ACT CHAPTER
2006 PMAA

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HUGE FUTURE FOR AIPM

I have two important topics for you this issue, one good, and one which should cause great concern and initiate some corrective action by us, the members.

I have just caught a glimpse of the future, you will all love it, however I need your help to ensure it actually happens for the AIPM.

I had the good fortune to sit in on the Defence and Industry Project Management Council, hosted by the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) on Friday 9th June, as the AIPM representative.

AIPM were welcomed as a true partner to this distinguished group, which comprises the heads of the major suppliers to the DMO. Many of these suppliers are also corporate members of AIPM and actively support our ACT Chapter.

Also present was the DMO Change Manager, David Domkins, who is also the AIPM National President.

I will (1) explain the DMO proposal and (2) later in this newsletter I will ask you to reciprocate this support. Please read my conclusion at the end of section 1

1. THE DEFENCE MATERIAL ORGANISATION OPPORTUNITY

Needs and vision of the D.M.O

The DMO is unlike most Corporate Members of the AIPM, the projects they manage are huge, their budgets are huge, their need to react quickly on a huge scale can be beyond comprehension to most of us, and security of information is vital.

The DMO need to find a way of quickly assigning to a project a Project Manager, with the certain knowledge that an assigned PM can deliver to all DMO‘s expectations. The highest technical qualification the AIPM can bestow is the Master Project Director (MPD). Not surprisingly, an excellent MPD in an I.T., Scientific, Construction or some other field may be, but could not be guaranteed, able to develop and implement a multi-billion dollar weapons system in a submarine.

DMO related a fantastic example of an extreme requirement which opened my eyes. At the time of one Space Shuttle disaster a PM was needed to be appointed immediately to document the cause and initiate remediation to ensure it didn’t happen again. Clearly, the U.S. Defence organisation need a register of appropriately qualified Project Managers for deployment at short notice at any time, for which there must be no question of ability. For similar reasons, so do the DMO. The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) are also keen to be a part of this initiative.

Proposals of the DMO

• Most of the 20 attendees at this meeting are AIPM members. The group proposed to form a Special Interest Group (SIG), within the AIPM, to be lead by Mr Graham Selkirk, Manager Project Management Systems Development, Tenix Australia. This will clearly add to the substance of the AIPM and as members we will all benefit from an increased international prestige.
• DMO will support a truly global group called the College of Complex Project Management, initially with ten ‘fellows’ of the required stature. Members of the College must be members of their respective National Project Management body, and in Australia, this is the AIPM.
• DMO and the College will develop a standard for ‘Complex Project’ management.
• Level 7 and 8 competencies were seen to conflict with the AIPM and are abolished.
• DMO will make the Complex Management Standard available to the national bodies. (including AIPM)
• DMO and the College have no authority over or intention to compete with the Level 6 or below standards belonging to the national bodies (including AIPM).
• The College will develop the underpinning knowledge base in conjunction with the national bodies (including AIPM).

Conclusion

These proposals were put by the DMO Change Manager, David Domkins, who is also the AIPM National President. I see these proposals as promoting AIPM and an opportunity to grow and be more relevant internationally.

The conclusion I draw is there will be further conflict within the National Council as some on the National Council will see this as a further Conflict of Interest, despite these proposals being a genuine attempt by DMO to get out of AIPM’s space yet include AIPM in a space they currently do not work in.

2. THE AIPM NATIONAL COUNCIL NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Most of you would be aware the National Council has a history of hosting unresolved argument to the point where the National Council becomes dysfunctional. Numerous members have contacted me in recent months enquiring on the status of the current dispute. I am not able to divulge detail or even really the nature of the entire present conflict, but I can confirm this is a serious dispute, which has persisted for about four months, is unfounded in my view and as a result the National Council is again moribund.

As my belief is that the dispute is unfounded, I am particularly annoyed that to date it has incurred legal fees of approximately $30,000 and if/when proven wrong, AIPM would probably be liable for similar costs of the defending party. I have asked what limit the council would expend on this exercise but to date have not had a reply.

Fortunately, most of the state Presidents are aligning against the instigators, which are comprised of one member of the executive and a small number of state presidents.

One option available to us all is to spill the executive positions and this is being seriously discussed by some.

Before that occurs I feel the ACT Chapter, as AIPM’s fastest growing, most active chapter, should show leadership and send the National Council a clear message that their behavior is not acceptable.

