. To see what’s on at PGCS in Canberra between the 1st and 4th May go to:  http://www.pgcs.org.au/program/

In the USA you can attend the Annual Project Management College of Scheduling Conference in Atlanta from May 7th to 10th.  They have a terrific program, with speakers and panel discussions, prepared to give everyone a chance to participate.  In addition, we’re planning something special every evening.  Sunday night is the vendor reception, Monday night is our Gala Dinner and Tuesday night is a night to explore Atlanta.  For more details see: http://www.pmcos.org/

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Free, Exclusive Project Scheduling Virtual Event for PMI Members

Posted on February 28, 2017 by | Leave a comment

PMI members are entitled to register and attend this member-only event on the 29th March (9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET) for free! It is the perfect way to learn what’s new in project scheduling and network with PMI members across the globe. This year we are talking about how to tackle project scheduling challenges in a changing profession.

My presentation is focused on Projects Controls Using Integrated Data – The Opportunities and Challenges.   The presentation is focused on the practical and ethical challenges posed by integrated information management tools such as BIM and ‘drones’ in the construction/engineering industries and how this affects the work of project controls professionals.

To register go to: https://www.projectmanagement.com/events/356123/PMI-Scheduling-Conference-2017

If you are not a PMI member (or cannot make the date) watch this space.

 

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The PM College of Scheduling Conference and Membership

Posted on April 6, 2016 by | Leave a comment

The Project Management College of Scheduling is now officially open for business.   As you may already know, a group of us led by Jon Wickwire and Stu Ockman joined together to found the Project Management Institute College of Scheduling in early-2002.  A dozen years later, a new group (including me and many of the leaders of the former College) founded its successor, The Project Management College of Scheduling (PM-COS).   Subsequently, the PM-COS has completed the formalities necessary under USA law and is now officially open for business.

The role fulfilled by PM-COS is intended to be quite different to most member based organisations, focused on creating knowledge and capability in the scheduling profession.  As a member, you will:

  • Be a part of creating the centre of excellence for the advancement of scheduling and project controls throughout the world
  • Collaborate with other top schedule professionals, consultants and experts in identifying and instituting best practices on your projects
  • Help develop standards in all areas of scheduling including specifying, preparing, updating, software, claims, training and research
  • Provide education and training to promote accurate and ethical scheduling
  • Join in a dialog with software developers to foster implementations of new, innovative features in upcoming releases
  • Participate in mentoring the next generation of scheduling professionals

If sharing ideas and giving back to the profession get you excited and you’d like to be a part of our journey, why not Join Us now.  And, whether or not membership in the College is in your future, we’d love to have you with us at our annual conference, May 15th-18th in Chicago.

The Project Management College of Scheduling Annual International Conference, Scheduling the Future, will be held on the 15th to 18th May at the Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile.  This is a terrific opportunity to:

(1) share ideas,
(2) see old friends and make new ones and
(3) participate in this year’s premier planning and scheduling event.

We have a terrific technical program offering 14 Professional Development Units (PDU’s), with speakers and panel discussions planned to give everyone a chance to participate.  In addition, we have a social program with a Sunday night vendor reception, Monday night Gala Dinner and Tuesday night free for a night on the town.  We’re also planning a golf tournament Wednesday afternoon.

Don’t forget to check out the conference program, and drop by our website, http://www.pmcos.org/, to sign up now.  We’re offering a discount for PMCOS Members and another for early member-registration.  Finally, make your hotel reservations directly with the Hyatt Magnificent Mile at their website.  This may be the most important part since we’re visiting during peak season and the hotel has reserved a limited number of rooms for the conference.

We’ve got a lot planned, and you can help us make it a success!

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Project Governance and Controls Symposium 2016.

Posted on April 4, 2016 by | Leave a comment

We are only a few weeks out from PGCS 2016 and this year’s  Symposium is shaping up to be the best yet.  The Symposium will be held in its usual ADFA, Canberra venue on Wed. 11th and Thur. 12th May 2016.

Governing for performance was the key theme of the AICD’s Australian Governance Summit held in Sydney last month. But organisations cannot perform sustainably if they cannot govern and control their projects effectively.  Unfortunately as the Shergold Report has highlighted (consistent with the findings of many other surveys), most organisations struggle to achieve the full potential value from their projects and programs – literally $billions are wasted annually by poorly governed and controlled projects.

PGCS was created to focus on the gap between intention and delivery – and to help build Australia capability in the governance and management of projects by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas between international experts, leading Australian practitioners, the people responsible for governing projects within their organisations, and the people responsible for making the governance and controls systems work.

