At our National Conference in Hobart I gave a presentation entitled ‘Delivering The Promise’. I believe these three words sum up what project management is fundamentally about: delivering what we have promised to our clients/customers; or in my new role as the national president, delivering what I have promised to you, our members. As project managers we commit to delivering a specifi ed outcome (scope of work, activities, etc) within a timeframe and budget. Since there is a promise, there has to be accountability, otherwise there is no credibility to the promise.
As the new national president I have embarked on four key areas I believe we need to focus on:
We all want to see the AIPM at the forefront of project management development in Australia and recognised as one of the leading PM institutions in the world. To achieve this we need strategies that promote project management professionalism and our competency standards, and we need a solid governance base—all focused at meeting the project management needs of business, industry, government, and our community.
We live in an age of globalisation where people, capital and opportunity move freely with much reduced barriers compared even with just a few years ago. We need to be mindful of how this affects our members and how we can help. For example, the AIPM can assist its members by keeping them up to date on international developments, providing information on Australian project management resources, globalising the use of our Competency standards and better promoting the capabilities of our members.
Over the last six months a dedicated team has reviewed and updated our standards. They have proposed various changes and have added a new high-level Executive Standard. At the National Conference in Hobart the new standards were released as an ‘exposure draft’ for members to review and comment on. When the updated standards are introduced over the next six months, the aim is to have the best competency standards in the world. Please refer to the link on the AIPM website (www.aipm.com.au) to offer feedback on the draft.
In business, accountability is clear and hinges around making a profi t. In a ‘not-for-profit’ organisation, however, accountability can slide into being vague or obtuse; and when analysed there may be negligible accountability. No clear plan means no real accountability.
And a plan is fairly fictitious unless it has clearly defined objectives and delivery dates. Over the next few months our National Council will develop detailed strategic and operational plans that will guide us into the future. When this work is complete we will share it with you via our website, along with progress summaries at regular intervals. Additionally, we are working on ways to reinvigorate the AIPM to keep it fresh. This requires a continuous process of improvement attitude. This is about reviewing what we do and how well we do it, and then changing where we need to.
Wishing you all a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.
Dr Bill Young
NATIONAL PRESIDENT