Current status

AIPM has a Governance Committee, established in early 2005 (approx) to resolve the last great dispute. Some of the evidence for the allegations has been only viewed by the Governance Committee.

I succeeded in raising a motion to have the Governance Committee findings reviewed. The review is to be conducted by Ray Abe and Peter Dechaineux (who, along with Justine Mercer-Moore instigated the team whose process lead to resolution of the last National Council dispute by establishing a governance Committee), and a National Councilor not aligned with the disputing factions.

Astoundingly, at least two members of the National Council have implied that one of these reviewers who is known to us as being of unquestionable character may not be impartial.

I advised the National Council the ACT Chapter would take this very personally.

What I would like you to do

The term of the current executive is almost half way though, with little to boast. I would like as many as possible of our 1000 ACT members to clearly instruct the National Council to sort themselves out, and get on with the job.

PLEASE EMAIL THE AIPM NOW

Feel free to email your own thoughts to the AIPM National Council care of these addresses or simply cut and paste the message below.

Email to:

Bill Young -for presentation to the Governance Commitee
byoung1@bigpond.net.au

AIPM CEO Peter Shears - for communication to the National Council
pshears@aipm.com.au

AIPM ACT Administrator - for tracking purpose
act_chapter@aipm.com.au

Message to the National Council

1. Please renounce any implication that any of the present review committee is not impartial.

2. Please resolve your internal dispute immediately, if you are unsure how to do that, please resign from the National Council.

3. Please advise the budget for this dispute, if in excess of $100,000 we will consider expulsion of the National Executive.

4. Please support the DMO initiative for a Defence Industry Special Interest Group

5. Please support the DMO initiative in supporting the Complex Project College

Paul Black

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The Submission deadline for the ACT Chapter was extended by 2 weeks, thus bringing the final submission date to Thursday 15th June. We have had a good response so far with submissions logged, and are expecting more by COB Thursday.

Bookings have opened for the 2006 ACT Chapter PMAA Gala Night, to be held on the 30th August, at the Ballroom of the National Convention Centre. All members will shortly receive a booking form in the mail. Please complete the form and send to the addresses listed at the bottom. I've also attached a copy of the form with this newsletter, so start to gather your corporate attendees and book a table for the evening. As this is the 30th Anniversary year for the AIPM, the theme of the Gala evening will be based on this.

If you have any questions regarding the PMAA or Gala evening, please contact me.

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Our monthly Forums are held on the last Wednesday of every month, at the Canberra Club, 45 West Row, Civic, commencing at 5:30pm until 7:30pm. Drinks and cocktail food are served, and members are more than welcome to bring a guest. For all RSVP's please contact the Chapter Administrator.

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Time to Renew Membership – Claim in Tax Return

Do not forget your renewal of AIPM membership. Only 20 days left to pay membership dues so that you can claim membership in your 05/06 tax return.

It was nice to meet prospective new members at the last Forum. Some were so keen they wanted to join on the evening. I directed them to the AIPM website to complete membership details and payment. Remember to attach a CV detailing project management experience and expertise.

The focus for this month is finalising PMAA bids. There is still time to submit a pack for the awards.

Continue the great work of spreading the benefits of joining AIPM. Each and every one of us is an ambassador for the AIPM and as such can spread the word on the benefits of membership in our professional institute. Don’t forget you can bring a mate/friend/prospective to the next function to introduce them to local Chapter members.

See you at the next Forum, John Jacobi

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The Canberra Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Business and Information Technology and the ACT Chapter of the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) are pleased launch the new Diploma in Project Management. AIPM and CIT have collaborated to develop the course in response to industry demand and a looming skills shortage. The current labour market in Canberra sees a demand for project managers across all areas of the government sector, and AIPM confirms the need for qualified project managers across the industries of Construction Engineering, Information Technology, Local Government, Government, Environment, Defence, Finance and Law.

Delivered through a combination of face-to-face and online methods, this programme will provide a high level of practical skills to be employed in the management of all business work place projects. Indsutry Reference Group Chair & ACT Chapter Councillor, Michael Young, indicated that "flexible delivery is great for busy project managers, it allows for immediate application of newly learnt skills and knowledge in the workplace".

AIPM CEO, Mr Peter Shears, was also pleased to announce AIPMs sponsorship of the annual student prize, for the most outstanding student in the Diploma of Project Management.

For further details, please contact Michael Young, Councillor - Education & Certification.

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What a great turn out for the May Forum. 78 members and guests enjoyed the hospitality and the opportunity to network. It must have been successful as the noise level was considerable. Sylvia had to yell a number of times to gain everyone’s attention to start the formal proceedings.

