CHRISTMAS BREAK

Following the December Christmas function on the 14th December, we will close the ACT office until the beginning of February 2006. Our National office in Sydney will be open right through Christmas and the New Year, however, only with a skeleton staff.

FINAL FORUM FOR 2005

The November forum will be held this month on the 30th November, with our guest speaker from PM&C. Our final forum for the year will be our traditional Christmas function, to be held on the 14th December at the Canberra Club, and I would like to invite all members (and partners) to attend, and enjoy drinks, cocktail food and fine music in a relaxed, non formal atmosphere. We will be open from 5:30pm through to 7:30pm and I would like to request all members wishing to attend, to email Helen with their RSVP, and also if they are bringing a partner. I would also like to thank Dr Nev Hassen from Just Planning Pty Ltd, for kindly donating the Lucky Door Prizes again this year. Nev's selection of fine wines is certainly a prize to be sought!

PMAA 2006

Dwight Bonney has accepted the challenge and will be project manager for next year's ACT Project Management Achievement Awards 2006, thanks very much Dwight.

We are making early approaches to sponsors and participants and are getting a warm reception. We would really like to see more participants, more sponsors and more attendees at the gala night, so if you have some spare nominal time to volunteer over the next 10 months, please contact Dwight.

AIPM's 30th BIRTHDAY NEXT YEAR

2006 celebrates 30 years of AIPM, we hope to make it as memorable as possible for you.

We plan to have a serious planning session for the ACT chapter early in the new year and it would be an opportune time to let us know those areas where you think we could be doing more for you. Please drop Helen or myself an email if you have suggestions.

Paul Black

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55 members braved the inclement weather on Wed 26th. It was my pleasure to introduce Dwight Bonny who will be the ACT Chapter’s Manager of the 2006 Project Management Achievement Awards. He stressed the point that now is the time to think about the 06 Awards as we need:

• Volunteers to assist with the management of the process
• Judges for the category awards
• Submissions from companies, Departments and individuals
• and most importantly Sponsors at all levels.

If you would like to volunteer a small amount of time over the next 10 months, please contact Dwight Bonney. Dwight will commence next month, placing an update every month in the newsletter to inform all members on the progress of the Awards.
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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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Great to see some of our newer members at the October Forum. Members are also bringing along guests to discover the benefits of the AIPM and enjoy the networking opportunity. Yes to state the obvious – membership continues to rise with over 6000 financial members nationally. ACT has over 700 and rising. Over 1850 members have gained recognition under the RegPM scheme. It is interesting to note that despite the increase of new members from Defence, they only make up 5% of the total membership.

If you are interested in the breakdown of membership – have a look at the AIPM's Website. This may prompt you to check out the other sections, John Jacobi.
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Charles Russell from Microsoft delivered an entertaining presentation in his “great southern (US) accent” on IT Governance.

Although the focus was on IT governance, the issues and lesson learnt apply to Project Governance across the full spectrum of Project Management situations. Issues from the presentation included:

Introduction

• We must sell Project Management into bigger corporations
• Manipulate IT Governance to get projects in place and be successful

Challenge

• IT budgets are big but PMs must maximise the ROI
• Slippage impacts on Follow-on Projects
• Think about the things you did not do (aspects of the project that did not get up)
• Shareholders and Board of Directors want accountability

Green Light Process

• Know how to get past the post
• Changing priorities could mean a project should be shut down
• You must make the hard decision to kill a project even in mid-phase

IT Governance

• About making strategic business investments
• Better IT Governance means projects will help meet project goals
• Governance is about process more than technology

o Process not tools
o PM maturity is essential
o Tools make no difference (They make the process it easier)

Decisions, Decisions

• Applications should provide a payback greater than infrastructure does
• Infrastructure requires an investment in adequate equipment
• There are a number of ways to add rigour to your IT Governance process

  o Establish and document your processes
  o Have a Business Review Committee process
  o Program/Project office is a formal method to manage, enhance and support governance

• Trend is toward IT Governance better aligning with business
• Product and Portfolio Management (PPM) tools lead to better Governance
• Link core knowledge to the project as a whole

Tools

• Provide an integrated operating environment
• Prime issue is to ensure participation and productivity from familiar tools
• They can assist with the monitoring of performance though roll up of reports

Business Process

• Your solution = business process + technology
• You must envision, plan and implement

Charles also provided examples from a number of the projects that Microsoft has implemented with some of their strategic partners. These partnerships have been an integral part of installing tools, implementing training and providing ongoing support for the customer. A big thanks to Charles for the entertaining presentation and response to the probing questions.
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APOLOGY

Due to unforseen problems being experienced at our National office, we are unable to present you with the names of the recent New Members and Certifiers. We will endeavour to have them listed in the November newsletter.

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Lighting a Fire in the Belly of the Public Service Project Manager
Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet

Guest Speaker: Mr Isi Unikowski - Senior Advisor,
Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet

In a speech at the National Press Club in November 2004 describing the first year of the Cabinet Implementation Unit in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Dr Peter Shergold described his vision of “public servants with a fire in the belly for managing projects and delivering programmes on budget, on time, to the highest standards.”

A year on, this presentation will outline the structural and systemic changes in programme and project management practices that have taken place in the Australian Public Service since the Unit was established. The speech will present detailed and practical examples of the issues and challenges in continuing to work towards the implementation of Dr Shergold’s vision, and a view from the centre of government administration of the particular gaps in programme and project management in the APS. The presentation will explore what this means for project and programme managers in individual agencies, and those in the community and private sectors who work with them.

Isi Unikowski is a senior adviser in the Cabinet Implementation Unit in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, having joined the Unit shortly after its establishment in October 2004. He has previously worked for many years in a range of policy, programme and project management roles in a number of Departments, including the Department of Family and Community Services and Centrelink. He recently completed an Executive Master of Public Administration degree as a member of the first cohort to do so through the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.

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Please be advised that our National Office has undergone a technology refresh program, and as part of this, the phone system has been upgraded. The new phone and fax number are:

Main Phone Number - (02) 8288-8700

Main Fax Number - (02) 8288-8711

For individual contact phone numbers of the National Office staff members, please click here.

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