ACT CHAPTER
2006 PMAA

GOLD SPONSOR

ACT COMMUNITY BENEFIT AWARD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSOR

EDS AUSTRALIA
PMAA 06 SILVER SPONSOR

I am delighted to announce that EDS Australia have shown their support for AIPM by signing for Silver sponsorship of the ACT Chapter 2006 PMAA. EDS provides a broad portfolio of business and technology solutions to help its clients world-wide improve their business performance. EDS' core portfolio comprises information technology (IT), applications and business process services, as well as IT transformation services. They support the world's leading companies and governments in 60 countries. EDS Australia employs a workforce of 6,700 people and maintains offices in Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne.

EDS Executive Leadership has a set of organizational standards designed to strengthen the consistent and effective performance of EDS' Programme and Project Management (PPM) functions globally . EDS employees and sub-contractors operating in PPM roles are expected to follow the PPM Standards, regardless of organizational structure and to maintain professional services and project management for all clients. EDS believes that program and project management is important in their support for Australian Federal Government business and clients, in particular to meet client's specific needs and requirements,and assist them with building effective and efficient organisations with the quality processes and procedures that EDS has put into place.

National Council Issue Nears Resolution

I have been most gratified by the response to our ACT Chapter June newsletter, possibly 40 member responses in all, and thank you for your interest.

It is likely that the article and the resultant exposure has hastened the resolution of the National Council problem, at the same time the small-group reviewing the situation are at the draft report stage in preparation for the next scheduled National Council meeting on Saturday 8th July. I am sure that the entire National Council will accept their recommendation and the problem will therefore be resolved in the very near future.

Complex Project Management was a topic at the last National Conference, introduced in the context of a member organisation’s (DMO) requirement and it is apparent there is widespread interest. DMO have made a start and are prepared to share their work and their interest with AIPM and the members.

To this end, a Special Interest Group is now being set up by DMO and our CEO, Peter Shears. This Special Interest Group will be chaired by Mr Graham Selkirk of Tenix, a supplier to DMO. The initial members of the SIG will be other suppliers to DMO but it is my understanding that the SIG will be open to all members.

AIPM is in the driver's seat for this important new initiative and will serve to document the professionalism of project management at the higher end. In so doing it will elevate AIPM to prominence in a global sense.

AIPM and Australian Computer Society

Most of you will be aware we have an alliance with the ACT Branch of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) to work together for the benefit of each of our respective members. As part of the initial cooperative arrangement, we agreed with the ACS to include their Forum information in this Newsletter. They will reciprocate with the ACT Chapter Forum information. The ACS Forums are scheduled for the first Tuesday of each month. Our Chapter Administrator will be sending you a reminder for our AIPM Forum as well as the ACS Forum so that you can include the dates and information in your diary. The ACS will reciprocate by including the ACT Chapter Forum information and send out our Newsletter to their members each month.

We are excited about this collaboration with ACS as it will mean that you can increase your networking opportunities as well as provide the benefit of increasing your knowledge.

PMAA Gala Night

Don’t forget to get your ticket or table for the PMAA Gala Event – August 30! All members should have received by now in the mail, an invitation to attend, as well as a booking form. If you haven't received this letter, can you please contact the Chapter Administrator for a copy.

ACT Chapter Nominations for Election of ACT Chapter Council

Nomination for positions on the ACT Chapter Council are requested from local members. AIPM can only achieve the objectives of our members through the valuable contribution made by our passionate volunteers. There are 3 positions being renewed: Chapter President, Chapter Secretary and Chapter Treasurer. There are up to 7 positions available for Chapter Councillors.

The term for each of these positions is for 2 years, with the appointment commencing at our Annual General Meeting to be held in Sydney at 4:45pm on September 27th, 2006. Under AIPM’s constitution, the position of State Chapter President requires the successful candidate to also hold a position on AIPM’s National Council and to consent to be a Director of AIPM. Through this role you will be able to help drive the strategic direction of AIPM and the project management profession in Australia.

Nomination forms can be obtained either from the AIPM website or from the Chapter Administrator. Once you have completed the nomination form, you will need to obtain the Consent of the Nominee. The nomination form must be received at our office, or faxed through to (02) 8288 8711 by 4:00pm on Wednesday 19th July 2006. Nomination Forms received after this time and date will not be opened.

Best regards,

Paul Black,
ACT Chapter President

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Gold Sponsor Presented Cheque to ACT Chapter

Above: Paul Black ACT Chapter President, Lesley Bentley National Vice President
& Andrew Pyke from Raytheon Australia

Andrew Pyke, the Director of Program Management and Performance Excellence, Raytheon Australia, presented Paul Black with the cheque for their Gold sponsorship of the ACT Chapter Project Management Achievement Awards. We greatly appreciate Raytheon’s continued support of the local chapter, noting they are strong supporters at the National level also. We also had a photographer from the City News, to take photos of the ceremonial presentation so watch for the photos in future issues of the City News.

Bookings for Gala Night

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 the Chapter Administrator.

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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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ACT Chapter now over 1000 members in the local region!

The local Chapter has passes an important milestone – we have reached the magic 1000 members and still continue to grow. ACT Chapter regional membership at 30th June was 1015. Thanks to all members who have been excellent ambassadors for the AIPM as you have contributed directly to the growing membership numbers.

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.

Continue the great work of spreading the benefits of joining AIPM. 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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Rewrite of AIPM Constitution

AIPM has as its constitution a Memorandum and Articles of Association that was first drafted by foundation members 30 years ago.

The Institute has developed significantly over this period and it has been necessary for the Institute to review its corporate governance policies and associated constitutional documents.

