The PMBOK has been rewriten and enhanced and published throughout this year.

I have just came across in interesting article that describes all the major changes that have been applied to the 4th edition.

So what has changed (read the article for further information):

1. Consistency around the terminology and concepts used
2. clear and standardized writing style
3. Some minor process changes
4. Consideration of new PM practices (Agile etc.)

A great step forward but nothing really new.

As I have written in my past post, the methods and tools around Project Management do not change much. We are vertically rather than expanding the horizon. Agile gave some new momentum to the industry and new books have been published around this topic and you see more and more presentations on conferences. But emagine, after some years you would need to rewrite was has happened on the Internet, I am sure that book would have for more major changes than a book about project management.

As said, I am glad that there are projects as they make our lives.

A team, I dont know how big it is, has worked very hard on the 4th Edition on the PMBOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge. Pat Weaver covered in his blog the key aspects already. It does not seem to be the big leap, how ever, several usefull clean ups have been incorporated.

So know its time to order it as part of the Christmas rush and with a discount if you order online via PMI. So buy yourself a Christmas present. But rush, promotion ends by end of this year.

via eMail.

Now is the chance.

Just two days ago the call for nominations went out:

Do you know someone with the leadership skills, volunteer experience and passion for project management to become a leader of PMI? We encourage you to nominate individuals that you feel are ready to take on the challenge of serving on the PMI Board of Directors.

A fantastic opportunity to work on the Board of a global Project Management Organisation. The outline of the details can be looked up here. The nomination period is open until 2 February 2009.

How ever the detail about the requirements and qualifications spans over more than two pages. And, as of my knowledge, you get a lot of honour but no dime. So what is in for you? You get exposed to leaders in project management, no doubt, you will learn a lot and your network will increase and of course, some PDU’s. On the other side you will have to spend a lot of private time to make yourself successful in your role.

via eMail.

Again, a week ago we had our November PMI Chapter Meeting for the Queensland Chapter and again a great speaker with some new ideas. This time we didn’t focus on the classic areas of project management but looked at relationships in projects and how the could impact the success and risk of project failure.
Graham Scott, the presenter, is an Organisational Psychologist with Masters qualifications. Prior to studying Psychology Graham worked in the Construction Industry at trade and Management levels. For the past thirteen years Graham has being working in Projects mostly in recovery around “communication” and “people issues”. Graham is running the company ORG consulting and can be reached via www.orgconsulting.com.au.
Graham is such an expiring inspiring speaker and gave a lot of examples, even by looking at the NASA Columbia and Challenger disasters to talk about effective relationships and how they could impact the project.
The presentation highlighted the need for effective management of relationships in projects. It covered relationships from a risk management perspective and showed how to develop a rigorous planned approach that will impact on delivery outcomes through effective group dynamics, interface management and good leadership methodologies.

Enjoy the video

and the slides

Almost a week ago, we had our October 2008 PMI Queensland Chapter Meeting. Beside several announcements from the Board and the successful pilot of the Evening Discussion Groups we had Matthew Tati, a Project Manager at Flight Centre, talking about Project Management at Flight Centre.

Especially questions around how IT and the projects engage with the business, how they obtain the resources required as well as some interesting benchmarks around their PMO are provided.

Whatch his interesting presentation here and see the slides below

and the slides

 PMIQ Chapter Meeting - October 2008: Download

As the PMI Queensland Chapter is always seeking to improve their service to their members they are currently performing a survey to get a better understanding around some services currently provided as well as a general feedback.

If you would like to see and participate in the survey visit the PMI Queensland Chapter Website.

Allright, what do we get out of this (September 2008) month PMI chapter meetings across Australia:

Perth, Western Australia, Wednesday September 10th 2008, 06:00pm: 
Speaker:
Acting Superintendent Lance Martin, Program Director - Communications Infrastructure Program, Western Australia Police
Mr Brian Considine PMP, Associate Director - (Program Manager - Communications Infrastructure Program), Fujitsu Australia Pty Ltd
Topic:
The Police Metropolitan Radio Network project was commissioned on schedule and on budget in December 2006, and has now been successfully rolled out to all police users across the 10000 km2 coverage area. The speakers will provide an overview of the project, focussing on some of the key project management challenges encountered how the challenges were overcome. In particular it will outline, how the PM team successfully incorporated the management of risk into the procurement cycle to lay the foundations for a successful implementation; provide an overview of the key lessons learnt and how they will be applied to future projects undertaken by the Program; describe how the implementation managed the business change to provide measurable benefits to WAPOL.

Adelaide, no further information on the website

Melbourne, Tuesday September 30th 2008, 06:00pm:
Speaker:
Lloyd L. Carter, Consultant, SYPAQ Systems Pty Ltd
Topic:
Development of ISO 21500 Guide to Project Management
In recent years there has been a proliferation of sector specific standards worldwide which have had no overarching standard to set the generic principles and procedures of Project Management globally. In addition these standards have had no common vocabulary or processes that could be referenced by the global project management community resulting in different definitions and interpretations. This standard will provide a common platform which will become a reference point for all project management professionals and hence facilitate knowledge transfer and the harmonization of principles, vocabulary and processes in existing and future standards.
 

Canberra, September:
Speaker:
ANAO
Topic:
Better Practice Guide 

Sydney, Wednesday September 17th, 07:30 am:
Speaker:
Eleri Morgan Thomas
Topic:
Women in Project Management
Eleri’s talk will reflect on the challenges (and excitement) of managing projects in a community services environment where every dollar spent on infrastructure is one that isn’t spent on a client. The workforce is predominantly female and their focus is primarily on the delivery of services to clients. At the end of the day, every project managed in Mission Australia has to demonstrate real value for money and value for effort across the board. 

Brisbane, Wednesday September 17th, 06:00 pm:
Speaker:
Richard Egelstaff
Topic:
A Review of Project Management Education in the UK, USA and Australia
In this presentation Richard Egelstaff will explore different levels of education relating to project management.  The presentation is designed to help anyone contemplating recognition or seeking qualification as a project manager.  Richard will explain how private providers, such as PMI or AIM compare to formal education institutions, such as TAFE and University.  He will also discuss the ideas behind competency or employment based qualifications as compared to academic qualifications.  In this respect, the qualification trends in the UK, USA and Australia with particular emphasis on project management learning and employment is explored. 
If you are thinking of gaining a formal education in project management in Australia at either an undergraduate or post graduate degree level then this presentation will save you hours of research and guide you towards the best education solutions for you.