The 2016 program is on target to fulfil this ambitious objective 100%:

  • We have speakers from the UK National Audit Office and the Australian National Audit Office, both of who lead the push for improved performance in government projects.
  • Controls and surveillance of projects is well covered with both international and Australian experts. Lisa Wolf’s pre-symposium Masterclass ‘A Practical Guide to Project and Contract Surveillance’ is a sell out, fortunately Lisa is also one of our Keynote Speakers.
  • The needs and expectations of organisational governors is covered by among others, Ms. Jane Halton the Secretary of the Australian Department of Finance who will be outlining her perspectives on improving the performance of major projects.
  • AIPM, PMI, IPMA and ICCPM are all supporting the Symposium and providing high quality speakers.
  • We have our inaugural Academic Stream – this aspect of the Symposium will become increasingly important as we direct any surplus funds towards Australian based research into the governance and control of projects and programs.
  • And there’s more – click through to our program page to download the full event program.

Thanks to the ongoing support of our Platinum Sponsor, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Canberra, the cost of the symposium, including 2 full days and our reception at the ADFA Offices Mess is only $990 (early bird available prior to the 25th April).

To make the learning opportunity provided by the Symposium available to more junior staff, we also have a unique 2-for-1 offer in place with a number of ‘supporting organisations’; each senior manager who registers can nominate a more junior staff member to attend the Symposium at no additional cost (We are always happy to extend this arrangement to new organisations).

PGCS is designed to be a very different type of event compared to the traditional, and well loved, annual conferences run by the major associations – we are very focused on accessing and creating knowledge focused on ‘governance and controls’ – as part of this process all of the available papers from previous years are also made available to attendees and others via our on-line library.

The open question is can you afford to miss this world class event?  For more information visit our website at: http://www.pgcs.org.au/

Note: Patrick Weaver is a member of the PGCS Organising Committee.

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Australian Defence White Paper requires a major increase in project delivery capability.

Posted on February 25, 2016 by | Leave a comment

The Australian Defence White Paper 2016, released today, will require a major increase in project delivery capability across defence.   For the first time, an integrated approach to capital investment planning is being used which will provide the framework for a more coherent and efficient approach to managing the development of future Defence capability. However, whilst a single investment program will reduce the risk of incomplete or fragmented approaches to investment, there will be a corresponding need to seriously ramp up capabilities in program[1] and portfolio management.

Coupled with a more complex (but potentially beneficial) management environment, there is also a major increase in the volume of projects and programs with an expenditure of approximately $195 billion (in today’s terms) planned for the next decade. Some of the projects and programs in the pipeline include:

  • Increasing the submarine force from 6 to 12 regionally superior submarines with a high degree of interoperability with the United States.
  • Three Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers (under construction).
  • A new class of nine future frigates.
  • New replenishment vessels.
  • More capable offshore patrol vessels,
  • New manned and unmanned aircraft for border protection.
  • A new large-hulled multi-purpose patrol vessel, the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Protector.
  • The F-35A Lightning II program.
  • Twelve E/A-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.
  • More air-to-air refuellers will be acquired to support future combat, surveillance and transport aircraft.
  • New personal equipment for soldiers.
  • A new generation of armoured combat reconnaissance and infantry fighting vehicles, as well as new combat engineering equipment.
  • A new long-range rocket system to further enhance fire power,
  • Armed medium-altitude unmanned aircraft to enhance surveillance and protection for the land force.
  • Extending the life of and acquiring new weapons and equipment for the amphibious ships.
  • New light helicopters will be acquired to support Special Forces operations.
  • Upgrades to ADF bases and logistics systems, including fuel and explosive ordnance facilities.
  • Upgrade training and testing facilities, health services and information and communications technology.
  • Air lift capability will be increased to comprise 8 heavy lift C-17A Globemasters with additional heavy lift aircraft to be considered in the longer term, 12 upgraded C-130J Hercules, 10 C-27J Spartans and 10 CH-47F Chinook helicopters. Sea lift capability will be strengthened by extending the

Add the White Paper’s commitment to Australian industry involvement in most of these projects and the volume of work that will require effective project governance, management and controls becomes apparent. To download the white papers see: http://www.defence.gov.au/WhitePaper/

Fortunately Australia already has an effective forum focused on improving the capability of government and industry to govern and control its projects and programs.  The Project Governance and Controls Symposium, hosted by the University of Mew South Wales Canberra (ADFA), is focused on developing this capability and providing a forum for exchanging learning and ideas.  The 2016 Symposium is scheduled for May 10th to 12th, see: http://www.pgcs.org.au/

The Australia government has laid out the plans, its up to the project management profession to realise the intent, effectively and efficiently[2].   Watch this space…….

 

[1] Where the term ‘program’ is used to mean a series of projects (of very different types) managed together to achieve benefits that would not be available if they were managed separately. See: www.mosaicprojects.com.au/WhitePapers/WP1022_Program_Typology.pdf

[2] Improving the project delivery capability of Australian government departments is the focus of the separate Shergold report, see: /2016/02/20/the-shergold-report-calls-for-better-governance-and-better-project-controls/

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