The guest speaker was Assistant Commissioner Steve Ayling, the Head of Emergency Management Group of the ACT Emergency Services Authority, standing in for Commissioner Peter Dunn. The topic was “Managing Projects in a 24/7 Response Agency”.

The ACT Emergency Services Authority consists of the ACT Ambulance Service, ACT Fire Brigade, ACT Rural Fire Brigade and ACT State Emergency Service. The Charter of the Authority is to protect and preserve life, property and the environment – a very broad range of responsibilities with a very high public profile.

To ensure personnel are properly equipped, trained and prepared, the primary project management focus is facilities, fleet and information & communications technology support. The presentation was very frank and open with numerous lessons learnt provided under these three areas. Management of projects is conducted in conjunction with a hectic and high paced operational tempo involving a daily average of 120 incidents. The issues detailed by Steve under factors for success could be applicable to many different projects, especially those under close public scrutiny. There is an imperative to get the correct balance in life cycle costing with a structured program to maintain existing infrastructure, assess when to replace outdated equipment and acquire new equipment that may take advantage on technological advances.

I particularly liked the use of a practical reality to achieve funding for the recently procured ladder truck. As the bean counters have offices located on the higher floors of their building, they quickly realised the benefits of a ladder that could reach up to the height of their office. Their hearts and minds had a sharp focus as existing equipment was too small to reach the heights now needed to evacuate Canberra high rise buildings.

Questioning by members showed a high level of interest in the diverse issues encountered under the broad portfolio of projects. Thanks to Steve for an excellent and very entertaining presentation.

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Please Note: Hard copy certificates will be sent to those who are listed below, within 2 weeks of the newsletter publication date. If you received your membership or certification in the months listed, and received electronic confirmation from our National office, and your name is not listed below, please contact the Chapter Administrator.

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If there are any errors in the above lists, please notify the Chapter Administrator.

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Pushing the Ball Up The Hill
Raytheon Australia - CMMI Project

Guest Speakers
Mr Andrew Pyke
Director, Program Management & Performance Excellence
&
Mr Jim Boston
Project Manager - CMMI Project

Raytheon Australia sought to improve its Project Management practices to optimise its performance for customers and for its parent company in the US. The chosen approach was to combine process improvement with the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®); Raytheon Six Sigma™, and a tailored Project Management regime. Our objective was to achieve process maturity and to instil lasting change to Raytheon Australia in a dynamic environment – not an easy undertaking.

This presentation will review part of the transition in Raytheon Australia where a process gap was overcome and a new level of process maturity emerged that not only satisfied our primary customer but also satisfied our internal audience which is often harder to please. This presentation will detail Raytheon Australia’s successes and the less successful elements of this project.

Andrew Pyke is the Director of Program Management and Performance Excellence (Raytheon Australia). Andrew is an experienced program manager, engineer, and business leader in both Defence and commercial communications sectors. Andrew currently leads a cross-business team, responsible for program management for customers and for internal projects to develop company capabilities and quality management.

Andrew held a number of leadership roles in Cable & Wireless Optus (now Singtel Optus) prior to Raytheon. Earlier in his career Andrew worked in project and engineering positions in Defence, as a RAAF Officer and is a graduate of RAAF College.

Andrew is registered as a Master Project Director, has an Advanced Diploma in Project Management, a Diploma in the Company Directors, holds a Masters of Business Administration (Technology Management) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from APESMA & Deakin University,a Diploma of Administration and a Bachelor of Engineering (Communications) from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Jim Boston is registered as a Master Project Director and is currently the Project Manager for the CMMI project for Raytheon Australia. Jim has extensive experience working in the areas of project management, logistics management, and personnel management. He has a number of tertiary qualifications including a Masters of Business Administration specializing in Project Management. Jim has been employed in the field of project management for the past 15 years.

Jim’s background has been in Defence where he enjoyed a 19 year career in the Royal Australian Air Force with postings to operational units and major projects. His second career has been in the private sector working in areas of project management, software development, and has had a number of project management roles in Raytheon.

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You should have all recently received a "Member Details Confirmation" sheet in the mail. Can you please review this, and ensure that we have all your current contact information. If you did not receive a letter, please contact me.

For those of you that attend our regular monthly forums, you will notice that we have provided feedback forms on every table. Could you please take a minute at the next forum you attend, to complete one of these feedback forms, as this will help us in preparing the agenda's for future forums.

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