A constitutional review team has been appointed by the National Council comprising of Justine Mercer Moore as the National Council representative and two long standing members, past Treasurer, Ray Abé and Past President Peter Dechaineux.

The brief for the review team is to advise the National Council on a programme for the development of a comprehensive and leading edge corporate governance structure for the AIPM.

In the first phase of the review the team drafted a Corporate Governance Charter to address a number of functional issues with the management of the Institute. This charter was accepted by the National Council in March of this year.

This second phase aims to take the review of constitutional documents further and incorporate the existing Articles and Memorandum of Association into one plain English ‘Corporate Constitution’ in accordance with the Corporations Act and to meet the future needs of the Institute. In so doing, the ‘Corporate Governance Charter’ is to be integrated into the new ‘Corporate Constitution’.

If you have any comments on the existing Articles and Memorandum of Association or any ideas on the new Constitution, please contact Peter Dechaineux by email at dechaineux@netspeed.com.au.

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What a great turn out for the June Forum. 70 members and guests enjoyed the hospitality and the opportunity to network.

Paul Black provided an update of local issues. He reminded members that they are requested to consider nominating for the ACT Chapter Council. See the note in this newsletter for details.

Michael Young provided an update on the Project Management Achievement Awards. Submissions were received in all the categories.

Leslie Bentley from the Vice President of the National Council addressed the members on the situation at the National Council level. Before and after the formal presentations, Leslie circulated to meet and discuss specific issues raised by members.

This month's forum was titled Pushing the Ball up the Hill - CMMi Project. The guest speakers were Andrew Pyke Director, Program Management & Performance Excellence and Mr Jim Boston Project Manager - CMMI Project, Raytheon Australia.

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. The objective was to achieve process maturity and to instil lasting change to Raytheon Australia in a dynamic environment – not an easy undertaking.

The presentation reviewed 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. It also detailed Raytheon Australia’s successes and the less successful elements of this project. The gents were very frank in the description of issues and providing lessons learnt from the implementation of the change process.

Questioning by members showed a high level of interest in the diverse issues encountered. Thanks to Andrew and Jim for an excellent and very entertaining presentation.

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Demand for Project Management Skills in ACT

Above: Michael Young AIPM ACT Chapter Councillor, Don Coutts
CIT PM lecturer, Elizabeth McPherson Dean - Business & IT,
Peter Shears AIPM CEO, Kathy Korsch CEO CIT

The CIT Faculty of Business and IT recently launched a new Diploma in Project Management which aims to address the fastest growing skills demand in the ACT.

Market research has shown that the ACT has a higher level of middle managers and administrators than other states and territories and, therefore, higher per capita vacancies in management, administration and procurement. The current labour market in Canberra requires project managers across all areas, especially in the IT replacement of desktop infrastructure and change management, implementation of industrial relations changes, information technology generally, restructuring of workplaces to meet new initiatives and operational procedures to align core business.

The Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) and the Canberra Institute of Technology’s (CIT) Faculty of Business and Information Technology have collaborated to develop the course in response to this industry demand.

Mr Peter Shears, Chief Executive Officer of AIPM, made two important announcements which will greatly benefit CIT students:

• The institute intends to offer an annual prize for outstanding results by a Diploma in Project Management student.
• AIPM have created a new membership category for students which will provide them with access to a vast array of resources relating to project management.

CIT's Dean of Business and Information Technology, Ms Elizabeth McPherson, believes the development of this program will flexibly deliver high level training to alleviate the expected skills shortages in the ACT. “The program will provide a high level of practical skills essential for the management of business workplace projects and it addresses a real need we have here in the ACT."

“Students will be able to start at any time during the year, study flexibly online as well as accessing optional, weekly tutorials. The program is designed for people currently working in project-related environments, or those who would like to extend their project management skills,” she said.

This innovative and highly practical program focuses on work-based learning; it is flexible and convenient with tutorial support in the Reid Flexible Learning Centre.

Many people working in project management roles for years have no formal qualification. This Diploma allows them to gain recognition of their work experience and provides them with an opportunity to bring together their work experience and study to gain a formal qualification.

For additional photo's please go to http://www.aipm.com.au/html/2006_act_cit_pm_launch.cfm.

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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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DMO Program Management Office
and the
Competency Standard for Complex Project Managers

Guest Speakers
Mr Stephen Hayes MBE
Director - Program Management Office
Defence Materiel Organisation

Stephen has a broad range of experience with major and minor project management, systems engineering, military command and human resource management. His qualifications include a Masters of Management Studies specialising in Human Resource and Project Management. Stephen’s project management work in the United Kingdom was recognised with the honour of being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. He is a certified Master Project Director and is currently a Director in the DMO Program Management Office (formerly Directorate of Coaching and Review).

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Next Meeting

Date: 1 August 2006
Time: 6.00 for 6.30
Venue: Orion Room, Southern Cross Club, Corinna Street, Woden

Presentation

Issues, experience and approaches to the business of ICT security
Peter Lilley, Executive Partner, Stratsec

Peter Lilley is an information security professional with over twelve years of experience in the industry.

In this time, Peter has provided specialist IT security consultancy services to a diverse range of clients, including leadership on major projects with Australian Government agencies and high profile members of the Australian Financial Services and Travel sectors.

Peter’s expertise includes conduct of enterprise security risk assessments, development of enterprise security strategies and architectures and definition of business and system requirements for design or procurement of security capabilities.

AIPM Members: To register your attendance at this meeting, please go to https://www.acs.org.au/acs_events/index.cfm?action=showallFriend&eveID=1625 and follow the Registration link.

ACS Canberra Contacts
PO Box 779
MAWSON ACT 2607
Ph: (02) 6290-0711
Fax: (02) 6290-0722
Email: acscanb@acslink.net.au
Web: www.acs.org.au

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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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